Michael Prato

Michael Prato was born in London. At university he read Economics and Modern Languages. His first brush with Central Asia came in 1975 while on the hippy trail to India. In subsequent years he alternated periods working in construction and the Public Service with extensive travels throughout the region, and was resident in Uzbekistan from 1994 to 1996. Since that time he has worked as a carpet and handicrafts dealer with shops in London and Sydney and an office in Peshawar. He generally spends much of the year on the Frontier where he enjoys a wide circle of acquaintance, and where he can indulge his abiding affection for the culture, politics and languages of the region.

 
Benjamin Gilmour BlthSc (Paramedic)

With more than 10 years experience in front-line ambulance work around the world, Gilmour has a good understanding of using limited resources in unpredictable environments. He has also worked in medical clinics in north India, ambulance service development projects in The Philippines and Pakistan, is Red Cross BTC trained and has qualifications in Disaster Management. Gilmour has recently moved into using the medium of film to promote awareness about the challenges faced by Pashtuns of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The Feature film 'Son of a Lion' is a story about a father and son in the town of Darra Adam Khel.

www.sonofalion.com

 
 
Julia Booth

Julia has worked extensively in the private, public and NGO sectors with a principal focus on project development, management and communications. She has developed and managed programs with the UN and the Department of Aboriginal Affairs with a focus on community cohesion and capacity building. She studied Political Science and Languages at Sydney and NSW university She is fluent in French and Spanish and is currently studying Russian. She is continuing her studies aiming to complete a Masters in Development Economics. Julia is currently the President of Lotus Outreach Australia and an International Board member of Lotus Outreach an organisation that provides educational and development programs for children in India, Cambodia, Bhutan and newly established programs in Australia. She recently wrote and co produced a documentary called ‘Bhutan: an Alternative Model for Development‘ made in conjunction with the Bhutan Broadcasting Service. Julia runs an online business — The Mummita Group — which provides products and services for parents.

 
Brett Furby

Brett Furby has a long history of working in project development and management across a range of areas. He is a research officer with the state government in Sydney. His role focuses on evaluating programs to find what works best in reducing crime. He has some years of experience in the area of project evaluation following several years in commercial market research.  Previously he lived in Spain teaching English. That was after working for some years in Britain for a local authority as part of the grants program for community NGO’s developing community capacity building projects in areas of social and economic deprivation. He has an Economics degree from Sydney University and an MA from Westminster University in London. Previously he travelled extensively in Asia and Latin America.

 
John Zubrzycki

John Zubrzycki is a journalist and author who has covered Pakistan and South Asia extensively in his writing. After studying Indian history and Hindi at the Australian National University in Canberra he enjoyed stints as a university lecturer, a diplomat with postings in New Delhi and Jakarta, a business consultant and publicist with OzAid. Most of his career has been devoted to journalism. After doing a cadetship with The Age in Melbourne in 1986, he moved to Radio Australia. In 1994 he became South Asia correspondent for The Australian, The South China Morning Post and The Christian Science Monitor based in New Delhi and covering Afghanistan and Pakistan. Since returning to Sydney in 1999, he has returned to the region frequently as a reporter and author. His first book: The Last Nizam: An Indian Prince in the Australian Outback was a bestseller in Australia and India.