The Knowledge Centre has an international advisory board that meets annually in Holland to evaluate themes and projects realized the last months, and advises the Knowledge Centre on proposed themes and projects for the coming year.

The members of our advisory board are:

Mrs. Gerrie ter Haar

Gerrie ter Haar is Professor of Religion and Development at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague. Much of her academic work has concerned the study of religion in Africa, on which she has published extensively. She has also written widely on comparative issues, notably in relation to development. In 2006, she won an essay prize awarded by the European Journal of Development Research for an article about 'The Role of Religion in Development: Towards a New Relationship between the European Union and Africa', co-authored with Stephen Ellis (vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 351-67). She helped found the Knowledge Centre on Religion and Development, which she continues to serve in an advisory role. She is currently chair of its advisory council.

Mrs. Wendy Tyndale
Wendy Tyndale has worked in the fields of human rights and development since 1973. She spent nine years as head of the Latin American Department of the UK development agency, Christian Aid and subsequently worked with the World Faiths Development Dialogue, a dialogue on poverty and development between people from different religions of the world and the World Bank. In 2006 her book Visions of Development: Faith-based Initiatives was published by Ashgate. She has lived in Peru, Chile and Guatemala.

Mr. Frans Wijsen

Frans Wijsen is Professor of Interreligious Relations in the Faculty of Religious Studies, Professor of Missions Studies in the Faculty of Theology and Director of the Nijmegen Institute of Mission Studies – Centre for World Christianity and Interreligious Relations at Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands. He worked in Tanzania from 1984 till 1988. Since then he has conducted fieldwork in East Africa annually. Among other works, he is author of There is only one God. A social-scientific and theological study of popular religion and evangelization in Sukumaland, Northwest Tanzania (Kampen 1993), Seeds of Conflict in a Haven of Peace. From Religious Studies to Interreligious Studies in Africa (Amsterdam – New York 2007), co-author with Ralph Tanner of Seeking a good life. Religion and Society in Usukuma. Tanzania. 1945 - 1995 (Nairobi 2000) and I am just a Sukuma. Globalization and Identity Construction in Northwest Tanzania (Amsterdam/New York 2002), and with Bernardin Mfumbusa of Seeds of conflict. Religious Tensions in Tanzania (Nairobi 2004). Since 1995 he has been visiting professor at Duta Wacana Christian University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and since 2004 also at Tangaza School of Theology, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.

Mr. Rashied Omar
Rashied Omar is a Research Scholar of Islamic Studies and Peacebuilding at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame. An Imam from South Africa, he received an M.A. in International Peace Studies from the Kroc Institute and earned his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of Cape Town in 2005. He is an Imam from South Africa and the author of Tolerance, Civil Society and Renaissance: A South African Muslim Perspective (Cape Town: Claremont Main Road Mosque, 2002) and a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Richard C. Martin, Editor in Chief Macmillan Reference USA. Among his many interreligious offices he is also a Trustee of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions.

Mrs. Melba Maggay
A writer and a social anthropologist, Melba Padilla Maggay is a sought-after international speaker and consultant on culture and social development issues, particularly the interface of religion, culture and development.
She is at the moment president of the Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture, a research and training organization engaged in developmetn, missiology and cross-culltural studies aimed at social transformation. Dr. Maggay serves as main resource perdon for ISACC’s centerpiece trainings like Transformational Development and Cross-Cultural Orientation Seminair, whose clients include the World Bank and faith-based ones like World Vision and Tearfund UK. She serves as lead consultant for CultureWorks, a team of conultants/experts servicing the media, documentation and cross-cultural training needs of local and international development organizations.
Dr. Maggay is a social anthropologist specializing in Philippine Studies.

Mr. Hamza Alamoosh