Jean Chrysostome K. Kiyala (Dr) is a C2-South African National Research Foundation (NRF)-rated researcher and senior lecturer at the International Centre of Nonviolence based at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) in South Africa; he is also a full professor and visiting lecturer at the University of Bandundu, the Evangelical University in Africa, the Catholic University of Bukavu, the Catholic University of Goma, and La Sapientia in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a visiting lecturer at the University of Seychelles. He holds a PhD in Management Sciences specialising in Public Administration (Peace Studies) from DUT. Dr Kiyala is widely recognised for his contributions to peace and conflict studies, with research interests spanning child soldiers; restorative justice, post-conflict reconciliation and nation-building; civil society and peacebuilding; Peace Ecology (environmental peacemaking and conventional peace studies); and the evolving role of BRICS+ nations in global governance and sustainable development.Fulufhelo (Fulu) Netswera (Prof.) is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Postgraduate Studies at the University of Venda and a distinguished academic leader with extensive experience in higher education, research management, and institutional development. He was instrumental in establishing the DUT Business School and concurrently heads the BRICS Research Institute, established at DUT in 2022. Prof. Netswera holds a DPhil and MA in Development Sociology (Stellenbosch). Over the course of his career, Prof. Netswera has held several senior academic and leadership positions, including Director of the North-West University Business School; Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT); Director of the South African BRICS Think Tank (SABTT) at the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS); Director of the Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership (TGSL) at the University of Limpopo; and Research Management Director at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Prof. Netswera holds a DPhil and MA in Development Sociology (Stellenbosch); a BA Hons in Economics (UWC); and a PGD from Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, among other qualifications. He currently directs the BRICS Research Institute, located within DUT and funded by the NIHSS.Irfan Kalaycı (Prof. Dr) is a distinguished economist and academic based in Turkey. He started his academic career in 1992 as a research assistant at İnönü University (Malatya), one of the oldest universities in the country. Prof. Kalaycı completed his undergraduate studies at Çukurova University in Adana and obtained both his master’s and doctoral degrees from İnönü University. Over the course of his academic career, he has made significant scholarly contributions to the fields of macroeconomics, economic policy, monetary policy, and agri-bioeconomy. His research particularly focuses on economic policy development, the bioeconomy, and the economies of Türkiye, Europe, and the wider global context. In addition to more than 100 articles and papers, he has edited five books and written chapters in two copyrighted books. In addition, he received 21 awards in various scientific and literary competitions. He is currently a professor of economic policy at İnönü University.