Symposium Speakers
Dan Ole Shani
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Open Doors
Born in Kenya, he learned about God from his father who was the first Christian in his family. Dan came to follow Jesus when he was 14, but his faith grew most when he attended a university in Indiana, USA.
After returning to Kenya, he served as an evangelist and preacher in the Presbyterian church where his parents were members. He has served as a deacon in Zambia and Senegal, elder in Mauritania and pastor in Senegal in different Evangelical churches. He and his wife co-founded a house church while they lived in Dakar, Senegal. Since 1983 his home church has been Nairobi Pentecostal Church where he and his wife Nellie celebrated their marriage in 1984.
Dan has served in international missions for over 35 years. He spent a decade working with World Vision International in management roles across East, West, and Southern Africa, and a decade of Vice-President roles led from the US and UK.
He holds a Master’s degree in International Development Management with the School for International Training in the USA. Dan joined Open Doors as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2017 and is based in the USA. Dan and Nellie have three adult children and three grandchildren.
George W
Regional Director
George started working with the persecuted Church in the 1990s as head of operations in what was then called southern Sudan. It was at the height of the war and, joined at times by his young family, he constantly travelled to Sudan from Kenya. They faced many dangers to bring encouragement and support to persecuted Christians in remote areas and to give theological training to five church leaders. This often happened in caves or under trees and was occasionally interrupted by aerial bombardments.
As the work expanded, George and the team often flew to war-affected remote areas from where they walked, often for days, to visit far-flung Christian communities. He eventually oversaw the building of a theological college in Yei where the ministry trained hundreds of pastors, their wives and lay leaders. The centre also came to offer training in teaching, basic healthcare, and farming. Today it is a university.
George has since led operations in East Africa, as regional head of training, and as head of research before being appointed as Regional Director for Sub Saharan Africa. He has a wealth of experience in various ministry disciplines.
Amiel
Insights Manager
AMJ serves at a Global Non-Profit Organization as the Insights Manager. He’s responsible for an annual research process in Sub Saharan Africa and Latin America in over 40 countries resulting in a product used in multiple forums internationally and stewarding of data resources for strategic decision making.
He has a background in Business Intelligence which he applied in the corporate world across multiple industries and NGOs for over 20 years, including as consultant to a UN entity.
He holds a Masters degree in Policy & Regulation, focused on legal compliance with privacy legislation, including a global comparative analysis of various legislation at the time.
As a young manager he attended a business school program which he has expanded to a specialization in Strategy through Harvard Business School and is currently a final year part time law student.
Dieudonné
IFES
Dieudonné is part of the national leadership of IFES – a Christian organization committed to youth development and humanitarian assistance to internally displaced people, many of whom are homeless due to the Islamic insurgency that has been raging in Burkina Faso since 2015.
He and his family have not been spared from religious persecution in the West African country. In 2019, a close relative was killed in an attack on a church in northern Burkina Faso. More recently, in 2024, residents of the village where his relatives live were forced to relocate due to terrorist activities, with some seeking refuge with his extended family in another city.
Dieudonné speaks to audiences about persecution and the resilience of the church. He holds a Masters degree in Communications.
Dr. Mohammed
Theologian and Seminary Professor
Dr. Mohamed-Ibrahim Yattara is a French and English-speaking Christian convert from Timbuktu. Brought up in a strict religious setting, he was instructed by schoolteachers never to accept food or water from Christians. Hearing his uncle’s testimony and reading the testimony of Bilquis Sheikh played an instrumental role in his coming to faith in Jesus Christ. He is now a leader among Mali’s 5% Christian minority and an outspoken advocate for freedom of religion in his country of birth.
As a theologian and seminary professor, Dr Yattara often engages in community development and human rights activism. Among other responsibilities, he also serves on the Executive Committee of AGEMPEM, the Association of Evangelical and Protestant Missions and Churches of Mali, and as President of the Relief and Social Development Branch of AGEMPEM and the Federation of Baptist Churches of Mali, respectively.
Dr. Yattara is a Master of Education graduate from the Ecole Normale Superieure in Bamako. He also holds two master’s degrees from Piedmont International University in Winston-Salem, United States of America (USA), and a Doctorate in Biblical Studies from Clarks Summit University, also in the USA.
Nassone
Pastor and University Lecturer
Nassone is an assistant pastor and university lecturer. He has lived in the Nampula Province of Mozambique for over 20 years. His hometown is immediately south of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, where a militant Islamic insurgency has been raging since late 2017.
Since December 2023, the northern region of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province has seen an escalation in attacks characterised by violence towards civilians and damage to houses, churches, schools, and health centres.
Nassone and his wife abide by James 1:17. Besides their three biological children, they have three adopted children. His church congregation includes parents with children who were forced to flee Cabo Delgado because of the militant Islamic insurgency.
Barrister John
Barrister and Lecturer
John is married to Esther, and they have 3 children. He is a Nigerian and more importantly, a Christian.
He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, holds a master’s degree in law from the University of Jos, and is working on his PhD in law. He is also a seasoned journalist, having worked as a reporter, news producer and TV & radio personality before becoming Deputy Director of News & Current Affairs and Legal Officer of Plateau Radio Television Corporation. Presently, he lectures media law & ethics at the Nigerian Television College. Other roles include serving as:
- Executive Director at the Centre for Human Rights & Prevention of Trafficking in Persons.
- Associate Member: Institute of Chartered Mediators & Conciliators.
- Nigeria representative at the Centre for Nonviolence and conflict transformation (CNCT), headquartered in the USA.
- A facilitator and resource person at Women for Women International, Nigeria, creating awareness on fundamental human rights, gender-based violence and child rights.
- Volunteer teacher on constitutional rights to Christians.