Ovi Team

MBa’s Dominican-Venezuelan-Brasilian cultural Heritage finds its way into his writings. MBa owes his humane nature to his biological mother. He also writes as a healing journey shared with siblings, soul mates, twin-flames-lovers and the cheering of children.

Dr. Alessandra Abis is a graduate of the school of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Bari. She, with her husband Arcangelo, founded the Adriani Theater in 1992 in Bitonto, Italy. She has performed in Greek-Latin plays in Madrid and Seville (1998-1999) in the following among others: “Voyage in the Greek World” (Andromaca), “Miles Gloriosus” (Plauto), “The Last Temptation of Socrates (from Plato’s Ione Minor). Also from the Commedia dell’Arte: “Harlequin Doctor Flyer,” “Harlequin, the Dentist,” and “Without Makeup (Chechov), “Four Portraits of Mothers” and Lady Madness (from Erasmus’ In Praise of Folly).

Manish Kumar Arora is a renowned KP Astrologer, Numerologist, Tarot Reader & Vastu Consultant. He has been rendering professional advice to clients with a reasonable degree of success. He has been conferred with the title of 'Jyotish Varahamihir' and 'Jyotish Aryabhatt.'  He has been writing monthly astrological columns for more than 30 international magazines. For personalised reading he can be contacted at :manish@manishastrologer.com

Lilian Badani. A dreamer. Rock, blues, jazz and …that’s it. Rarely falling in love but it lasts for long. Also getting angry rarely though when it happens it is a big bang boom!

Λίλιαν Μπαντάνη. Ονειροπόλα, ροκ, μπλουζ, τζαζ και τελειώσαμε. Ερωτεύομαι σπάνια, αλλά πολύ και με μεγάλη διάρκεια. Θυμώνω επίσης σπάνια, αλλά όταν τα παίρνω στο κρανίο, τραβάω μια κόκκινη γραμμή και δεν γυρίζω πίσω το κεφάλι μου, ούτε για να φτύσω.

Former legal practitioner and the president of Young Lawyers Association of BiH Bar (late ‘80s). Former MFA official and career diplomat (early ‘90s). Research Fellow at the Institute for Modern Political-history analyses, Dr. Bruno Kreisky Foundation; Legal and Political Advisor for CEE at the Vienna-based Political Academy, Dr. Karl Renner (mid 1990s).

Later, he served as a Senior Legal Officer and Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Vienna (ICMPD Liaison unit with Governments and IOs) at the Vienna based HQ of the Intergovernmental Organization ICMPD (International Centre for Migration Policy Development).

Last ten years, attached to the IMC University, Department of Export EU–NAFTA–ASEAN, he serves as a Chairman for the Intl. Law and Global Pol. Studies. He is in the scientific committee of several European and overseas think-tanks, either a guest-columnist or the Editorial Board member of newspapers, journals and magazines such as the NY-based GHIR (Geopolitics, History, Intl. Relations), Canada-based GoE (Geopolitics of Energy) or Jakarta-based Seputar Media.

Prof. Bajrektarevic is the author of dozens ILAW/JHA– and SD–related presentations, publications, speeches, seminars, research colloquiums as well as of numerous public events (round tables and study trips, etc.). He lives in Vienna, Austria.

Shola Balogun, playwright, poet and writer whose creative Muse is the Mystic ladder of Yoruba world and Judeo-Christian thoughts, is from Yoruba,southwestern Nigeria. He received his Masters Degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, specializing in Literary and Dramatic Criticism.
He was the winner of the First Educare Trust’s Olaudah Equiano Poetry Prize (2002) and the Festival of Peace Poetry Award (2005) organized by the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan. He is the author of a collection of poetry, The Cornwoman of Jurare and Other Poems (2007). His books The Wrestling of Jacob, Praying Dangerously: the Cry of Blind Bartimaeus, and Death and Suicide In Selected African Plays, are available at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Shola-Balogun/e/B00LPRQU10 and select bookstores. His play, Egue Eghae, is ready for the stage. Shola Balogun also writes stories for children. His Yoruba background and encounter at the age of 21 with the poetry of John Donne and William Shakespeare influenced his creative writing.

Dr Saidu Bangura is an Assistant Professor at the University of Cape Verde from 2016 to date. He lectures in the English Studies Course, Faculty of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, where he has been the Director of the Masters in English Studies: Linguistics and English Language Teaching, a new academic program he helped build at the University of Cape Verde. He has also coordinated Languages and Literature in the Scientific Council of the University of Cape Verde.

He holds a B.A. in English & Linguistics (FBC, USL); PhD in Translation, Communication, and Culture with a specialty in English Linguistics (University of Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain).
Apart from his academic research, publications and other engagements, Dr Bangura writes poems and has published some of his poems (in English, Portuguese, and Cape Verdean) in newspapers, academic books, and poetry anthologies.

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Dr. Maria Buccolo teaches and researches theater at the University of Roma Tre in Rome. She is a graduate of the University of Bari and has participated in various projects aiming at establishing cultural bridges among nations and people among which the Project for the integration of immigrants via the theater “Leonardo da Vinci Transfert Multilaterale dell’Innovazione” as organized at the University of Florence and to which participated four nations of the EU: France, Italy. Belgium, and Rumania. She has done research on the methodology of the entrepreneurial theater. She has collaborated with Theatre a la Carte of Paris for its dissemination at the International level. She is also editor of the publication “Una scena tra l’altra” as well as researcher for the interdisciplinary project of Unesco for human development aiming at a culture of peace, a project at the University of Florence. She is a member of the International Association of Drama/Theater/Education, author of the books La formazione va in scena (La Terza, 2008), L’educazione emotive nell’infanzia (FrancoAngeli, 2013), Teatro e Formazione with S. Mongili and E. Tonon (FrancoAngeli 2012),  Manuale per Form-attori con S. Mongili and E. Napolitano (Dino Audino, 2013).

Neil Burlington studied art at Georgian College in Barrie Ontario Canada. He is currently working on a comic book called 'Wilderness' . A page from the book was recently added to How-To-Draw-Funny-Cartoons.com. His cartoon Sunny Skies appears at: www.sunnyskiescomic.blogspot.com and is updated regularly. His other interests include writing and science fiction. Favourite food? Sushi!

Katerina Charisi is a bilingual, fiction and non-fiction writer from Greece.

A researcher of the stars, mathematics and life an agnostic that balances between rare flowers and unseen galaxies

Cátia Cóias (29) is a Lisbon-based artist and photographer. She attended the Fine Arts course, London Metropolitan University, and the Photography course

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Hunter Dasten was born May 3rd 1987 in Marietta, Georgia. He currently lives and writes in Savannah, Georgia.

Longtime Borneo watcher Joe Fernandez is a graduate mature student of law and an educationist, among others, who loves to write especially Submissions for Clients wishing to Act in Person. He also tutors at local institutions and privately. He subscribes to Dr Stephen Hawking’s “re-discovery” of the ancient Indian theory that “the only predictable property of the universe is chaos”. He feels compelled, as a semi-retired journalist, to put pen to paper -- or rather the fingers to the computer keyboard -- whenever something doesn't quite jell with his weltanschauung (worldview) or to give a Hearing to All. He shuttles between points in the Golden Heart of Borneo formed by the Sabah west coast, Labuan, Brunei, northern Sarawak and the watershed region in Borneo where three nations meet. He’s half-way through a semi-autobiographical travelogue, A World with a View...

Joseph "Yossi" Gatt. I like to write about a little bit of everything. Check out my Goodreads profile for more information or to contact me: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/96203474-joseph-gatt  and you can always check out my Blog: https://yossigatt.blogspot.com/"

President of the Italian Institute of Advanced Studies in Geopolitics and Auxiliary Sciences (Istituto di Alti Studi in Geopolitica e Scienze Ausiliarie, IsAG) and Editor-in-Chief of Geopolitica. (Geopolitics. Journal of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Geopolitics and Auxiliary Sciences.

(www.istituto-geopolitica.eu

www.geopolitica-rivista.org )

Expert in geopolitics, has published numerous articles on Geopolitics in several Academic Journal [World Affairs (India), Geopolitics (Romania), Geopolitika (Serbia), Vestniki Analitiki (Russia), International Affairs (Russia), Гуманитарные науки Вестник Финансового университета (Russia), Social'naja Ekonomika (Ukraine), Geosur (Uruguay), Africana (Italy), Eurasia (Italy)]. - Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Eurasia (from 2004 –2011).

In 2010 he founded the ISAG - Institute of Advanced Studies in Geopolitics and Auxiliary Sciences of which he is still President. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Italian academic magazine, Geopolitica. Journal of IsAG.

He taught scientific matters (Science and Technology of Advanced Ceramics) from 1998 to 2008 at University of Perugia (Italy) and L'Aquila (Italy).

He has taught at several Masters on Geopolitics (University of Teramo (Italy), Orientale di Napoli (Italy), University Kore of Enna (Italy).

For ICE (Italian Trade Commission) he visited several countries, among them: Uzbekistan, China, India, Argentina, Libya.

He has been consultant for EIB (European Investment Bank) in Tunisia.
Member of several Scientific Committees.

Ovi Greece Περιοδικό άποψης, τέχνης, περιβάλλοντος και κοινωνικής επέμβασης.
https://ovigreek.wordpress.com/

John Harvey. I work as a media relations consultant in Cape Town, South Africa. Prior to this, I worked as a journalist contributing articles to a number of South African and international publications including Barcroft Media, the New York Daily News, Eyewitness News, Cape Times, Business Day, The Star and the Cape Argus. I love writing about current events, and am inspired by the works of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Pilger, George Orwell and P.J O’ Rourke.

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Craig is originally from Scotland, but now lives in Helsinki with his fiancée and lunatic of a dog. He works for a magazine based in Finland but contributes to a number of different publications as a freelance writer. Dundee United, football in general and rugby remain his passions, although living in the far north has installed an unhealthy love of ice hockey in him.

Murray has been around the traps of entrepreneurship for too long. He is a long time expat from Australia who has made Malaysia his home and tried his hand at everything from agriculture to computers, to food, to spas and to cosmetics. Now he is taking the easy life as an associate professor at a university close to you. Murray spends half his time in Thailand and the other half looking for opportunities in Malaysia. Murray is passionate and deadly earnest about entrepreneurship and believes everybody should have the chance to “have a go”. Murray’s columns focus on giving some simple and practical ideas about the game of entrepreneurship and personal development based on his immense experience and the insights.  His pleasure is your success.

Γιάννης Ιωακειμίδης, Ντόπιος τριών πόλεων. Ανασαίνει μέσα σε διαδρόμους βιβλιοπωλείων και στα στενά των πόλεων. Λατρεύει τόσο πολύ την φωτογραφία και την ροκ που η κοπέλα του αναγκάστηκε να μάθει κι απ τα δύο.

Elsa Lycias Joel. I hold  a doctorate in biotechnology. member of research gate with more than ten research publications of mangrove fungi. freelance a lot. worked with the new indian express as sub editor for a year or so. write for children's magazines like Junior Chandamama,The children's magazine by PCM publishers since 2004 and Children's world by CBT. I also contribute to Womans Era, Readers Digest, I Quote, Women Exclusive (WE), infinithoughts, couples magazine and other regional dailies. recently authored a children's book named "Perfect Endings',  the author's copy of which was signed by none other than the former president of India Dr. Abdul Kalam

I write since I was 18 years old, from fairy tales to science fiction novels, still I am not a writer, I …scribble funny cartoons. I did it for 5 years proficiently for two of the most popular Greek magazines, but I am not a painter. I am writing lyrics and music, I actually sang once a song in front of millions TV viewers on a contest, but I am not a musician. I was for 10 years the head of a marketing department in the largest CD-DVD manufacturer in Greece, but I am not a marketer. I finished a fashion designer school, but I never made a single clothe… I am 62 years-old now and I am trying to find what am I. Maybe you can help me find out. My name is George Kalatzis and I still live in Greece. Maybe this is the answer for all this mess above.

Graduate of the West Macedonia Art School, Greece with love in interior design and installations.

Saloni Kaul, author and poet, was first published at the age of ten and has stayed in print since on four continents. As critic and columnist Saloni has enjoyed forty two years of being published. Saloni Kaul's first volume, a fifty poem collection was published in the USA in 2009. Subsequent volumes include Universal One and Essentials All.
As broadcaster Saloni had won considerable acclaim with innumerable features and documentaries to her credit as writer producer-presenter.

Most recent Saloni Kaul poetic production has been published in Poetry Quarterly, Tipton Poetry Journal, Inwood Indiana, Eye On Life Magazine, The Horrorzine, Mad Swirl (contains ongoing Saloni Kaul poetry page), The Penwood Review, The Voices Project, Scarlet Leaf Review, Taj Mahal Review, OVI Magazine, Blueline (State University of New York magazine), Five 2 One Journal, The City Poetry, The Lake, The Whimperbang Journal, House Of Horror Glitter & Words,  Mantis (Stanford University magazine), The Paragon Press Journal, The Imaginate (Rutger's University magazine) and Amulet Poetry Magazine. Upcoming publication acceptances include those of The Imaginate Zine, The Penwood Review, Scarlet Leaf Review, OVI and The Horrorzine.

A retired Brig Gen from Pakistan Army, served 32 years. A veteran of ‘1971Indo-Pak War’, has been instructor in officers’ Pakistan Military Academy, commanded Divisional as well as Corps Artillery, with two tenures in prestigious Military Operations Directorate, GHQ. Also twice served as ‘Director’ in GHQ. Holds first class Master’s degree in International Relations as well as PhD, acquired in 2002-2007 from University of Peshawar, Pakistan. Authored a book, published by a US publisher, writes frequently in national and international media. Has attended several seminars and conferences within the country and abroad. Travelled to Cambodia, Thailand, Switzerland, UK, US, UAE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Germany (twice). Is member of IFIMES Slovenia, an analyst of ‘Modern Diplomacy’ and on authors’ panel of ‘Eurasia Review’. Lives in Lahore garrison, plays golf with 16 handicaps.
FB: www.facebook.com/muhammadaslam.khan.14

Kola King is a journalist and novelist. He has worked for over three decades as a reporter, correspondent and editor in major national newspapers in Nigeria. He’s currently Managing Editor, Nigeria Now, a public policy magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital. He also writes for The Africa Paper, Minnesota, USA, He’s a columnist with Public Review newspaper, Freetown, Sierra-Leone. His debut novel A Place in the Sun was published and released in May 2016 by Verity Publishers, Pretoria, South Africa. His writings have appeared in some literary journals including The Kalahari Review, The Missing Slate Literary and Arts Journal, Litro and The New Black Magazine. He holds a degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos. 

Phantiwa Kongsiri was born 1987 in Bhavarat village Isan, where she grew up and finished her high school. She graduated from Wendy Cooking School in Bangkok. She spent six years in Europe - Hungary and a year and a half in Turkey and India. Now she lives in Thailand and devotes her tome to cooking and researching the recipes of Thai regions. She is particularly interested in the health effects of food.

Greek journalist, chief editor of Apopseis.gr

A journalist by profession, a parliamentarian by honour and faith. With long history in the Greek political life since mid 1970s and member of the Greek parliament for the last decade.

Emre Kovacs is an independent scholar-artist.  He is committed to the research of the common roots and interaction of Eurasian cultures from the stone age up to our days. He is a spiritual teacher, the author of  books, articles and artworks, creator of large granite stones and bronzes. For spiritual teachings he uses an ancient native script  of deep symbolism which he researched, practices and teach as well. He has an interdisciplinary background reflecting his various interests including the fine arts, art history, linguistics, theology, religious studies, computer system design and cultural anthropology. He travels frequently in Eurasia.  He had several intellectual and spiritual teachers in different parts of the world.

Nikos Laios:poet,writer,artist,philosopher,and citizen of the world.Lived in Greece,and now in North Sydney,Australia.My home is any cafe with a warm heart,a glass of wine,and partaking in a symposium on life with new friends,with joy and laughter.

Neil Leadbeater is an international author, editor, essayist, poet  and critic living in Edinburgh, Scotland. His short stories, articles and poems have been published widely in anthologies and journals both at home and abroad. His most recent books are Librettos for the Black Madonna (White Adder Press, Scotland, 2011); The Worcester Fragments (Original Plus Press, England, 2013); The Loveliest Vein of Our Lives (Poetry Space, England, 2014), The Fragility of Moths (Bibliotheca Universalis, Romania, 2014) and Sleeve Notes (Bibliohteca Universalis, Romania, 2016). A selection of his poems in Spanish, La Transmissión de la Noche is due to be published in Buenos Aires, Argentina, later this year. He is a regular reviewer for the on-line journal Galatea Resurrects (A Poetry Engagement) (USA) and his work has been translated into Romanian, Spanish and Swedish.

Dr. Derrick Lim is an American academic who has lived in Malaysia, Thailand and the U.S. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and has been published in several research journals. 

Shahid Lone is a widely published international columnist‎ from Indian occupied Kashmir. His columns have appeared in Independent, The Post, Midweek, Modern Diplomacy, Eurassia Review etc. He rebuts newly constructed Schisms by Philosophical Understanding of Quran and Prophetic Narrations. He is an avid disseminator and propagator of the message of Quran.  He is  currently working on Literature survey of Islamic Economics and Finance with keen focus on Risk Management.

Oil Price is one of the leading energy news sites online. The site has news and opinion on all fossil fuels covering crude oil, natural gas and coal. 50% of our content is also focused on alternative energy and the environment where we cover solar energy, wind power, and all other clean energy technologies. The site also contains crude oil price charts and crude oil consumption tables. Our crude oil price charts cover three month periods and our energy tables cover crude oil production and crude oil consumption alongside coal, natural gas, nuclear power and all other major energy sub-sectors.

Avgi Meleti is of Greek origin. She has a BA in English & Greek literature and a MA in Education & Civilisation. She is married and she has three children.

need bio

Gordana Mudri Born in 1965 in Croatia, skilful with words and hands, head full of images and ideas that are just waiting to break free, drawers filled with hidden works.

Bouke S. Nagel studied Business Administration as part of the Social Sciences at the Radboud University in Nijmegen in the Netherlands. He is an avid reader and likes to write. Over the past years Mr. Nagel published his so-called “explorations” and other pieces in OVI-Magazine on topics such as the EU, contemporary populism, democracy and the financial crisis. These were received very well by the OVI-readership and for that he is grateful. Comments or remarks on his articles and thoughts are appreciated. 

What to say without saying too much?  I was born in 1942, and have degrees in philosophy and political science from Columbia University and the New School for Social Research, and there is very little that I am not interested in.  I have studied all of the social sciences, only to find out that they were not "scientific" in the strong sense.  But I did come away with a lack of piety about those disciplines.  For example, I do not believe in economists, but I do relish economic history.
At 32 I went to the New School to study philosophy and found a home.  I became, in turn, an expert on Hannah Arendt, on Aristotle, Plato, and later wrote a long book on Kafka, the smartest guy on the planet.  I founded a philosophy journal that has survived to this day.
I have taught over time at a dozen colleges, in New York and London, but got attached to none, and worked often as a social worker or in some other region of social services.
It's all the manic depression thing, either an undirected layabout or a man visiting many research institutions seeking out the least known detail of something I cannot live without getting to the bottom of.
Up until some months ago I was working on another long project, in the philosophy of history, which I have taught several times, but it burgeoned so greatly I had an outline of several hundred pages and left the project out of boredom.  But I have just taken it up again.  If I get busy as a dung beetle, I could write on what I have already learned about this subject primarily, though I assert with full confidence that everything interests me, and even I cannot predict exactly where I will wind up on a given topic.

Theodore K. Nasos, researcher, ghost writer, observer.

Prof. Michael Newman received his Master’s in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Eastern Michigan University. He discovered his love for teaching this subject while living abroad. He moved to South Florida and began his journey seeking a tenure track position. Currently he has attained this and is serving at Broward College in South Florida. Along with teaching, Michael’s great passion is that of philosophical writing and discussion.

Chad Norman poems have appeared for nearly 40 years in literary publications across Canada, as well as a number of other countries around the world, and also translated into Albanian, Spanish, Polish, Chinese, Turkish, Italian, and Portugese.
He hosts and organizes RiverWords: Poetry & Music Festival each year in Truro, NS., held at Riverfront Park, the 2nd Saturday of each July.
In October 2016 he was invited by the Nordic Assn. for Canadian Studies to give talks on Canadian Poetry and read from his books at Borupgaard Gym in Copenhagen, and Risskov Gym in Aarhus, as well as other readings in both cities, and Malmo, Sweden. Because of that tour Norman has started the manuscript, Counting Coins In Denmark And Sweden.
 In October of 2017 he read at various Eastern Canada venues in Kingston, Ottawa, and Montreal, reading poems from his Selected and New collection, published by Mosaic Press (Oakville, ON).
In October of 2018 he read at various types of venues from universities to cafes to pubs throughout Ireland, Scotland, Wales, while there he visited Swansea and slept three nights in the room where Dylan Thomas was born. A celebration of Canadian Poetry took place during this tour too.
His most recent books are Simona: A Celebration Of The S.P.C.A., out 2021 from Cyberwit. Net Press (India), and Squall: Poems In The Voice of Mary Shelley, out 2020 from Guernica Editions (Toronto). And a new book, A Matter Of Inclusion, is due out 2022 from Mwanaka Media And Publishing ( Zimbabwe).

He is currently a member of The League Of Canadian Poets.

Mitterand Okorie is a Nigerian. He holds a Bachelors Degree in International Relations from Eastern Mediterranean University, North Cyprus. He self-published his poetry collection titled 'A Season of Allegories'. He is working on what would be his first Novel 'Torn'.

Ovi magazine hosts articles and essays from visitor writers and experts to their fields.

Prof. Ernesto Paolozzi (Napoli, 1954), è stato borsista presso l’ Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Storici (fondato da Benedetto Croce) E’ stato direttore scientifico della Fondazione Luigi Einaudi di Roma. Attualmente è componente del Comitato scientifico.
E’ docente di Storia della Filosofia Contemporanea presso l’Università Suor Orsola Benincasa di Napoli. E’ membro del Comitato scientifico dell'Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici
Autore di vari saggi e volumi tra i quali: I problemi dell’estetica italiana, Napoli, 1985. - Vicende dell’estetica, Napoli, 1989. - Guido Cortese, (con Raffaello Franchini), Napoli, 1990. - Ha curato il Carteggio Croce – Mann, Napoli, 1991. - L’identità liberale in una società in trasformazione, Napoli, 1992. - Il liberalismo come metodo, Roma, 1995. - La rivoluzione ingenerosa, Napoli, 1996. - Ha curato l’edizione del Profilo di Tocqueville, - di Vittorio De Caprariis, Napoli, 1996. - Benedetto Croce, Napoli, 1998. - Libertà, democrazia, repubblica, Napoli, 2000 - Con Valerio Zanone ed altri autori:Critica della ragion liberale, Napoli, 2000. - L’estetica di Benedetto Croce, Napoli, 2002 (trad. russa a cura di Svletana Maltzeva). - Con Giuseppe Gembillo e Giuseppe Giordano:Liberalismo, scienza, complessità. Messina, 2004.
Bioetica: una scienza per la vita, Milano, 20009
Benedetto Croce e il metodo liberale, Ravenna, 2010
Treasurer for the Italian Institute for Historical Studies. - Director for Foundation Luigi Einaudi of Rome. - Professor of History and Philosophy at the Suor Orsola Benincasa University, Naples - Member of the Italian Commitee for historical studies.

Emanuel L. PAPARELLA
Lake Worth, Florida
May 3, 1942 - Jan 31, 2018

A former Fulbright scholar, Professor Emanuel Paparella directed the Summer Program in Urbino, Italy for the University of Central Florida, and accomplished two major translations from the Italian: Vitorio Possenti's Philosophy and Revelation (Ashgate Publishing, London, 2001) and the forthcoming Diego Fabbri's Jesus on Trial. Since 2000 he was active in the debate on the European Union while writing, lecturing and teaching Humanities part time at Barry University. Emanuel Paparella, Lino, lived in Florida with his wife Catherine and his three daughters Cristina, Alessandra, and Francesca.

George Cassidy Payne is originally from the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York. He now lives and works in the City of Rochester, New York. George is a poet, photographer, essayist, professor of philosophy, and social worker.

George's poetry has been included in a variety of  journals and magazines, including Chronogram Magazine, Allegro Poetry Journal, Mojave Heart, the Red Porch Review, Albany Up the River Poets Journal, Teahouse, The Adirondack Almanack,The Mindful Word, Talker of the Town, Pulsar, Moria Poetry Journal, Ampersand Literary Review, and many others.

George's letters and editorials have appeared in The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the South China Morning Post, the Syracuse Post-Standard, the Buffalo News, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Minority Reporter, Chicago Crusader, Amsterdam News, and the Albany Times Union.

When he is not writing or taking photographs of natural landscapes, he works as a domestic violence counselor, adjunct instructor of philosophy, and social justice activist. George has a beautiful wife and two wonderful children named Mendon and Ellison. You can reach him at 585-703-9230/icaj2000@yahoo.com.

Brett Petruzzelli. A college student offering a young person’s insight into a wide variety of topics.

Stan Popovich is the author of "A Layman's Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods" - an easy to read book that presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: http://www.managingfear.com/ 

Thanos Raftopoulos. Born in early 1970’s in south Athens, with a variety of professions in my career path and the mishap to have worked for a dozen of years for a devastated sector in Greece, the one of cars. I consider myself a modern satirical cartoonist, highly recognized by all my close friends! They also blame me on how I can deliver such sense of humour embodied in art, while I never eat sweets or sugar at any use… I also adore biking, innovative and imaginative creations.

Dr. Azly Rahman grew up in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and holds a Columbia University (New York City) doctorate in International Education Development and multiple Masters Degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication, and currently pursuing a fifth in Creative Writing. He has written more than 350 analyses/essays on Malaysia and global issues. His writings have appeared in scholarly forums in China, Australia, Europe, Indonesia, Malaysia, Denmark, Finland, and the United States. His 25 years of teaching experience in Malaysia and the United States spans over a wide range of subjects, from elementary to graduate education. He has edited and authored seven books; Multiethnic Malaysia: Past, Present, Future (2009), Thesis on Cyberjaya: Hegemony and Utopianism in a Southeast Asian State (2012), The Allah Controversy and Other Essays on Malaysian Hypermodernity (2013), Dark Spring: Essays on the Ideological Roots of Malaysia's General Elections-13 (2013), a first Malay publication Kalimah Allah Milik Siapa?: Renungan dan Nukilan Tentang Malaysia di Era Pancaroba (2014), Controlled Chaos: Essays on Mahathirism, Multimedia Super Corridor and Malaysia’s ‘New Politics’ (2014), and One Malaysia under God, Bipolar (2015). He is currently working on his eighth book, on Gifted and Talented Education in Malaysia, honoring a prominent educator. He currently resides in the United States where he teaches courses in Education, Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Political Science, and American Studies.

Warren Reed was an intelligence officer with the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS). Trained by MI6 in London, he served in Asia and the Middle East. His latest spy novel is An Elephant on Your Nose, set in Japan, China and South Korea immediately prior to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Osvaldo Rocha is a lecturer at different Mexican universities and a freelance translator of English, German and Scandinavian languages. He studied international politics in Mexico and Norse literature in Iceland, and is a contributor to publications from Latin America, North America, Europe and Asia.

Virginia Maria Romero is a visionary artist with works in public, and museum permanent collections, as well as numerous private collections throughout the United States and abroad. Romero’s biographical artist profile is included on the New Mexico Office of the State Historian website: www.newmexicohistory.org; and in 2013 Romero was recognized as a distinguished Artist and Poet by the American Council for Polish Culture.

The style, color, and compositions of Romero’s acrylics as well as her pigmented wood panels (retablos) and sculpture continue to exhibit her uniqueness and creative quality. Romero is one of a handful of “Anglos” to be counted among the santero artists of the American Southwest with works inspired by the culture of New Mexico and her Polish/Irish heritage that are just as strongly driven by her own experiences, setting her works apart from others. In reference it has been said that, “Romero has taken an ancient art form and redefined it, reinvented it, and made it her own.” “Virginia Maria Romero’s art speaks a language unlike any other…it is a language of the heart, of the soul, of life...”

Annabelle writes articles on the interesting things she finds in life, particularly on what it is like to have a gay father. Her writing aims to show honesty of the human condition and always tries to hold a little bit of hope. She is a Scriptwriting major in Melbourne, Australia having one play produced in 2012 titled 'Taking Leave' that explores teen suicide amongst classmates and teachers in a moving and at times humourous way. Annabelle's next play titled 'The Devil's Razor' explores the lives of two men in a psychiatric centre.

Edwin Rywalt is a computer specialist living in Pennsylvania with his family. He is a talented and accomplished pianist with a college education from Columbia University and a life---long scholarly interest in the nexus between science, technology, and the liberal arts. Beginning in May 2014 he will be offering pro bono services to the Ovi Symposium with typo correction editing and other useful suggestions aiming at improving the overall format of the twice a month section of Ovi magazine. Perhaps in the future, if his commitments allow it, he may decide to join the Symposium’s ongoing dialogue.

Valerie Sartor is an educational researcher living in Inner Mongolia, China.

Dr Mohd Shahidan Shaari is a senior lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Perlis. He earned his PhD in economics, specialising in energy and environmental economics from Universiti Utara Malaysia. He has 9 years of teaching experience and has published more than 30 research articles.

Zulfikar Shariff, spent years working in sales and marketing before realising that he preferred talking to selling.  So he went into education. He writes on Islam, politics and international relations. He writes at fitrahmedia.com

David Sparenberg is a world citizen, environmental & peace advocate & activist, actor, poet-playwright, storyteller, teacher and author.

Symposium for the Exploration of the Nature of Art within Modernity and the Envisioning of a New Humanism

Participants:

Dr. E. L. Paparella has a Ph.D. in Italian Humanism with a dissertation on Giambattista Vico from Yale University. He currently teaches philosophy at Barry University and Broward College in Florida.

Dr. Ernesto Paolozzi teaches history of contemporary philosophy at the University Suor Orsola Benincasa of Naples. A Croce scholar and an expert on historicism, he has written widely, especially on aesthetics and liberalism vis a vis science.

Dr. Lawrence Nannery. Has studied at Boston College, Columbia University and at The New School for Social Research where he obtained his Ph.D. He founded The Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal and authored The Esoteric Composition of Kafka’s Corpus. Devising Nihilistic Literature, 2 vols. Mellen Press.

Natasa Tsitsiridaki

Νατάσα Τσιτσιριδάκη

Osy Mizpah Unuevho studied geology at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria. He says rocks and their small rooms are not his only interests. He writes, reads & collects poetry; Pneuma music & paintings; and loves to go up hills & the sea & meet new people. He is a member of the Hill Top Creative Arts Foundation, Minna where he helped as mentor & editor and has participated in creative workshops & book review meetings. His works have begun appearing quietly on electronic magazines: Lunaris Review; Praxis MagOnline; Poets in Nigeria (PIN); Pangolin Review; AfricanWriter & chapbooks (Praxis MagOnline). He believes all the above do not matter but that his neighbor loves God too.

Dr. Michael Vena is a former professor emeritus at Southern Connecticut State University. He has a Ph.D. in Italian Humanism (with a dissertation on Leon Battista Alberti) from Yale University. He has published a book on Italian theater titled Italian Grotesque Theater (2001). Recently he has published an English collection of modern Italian plays by well known playwrights such as Pirandello, Fabbri and De Filippo.

An Englishman with high choloestrol in his late-20s, working in a profession nobody understands, living in a country even fewer understand, but proud to be a member of Ovi. Time to walk the dog.

Tony was born way back in the crazy, far out, groovy sixties; ’62 in fact…That’s him over to the left. He currently lives with the four people inside his head, somewhere in Australia. His Hobbies are Arthritis and Medication. Was once in the Television Industry as a Cameraman/Editor for 24 years. Cartooning and Drawing is something Tony’s been doing naturally on-and-off ever since he could walk, but nothing professional, just doddles for Family and Friends; that is, until in 2004 he decided to give Cartooning a full-time red-hot go ( the silly fool! ), and he’s never looked back; partly due to the Arthritis in his neck.

His work has been sold, bought, used and licenced around the World in areas such as: The Movie industry, Law firms, Software companies, Theatre and Arts, Universities, Colleges, Schools, Churches, Small business, Blog sites, Websites, Newsletters, Merchandise and much, much more! This has kept him very happy and from going sane.

Tony's site: www.berserkalert.com.au

SHOP: www.cafepress.com.au/berserkalertcartoons