Murat Aliu was born in 1990. He finished his undergraduate studies at the State University of Tetova in 2011 at the Faculty of Law and obtained the title graduate jurist. He pursued his graduate studies at the Istanbul University in the Department of Political Sciences and International Relations, and in 2015 he defended his master thesis on the topic“The Conservative Thinkers and their Viewpoints: The Essential Problems of the Conservative Thinking: The Case of Turkey”. In the same year he started his doctorate studies at the same university and department. The scientific fields in which he continues his research are: Macedonian nationalism, ideologies, contemporary political theories, post-modern theories.

Bujamin Bela was born in 1986. In 2009 he obtained his bachelors degree from the Department of Business Administration at St. Cyril and Methodius Univeristy. In 2013, he obtained his masters degree in the MBA program at St. Cyril and Methodius Univeristy defending his thesis titled “The creation of integrated reward systems in the food industry organizations and a research on this topic”. In 2019, he completed his doctorate thesis in the Department of Business Administration at Istanbul University, in the Department of Human Resources on the topic “The Effect of the Perception of Pay Equality on the Intention to Leave the Work and the Moderation Role of Working Conditions and a Research on the Subject”. He now works as a lecturer at Mother Theresa University in Skopje and pursues his studies on business, management, pay equality and equity, and the economics of Northern Macedonia and the Balkans.

Shener Bilalli finished his primary education in the municipality of Tearce, and his highschool in the Medical Highschool in Tetova. In 2003 he completed his master studies in the Department of History at Ankara Gazi University. At the Institute of Education Studies of the same university he finished his second master in the subject of history on the topic “The Image of the Ottomans in the History Schoolbooks in Macedonia”. He finished his doctorate studies in 2012, at Macedonian History Institute on the topic “Ottoman Cities between the 18th-20th century”. Since 2008 he has been working as an assistant atInternational Balkan University in Skopje. At this university, he has had other administrative and academic roles, such as rector’s administrative assistant, chief of department, dean of the Faculty of Communications, member of the Senate and vice-Rector. Currently he is a docent and vice-rector of this university since 2016. He continues to pursue his lectures and academic studies in the field of political history, history of the Balkans and history of civilization.

Mevludin Ibish was born in Skopje. He finished his undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Law, Department of Political Sciences at St. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, North Macedonia. He obtained his master degree from Bologna University, Faculty of Political Sciences, in Italy and his doctorate degree in the Faculty of Law, University of Novi Pazar, in Serbia. Since 2010, he has been working at International Balkan University, initially as an assistant (2010-2015) and then as a docent (2015-2020). In April 2020, he was given the title associate professor at International Balkan University. At this same university, he has acted as pro-rector (2015-2016). Currently he is a full-ime lecturer at International Balkan University, department of political sciences, and a part-time lecturer at Sabahattin Zaim University in Turkey, department of political sciences and international relations, since 2015/16. His research and analysis expertise is the Balkans and Turkey, with particular focus on the political history, political parties, civil society and the political systems. Ibishi has published articles and reports on the political developments in the West Balkan countries and Turkey, and has conducted analyses on the development of euro-integrating policies, democratic processes, political culture, political leadership and political accountability. He is a member of the scientific board of several scientific magazines, and a participant in the organization of scientific conferences as a member of organizing and scientific boards. Since 2010 he acts as an advisor in the regional company Dauti and is a member of the excecutive board of the Albiz Foundation in Skopje since 2012. He speaks several languages, is married and is a father of three children.

Emin Lelić completed his education in Zagreb, Köln, and Chicago. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, where he defended his dissertation on “Ottoman Physiognomy (‘ilm-i firāset): A Window into the Soul of an Empire” in 2017. He is currently working on his monograph on Ottoman physiognomy. His secondary project is on the Ottoman-Habsburg-Venetian border region in the northwestern Balkans. His interests include the history of science, ethics, socio-political thought, imperial border regions, Ottoman Balkans, and Ottoman calligraphy.

Deniz Memedi was born in 1989. He finished his undergraduate studies at SouthEast Europe University in 2010 in the field of political sciences. At the same university he finished his graduate studies in the field of diplomacy with his master thesis titled “The Strategic Depth Doctrine and its Impact in Wester Balkans”. In 2015 he was awarded a scholarship by the Turkish Government to pursue his doctorate studies at Yildiz Teknik University in Istanbul in the Department of International Relations. In addition to his academic work, Memedi is a civil society activist. His topics of interest are: Turkish foreign policy in Wester Balkan, International Organizations, Macedonian politics and civil society.

Petar Todorov studied history at “Ss Cyril and Methodius” University of Skopje, earned his M.A. degree in Paris from the Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales – EHESS in 2006 and PhD degree from “Ss Cyril and Methodius” University of Skopje in 2013. His research interest is history of the 19th and 20th centuries Ottoman Empire and Balkans. He also deals with history education and use & abuse of history in contemporary societies. Participated in projects concerning dealing with the past and reconciliation. From 2009, he is working in the Institute of national history from Skopje.

She was born on December 24, 1976 in Sarajevo, where she finished school and higher education. At the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Sarajevo, she received her master’s degree in 2007, and she completed her PhD in 2012.
Since 2003, she has been employed at the Institute of History of the University of Sarajevo where she progressed from professional associate to scientific advisor in 2022.
The focus of her research is the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last decades of the Ottoman administration and the Austro-Hungarian period, with a special focus on social history and the history of everyday life.
During her career, she has published following books: Al-hayat bayn al-šarq wa al-garb — Al-Hayat al-yawmiyyah li nas fi Sarayifu fi nahayati al-qarn al-tasii asher (Sarajevo, 2012); Daša Jelić: View into the life of a woman in the last decades of Ottoman rule in Sarajevo (Belgrade,2016); From shops to theatres: Sarajevo merchant elite 1851–1878, (Sarajevo,2017); Everyday Life in Sarajevo 1850–1878, (Sarajevo, 2019); To be a Qadi in a Christian Empire, (Sarajevo, 2021.) and Arabic language in Bosnia and Herzegovina, (Sarajevo, 2021.). In addition, she has also translated and edited the travelogue Summer trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina by Muhamed Ali Pasha (Sarajevo, 2008).
She has also participated in several scientific conferences, was the editor of the journal Contributions of the Institute for History, and a member of the editorial boards of journals in Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad.
Her experience also includes leading several successful projects at the local and international level, and publishing several scientific papers, articles and reports in relevant publications and scientific journals.