Farid Zahran, born in 1957, graduated from Cairo University's Faculty of Agriculture. He is an Egyptian politician who has a long history of struggle and is regarded as a pioneer in political thought and discourse. He is the chairman of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party and one of its founding members. He is also a founding member of Egypt's Social Democracy Movement and the author of numerous political and social books.

Zahran was a prominent political figure during the January 25 and June 30 revolutions, and he was a founding member of the National Salvation Front, which was established in 2012.

In the 1970s, Zahran was involved in the student movement, the bread uprising, and many nationalist positions, and he called for a national discourse renewal initiative that included the four spectrums representing the national forces.

He founded and chaired the board of directors of a publishing, translation, and information company that has published hundreds of books and received numerous international awards.

He is also a co-founder of the “Al Badil” newspaper. He also served as editor-in-chief of several periodicals and magazines, and he made numerous intellectual contributions.

José Borghino has been the Secretary General at the International Publishers Association (IPA) since 2015, after serving as a Policy Director in 2013.

Previously, he served as an Industry Representation Manager at the Australian Publishers Association. He was also a lecturer of Creative Industries and Literary journalism at the University of Sydney and editor at NewMatilda.com, in addition to serving as Executive Director at the Australian Society of Authors, and Acting Director & Senior Programme Manager of the Literature Board at the Australia Council for the Arts.

José Borghino holds a master’s degree in English literature from the University of Sydney, and a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Melbourne.