The panel “Witches Around the World” will feature:

Jaha Dukureh
Jaha Dukureh, a Gambian activist against female genital mutilation (FGM), will be joining us. As an infant, Dukureh was subjected to this brutal procedure. After moving to New York, she became deeply involved in the fight against FGM through her organization, Safe Hands for Girls, which advocates for the ban of these practices. Her efforts contributed to the eventual banning of FGM in Gambia in 2015. Dukureh’s story is poignantly depicted in the 2017 documentary Jaha’s Promise, produced by The Guardian. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in management from Georgia Southwestern State University in 2013 and later earned a master’s degree in non-profit management from the University of Central Florida in 2018. She is also an American citizen since 2015.

Amanda Edmiston
Amanda Edmiston blends plants, herbs, and flowers with traditional stories, anecdotes, and her own narratives. Her work draws audiences into a magical world that is often humorous and full of unexpected twists. Each storytelling event is inspired by oral traditions, history, food, scents, places, objects, and the audience itself. Edmiston collaborates with museums, botanical gardens, libraries, and more, having worked with institutions like The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Glasgow), The National Library of Scotland (Edinburgh), and Chelsea Physic Garden (London). Her storytelling immerses audiences in layers of history, knowledge, and often forgotten wisdom of the natural world.

Michael Ostling
Michael Ostling, a scholar of religious studies at Arizona State University and co-editor of Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft (University of Pennsylvania Press), has published extensively on topics related to magic, witchcraft, religious theory, and the history of gender and emotions. His notable work includes the book Between the Devil and the Host: Imagining Witchcraft in Early Modern Poland. Ostling’s insightful analysis places the Polish witch at the intersection of European and Slavic worlds, high and low culture, church and state, formal judicial procedures and informal reconciliation rites, and religion and superstition.

The panel will be moderated by: Dr. Anna Jankowiak – An archaeologist, researcher, publicist, and blogger (known online as @wiedźma_od_wiedzy). Dr. Jankowiak’s research focuses on ancient cultures and their adaptation in the modern world, particularly within Nazi propaganda. She is the author of Bestiary of Antiquity: Monsters and Demons in the Ancient Worlds of Greece and Rome.