Professor Hardy is Chair of Intercultural Relations and founding Director of the Centre for Trust, Peace, and Social Relations at Coventry University. He directs the RISING Global Peace Forum. At Coventry, he had responsibility for strategic work in peace education and human security and for the University’s interface with the UN System. From 1995 until 2011, as a senior civil servant, Mike was a senior director with the British Council with responsibilities, among others, for the Council’s global
cultural relations programme for Intercultural Dialogue, youth engagement and so-called ‘soft-power’
global strategic partnerships; his work with British Council included overseas diplomatic postings in
Egypt, East Jerusalem and Indonesia.He was Developed Vetting security cleared.

Mike is an applied economist by training and earlier in his career was Head of Economics and Public
Policy at (now) Leeds Beckett University (1977-87) before moving to a Chair in International Business
at the University of Central Lancashire (1987-92). He was a Fulbright Scholar in the US where his policy
and research work in economics was focused on well-being and life opportunities for young people, on
local jobs plans and skills for development in local labour markets.

In 1995, following work as expert with the UK Government in Russia and East Europe, British Council and European Commission, Mike moved full time to British Council to develop international work in intercultural relations. Mike was appointed to frame and lead British Council’s global programme in intercultural dialogue.

Through his leadership British Council’s work worldwide increased its emphasis on working with difference and with inter- and intra-community relations. His interest was with disconnected and underemployed young people. His portfolio included British Council’s international work with schools and skills, networks of young global citizens and capacity development within civil societies worldwide as well as supporting partnerships which work with conflict and post conflict contexts of violence and more vulnerable people and communities in fragile states. As a strategic leader, he was active in policy advocacy in international affairs and public diplomacy, most notably in Muslim majority countries.

From 2008, Mike designed and led a major British Government Global Initiative, ‘Reconnect’, focused on engaging with disconnected, isolated and vulnerable young people living in diverse communities. In 2009, Mike was appointed as lead expert for ‘Identity’ for the Vodafone-sponsored new Future-Agenda Initiative. Following presentation and publication of his essays and collaborations, Future: Next Exit (2009), and Future Agenda-the World in 2020 (2010), he was invited to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2011, Davos-Klosters. At British Council, he commissioned the transformational “Our Shared Europe” and “Belief in Dialogue” programmes winning international acclaim and major funding support (Carnegie Foundation). He designed and introduced the Active Citizenship project –a leadership initiative for young people using appreciative enquiry and collective social action for the first
time. This programme recently celebrated its 10 years of implementation in 77 countries with 1163 partners and over 286,000 participants. During that period, Professor Hardy transformed a global ‘Next Generation’ project for young influencers into a the ‘Now Generation’ project highlighting his passion for accelerating the position and influence of young people (not prepared to ‘wait’ for succession nor permission.)

He was invited to return to the academy in 2011 to a new Chair in Intercultural Relations at Coventry University to build a new Peace Research Centre at Coventry (the UK’s City of Peace and Reconciliation did not have a world-leading Centre for peace education –it has now!) Here, Mike’s inspirational leadership was instrumental in securing a £20 million investment in the University Research Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations which grew from a staff of 16 to over 95 in five short years, an unparalleled growth rate and path within the social sciences in UK HE at a university for the 21st Century.

Mike brought his experience of managing £ multi-million budgets and has created a financially strong and sustainable business –fully meeting the investment expectations of the University, and enabling the Centre to grow its scholarships and commitments to young, early-career researchers. From that base, with the support of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, among others, he launched the RISING Global Peace Forum (www.rising.org) and he continues to contribute to conferences, global discussions and applied research in cultural relations, intercultural dialogue, multiculturalism, diversity and pluralism.

In recent years Mike has addressed the highest levels of international organisations, the General Council at UNESCO, the International Organisation on Migration and the Council of Europe and
presented at the UN in NYC during the General Assembly meetings in 2018. He is active with UNESCO and the UN Alliance of Civilizations; he is lead advisor to the World Forum for Intercultural Dialogue in Baku with the Government of Azerbaijan and a consortium of international organisations including five UN agencies (UNESCO, UNAoC, FAO, IOM and UNWTO) and Council of Europe, ISESCO for OIC. He played a leading role in persuading and encouraging these to work together; he directs the RISING Global Peace Forum at Coventry. Mike designed the conceptual frame for the International Humanitarian Forum for 2018, and was appointed special adviser to the Chair of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. In 2019 he presented the Baku experience with the UNESCO delegation at the 2019 Luanda Peace Biennale.

Professor Hardy has been twice honoured, awarded the OBE in 2001 for his peace-building work in the Middle East, and appointed a Companion of Honour of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours June 2010 for his work internationally in Intercultural Dialogue. In 2002, he was honoured by the Palestinian Welfare Association for work with NGOs in Gaza and WB. He is a visiting scholar at Yale University’s International Leadership Centre In 2021 Mike was appointed to the International Advisory Board of ICESCO, The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Mike is Chair of the Trustees of The Faith and Belief Forum (www.fbf.org) the largest interfaith organisation in the UK and is Board Chair of the US-based International Leadership Association (www.ila-net.org) the global network for those who study, teach and practice leadership with more than 3000 members from 70 countries. His Centre at Coventry hosted the Secretariat for the Academic Council on the UN System (ACUNS) (www.acuns.org) –the first time ACUNS was hosted outside North America. He was awarded Doctorates (Honoris Causa) by the Business University in Baku, Azerbaijan (2017) and by Muhammadiyah University in Jakarta, Indonesia for services to peace education (2019).