The Geneva Peacebuilding Platform functions thanks to a joint effort of the five partner institutions, dedicated Platform staff, and an Advisory Board. The five partners of the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform provide a critical role both at a strategic and operational level.
The Steering Committee oversees the Management Committee, the Executive Coordinator and the Platform’s management and is responsible for strategic orientation. The Committee also contributes to the high-level networking of the Platform. The Steering Committee members are:
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Simon Gimson, Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Interpeace
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Mark Downes, Acting Director of DCAF - Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance
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Prof. Keith Krause, Director of Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP) at the Graduate Institute
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Amb. Thomas Greminger, Director, Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP)
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Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, Director, Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) Geneva
The Management Committee advises the Platform's Executive Coordinator in the management of the Platform. It is a working-level committee that provides input into Platform activities, planning, and strategy. It acts on behalf of the Steering Committee, and includes:
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Hans Born, Assistant Director and Head of the Policy and Research Division, DCAF
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Florence Foster, Representative for Peace and Disarmament, QUNO
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Annika Hilding Norberg, Head of Peace Operations and Peacebuilding, GCSP
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Dr Rebecca Brubaker, Director of Policy, Learning and Advisory Services, Interpeace
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Eliza Urwin, Head of Research, CCDP
The Platform Staff carries out the mandated activities in accordance to the recommendations given by the Steering and Management Committee.
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Annyssa Bellal, Executive Coordinator - Dr. Annyssa Bellal is an international lawyer with more than 18 years of experience in the area of conflict studies, both at the academic and policy levels, with a particular expertise on the issue of armed non-state actors. She also worked as a legal adviser for the Swiss NGO Geneva Call, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs. In 2011, she acted as the Head of the International Humanitarian Customary Law Project at the International Committee of the Red Cross. She has engaged directly with armed non-state actors in the field, notably in Syria, Iraq and the DRC. In 2019, she was invited to brief the UN Security Council on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, along with the President of the ICRC and the UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs.
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Dany Diogo, Geneva Peace Week Lead - Dany Diogo is the Geneva Peace Week Lead, primarily coordinating Geneva Peace Week, the Platform's flagship event. He is currently working to facilitate, organize, and manage the development of Geneva Peace Week by coordinating the work of over 100 participating organizations. Prior to joining the Platform, Dany acquired extensive work experience in the education sector at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights over 9 years, where he held several positions, including his main role as Coordinator of Master Programmes. Dany holds a BA in Information, Communication, and Journalism from the University Lumière Lyon 2, a Certificate in Human Rights from the University of Geneva, and will graduate by October 2023 from the Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict at the Geneva Academy, a joint center of the University of Geneva and Geneva Graduate Institute.
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Annika Erickson-Pearson, Community Management Lead - Annika Erickson-Pearson is a facilitator, event manager and researcher, currently heading community management at GPP. She works to build connections, community, and collaboration between various peacebuilding actors in and out of Geneva on a variety of topics, including environmental peacebuilding. Annika is an experienced community organizer, political advocate and event manager, working with nearly a dozen NGOs over the past ten years, including the Organizing for America, the Conference on World Affairs, Represent.Us, Run for Something, StartingBloc, and the Global Campaign for Education. She holds a Master's degree from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva where her research focused on urban violence and gang desistance policies in the U.S.
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Yasmeen Chaudhry, Communications and Outreach Coordinator - Yasmeen is an experienced communication strategist dedicated to developing outreach programmes and creating spaces that foster dialogue and drive multicultural and international community engagement. With over 8 years of multifaceted experiences in Geneva, London and Cairo, across the legal and international project management fields, her past experiences include working as a legal advisor for commercial contracts to being a programme manager in international organizations as well as a digital communications specialist. Yasmeen holds a BA in Politics and South Asian Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS, University of London), an LLB from the College of Law and an MA in Fine Arts from the Geneva University of Arts & Design.
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Maria Baltag, Administrative & Events Coordinator - Maria Baltag is the Administrative & Events Coordinator of the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform. She coordinates administrative tasks and event logistics for projects within the organization, including its flagship forum, Geneva Peace Week (GPW). She also acts as an administrative focal point for HR, finance, contracting, IT, among others. Before joining the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, Maria worked in statistics, invoicing and event organizing. She received her Master in Economics from UCLouvain (Université catholique de Louvain) in Belgium and her Bachelor in Accounting from Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova.
