Join us to celebrate the International Day of Peace at the Geneva Peace Talks on 21 September at the Palais des Nations!

Organized under the theme Peace without Borders, the Geneva Peace Talks aim to encourage and promote breaking out of silos and working together to generate common understandings and solutions in today’s times where uncertainty has become the new norm. Through personal stories, speakers will share personal experiences to inspire people and spark a discussion on how each of us can play a role in building peace that goes beyond borders.

The following speakers will deliver inspiring eight-minute talks on how they are working to promote more peaceful societies, both in Geneva and abroad:

• Aya Mohammed Abdullah – Refugee, student and Youth Delegate to the UN Refugee Agency. Together with her family, she fled violence in Iraq, became a refugee in Syria and now lives in Switzerland, where she actively engages advocating for refugees worldwide.
• Diana García – Peace practitioner and researcher for CIASE, a Colombia-based organization that promotes the integral realization of human rights. At CIASE, Diana focuses on the incorporation of women’s voices in the Colombian reconciliation process.
• Hacene Ouahmane – Originally from Saint Etienne, Hacene works to integrate asylum seekers and construct harmony from diversity in Geneva.
• Jasminko Halilovic – Founder and director of the War Childhood Museum in Bosnia, the world’s only museum focused exclusively on childhoods that have been affected by war that has been awarded Council of Europe 2018 Museum Prize.
• Monika Hauser – Medical doctor and founder of medica mondiale where she works to help women survivors of sexual violence in contexts of war.
• Pauline Bend – Peace practitioner and representative in Niger for Fondation Hirondelle, a Swiss non-profit organization that provides information to and empowers populations faced with crisis. Pauline is passionate about promoting communication spaces for the most marginalized.
• Zakaria EL Baba and Wala’ Alsmadi – Passionate and young peacebuilders from the Middle East who are working with Generations for Peace to empower Middle Eastern youth.
• Nino Rizzo – Psychotherapist and published author based in Geneva.

Read the complete biographies of the speakers here.

The event will be co-hosted by Rainer Gude, Strategic Partnership Manager at Initiatives of Change International, and Sarah Noble, Head of Peace Talks at Interpeace and Director of External Relations at IRIN News.

Register to attend the event by 19 September here.

If you are not in Geneva, sign up to watch the live webcast here.

About the Geneva Peace Talks

Launched in 2013, the Geneva Peace Talks is an annual, public event organized on the occasion of the International Day of Peace in partnership between the United Nations Office at Geneva, Interpeace and the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform.

This year’s edition is held in partnership with the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, Initiatives of Change, Fondation Hirondelle, the Right Livelihood Award and Generations for Peace. This event is made possible with the generous support of the Swiss Confederation, the Republic and State of Geneva, the City of Geneva and Mirabaud Bank.