12 September 2014 – With the Geneva Peace Talks less than a week away, the names of all the speakers have now been released. The speakers come from diverse backgrounds and will reflect on how they have personally overcome peace related communication challenges.
Coming from violent and divided environments as well as backgrounds in science, art, business, and more, speakers will share their personal stories. We are proud to present the speakers of the Geneva Peace Talks 2014:
Susan Guerra and Ines Daccord form a teacher-student couple and will talk about a mediation programme that has been launched at the Collège de Sécheron in Geneva.
Randa Kassis is a leading commentator on the Syrian conflict and will speak about the value of effectively communicating tolerance in multi-ethnic societies.
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Famous cartoonist, Jean Plantureux (alias ‘Plantu’), will share what inspired him to create the initiative Cartooning for Peace.
Monica McWilliams is a Professor of Women’s Studies in the Transitional Justice Institute at the University of Ulster. She played an instrumental role in the Multi-Party Peace Talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement. She will talk about the need to include more women in peace processes.
Rafael is a gang member from El Salvador. He is now committed to building peace in El Salvador and will share his experience with reducing violence in his country.
Judson Webb is currently working with Initiatives of Change Sweden (IofC), and trains public speakers, performers and private individuals in discovering and applying mindfulness, self-awareness, and peacebuilding tools in both their private and professional lives.
Jeremy Brickhill will talk about his life as a peace mediator. He has participated in several ceasefire mediation processes for both African governments and rebel movements.
Gunilla von Hall is a Swedish foreign correspondent and journalist for the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper in Geneva. Gunilla has covered conflict around the globe including in Iraq, Bosnia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her topics range from humanitarian issues, international politics to health and world trade. She will talk about the dilemmas that war reports face.
Doris Barreto is a Venezuelan peacebuilder.
Eman Mohammed and Mati Milstein are both photojournalists. Eman is Palestinian and is Gaza’s only female photojournalist. Mati is Israeli. Together, these two photojournalists shed light on how people on either side of the conflict have dealt with war in their everyday lives.
Andrew Brookes is a retired United Nations interpreter and will share anecdotes about his work in conflict and post-conflict settings.
The Geneva Peace Talks will take place on Friday, September 19 from 16:30-19:30 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The Geneva Peace Talks is a public event but registration is mandatory.
The Geneva Peace Talks is organized on the occasion of the International Day of Peace in a partnership between the United Nations Office at Geneva, Interpeace and the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform.