Interpeace and the Geneva Graduate Institute welcome the first cohort of the International Geneva Peace Fellowship in Geneva. The Fellowship is a joint initiative between the two institutions, with the generous support of the Foundation for the Adaptation of International Geneva. The aim of the programme is to foster the next generation of leadership in peace and humanitarian diplomacy and to reinforce Geneva's role as a global hub for international cooperation.

The ten Fellows were selected through a rigorous process out of 6,063 applications received from around the world. The strong interest in the programme reflects the demand among emerging and mid-career professionals for meaningful pathways into International Geneva at a time when opportunities in the peace and humanitarian sectors are becoming increasingly limited.

The Fellowship responds to two closely connected needs: strengthening Geneva's capacity for peace and humanitarian diplomacy, and accompanying change agents with the knowledge, partnerships, and strategies they need to be part of finding the solutions to the most pressing issues facing our and future generations. Over nine months, the Fellows will be housed at the historic Domaine Barton and work in close partnership with key peace and humanitarian diplomacy actors in the city. Besides working closely with key peace and humanitarian actors in Geneva, the Fellows will also be a part of a common programme of leadership development, mentoring, policy dialogue, workshops, and collaborative initiatives.

“The arrival of the inaugural cohort reflects our shared commitment to strengthening peace and humanitarian diplomacy at a time of profound global disruption. Through the International Geneva Peace Fellowship Programme, we are supporting a new generation of leaders equipped with strong analytical and technical expertise, as well as the empathy, integrity, and foresight needed to navigate increasingly complex conflict systems while exposing them to and contributing towards the multilateral ecosystem of International Geneva. By linking academic research with the operational realities of peacebuilding in conflict-affected contexts, the Fellowship creates an important bridge between knowledge and practice, offering emerging leaders a platform to contribute to sustainable responses to global challenges,” President and CEO of Interpeace, Itonde Kakoma, underscored.

The inaugural cohort brings together professionals from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, East Asia and the Middle East. It includes participants from countries that remain underrepresented in multilateral institutions and reflects the Fellowship's commitment to excellence, diversity, and universality.

The Inaugural International Geneva Peace Fellows
The first cohort comprises Johnny Assaf (Lebanon), Chimwemwe Chifungo (Malawi), Ana Carolina Pinto Dantas (Brazil), Nan Hao (China), Sokfa John (Nigeria), Wendyam Hervé Lankoandé (Burkina Faso), Maria Antonia Montes (Colombia), Milzat Salime (Comoros), Lashante Sampson (Bahamas), and Nathanael Thomas (United States of America).

“In these dire times for peace, the International Geneva Peace Fellowship draws on the unique strengths of the Geneva Graduate Institute, Interpeace, and Geneva’s broader ecosystem. It offers outstanding Fellows from around the world direct access to cutting-edge research and field operations, while fostering an environment where new ideas in peacebuilding and multilateral diplomacy can take shape. Nurturing the next generation of peacemakers and multilateral diplomats becomes all the more vital at a time when the global climate is increasingly defined by confrontation and war. We are proud and happy to work on this important initiative with our partner Interpeace”, Director of the Geneva Graduate Institute, Professor Marie-Laure Salles, emphasised.

The Fellowship is a hands-on programme built on resource pooling, institutional collaboration, knowledge exchange, and universality. It combines Interpeace's field-based peacebuilding experience with the Geneva Graduate Institute's strengths in research and convening, while drawing on the wider ecosystem of International Geneva. 

During the programme, Fellows will work in close collaboration with a range of partners including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Kofi Annan Foundation, World Council of Churches, and Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC). The Fellows will focus on practical projects as well as develop their own strategic ideas on a range of thematic areas.

"The International Geneva Peace Fellowship is a strategic asset for Geneva and a practical example of how International Geneva is adapting to a changing multilateral landscape. Geneva benefits from fresh perspectives from the outside-in, as well as new energy for the development of strategic projects relevant to peace and humanitarian diplomacy worldwide. By connecting leadership talent with expertise and networks across institutions and sectors, the Fellowship strengthens the relationships needed to build a new international footprint for Geneva – one that extends beyond international organisations and permanent missions and lays the foundations for a more networked and multi-stakeholder form of international cooperation", Professor Achim Wennmann, Nagulendran Chair in Peace Mediation at the Geneva Graduate Institute, concluded.

Over time, the partnership aims to build a growing network of leaders in peace and humanitarian diplomacy who can strengthen Geneva's global standing as a hub for peace and contribute to practical responses to conflict and instability. The programme aims to identify and enable solutions related to, for example, the new frontier of peacemaking, youth participation, women, peace and security, protection of civilians in armed conflict, health and peace, ecumenical peacebuilding, and neglected conflicts. The programme is thus a shared undertaking and opportunity for International Geneva, its stakeholders, and networks.

More information about the International Geneva Peace Fellowship can be found here.