Who We Are

Annyssa Bellal 

Executive Coordinator, Geneva Peacebuilding Platform

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.

Dany Diogo

Project Lead of Geneva Peace Week, Geneva Peacebuilding Platform

Dany Diogo is Geneva Peace Week Lead since 1 August 2022, 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 an Executive Master in International Law in Armed Conflict from the Geneva Academy, a joint center of the University of Geneva and Geneva Graduate Institute.

Annika Erickson-Pearson

Head of Community Management, Geneva Peacebuilding Platform

Annika is an experienced community organizer, political advocate and event manager, working with nearly a dozen NGOs over the past eight years, including the Conference on World Affairs, Represent.Us, Run for Something, and the Global Campaign for Education. She recently completed her Master's degree at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva where her research focused on gang desistance policies in the U.S. and Latin America.

Maria Baltag

Administrative & Events Coordinator, Geneva Peacebuilding Platform

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. 

Irina Sorokina

Project Coordinator, Geneva Peacebuilding Platform

Irina is an International Relations graduate with more than five years of experience in the nongovernmental and international relations spheres. She joined Geneva Peacebuilding Platform in September 2020 as a Project Coordinator for Geneva Peace Week. Prior to joining the GPP, Irina worked as a research assitant at Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights where she co-led a research project on the nexus between human rights violation, corruption and conflict. Her past work experiences also include working for Moscow based think-tank Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 

Irina holds a MAs in International and Russian Studies from Lomonosov Moscow State University and a MAs in Development Studies from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. 

Yasmeen Chaudhry 

Communications & 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.