Open Mic Session: Voices for Peace

About the Event

The Open Mic Session opens the Geneva Peace Forum stage to its own participants. Selected through an open call launched in September, a small group of speakers will each share a personal story, lived experience or reflection connected to peace, dialogue, resilience, identity or coexistence. Discussions on peacebuilding often take place in the language of institutions, frameworks and policy. 

This session takes a different starting point, asking what peace looks and feels like from the inside, in a neighborhood, in a family, on a displacement route, in a negotiation that failed or a friendship that held across a dividing line. The accounts may be difficult, inspiring or unexpected; none is intended to be representative. 

The speakers' contributions are followed by a facilitated exchange, where participants are invited to reflect on what resonated with them and what challenged their own understanding of peace. A closing round with the speakers brings the individual accounts into a collective reflection. 

The session is co-organised by the Caux Foundation and the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, and is facilitated by Ignacio Packer, Executive Director of the Caux Foundation. Details about the speakers will be announced closer to the Forum.

Speakers

PRENUJA SCHLATTER-THAYALALINGAM, Advocate for children's rights and the prevention of bullying and harassment

Prenuja Schlatter-Thayalalingam is a Swiss-based insurance, technology and business professional with a longstanding interest in human behaviour, emotional intelligence and the intersection of human and technological development. Earlier in her life, she was independently involved in advocacy related to children’s rights and the prevention of bullying and harassment. Born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, and now a mother of two, her reflections on peace are shaped by lived experience, identity, resilience and a belief in preserving human dignity across difference.

SANELA M. LEE, Founder of the SANCHILD Foundation

Sanela M. Lee is a Swiss-based entrepreneur, international advisor and peacebuilder with over 20 years of consulting experience in multinational environments. Her work bridges human connection, institutional leadership and sustainable peace. A former child refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina, she draws on her lived experience of war, displacement and healing to explore how societies can transform inherited trauma into belonging, resilience and social cohesion.
She is the founder of SANCHILD Foundation and the Harmony Project – From Inner to Outer Peace, a trauma-informed peacebuilding initiative that empowers local changemakers to turn personal healing into community-led action. Originating in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Harmony is now developing across the Western Balkans and beyond. Sanela also serves as Rotary International Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva. Her work was awarded with Rotary’s People of Action Honors – Champions of Peace 2025. At Geneva Peace Week’s Open Mic session, she invites us to choose humanity first and reflect on what we pass on to the next generation.

HAFEZ A. CHAMAT, Jurist, Founder and Director of Boundless Consultancy, Founder of the Syrian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Hafez A. Chamat is a Geneva-based jurist working in Swiss immigration and international law. He has experience with international institutions and is the founder of the Syrian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an initiative aimed at strengthening dialogue and economic ties between Syria and Switzerland. He is also active in mediation, civil society and projects focused on building bridges between communities and institutions.

FRANCOIS ZANKIH, Founder of the Guardians of Equality Movement (GEM) and the Founder of the Tukhum Institute 

Francois Zankih is a young policy practitioner and activist focused on peace, security, conflict, and human rights. He is the founder of the Tukhum Institute, a think-and-do tank advancing people-to-people diplomacy and diplomatic and geopolitical transparency, and the founder and Executive Director of the Guardians of Equality Movement (GEM).
He is also an endurance athlete, cyclist, and runner who uses sport to advocate for peace and humanitarian causes.
His activism emerged from his experiences of war, family loss, and authoritarian persecution in Syria. His fieldwork has examined conflict dynamics, armed non-state actors, deradicalization, and civilian protection. His work exposed him to severe security risks, including kidnapping, torture, and direct persecution, ultimately forcing him into exile.
Zankih has published with institutions including the Atlantic Council, appeared on Voice of America, and spoken on more than fourteen international panels hosted by institutions including the University of Cambridge, the Council of Europe, and the United Nations.

MARIANA GONZALEZ MEJIA, Founder of NextGen Governance Lab (in development) & EU Youth Dialogue Ambassador via the Youth Council of Spain.

Mariana González Mejía was born in Medellín, Colombia, and grew up in a community heavily affected by organized crime. After her family was threatened by a criminal organization, she moved to Spain, an experience that shaped her long-term interest in human rights, governance, and how institutions respond to insecurity and inequality.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a Master’s degree in Humanitarian Action and Peacebuilding from Oxford Brookes University and UNITAR. Mariana has worked across advocacy and multilateral policy spaces in Geneva, including within the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and a Permanent Mission, supporting human rights mechanisms, policy research, stakeholder engagement, and intergovernmental processes.
She later worked at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy on strategic foresight,  peace and security. She has also been involved in structured youth engagement in Europe as an EU Youth Dialogue Ambassador through the Youth Council of Spain.
In 2026, Mariana created  NextGen Governance Lab, a youth-led organisation focused on global governance, democracy, polarization, development, and the strengthening meaningful youth participation in decision-making.

Moderator

IGNACIO PACKER, Executive Director, Caux Foundation

Ignacio Packer is Executive Director of the Caux Foundation, a Swiss charitable foundation committed to promoting trust, ethical leadership, sustainable living and human security. With over 30 years of experience in humanitarian and development work, he worked at the European Bank for Latin America and then at KPMG, before becoming a recognised leader of NGOs and international alliances for over 25 years. An expert in human rights and social issues, he has been particularly involved in defending protection frameworks for migrants and refugees, especially children and young people.

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