Geneva Peace Week Closing Ceremony: Arts and Peace Encounters

About the event

As Geneva Peace Week 2025 draws to a close, we invite to join us at the Closing Ceremony on 17 October to reflect on a world in flux and the importance of arts and culture in peacebuilding efforts on all levels of society.

• Date: Friday 17 October, 11:00-12:30
• Venue: Maison de la Paix / Geneva - Auditorium Ivan Pictet & Online
• Main Organiser: Caux Initiatives of Change Foundation
• Partner: Geneva Peacebuilding Platform

Our systems, societies, and ways of living are shifting at unprecedented speed. Emerging technologies, evolving geopolitics, climate crises, and the erosion of multilateral systems and the rule of law make the future increasingly unpredictable.

Now more than ever arts, culture, and imagination are not luxuries—they are essential. Peacebuilding pioneer John Paul Lederach reminds us in Moral Imagination that effective peacebuilding requires more than technical solutions; it depends on the creative ability to envision and cultivate a future of justice, reconciliation, and human connection. By combining empathy, cultural understanding, and imaginative thinking, peacebuilders can transform conflict into opportunities for constructive relationships and sustainable peace.

The Caux Arts and Peace Encounters initiative invites artists, peacebuilders, changemakers, policymakers, and academics to connect and share the skills and qualities needed to foster peace through the power of culture, arts and dialogue.

We are excited to partner for this year's Closing Ceremony of Geneva Peace Week with the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform to bring arts to the centre, not the periphery of Geneva Peace Week.

Through personal testimony interactive discussion with artists, practitioners and diplomats as well as a live performance, the session will emphasize the power of storytelling, imagination, and culture in shaping peaceful futures.

Join us as we explore the transformative power of culture and the arts. 

MORE INFORMATION

Speakers 

H.E. Ambassador SABINE BAKYONO KANZIE (Burkina Faso), Permanent Representative of Burkina Faso to the UN in Geneva

Sabine Bakyono Kanzie, the new Permanent Representative of Burkina Faso to the United Nations Office at Geneva, today presented her credentials to Tatiana Valovaya, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Ms. Bakyono Kanzie has been serving as Ambassador of Burkina Faso to Switzerland since April 2024. She served as Director General for Legal and Consular Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and Burkina Faso Nationals Abroad from May 2022 to April 2024, and as Director General for Bilateral Cooperation from September 2021 to May 2022. She was Deputy Permanent Delegate of Burkina Faso to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris from July 2015 to September 2020.

A career diplomat, Ms. Bakyono Kanzie was Director for Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from November 2012 to July 2015.  She also served as Second Counsellor at the Embassy and Permanent Mission of Burkina Faso in Geneva from November 2007 to September 2012.  Ms. Bakyono Kanzie attended an integration training at the Ministry from 2002 to 2003 after which she started working at the Ministry.
Ms. Bakyono Kanzie was admitted to a master’s degree in law 1993-1994.  She has a degree in law from the Faculty of Law and Political Science of the University of Ouagadougou 1992-1993.  She obtained two diplomas in general university studies in 1989-1990 and in 1991-1992.  She has attended numerous training courses and internships.  She was born on 8 April 1969 in Bessiel-Sanguie, Burkina Faso.  

BARBARA AEBISCHER, Specialist Culture and Development at the Peace, Governance and Equality Section, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA

Barbara Aebischer is a Specialist for Culture and Development in the Peace, Governance, and Equality Section of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). She manages SDC’s partnerships with cultural organizations in Switzerland and provides thematic advice on art and culture programs abroad.

With over fifteen years of experience in culture and development at SDC, Barbara brings deep expertise in linking cultural promotion with development cooperation and peacebuilding. Her professional background spans several fields, but since 2010, her focus has been on the role of culture in international cooperation. She holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Arts Management from the University of Basel.

LEA BAROUDI, Certified Mediator, Founding Member & President of March Lebanon

Léa Baroudi is Founding Member and President of March Lebanon, a Lebanese non-profit, non-governmental organization working to promote social cohesion through peace-building and sectarian conflict resolution in Lebanon. Lea is a certified mediator, member of the Mediterranean Women Mediators Network, and a member of the Global Alliance of Regional Women Mediator Networks. She has experience in mediating sectarian conflicts, deradicalization programs, training on conflict resolution, as well as designing, planning and implementing holistic rehabilitation and reintegration programs that use education, culture, dialogue, women inclusion, civil military cooperation and economic development to resolve conflict and counter radicalization among youth participating in sectarian violence.She has also co-lead several in depth research papers and policy recommendations on fundamental security and human rights issues in Lebanon, such as political violence, radicalization and statelessness. In 2019 she was awarded an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for services to peacebuilding and civic rights in Lebanon. In 2023 she was selected among the 10 finalists of the Global Pluralism Award. (photo: Home Magazine)

ALVARO QUIROZ, Founder of Brigada12, Laureate Young Activist Summit 2024

MARUEE PAHUJA (India), Visual Artist, Intermodal Expressive Arts Therapy Practitioner, Caux Arts and Peace Encounter Advisory Committee & Creative Leadership initiative for young leaders

Maruee Pahuja is an impassioned Expressive Arts Consultant, Process Facilitator, Visual Artist, and Eye-Care Practitioner passionate about bridging arts and science. At the Caux Initiatives of Change Foundation, she fosters peacebuilding through arts-based approaches and drives strategy with Creative Leadership, the Caux Foundation's initiative for young leaders. With over 300 workshops worldwide and collaborations with 25+ non-profits, Maruee champions arts-based interventions for leadership and community resilience. A speaker at Geneva Peace Week, the International Day of Conscience and the Caux Democracy Forum, she has created 5,000+ multimedia artworks and exhibited nationally. Dedicated to transformation through creativity, Maruee continues to inspire and innovate globally.

ARTISTIC INTERLUDES

NAËL MELERD (Burkina Faso), Singer-Songwriter

Naël Melerd is a versatile artist from Burkina Faso. From a very young age, he was introduced to the world of music through his late father, Emmanuel, a pianist and songwriter. After a stint with the Jhonam choir, where he composed his first songs, he eventually turned to slam, poetry, and many other artistic forms.

A mining engineer and singer-songwriter, Nathanael Minoungou is also a screenwriter and director, a graduate of the Imagine Institute and the Higher Institute of Image and Sound (ISIS-SE). Three-time slam champion of Burkina Faso and runner-up at the African Slam Championship, with more than 500 creations to his name, this devoted artist, filmmaker, and entrepreneur was recognized as a “New Leader of the Future” by the Universal Crans Montana Foundation in Brussels.

His text “In 100 Million Years” was selected as the commentary exam subject for the 2021 Baccalaureate in Burkina Faso.

MARYAM BUKAR HASSAN (Nigeria), Spoken Word Artist, Poet, Influencer & Peace Advocate

In July 2025, Maryam Bukar Hassan was designated a Global Advocate for Peace Maryam is a Nigerian spoken word artist, poet, influencer, and peace advocate whose work bridges art, activism, and
feminism. Born in northern Nigeria, Maryam uses her platform to champion women’s rights, youth empowerment and peacebuilding in communities impacted by violence and displacement.

Her poetry, performed on global stages from Rome to Kampala and at UNHQ in New York, speaks to the resilience of women and youth on the frontlines of conflict and the power of creative expression to inspire change. Maryam’s advocacy extends beyond performance as she works with youth networks, grassroots organizations, and international forums to promote inclusive peace processes, challenge the status quo and amplify marginalized voices, particularly with populations at risk.

As the first Global Advocate for Peace for the UN Peace and Security Pillar, Maryam will continue to use her voice and influence to raise awareness of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agendas, promoting the leadership of women and young people in building sustainable peace. Maryam’s role as Global Advocate is jointly administered by the Department of Peace Operations (DPO) and the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), which together form the UN Peace and Security Pillar.

Closing Remarks

Dr. ANNYSSA BELLAL, Executive Director, Geneva Peacebuilding Platform

Dr. Annyssa Bellal is Executive Director at the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform. Annyssa is responsible for the strategic direction of the Platform and its management, including the supervision of the team and convening the different committees. She supervises the platform workstream and serves as a stakeholder liaison. Annyssa 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. Annyssa holds a Master of advanced studies in International Relations from the Geneva Graduate Institute, a Master of Law from the University of Geneva and a Ph.D in Public International Law (summa cum laude) from the Geneva Graduate Institute.

Moderator

SARAH NOBLE, Head of Global Engagement, Caux Initiatives of Change

Sarah Noble is a Canadian-born peace advocate and storyteller currently based in Geneva, Switzerland. Sarah is the Head of Global Engagement at the Caux Initiatives of Change Foundation where she works on partnerships, inner development,  the Caux Arts and Peace Encounters, and the Caux Forums. She is also co-founder and Curator of the PeaceTalks, a global storytelling platform dedicated to stories of peace at Interpeace. She has over 20 years of experience in strategic communications, fundraising, and partnerships in global organizations focused on peacebuilding, humanitarian issues, and non-profit public interest media. Passionate about storytelling as a tool for healing and social change, Sarah believes in its power to address global challenges. In her TEDx talk, Storytelling is Our Real-Life Superpower, she highlights how narratives can shape a better future. Sarah is the mom of 2 small kids and is motivated by a desire to be a good ancestor. Sarah has an MA in International Affairs from Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and a BA in Political Studies and Economics from Queen’s University.

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About Geneva Peace Week

Geneva Peace Week is a leading annual forum in the international peacebuilding calendar through which organizations in Geneva and their international partners come together to share knowledge and practice on a diverse range of topics related to peace across contexts and disciplines. 

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