Speaker Information

Opening Session

Keynote Speech

Ilwad Elman

  • Chief Operating Officer, Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre

Ilwad Elman is a globally recognized peace and human rights practitioner advancing solutions at the nexus of climate, conflict, and resilience. As Chief Operating Officer of the Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre, a women-led organization in Somalia, she co-founded the nation’s first rape crisis center and leads nationwide disarmament, reintegration, and livelihoods programs that have restored communities torn apart by war.

These initiatives have become international reference points for community-based reintegration and responses to violent extremism.

Her work is grounded in a Regenerative Economy for Peace framework, which recognizes the interdependence of environmental sustainability, social well-being, and security. Through this approach, she drives progress toward the SDGs with and for youth and women; skilling and connecting young people to entrepreneurship, employment, and social impact opportunities, while leveraging public-private partnerships to ensure sustainable impact and community ownership.

A trusted advisor, her influence extends globally. She served on the UN Peacebuilding Fund Advisory Board under UN Secretary-General António Guterres, is a commissioner on the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, and contributes to various impact networks including the Every Woman Treaty, UNESCO’s Culture for Peace Expert Group, and the Peace by Africa Network, which she co-founded.

She is also a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and sits on the WEF Global Future Council on Nature and Security.

Her contributions to peace and human rights have been recognized with numerous honors, including the Right Livelihood Award, Harvard’s Gleitsman International Activist Award, the Hessian Peace Prize, and an Honorary Doctorate of Law from SOAS University, among other prestigious recognitions.

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