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Oyugi Allela is currently a Senior User Experience Designer at ICRC. Her background in design, with her interest in people-centred methodologies, socio-development and behavioural change theories, has allowed her to work on various subjects ranging from service/product design, education, material & sustainable design to health. Her niche abides in utilising and implementing user-centric strategies. In her current role at ICRC, she seeks to apply user research and design to understand the behaviours and desires of ICRC stakeholders in a bid to improve product and service outcomes. Oyugi Allela has a Master's in Product Design from The University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Marwa Azelmat has extensive public policy and advocacy experience on cyber policy issues, focusing specifically on the Global South. She has engaged substantively and influenced multiple internet-related policy processes, including with treaty bodies, special procedures and in relation to internet governance. Marwa has a particular interest in the intersections of gender, technology and social justice in the MENA region and currently holds the position of Digital Rights Expert at RNW Media.

Isabelle Baur advises Soliswiss members and non-members who want to emigrate, live abroad or return to Switzerland. Thanks to her previous work, she has extensive knowledge and experience in all areas of social security.

Pascal Bijleveld has over 20 years of leadership experience in global public health at country, regional and global levels. He has straddled the private as well as public sectors, working with McKinsey, WHO, Gavi, UNICEF, and the Clinton Health Access Initiative, based in Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, New York, and Geneva. In his current role as CEO of ATscale, he works to increase access to assistive technologies (wheelchairs, hearing aids, etc.) in low-income countries. He believes that localisation is necessary for international cooperation and that Swiss professionals have important contributions to make in this context.

Luc recently gained his first professional experience in international cooperation. As part of the first cohort of the SDG Youth programme, he worked for Swisscontact for one year on a micro-insurance project for smallholder farmers in Bangladesh and Zurich.

"If you had a magic wand, what would you do for your career?" With this question, we asked a magician, Christoph Borer, to perform magic tricks related to career issues.

Are you curious? Meet Christoph at the career fair (cinfo booth) at 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 15:00. Each magic trick only lasts a few minutes.

Christoph Borer is one of the most original magicians in the world. He has invented over 300 magic tricks. Christoph has also created many forms of presentation in the world of magic that have never been seen before.

Nicoletta Cimmino is a freelance writer, reporter and podcaster. For 18 years, Nicoletta Cimmino worked for Swiss Radio SRF in various roles, including as anchor for the news background programme "Echo der Zeit". In 2019, she was named Swiss Journalist of the Year. Nicoletta Cimmino lives in Biel and Zurich.

Daniel Corthésy currently leads the HR team at ICRC Headquarters and is responsible for delivering HR services for positions at the HQ. He has also spent several years in ICRC operations, both in country offices abroad and in Geneva.

Patricia Danzi is Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Previously, she worked at the ICRC in various roles of increasing responsibility, including Head of Operations between 2008 and 2015 and Regional Director for Africa between 2015 and 2020. She holds a master’s degree in agricultural economics, geography and environmental science, followed by development studies in Geneva.

Liliana brings 23 years of experience working in international cooperation. Positions include working as Senior Advisor at the Swiss Executive Director’s Office at the World Bank in Washington, as Private Sector Development Specialist for the IFC, and as Head of the Swiss Contribution Office in Budapest. Her international background is rooted in her family; her father is from India, and she spent a year of her childhood in Brazil. She has always been interested in economic policy issues which led her to pursue a Master in Economics and Political Science as a minor. Today, she lives with her husband, 11-year-old daughter and dog in Biel, Switzerland.

Maria Dimitriadou is a Greek National with more than twenty-five years of experience in the World Bank (WB), the European Commission (EC), and the public and private sectors.

Natal is a Senior HR Advisor at cinfo. Having worked for the past 20 years in the field of international development cooperation, he entered the sector without a Young Professionals programme but has managed and contributed to many of them in various functions with cinfo, the UN and national and international NGOs. 

Mr. Ezinwa is a seasoned HR professional, with over 19 years of diverse international experience across the private sector and multilateral development institutions. He is the Acting Director, Human Resources Operations, Recruitment and Client Services Department at the African Development Bank. He holds a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from Lagos State University and a Bachelors’ degree in French from the University of Benin.

Remo supports the UN with socio-economic reform and resource mobilisation across UN agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His interest in a diplomacy and international development career led him to work in political consulting, armed violence research, and human rights in Switzerland, Thailand, the Balkans, and Ukraine. Remo holds a BA from the University of St. Gallen and an MA from the Graduate Institute Geneva.

Stefan Germann is the CEO of Fondation Botnar. He is a global expert in children’s health and well-being with over 30 years of experience. He has lived in seven countries and worked in over 80 countries with a passion for the progressive realisation of children's rights. He has launched several social development organisations and programmes in Africa and Asia (Masiye Camp, REPSSI, One Goal Asia).

In his career, Heinz Habegger has gained a vast experience in environmental protection and water management. He has held various management positions in the private sector, including mandates abroad. He also headed a cantonal office for water. This gave him expertise in dealing with water-related conflicts and experience working with political decision-makers.

Shazia Islamshah is Senior Advisor at cinfo. She has worked for over 20 years in the human rights and humanitarian sectors, as well as in philanthropy, holding both leadership and technical thematic roles with UNDP, OCHA, the ICRC, women’s and children's rights organisations, as well as the Drosos Foundation. She has worked at national, regional and international levels, including in fragile contexts, based in Nepal, Myanmar, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, South Sudan, Iraq and Kenya, as well as in Nairobi, Geneva, Bern and Zurich, from where she has collaborated with local offices and partners in Brazil, Indonesia, Burundi, Chad, Sudan and Lebanon. Shazia is also a member of Re-Alliance, which promotes a regenerative vision for the humanitarian and development sectors.

Nelson Cheruiyot is currently a Senior User Experience Designer at ICRC's Nairobi Design Center. Over the past years, Nelson has applied design thinking and its mindset in novel ways in humanitarian settings, immunisation, early childhood education, new vaccines, Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy and the nexus between health and energy. His HCD work experience is multiregional. In his current role, he works with project teams across the ICRC to drive a field-centric human-centred design approach in both tech and non-tech areas. Nelson holds a Master's in Design from The University of Nairobi, Kenya.

UX Designer at ICRC in Geneva, Marie has helped teams design and improve their products and services for the past 15 years. With a background in journalism and marketing, she has developed her skills and experience in agencies in France, Canada and Switzerland before building her business as a freelance consultant for NGOs, startups and the private sector. Marie is mainly involved in initiatives with a strong business analysis aspect and is passionate about workshop facilitation and team collaboration. Since 2021, Marie also teaches UX/UI at the HEIG-VD in Yverdon. She is happy to talk about AI, storytelling, education, co-conception and science fiction.

Simone Mani acts as HR Co-Lead for the Swiss Humanitarian Aid. She disposes of many years of multifaceted experience in the field of HR consultancy for humanitarian and international cooperation as well as the federal administration of Switzerland.

Jean-Luc Marcelin works as a Partnerships and Talent Outreach Specialist in the UNDP Office of Human Resources. Jean-Luc is responsible for various activities and initiatives related to talent outreach and communication, employer value proposition strategy and social media presence; resource mobilisation, partnerships and reporting; and programme development in a talent acquisition context. He is also involved in recruitment and selection activities to identify young talent for the UNDP. Jean-Luc is a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Science Po). He has 25 years of professional experience in cooperation and programme development activities, including 21 years with the UN.

Victoria Martinez always knew she wanted to pursue a career in international cooperation, working for the United Nations. After completing her Master’s degree in political science and Russian literature from the University of Zurich, she did several internships, working for the Estonian MFA in New York, a Tajik NGO in Panjakent, and for the International Criminal Court in The Hague. In 2016, she got a JPO position with OCHA in South Sudan. Today Victoria works as a Humanitarian Affairs Officer for OCHA in Cameroon. She lives with her two young children as a single mother in Yaundee, where she is enjoying the life she has created for herself. 

Monica's background is in design strategy. Over the past years, she worked on projects for international clients in various industries, from insurance to mobility startups, to banks and public transport companies. In her current role as Experience Design Manager, she's building the ICRC's first User Experience Design team in Geneva and supporting the setup of a Design Thinking Studio in Nairobi. Together these two teams support project teams across the organisation to design products and services iteratively and put their end users' needs at the centre.

Issa Sanogo was appointed UN Resident Coordinator in Madagascar in 2020. He brings over 25 years of development and humanitarian experience from the United Nations, as an economist at the World Bank and in government positions in Côte d'Ivoire.

Kimon Schneider is a senior lecturer at NADEL. A social anthropologist by training, he obtained a MAS in Development Cooperation at NADEL. Kimon worked for several years as a Country Director and Programme Manager as well as a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Advisor for various NGOs abroad and at headquarters in Zurich.

Rhiana Spring is an award-winning international human rights expert and entrepreneur. As part of the United Nations, the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and diverse legal teams, Rhiana has defended the most vulnerable and spearheaded multinational human rights projects across Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe. She has been part of teams monitoring and protecting human rights in 18 countries. Rhiana holds three law degrees from the London School of Economics (LSE, LL.M.) and Oxford Brookes University.

In 2020, Rhiana founded Spring ACT – Action. Compassion. Technology. – empowering people to take action and help eliminate global social injustices. Together with her team, they launched "Sophia" – the world's first chatbot empowering survivors of domestic violence to gather potential evidence and seek help in 222 countries worldwide – wining the Swiss Future Prize from President Cassis and the Female Founder Newcomer Award.

Since 2005, anundpfirsich has been improvising on stages in Switzerland and Europe. The ensemble creates and performs innovative forms of improvisational theatre and offers theatre courses, training for organisations and seminars on personal presence, self-presentation and spontaneity. Its’ members are internationally recognised as proven experts in the field of improvisation, both on stage and in everyday life.

Marie currently serves as Election Observation Officer at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. She holds a Master’s Degree in Law from the University of Bern, specialising in International and European Law. Marie has previously worked in human rights with a special focus on women’s rights and gender equality. In 2020, she served as a member of the peace support mission KFOR in Kosovo.

Nicole Töpperwien provides expert advice on social security matters when emigrating, returning home or working for multilateral organisations (in Switzerland or abroad). Before joining Soliswiss, she worked internationally and in multilateral organisations. At the request of the Swiss government and mandated by cinfo, Nicole conducted a study on the social security of Swiss professionals working in multilateral organisations in 2020.

Amélie Yan-Gouiffes is currently on assignment in Madagascar as the Disaster Risk Reduction & Recovery Advisor for the United Nations. She has worked for 25 years in emergency response and recovery and disaster risk reduction and resilience with NGOs, the Red Cross, the UN and the European Union in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, the Pacific, Europe and Africa. She is also a certified coach, podcaster and published author.