The Kofi Annan Foundation, Geneva Graduate Institute, and Geneva Peacebuilding Platform are pleased to announce the 2025 edition of the Kofi Annan Geneva Peace Address, a high-level lecture on peace, which is held annually as part of Geneva Peace Week.
The 2025 Kofi Annan Geneva Peace Address will be delivered by Martin Griffiths, International Mediator and Former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.
Martin Griffiths is a renowned international mediator and humanitarian with five decades of experience at the United Nations (UN) and beyond. He most recently served as UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, leading global responses to crises affecting hundreds of millions. Previously, he mediated conflicts worldwide, including in Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Aceh, and the Basque Country, and helped broker the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Martin Griffiths was the Founding Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva and the European Institute of Peace.
2025 Kofi Annan Peace Address to include a dialogue with young peacebuilders
Mr Griffiths will interact and debate with young peacebuilders on topics such as bridging divides, fostering social cohesion, upholding human rights and international norms and enhancing the role of young people in peacemaking and peacebuilding.
Ahmad Fawzi, one of Kofi Annan’s former spokespersons and Communication Advisors, will moderate the event.
More Details
The Kofi Annan Geneva Peace Address will be held in the Ivan Pictet Auditorium at the Maison de la Paix in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, 14 October, at 5 pm CET. The event will be live-streamed, and registration to attend in person is available on the official website of the Geneva Graduate Institute. Livestream details will be shared closer to the date.
The Kofi Annan Geneva Peace Address is organised with the support of the Republic and State of Geneva and the City of Geneva.
The Programme
Kofi Annan Geneva Peace Address 2025
Tuesday, 14 October 2025
5 – 6:30 pm CEST
Auditorium Ivan Pictet (Pétale 1, Maison de la Paix, Geneva) and Online
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
- Keith Krause, Director of the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding at the Geneva Graduate Institute.
- Nathalie Fontanet, State Councillor of the Canton of Geneva, and President of the State Council.
KOFI ANNAN GENEVA PEACE ADDRESS
- Martin Griffiths, International Mediator and Former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
- Prof. Lester Chio Alonso, clarinettist and volunteer music teacher with La Banda de Música
PEACEBUILDERS DIALOGUE
- Mariyum Areeb Amjad, Program Officer, HIVE Pakistan.
- Victoria do Nascimento Houpert, Member of the Peacebuilding Initiative and a master’s student in International Development at the Geneva Graduate Institute.
- Dao Manh Nghia, Founder and President of the DMN Initiative, SDGs Council, DMN Foundation.
CLOSING REMARKS
- TBA
MODERATOR
- Ahmad Fawzi, Communication strategist, former Spokesperson and Communication Advisor to Kofi Annan.
Feature image: Martin Griffiths, UN Special Envoy for Yemen, briefs the press on the Geneva Consultations on Yemen, Palais des Nations. 5 September 2018. Photo by Violaine Martin.
