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GENEVA, 2 June 2026. The Kofi Annan Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Katie Sams as its new Executive Director. Ms Sams will succeed Ms Corinne Momal-Vanian, who is stepping down after six years of service with the Foundation. Ms Sams brings extensive experience in international humanitarian and peacebuilding…
Katie Sams named Executive Director of the Kofi Annan Foundation
GENEVA, 2 June 2026. The Kofi Annan Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Katie Sams as its new Executive Director. Ms Sams will succeed Ms Corinne Momal-Vanian, who is stepping down after six years of service with the Foundation. Ms Sams brings extensive experience in international humanitarian and peacebuilding organisations. Most recently, she served as Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, after more than two decades with the International Committee of the Red Cross in a range of senior leadership positions. Earlier in her career, she focused on African peace…
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On June 2 2026, young participants in the Rooting for the Future initiative will present community projects inspired by Tripoli’s shared heritage following a 15-month-long programme focused on heritage conservation, youth empowerment, and social cohesion. TRIPOLI, LEBANON, 28 May 2026. Young people in Tripoli are using cultural heritage to strengthen social cohesion…
Youth in Tripoli use Shared Heritage to Strengthen Social Cohesion
On June 2 2026, young participants in the Rooting for the Future initiative will present community projects inspired by Tripoli’s shared heritage following a 15-month-long programme focused on heritage conservation, youth empowerment, and social cohesion. TRIPOLI, LEBANON, 28 May 2026. Young people in Tripoli are using cultural heritage to strengthen social cohesion and create new opportunities amid Lebanon’s ongoing economic and social crisis. In 2025, the Kofi Annan Foundation, in collaboration with Fight for Humanity, Permanent Peace Movement, IECD – Semeurs d’Avenir, and the Directorate General of Antiquities, launched Rooting for the Future. The project, made possible by support from…
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The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is expected to hold elections in December this year – a vote many see as pivotal for the country’s future. It follows a series of troubled elections which raised questions about the integrity of electoral processes and highlighted the need for various reforms. “The Catholic…
Supporting Elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is expected to hold elections in December this year – a vote many see as pivotal for the country’s future. It follows a series of troubled elections which raised questions about the integrity of electoral processes and highlighted the need for various reforms. “The Catholic and Protestant churches conducted a major study of the state of election preparations in May, which revealed serious problems, some technical, and some deliberate, which call into question the integrity of the process. The people of the DRC will not brook another fraudulent election.” – Jean Bosco Lalo,…
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In an series of articles for The Elephant, Kofi Annan Foundation consultant Abdulmalik Sugow discusses the place of multistakeholder collaboration in addressing the information disorder. Specifically, its importance and how to bring collectives together. In a prior article, Abdulmalik Sugow, lawyer, legal researcher and consultant for the Kofi Annan Foundation, discussed the…
OpEd | Addressing the Information Disorder: Building and Sustaining Collaboration
In an series of articles for The Elephant, Kofi Annan Foundation consultant Abdulmalik Sugow discusses the place of multistakeholder collaboration in addressing the information disorder. Specifically, its importance and how to bring collectives together. In a prior article, Abdulmalik Sugow, lawyer, legal researcher and consultant for the Kofi Annan Foundation, discussed the need to address the information disorder (defined as mis- and disinformation) through collaborative multistakeholder collectives such as Fumbua Kenya. As a follow-up, he takes the next step of envisioning the ideal composition for such collectives with a two-part op-ed for The Elephant. In part one, Sugow briefly explores…
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The responses to the information disorder adopted in Kenya have been largely ineffective. Multidisciplinary stakeholders working collaboratively stand a higher chance of success and will result in a more informed audience that is less susceptible to mis- and disinformation. In an article for The Elephant, Kofi Annan Foundation Consultant Abdulmalik Sugow argues…
OpEd | The Information Disorder Calls for Multidisciplinary Collaboration
The responses to the information disorder adopted in Kenya have been largely ineffective. Multidisciplinary stakeholders working collaboratively stand a higher chance of success and will result in a more informed audience that is less susceptible to mis- and disinformation. In an article for The Elephant, Kofi Annan Foundation Consultant Abdulmalik Sugow argues that the current “information disorder” requires multidisciplinary collaboration. The following article was originally published on 3 February 2023. The information disorder (i.e., mis- and disinformation) pervasive on social media has arguably interfered with democratic processes across the world. As public authorities and political actors continue to embrace social…
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Dakar, 8 September 2022 – The United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Open Society Initiative – West Africa (OSIWA), the Kofi Annan Foundation (KAF), and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) organized, on 6 and 7 September 2022, a colloquium on the…
PRESS RELEASE: The Reinforcement of democracy and public governance in West Africa
Dakar, 8 September 2022 – The United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Open Society Initiative – West Africa (OSIWA), the Kofi Annan Foundation (KAF), and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) organized, on 6 and 7 September 2022, a colloquium on the enhancement of democracy and good governance in West Africa. The colloquium brought together around sixty participants, including experts and practitioners in governance and peacebuilding, and representatives of think tanks and research organizations. The colloquium was enhanced by the presence of Mr Kabiné Komara, former Prime Minister of the…
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Sadly, principled statesmen and women who can forge bold, morally consistent responses to today’s global problems are in short supply. We must therefore safeguard and promote the virtues that the former UN secretary-general embodied. This article originally appeared in Project Syndicate on May 13, 2022. GENEVA – The world is facing a…
Kofi Annan’s Lessons in Global Leadership
Sadly, principled statesmen and women who can forge bold, morally consistent responses to today’s global problems are in short supply. We must therefore safeguard and promote the virtues that the former UN secretary-general embodied. This article originally appeared in Project Syndicate on May 13, 2022. GENEVA – The world is facing a set of acute crises without recent parallel: a war in Europe that could escalate into a nuclear conflict, skyrocketing food prices that are hitting the poor the hardest, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the climate emergency. We need principled statesmen and women to forge bold, morally consistent responses to…
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At the 2021 Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit, national and global stakeholders made significant new policy and financial commitments to help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2: Ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030. For its part, the African Union designated 2022 the Year of Nutrition, sending a powerful signal to its 55 member…
OpEd | Nutritious school meals are the key for Africa's children
At the 2021 Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit, national and global stakeholders made significant new policy and financial commitments to help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2: Ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030. For its part, the African Union designated 2022 the Year of Nutrition, sending a powerful signal to its 55 member states to prioritize better nutrition and health for their citizens — especially for children, who are most vulnerable to the effects of malnutrition. This article was originally published by Dexex on 1 March, 2022 On March 1, the AU marks the 7th African Day of School Feeding to highlight the essential…
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West Africa is at a turning point: its democracies are in jeopardy. How can the region recommit to democracy? Kofi Annan Foundation Special Adviser Sebastien F. Brack shares his thoughts. This article was originally published on the European Council on Foreign Affairs ecfr.eu. The coup d’état in Burkina Faso this week –…
OpEd | Beyond sanctions: Recommitting West Africa to democracy
West Africa is at a turning point: its democracies are in jeopardy. How can the region recommit to democracy? Kofi Annan Foundation Special Adviser Sebastien F. Brack shares his thoughts. This article was originally published on the European Council on Foreign Affairs ecfr.eu. The coup d’état in Burkina Faso this week – the third in less than two years in west Africa – is an unwelcome sign of the weakness of democratic governance in the region. Like previous coups in Mali and Guinea, the overthrow of the government in Burkina Faso appears to have been led by a mid-level officer…
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Ory Okolloh, a member of the Kofi Annan Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age, and Abdulmalik Sugow, a legal researcher and consultant, co-authored an opinion piece on the topic of safeguarding Kenya’s electoral freedoms in the digital age. The article was originally published in Business Daily Africa on the…
Oped: Safeguarding Kenya’s Electoral freedoms in the Digital Age
Ory Okolloh, a member of the Kofi Annan Commission on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age, and Abdulmalik Sugow, a legal researcher and consultant, co-authored an opinion piece on the topic of safeguarding Kenya’s electoral freedoms in the digital age. The article was originally published in Business Daily Africa on the 5th of January 2022. “Preparations to safeguard the credibility of Kenya’s upcoming 2022 general elections are underway. Relative to previous election cycles, stakeholders have increased their focus on the role played by digital technologies in various democratic processes and for a good reason. From a more-connected- than-ever voter…
