Expanding the Toolbox

Presented by Carter School’s Better Evidence Project 

Title: Expanding the Toolbox: Lessons and Tools from Business, Marketing, Communications, and Technology for Peacebuilding Innovation 

In a rapidly changing global landscape marked by protracted conflicts and widescale withdrawal of funding that has destabilized the peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development sectors, the conflict resolution field must continue to evolve to meet new challenges. This interactive session will explore what it means to be innovative in the field of peacebuilding, drawing lessons and strategies from outside the traditional peacebuilding and conflict resolution space, from such industries as business, marketing, communications, and technology. As part of the Better Evidence Project’s ongoing mission to support more effective peacebuilding through knowledge-sharing and the strategic use of evidence and learning, this session will feature presentations from three speakers who embody cross-sector innovation in action. The session will also feature an interactive brainstorming section, in which we invite participants to share and explore additional innovative projects, tools, or approaches that they have seen or used. Through this discussion, we hope to generate new ideas, spotlight under-recognized approaches, and foster connection and collaboration across sectors. We will also invite those attendees who are interested in submitting a short paragraph in advance describing an innovative project that they would like showcased or promoted during the session. Please send your innovative project submissions to [email protected]. 

Panelists: 

• Varvara Kozlova is a 2025 IREX Community Solution Program Fellow from Ukraine. She is a marketing and public relations professional who is working to launch a project in Ukraine centered around creating an adaptation hub designed to support children, veterans, and women affected by the war. The goal is to foster emotional well-being and a sense of community, ultimately contributing to a network of support that encourages healing and inclusivity across Ukraine as individuals work to rebuild their lives post-conflict. 
• Abdoulaye Cissé is a 2025 IREX Community Solutions Program Fellow from Guinea. He has worked the past 8 years for a mining company while also serving as a leader in the Guinea National Association for Peace, which is committed to fostering peace-building initiatives in Guinea through collaboration with various civil society organizations. Abdoulaye focuses specifically on peace education, conflict resolution, and nonviolent practices to strengthen reconciliation, multiculturalism, and community cohesion. 
• Louise Wannier is Senior Advisor to the Better Evidence Project at the Carter School. She is a businesswoman who worked in the communications technology field and an entrepreneur who strives to bring entrepreneurial skills and tools to peacebuilding projects in order to help increase the scale and effectiveness of their design and implementation. She has worked as a facilitator and trainer around nonviolent means of addressing conflict. 

Moderators:  

• Jeff Helsing, Research Associate Professor, Carter School 
• Kamila Elyazgi, Better Evidence Project, Carter School 

Discussants: Better Evidence Project team 

I understand and agree that photos will be taken during this event. I hereby irrevocably authorize the Carter School to edit and publish photos taken on social media or use in publications.