Position: Co-Organizer & Project Coordinator

Gaya is a Master student in International Affairs at the Geneva Graduate Institute, after pursuing an Honours degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at the University of Warwick. Her research interests revolve around security issues, terrorism, and state- building, with a focus on Sub-Saharan and North Africa. Alongside her academic commitments, she devotes her time to the advocacy of anti- racist and feminist goals.

Favorite TED Talk

“The power of vulnerability” - Brené Brown

Position: Project Coordinator

Elodie is French, British and Swiss. She grew up in Geneva, did her undergraduate in the United Kingdom and is now a 1st year MIA student, specilizing herself in Global security. She loves skiing, music and dancing.

Position: Co-Organizer and Head of Communications

Marta is a second year Master in International Affairs student from Italy. She holds two Bachelor degrees in European Social and Political Studies from Sciences Po Paris and UCL. Her primary research interests are the visual arts, and the intersection of material and visual culture with international affairs and foreign policy. She loves visiting museums, film photography, and collecting coloured vinyls.

Favorite TED Talk

“Do schools kill creativity? - Sir Ken Robinson

“Picasso once said this, he said that all children are born artists. The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up. I believe this passionately, that we don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it.”

Position: Talks Co-Head | Talks Team

Yung-Hsuan is Taiwanese pursuing a Master's in International Affairs. Highly interested in the intersection of emerging technologies and politics, he wishes to explore how machine learning algorithms will rule the world one day. Or not. Outside the academic prison, he plays the violin, writes short stories, and composes.

Favorite TED Talk

”Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator” - Tim Urban

Position: Talks Co-Head | Talks Team

India is French and Algerian. She is doing her Master in International Development and is interested in decolonization, indigenous knowledge and nature conservation. She likes painting, gardening and swimming.

Favorite TED Talk

“The danger of a single story” - Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie

“How impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story”

Position: Team Member | Talks Team

Ambra is from Italy, and she brings a little piece of her country in everything she does. She is interested in environmental sustainability, food security and inequalities. She loves playing volleyball and eating with friends.

Favorite TED Talk

“If I should have a daughter…” - Sarah Kay

"Because there's nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it's sent away."

Position: Team Member | Talks Team

Position: Team Member | Talks Team

Anne is from Germany and a second year MDEV student. She is interested in humanitarian and development financing, and innovative ideas for development. She likes yoga and running, and is always happy to discover new brunch and coffee places.

Favorite TED Talk

“The danger of a single story” - Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie

“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”

Position: Events Co-Head | Event & Logistics Team

Chiara is originally Italian but did her growing up abroad. She is a first year MDEV student specializing in migration and security. She has a background in gender studies and international relations, and her research focuses on gender-based violence in contexts of arbitrary detention. She loves to cook and (although she's not great at it) she loves to dance salsa and bachata.

Favorite TED Talk

“We should all be feminists” - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“The problem with gender, is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are”

Position: Head of Events | Event & Logistics Team

Marco is a first year Master's student in International Affairs. He grew up in Turin, Italy, and received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Milan. From Milan, he decided to cross the Alps in order to deepen his knowledge of conflict studies and security at the Graduate Institute. He loves to cook for his friends, play football and listen to rap music.

Favorite TED Talk

“A guerrilla gardener in South Central LA” - Ron Finley

“Gardening is the most therapeutic and defiant act you can do, especially in the inner city. Plus, you get strawberries”

Position: Student Corner Organizer

Jiayi comes from China and is a first year MIA student with a specialization in trade and international finance. Her interest lies in the intersection of trade and labor. She loves rock music, hiking, and is currently learning origami from videos on Youtube.

Favorite TED Talk

“How kids can help design cities” - Mara Mintzer

“We wouldn't be designing better cities for children. Children would be designing better cities for themselves, and for the rest of us, too.”

Position: Volunteers Manager | Event & Logistics Team

Aditi is from India and is a first year MIA student. She likes to meet people, explore places and is a foodie. You will often find her playing chess or reading comics in the library lounge.

Favorite TED Talk

“The country isn’t just carbon neutral - it’s carbon negative” - Tshering Tobgay

“Because the reality is, we are in it together. Some of us might dress differently, but we are in it together.”

Position: External Events Coordinator | Event & Logistics Team

Position: Team Member | Event & Logistics Team

Silvia is from Italy. She is a Master candidate in International Affairs interested in cybersecurity, technological innovations and their intersection with gender. She likes classical music, reading, and hiking.

Favorite TED Talk

“The power of vulnerability” - Brené BrownPosition: Team Member | Event & Logistics Team

Silvia is from Italy. She is a Master candidate in International Affairs interested in cybersecurity, technological innovations and their intersection with gender. She likes classical music, reading, and hiking.

Favorite TED Talk

“The power of vulnerability” - Brené Brown

Position: Head of Treasury | Finance & Sponsorship Team

Conrad is a second year Master in International Affairs student from Germany. He received his bachelor degree in International Studies from Leiden University and his research interests revolve around regional security arrangements and peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa. He loves dancing, listening to music, and experimenting with international cuisines whilst cooking.

Favorite TED Talk

“Inside the mind of a master procrastinator” - Tim Urban

“[I]t's [...] long-term [...] procrastination that's much less visible and much less talked about than the funnier, short term deadline-based kind. It's usually suffered quietly and privately. And it can be the source of a huge amount of long-term unhappiness, and regrets”

Position: Sponsorship Team Coordinator | Finance & Sponsorship Team

Shunyao is from China, 1st year fellow in international affairs. She has a background of project management in banking sector. Now her passion is in fundraising non-profit organizations to make real positive impact to the world.

Favorite TED Talk

“What makes a good life?” - Robert Waldinger

“There is only time for loving”

Position: Team Member | Finance & Sponsorship Team

Juliette is a 1st MIA year student, from Italy and Canada, Quebec. Her field of interest is the intersection of global health with gender studies. In addition, she has a philosophical background that put her to question and analyze new challenges around ethics and morality.

Favorite TED Talk

“The Illusion of Consciousness” - Daniel Dennett

“Real consciousness is not a bag of tricks. If you're going to explain this as a bag of tricks, then it's not real consciousness, whatever it is”

Position: Sponsorship Manager | Finance & Sponsorship Team

Position: Team Member | Finance & Sponsorship Team

Patrizio is from Ticino, but originally from the Romansh part of Switzerland. He is a passionate rock climber and skier always keen to learn and to interact with others.

Favorite TED Talk

“How to save tourism from itself” - Doug Lansky

“A city can have tourists but tourists can’t have the city”

Position: Co-Head of Communications, Social Media Manager

Marta is a second year Master in International Affairs student from Italy. She holds two Bachelor degrees in European Social and Political Studies from Sciences Po Paris and UCL. Her primary research interests are the visual arts, and the intersection of material and visual culture with international affairs and foreign policy. She loves visiting museums, film photography, and collecting coloured vinyls.

Favorite TED Talk

“Do schools kill creativity? - Sir Ken Robinson

“Picasso once said this, he said that all children are born artists. The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up. I believe this passionately, that we don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it.”

Position: Co-Head of Communications, Website Designer & Coordinator, Graphic Designer | Communications Team

Sara is French and American. She is a first year MIA student and interested in global health and environmental issues. She loves playing piano, hiking, and traveling.

Favorite TED Talk

“How to live life passionately - no matter your age” - Isabel Allende

“How do I train? I train by saying yes to whatever comes my way: drama, comedy, tragedy, love, death, losses. Yes to life."

Position: Graphic Designer | Communications Team

Chinmay is a first year Masters student in International Affairs. Originally from India, he is passionate about Policy Making and Skill Development in Youth and is the Founder and CEO at CIRCEI Education, which enables 21st-century skills amongst Youth in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in India. Chinmay is also a published author, an excellent orator, and has an irrefragable proclivity for writing. In his free time, he loves to garden and cycle.

Favorite TED Talk

“Trial, error and the God complex” - Tim Harford

“Embrace your randomness and start making better mistakes”

Position: Social Media Handler | Communications Team

Kanikka is a 1st year PhD Fellow in Anthropology and Sociology. Her research interest lies at the intersection of labour and technology, and currently, she is fascinated by the role of algorithms in the digital platform economy. Born and brought up in the capital city of India, Kanikka is passionate about meeting beautiful minds over a cup coffee or a glass of wine, wherever and whenever possible!

Favorite TED Talk

“How Algorithms Shape Our World” - Kevin Slavin

“We are writing things we can no longer read and we've rendered something illegible and we have lost the sense of what's actually happening in the world that we've made.”

Position: Social Media Handler | Communications Team

Valeria was born in Ukraine, got her BA degree from the Charles University in Prague, and is currently a student of International History and Politics. She loves exploring new places, learning foreign languages and getting to know people from different cultures.

Favorite TED Talk

“Isolation is the dream-killer, not your attitude” - Barbara Sher

“We depend on each other's dreams coming true. Every time you make someone else's dream come true, it echoes.”

Position: Social & Welfare Officer | Welfare Team

Flavian grew up in Geneva, but Montreal is in his heart. He has a background in criminology, plays the cello and focuses academically on the intersection of gender and the private security industry. He likes cold weather and always has chocolate in his school bag.

Favorite TED Talk

“Why Lifestyle is the BEST Medicine” - Meagan L. Grega