Shontaye Abegaz

Shontaye Abegaz is a Senior Fellow with the Institute for Global Negotiation and will be leading the flagship Global Negotiation Conference 2026. She is an international forum convenor, advisor, and consultant focused on high-level dialogue and human security.

In Switzerland, she directed the Just Governance for Human Security Forum at the Caux Conference and Seminar Centre for many years and organized side events alongside major Swiss conferences, convening participants from more than seventy countries across diplomatic, academic, practitioner, and grassroots communities. Under this framework, she created HumansecurityX, a certificate program on the fundamental pillars of human security, and led related publications advancing dialogue on human security and peacebuilding.

She is also the Founder and Executive Director of the International Institute for Human Security (IIHS), a five-year, volunteer-led global think tank dedicated to advancing a people-centered approach to peace and security. Operating across four continents with a team of 18 volunteers—including those engaged through United Nations Volunteers—the Institute convened diverse global voices to elevate grassroots peacebuilders, inform international discussions, and contribute to dialogue on human security. Its work included organizing high-level panels at global conferences and fostering the inclusion of underrepresented perspectives in international peace and security conversations.

Shontaye also serves as an advisor and consultant to the World Bank Group on a confidential leadership and mentorship program and as Advisor and Communications Lead (and Founding Board Member) with TASAI – The African Seed Access Index, supporting strategy, stakeholder engagement, and continent-wide visibility.