Peace Education

Sergio Bassoli was elected as an IPB Council member in October 2025.

Sergio Bassoli is based in Italy. He is a CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) senior expert on voluntary bases on peace dossiers, and the Coordinator of the Executive of Rete Italiana Pace e Disarmo (Italian Network for Peace and Disarmament).

Nathaniel Msen Awuapila was elected as an IPB Council member in October 2025.

Nathaniel Msen Awuapila is a peacebuilding strategist whose career spans three decades of transformative leadership in education, humanitarian response, social services, and conflict transformation. He is the Founder of CORAFID Centre for Innovation and Research Ltd/Gte (CORAFID) which currently is the State partner for the Presidential Community Engagement Peace Initiative (PCEPI), a peacebuilding project in the office of Nigeria’s President which is being implemented in his home State, Benue, Nigeria. He was the fourth President of Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP) from 2022 to 2026, where he successfully transformed the Society from a national body operating in Nigeria into an international association with branches in Sierra Leone and Cameroon. Under his leadership, SPSP secured Special Consultative Status with the UN ECOSOC and full membership of the International Peace Bureau (IPB). SPSP also secured a mandate to provide strategic capacity building for all cadres of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and streamlined partnerships with the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) and Nigeria’s National Institute for Security Studies (NISS). 

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Mina Damnjanović was elected as an IPB Council member in October 2025.

Mina Damnjanović is a long-standing peace activist from Serbia, now based in Berlin. She is affiliated with Women in Black in Serbia and an engaged member of WILPF International (Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom).
She is the co-founder and program coordinator of the Initiative against sexual violence “I trust You” in Belgrade.

Miguel Álvarez Gandara was elected as an IPB Council member in October 2025.

Miguel Álvarez Gandara is based in Mexico. In 1996 he co-founded SERAPAZ – the abbreviation SERAPAZ has got a double meaning: Services and Advices for Peace and also There will be peace. It is a Mexican civil society and non-for-profit organization, independent from the state, political parties, corporations and any other actors. In 2017 Miguel received the prestigious Premio Nacional de Derechos Humanos (National Human Rights Award).

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Ludo De Brabander was elected as an IPB Council member in October 2025.

Ludo De Brabander is a Belgian writer and spokesman for the Belgian peace organisation Vrede vzw.

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Hevelyn Ghizzi was elected as an IPB Council member in October 2025 and is currently the Executive Director Dhesarme – Ação Brasileira pelo Desarmamento Humanitário (Brazilian Action for Humanitarian Disarmament).

Hevelyn is a Brazilian researcher and international relations professional working at the intersection of humanitarian disarmament, international law, peace and security, and regional cooperation. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in International Relations at the Federal University for Latin American Integration (UNILA) and a postgraduate specialization in Public International Law at the Center for International Law (CEDIN). She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Integration from UNILA.
Hevelyn is a Council Member of the International Peace Bureau (IPB), co-leads its Demilitarization Working Group, and co-leads its regional working group for Latin America and the Caribbean, contributing to international discussions and initiatives on disarmament, demilitarization, military spending, and emerging security challenges. She also serves as Executive Director of DHESARME – Brazilian Action for Humanitarian Disarmament and as Regional Organiser for Latin America and the Caribbean with the Stop Killer Robots campaign.

Her academic and advocacy work focuses particularly on humanitarian disarmament, International Humanitarian Law, autonomous weapons systems, human security, arms control, and the regulation of emerging technologies in warfare. Her master’s research examines the international process toward the regulation of autonomous weapons systems, with particular attention to humanitarian and legal challenges and ongoing negotiations within the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Her broader experience includes international advocacy, research, project management, paradiplomacy, transborder cooperation, and engagement with civil society networks in Latin America and internationally.

Selected Publications

“International Law and Autonomous Weapons: Challenges in Limitation and Regulation” Original title: “Direito Internacional e as Armas Autônomas: Desafios dos Limites e Regulamentações”. Co-authored with Rafael Euclides Seidel Batista. Published in Direito Internacional em Expansão, Vol. XXVI, Chapter 23, pp. 403–416. Link: https://arraeseditores.com.br/direito-internacional-em-expansao-v-26/

“Humanitarian Disarmament as a Means of Promoting Peace in the Era of Technological Transition.” Published by Stop Killer Robots as part of the UN Disarmament Week series, 27 October 2023. Link: https://stopkillerrobots.medium.com/humanitarian-disarmament-as-a-means-of-promoting-peace-in-the-era-of-technological-transition-4d27d50e2e05

“Autonomous Weapons Systems, Inequality, and the Struggle for Human Dignity: A Youth Perspective from the Global South”. Published by Stop Killer Robots as part of the UN Disarmament Week series, 27 October 2025. Link: https://stopkillerrobots.medium.com/autonomous-weapons-systems-inequality-and-the-struggle-for-human-dignity-a-youth-perspective-b72d642bed98

“Transnational Organized Crime and the Challenges of Public Security in the Tri-Border Area (Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay)” Original title: “A Delinquência Organizada Transnacional e os Desafios da Segurança Pública na Tríplice Fronteira (Argentina, Brasil e Paraguai)”.Undergraduate thesis, Federal University for Latin American Integration (UNILA), 2024. Link: https://dspace.unila.edu.br/server/api/core/bitstreams/0e2358de-c304-465e-84ad-ced907d43eea/content

Gabriel Aguirre was elected as an IPB Council member in October 2025.

Gabriel Aguirre is Latin America Organizer for World BEYOND War, is from Venezuela, and is currently based in Bógota. He has been an activist and advocate for peace, social justice, international solidarity and human rights, and has more than 13 years of experience in social and community work. He has participated in multiple international events and activities on five continents, always in defense of a stable and lasting peace. He has been a representative to the United Nations to defend the foundations of a more just world without wars or sanctions. His work experience includes participation in several international missions of solidarity to countries that have had military, economic, political, and social conflicts. He has also been an organizer of various campaigns for the closure of military bases, and the lifting of sanctions on countries that suffer their consequences. He holds a degree in Political Science, with a specialization in International Relations, and a master’s degree in Public Policy. He can be contacted through his email: gabriel @ worldbeyondwar.org.

Fatima Medani was elected as an IPB Council member in October 2025.

Fatima Medani is from Sudan and is based in the USA. She is a Strategic Governance and Policy Advocate with 9 years of cross-sectoral experience advancing youth engagement, feminist movement resilience, and grassroots peacebuilding.

Ejimole Fidelia Onwuekwe was elected as an IPB Council member in October 2025. She also served as an IPB Council member for the 2019–2022 term.

Ejimole Fidelia Onwuekwe is based in Imo State, Nigeria. She is a retired nurse and the founder of the World Youth Peace Organization, an NGO established to help empower youth.

Ahmad Bakdad was elected as an IPB Council member in October 2025, after working with IPB as Assistant Coordinator.

He is from Syria, he is committed to promoting child rights and gender equality, and supporting vulnerable communities, particularly children and women. Dedicated Safeguarding & Protection practitioner and project manager, specialized in capacity building and policy development for child protection & safeguarding, investigations, humanitarian aid, and community-based protection initiatives.

Holder of a Bachelor’s degree in Law and legal practice authorization. With 7+ years of national and international professional humanitarian, Community development, advocacy, global campaigns, and peace-building experiences.