Shontaye Abegaz

Born in the United States, Shontaye has lived in Europe, Africa and North America. An advocate for human security, conflict dialogue and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal, Shontaye Abegaz is the Executive Director and Founder of the International Insitute for Human Security. The Institute’s mission is to advance knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer related to key facets of human security, known as ‘Societal Stabilizers’.
Prior to her current position she was the Managing Director and Chair of the Executive Committee for the Swiss-based Forum Just Governance for Human Security in Caux, Switzerland. Under her leadership, the annual conference grew three times in size attracting individuals from over 60 countries to engage in dialogue centered on human security. In additional to creating the program for the five day international event, Shontaye was the creator and initiator of HumansecurityX, a parallel certificate training program which offered a deeper exploration, facilitated by experts, of global human security concerns. She was also the creator and initiator of the E-book: Crossing Paths- A Guide to The Pillars of Human Security and the 2030 Global Goals. Shontaye is based in Chicago, USA and is an active member of several international civic and professional organizations including International Women Associates and The Africa Seed Access Index. Shontaye was featured as ‘Living Book’ as part of the Human Library held at the United Nations-Geneva for Geneva Peace Week 2017. Her discussion centered on pursing the 2030 Global Goals as a bridge-builder and global citizen.