Catherine WIHTOL de WENDEN DIDIER

Catherine de Wenden is the research director of the Centre for International Studies and Research (CERI) in Paris. She has been a consultant for various organisations including the OECD, the European Commission, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Council of Europe.
A jurist and political scientist, she has conducted various field surveys regarding the relations between migration and politics in France. Her comparative studies on migration flows, migration policies and citizenship in Europe and the rest of the world are part of the cross-cutting project "Migration and international relations" which she co-directs at CERI.
Madame de Wenden is the author of a large number of articles, sections of publications and issues of journals on migration, including her recent publication "La question migratoire au XXIe siècle. Migrants, réfugiés et relations internationales" (Sciences PO, Les Presses, 2010).

Merlie "Milet" B. Mendoza

Peace practitioner and humanitarian Merlie “Milet” B. Mendoza of the Philippines has over two decades of peacebuilding experience commencing in 1989 ranging from the Office of the President in Manila to the conflicted frontlines of Mindanao. In 2010, Mendoza taught social work and disaster management in Miriam College, and human security and human development at the University for Peace Graduate School Program in the Ateneo de Manila University campus. Since 2007, Mendoza is an independent humanitarian and peace worker providing voluntary technical assistance to Caritas Manila and its Caritas Partners’ Network on Disaster Management, Risk Reduction and Response.

Mollard Blandine

After my degree in International Law and Languages, I decided to specialize in project management and development issues. This led me to work in Morocco with grassroot women’s associations on the promotion of women’s rights and especially increasing rural women’s access to information on their rights such as rights within the family, right to health access to health services. Later on, I pursued on this advocacy effort by joining an international NGO called Femmes Africa Solidarité, in Geneva whose goal is to mitigate the impact of armed conflicts on civilian women and girls and promote their active participation to conflict prevention and conflict resolution, in line with UN resolution 1325.

For the past four years, I have been working with the Gender Issues Coordination of the International Organization at its headquarters in Geneva. Our work consists of providing expertise on the inclusion of gender concerns in migration management and being a catalyst of the organization’s efforts to ensure that migration is a safe and enriching experience for men and women alike.  In this capacity, I have especially worked on promoting women’s empowerment through safe migration  including issues of access to health services for migrant and displaced women, preventing and tackling sexual and gender-based violence and address traditional practices having detrimental effects on women's and girls' health such as Female Genital Mutilation. I am currently undertaking a research on the psycho social impact of professional deskilling on qualified migrant women in Geneva.