Gilberto Rodrigues, professor of the Graduate Programs in Human and Social Sciences and International Relations at UFABC and coordinator of the Sergio Vieira de Mello Chair (UFABC/UNHCR), participated in the 3rd Annual Conference between Civil Society and the UN on Peacebuilding, held on December 10 and 11, 2025 at the Palace of Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland. The invitation came from the non-governmental organization Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC, The Hague, Netherlands), in which the professor represented Latin America and the Caribbean. The central theme of the event was “Operationalization of a Systemic Approach to the Consolidation and Sustainment of Peace”.
Co-organized by the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (UNDPPA) and the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) and the CMI-Martti Ahtisaari Foundation and civil society partners, the event brought together more than 200 experts, women and youth networks, as well as community leaders. The meeting promoted the exchange of perspectives on global priorities and the strengthening of collaboration across the architecture of peace. At the opening, Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo emphasized that “peacebuilding is, at its core, a people-centered effort,” highlighting the vital role of civil society in conflict prevention and mediation, as advocated in the Peacebuilding Architecture Review (PBAR).
Gilberto Rodrigues’ participation in the Palace of Nations reflects his trajectory dedicated to academic internationalization and conflict resolution. The professor has a solid international background. He is a member of the Observatory of Brazilian Foreign Policy and International Insertion (OPEB) and a UFABC representative in the Association of Universities of the Montevideo Group (AUGM) since 2022. The professor holds a PhD in Social Sciences from PUC-SP (2004) and a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the same institution, as well as a master’s degree from the University for Peace (UN/Costa Rica) and a specialization in Conflict Resolution from Uppsala Universitet (Sweden). His academic career also includes postdoctoral internships as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the University of Notre Dame and as a Visiting Research Fellow at American University in Washington, DC.