2013 Advocate
Absolom Shalakha, a Kenyan national, is a Cofounder and the Executive Director at
Change for Planet Foundation (C4P), an NGO registered in Kenya with regional operations. He has over sixteen years of professional experience in Governance, Climate Action, Peace building; particularly in Mediation, Prevention of Violent Extremism, Research, Conflict and Project Management at different levels. He has worked in various conflict zones, including in Kenya as the National Adviser for Conflict Early Warning, Early Response at Peace-Net Kenya; Ethiopia, Uganda and South Sudan as a Conflict Researcher. In Nigeria, he has provided technical and program expertise to ensure efficient, effective and sustainable execution of various projects and mediation initiatives in Plateau, Kaduna and Borno States, where he helped design and pioneer the first ever online mediation program and tools to support Mediation. Additionally, he designed and Supported Capacity Building Trainings on Mediation in North East Nigeria, targeting both State and Non-state actors, including formal and informal security organizations in Borno and Yobe States.
A certified Elections Observer with the African Union, Absolom graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Human Resource Management from Kenyatta University and holds a Master’s degree in International Conflict Management from the University of Nairobi. He attended Columbia University’s Human Rights Advocates Program in 2013 and was a Chevening Fellow in 2010 at the University of Bradford, United Kingdom, where he studied International Peacekeeping and Capacity Building. He has taken courses at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Center in Accra, Ghana, Clingendael Institute in Netherlands, and the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. in Peace building and conflict management. He also serves as the Vice-Chairperson for Peace and Security, ICGLR-Kenya CSOs Chapter, and represents the Kenyan CSOs in Global Partnership for Prevention of Armed Conflicts (GPPAC) as the focal person.
