7. Nery Ronatay
Philippines
For 18 years, Nery has worked as a capacity builder, facilitator and program specialist in Philippines, Malawai, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar with grassroot communities, CSOs, and the United Nations thematically focusing on conflict transformation, HIV and AIDS, gender, and rights. Recently, he was the Peace and Development Officer of the UN Human Settlement Programme (UN Habitat) in Marawi City, Philippines as part of a team that helps rebuild the city after a devastating five-month siege of a radicalized ISIS-aligned group. He led the peacebuilding component of the project through conflict transformation, dialogue and peace education interventions.
He was also the focal point of the 4th Asian Peace Conference and co-lead in 6th Peace Practitioners Research Conference in 2017 in Cambodia. Prior to his peacebuilding work, Nery served as the HIV and AIDS Officer of UN Development Programme in Bangkok. In 2005, he was Rotary Group Exchange Scholar in Germany. He graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Sceience from Bicol University.
As a Rotary Peace Fellow, he intends to further study in peace processes and resolving violent conflicts by working from the vantage of governance and international institutions.