December 1, 2017
MASHOM Graduation 24 Nov 2017
On Friday 24 Nov 2017 in the executive center on the Lugano campus, eleven Master of Advanced Studies in Humanitarian Operations Management degrees were conferred upon graduates from nine different countries.
Diana Corica, Program Manager, opened the ceremony with heartfelt congratulations for the students who she guided through the last year of their studies. Most of the graduates were visiting Lugano for the first time – all previous sessions of the MASHOM program took place at the IHC, the International Humanitarian City in Dubai.
Professor Paulo Gonçalves, Program Founder and Director, discussed how UN member states and international organizations have worked together to make significant progress towards achieving the millennium goals that were put in place in 2000. He went on to review the UN sustainable development goals agenda and the major challenges it poses.
Professor Patrick Gagliardini, Dean of the Faculty of Economics, welcomed the graduates to the USI alumni network, with words of encouragement and an overview of the university and its strengths.
“People at the Center” was the theme of keynote speaker Jacques Forster’s address. He began, “we acknowledge that we need to move from the present supply-driven model dominated by aid providers to a demand-driven model more responsive to the people we are assisting.” Forster is professor emeritus at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and President of the Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative.
The award for the Best Master Thesis for Impact went to Omer Gaffer Ali ABDON and Elmouez Ibrahim MOHAMMED SULIMAN for their work entitled, Enhancing UNICEF Sudan Field Data Collection and Analysis Methods. To implement their project, they developed a mobile app which they have launched in two provinces in South Sudan.
Throughout the ceremony, Cecilia Zacchi, an accomplished musician at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana (CSI) provided soft music on the harp.
Presenting USI’s newest MASHOM graduates:
Mr. Omer Gaffer Ali ABDON
Senior ICT Officer, UNICEF Khartoum Sudan
Mr. Ali Abdulrahman ALSHEIKH ALI
Logistic Officer, UNICEF Khartoum Sudan
Mr. Luta ARIFONZO
Administrative Officer, UNICEF Zimbabwe
Mr. Archibald CHIKAVANGA
Program Manager, Care International Zimbabwe
Ms. Nirmala Magdeline DECOSTA
Logistic Officer WFP Dubai UAE / UNHRD Deputy for the UNHRD Dubai
Mr. Ahamada DRABO
Regional ICT Officer, IOM Kenya
Mr. Morris Ebenezer GARGAR
Project Officer External Relations, World Health Organization South Sudan
Ms. Esther Reine BAYALA HACQUIN
Logistics Specialist, UNICEF DRC
Mr. Elmouez Ibrahim MOHAMMED SULIMAN
ICT Assistant, UNICEF Khartoum Sudan
Mr. Bwato N'SINDI
National Program Officer, UNFPA Congo
Mr. Aschalew Abate TEFERA
Monitoring Assistant, WFP Ethiopia
