Ilwad Elman

Biography

Ilwad Elman is a young female leader at the forefront of the Somali peace process, and a global authority on peace and security. Aged 19, she felt the responsibility to leave the safety of Canada and return to the Somalia she fled as a child, still steeped in violent conflict. At just 20, she co-founded Somalia’s first rape crisis centre with her mother. Since then, Ilwad has become a champion of building peace through giving all those impacted by conflict — particularly women and girls — a seat at the table. Through the Elman Peace Centre, she has designed interventions aimed at security sector reform to create an inclusive space for women in peace building and developing programs for the disarmament and rehabilitation of children and youth soldiers for their socio-economic rehabilitation and reintegration. She serves on various board and is an expert advisor to scores of UN Agencies on themes related to youth development, human rights, peace building, gender equity + more.