Ruveni started out as an intern at SAD and worked up to leading her own peace building project in Sri Lanka.
What was your role at SAD?
In 2006, I started to work for SAD as an intern. Soon afterwards I was hired as a project officer for the dialogue project in Turkey and, from 2007 onwards, I was project manager on the peacebuilding project in Sri Lanka. The dialogue project in Turkey inspired me to deepen my knowledge of peace building. I attended several professional education programmes on conflict transformation and peace building and completed a training course in mediation.
At SAD, I had the great opportunity to lead the project in Sri Lanka from start to finish. I was responsible for fundraising, conception, conflict-sensitive project planning and implementation, the support of the local team and monitoring and evaluation of the project.
What is the best memory you have from your time at SAD?
I have a lot of fond memories from my time at SAD. I look back to the regular project trips to Turkey and Sri Lanka with pleasant memories as well. I particularly enjoyed the team spirit at SAD, the summer parties in the beautiful garden, the lunchtime runs and different training sessions that I attended with colleagues from SAD. Some of my colleagues from that time are still my friends today.
Where do you work now and what do you do?
After several years of work experience in development cooperation, I recently worked as a research associate at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Bern. On behalf of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), I implemented projects on gender and development. Among others, I evaluated selected SDC projects with regards to their gender sensitivity.
At the moment, I’m working temporarily for the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) in the Section for Equal Opportunities and Global Gender and Women’s Issues. In this position I not only deal with questions of equal opportunities within FDFA but also with the implementation of the Swiss women’s and human rights politics, and foreign activities in the realm of women’s rights and global gender issues. From 1 May 2017, I will be looking for a new professional challenge.