The Founder and Executive Director of ACCORD, Vasu Gounden, was invited by the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) to travel with the former President of Finland, and 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, H.E. President Marti Ahtisaari, to Liberia for the launch of the “Governance out of the box” programme on 27-28 November 2008, in Monrovia. Discussions were also held on a working partnership between ACCORD and CMI on the above programme.
The visit included a working dinner with the President of Liberia, H.E. President Johnson-Sirleaf, as well as engaging UNMIL Civil Affairs Officers in an open dialogue discussion on Restoration and Consolidation of State Authority in Liberia. Mr. Gounden conducted a conflict management training for UNMIL in Liberia in 2007 as part of ACCORD’s Training for Peace (TfP) programme.
Mr. Gounden is a member of CMI’s International Advisory Board.
