Founder and Executive Director, African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes, Durban, South Africa
Vasu Gounden is the founder and Executive Director of the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD). He is a lawyer, mediator, trainer and researcher in the field of conflict management. He holds a Master's degree in law from Georgetown University, which he obtained on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1990. Gounden has been an active conflict management trainer for more than two decades. He was involved in preparing conflicting parties across Africa for negotiations, including rebel groups in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He provided mediation support to the facilitators of the Burundi peace process, which included former President Nelson Mandela, President Jacob Zuma and Minister Charles Ngcakula, and served as an advisor on strategy to former President Masire on the Inter-Congolese Dialogue peace process. Gounden is involved in the Madagascar mediation, assisting the parties in their negotiation strategy development. He also serves on the boards of several institutions across the world involved in conflict management. He has addressed the United Nations Security Council on matters relating to conflict management and was elected by the World Economic Forum as one of their Global Leaders for Tomorrow (GLT).