Edward Harris Email & Phone Number

Geneva, Ge, Ch

Moscow, Russia

- In a context of worsening East-West relations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was building "strategic engagement" with the Russian government on issues from international humanitarian law to operations in Syria and elsewhere.- Advised on messaging to build trust and strategic engagement, highlighting shared narratives, and the ICRC's relevance, added value, and comparative advantages- Increased visibility of ICRC President Peter Maurer by writing an opinion piece and organising its placement in Izvestiya, one of the country's most influential newspapers.

Geneva, Switzerland

- UNCTAD is UN’s lead agency on economic globalization including trade, technology, sustainable finance. Based in Geneva. Managed a team of 15, reorganised workflows, and developed communications strategy to boost UNCTAD visibility and reputation. - Media visibility up 50% over six-month contract compared with the same period in year before, with average 1,370 media mentions pcm from 900 previously. Linked to this, our website rose 20,000 places on a global ranking of websites (Alexa). - Increased visibility of Secretary-General by writing and placing comment pieces in the East African, one of the region’s most influential outlets, and UK Guardian too.

Geneva, Switzerland

- Based in Geneva as an independent consultant, my clients included the BBC, CITES, Reuters, Transparency International, UNHCR, and WWF. Highlights included: - Opportunity EduFinance – Advised on strategy, including new narrative, for this non-profit, which has used microfinance in developing countries to help educate two million kids so far.- Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) – Increased media visibility for this new initiative, ahead of their Mauritania launch, by generating coverage in Reuters and writing a comment piece for top Brussels website, the EU Observer. - Trafigura – Contributed to oil trader’s first-ever corporate responsibility report, including with interview of former UK international development minister, Clare Short. - Public Eye – Edited reports, including Dirty Diesel on public health impact of oil trade in West Africa, which earned this Swiss non-profit coverage in the New York Times, Financial Times, Le Monde, and more. It also led to new environmental standards in seven countries.

Geneva, Switzerland

- Chaired by former UNSG Kofi Annan, the ten-member Panel produced an influential Africa Progress Report each year, recommending policies on key issues, esp. natural resources. Responsible for boosting visibility; media outreach; writing briefs, speeches, forewords, and more for Kofi Annan and the other Panel Members. - Boosted Panel visibility online and in top global media, from Financial Times through to CNN, CCTV, and wires. Between July 2012 and Dec 2014, website unique visitors rose from 1,600 pcm to 12,000; Facebook fans rose from 3,000 to 205,000. - Persuaded Panel Member Peter Eigen to participate in FT commodities conference, where his comments helped persuade Trafigura – an oil trader – to adopt new transparency standards, marking a major step forward for the entire industry.

Geneva, Switzerland

- The GAVI Alliance is a Geneva-based public-private alliance, funded by Bill Gates and others, that works with vaccine makers to increase immunization for children in the developing world. - Briefed leadership on media interviews; led press trips; wrote for media and online; and more.

East Africa And The Indian Ocean Region

- The world’s leading news agency, Reuters has correspondents all over the world.- Based in Djibouti, Eritrea, and Indian Ocean region (Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, and Comoros), I covered humanitarian emergencies, “war on terror”, border tensions, island rebellions, politics, economics, society, and environment.- First western journalist for many years to cover the tense military build-up along the Eritrean border with Ethiopia and on the Beja rebels in eastern Sudan.- Overcame complex media context in Eritrea, one of the world’s most repressive countries, by writing without byline for the Economist and Africa Confidential.- One of first Reuters’ journalists to cover climate change, noted for environmental stories from Indian Ocean on climate change, fisheries, biodiversity, and more. - Learned video. Sold globally, Reuters TV Africa Journal said I “produced a regular supply of strong and stunningly filmed features, two of which won best of the month”.

Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, And Tajikistan

- Abt Associates is a Washington-based consultancy, with more than 2,300 staff working on a range of social development and public policy issues. In the five former Soviet Central Asian republics, Abt was funded by the US government to facilitate healthcare reform. - COUNTRY DIRECTOR, TAJIKISTAN – Responsible for 11 Tajik and international staff; liaised with Health Ministry, USAID, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, WHO, and NGOs.- Helped shift Abt away from post-conflict programme towards longer-term development.- CONFLICT CONSULTANT, CENTRAL ASIA – In the aftermath of 9/11, wrote thought papers on how USAID could help protect social and political stability in the Central Asian region. All my ideas were adopted, including on small grants, cross-border programmes, and anti-narcotic projects - leading to new US-funded programmes in the region. - SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT, UZBEKISTAN – Researched “mahalla” communities in Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley, then summarised my findings and analysis in a report. Report well received by Abt and USAID, who used it to work more effectively with mahallas.

- The Department for International Development (DFID) is UK’s ministry for overseas aid.- Based in London with frequent travel, I supported senior health adviser to facilitate healthcare reform in the former Soviet Union.- Helped design and monitor UK-funded projects worth roughly £4 million per year.- Advocated for - and secured - DFID engagement with Tajikistan, the region’s poorest country.

Uk And Azerbaijan

- I wanted to use - and improve - my leadership and Russian language skills. - As a volunteer, I trained as a relief worker, before providing medical aid in Azerbaijan.

- Repaired an old mountain bike and travelled through Europe and the Middle East to Cairo, then from Uganda down to Cape Town.

- The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst is the British Army’s officer training school. At the end of the course, I was ranked third out of 30 cadets in my platoon.- A final report said: “[Mr Harris] has an assimilative and inquiring mind which is quick to find solutions to tricky problems and he repeatedly proved that he is capable of making difficult decisions under pressure… He works well both individually and as part of a team. He has justifiable self-confidence in his abilities and will naturally gravitate to the front in order to lead his peers, he has a pleasing outgoing nature and is thoroughly recommended as a considerable asset to any employer fortunate enough to secure his services.”

Ba, Politics & Economics

Msc, Development Studies With Special Reference To Central Asia

MSc (with merit) in Development Studies with special reference to Central Asia. Course explored sociology, globalisation, development.

Diploma, Journalism

Completed the three month journalism course that included media law, ethics, and sub-editing.