Karana Olivier

Mr Olivier is a mediator and conflict analysis expert with over 15 years’ experience in the management of USAID and EU-funded stabilization projects in conflict zones in Central and West Africa. These include border security studies in the Mano River region and in the rural border towns of northern Burkina Faso, central Mali, and southwestern Niger – the Liptako Gourma region. He has also implemented programs designed to prevent and reduce violent extremism in Senegal, Sudan, Chad, Nigeria, and northern Côte d’Ivoire. As chief of party for Equal Access International, Mr Olivier recently implemented a USAID-funded project called Accountability for Development that sought to reduce push factors along the Ghana, Guinea, Burkina, and Mali border where local socioeconomic and health factors expose rural communities to recruitment in the activities of violent extremist groups. He speaks several languages including French and Danish and holds Master of Arts degrees in Anthropology and International Peace Studies.