Board Members and Governance

I believe that sustainable peace begins with connection. It grows when people feel seen, heard, and empowered to shape their communities together. This belief has guided my work for more than eight years as a social worker, facilitator, and peace educator.

I hold a Bachelor's degree in Social Work and a Master's degree in Social Management. Throughout my career, I have designed and managed international projects, developed educational programmes, and facilitated training courses, dialogue initiatives, and exchanges for young people, civil society organisations, and professionals across Europe and the South Caucasus. Working together with local organisations, international partners, universities, and public institutions has shown me the transformative power of collaboration across borders.

I am passionate about creating spaces where people feel safe to be themselves, discover their strengths, learn from one another, and find the connections that unite rather than divide them.

My academic research explored how local actors and their perspectives can shape more effective approaches to international cooperation in conflict transformation. This topic continues to inspire my work today. I strongly believe that sustainable peacebuilding requires genuine partnerships in which local knowledge and international experience complement one another. I enjoy supporting organisations in developing collaborative, locally grounded approaches that connect theory with practice.

Since moving to the South Caucasus in 2019, I have learned that peacebuilding for me is about much more than white doves and wishing for peace - although I still take the occasional white feather crossing my path as a hopeful sign. For me peace begins with listening with empathy, building trust patiently, embracing uncertainty, and remaining open to perspectives different from our own. For me, peacebuilding is about transforming conflicts but also about everyday practices of caring for ourselves, supporting one another, and trusting the process.

After many years of working alongside youth workers, peacebuilders, educators, and civil society organisations across Europe and the South Caucasus, I wanted to help create something that would outlast individual projects. That vision became Connectors e.V.

For me, Connectors is more than an organisation. It is a growing community that connects local and international perspectives, brings together people from different backgrounds and disciplines, and creates opportunities for long-term cooperation. It is a place where learning continues beyond project cycles, partnerships grow into friendships, and people discover that peace is something we build together - one connection at a time.

Nino Kobakhidze is a Board Member of Connectors e.V., where she contributes to the organization's strategic development and the design of initiatives promoting peacebuilding, conflict transformation, peace education, and youth engagement.

Since 2019, she has been actively engaged in advancing peace education in Georgia and the wider South Caucasus, working with policymakers, civil society representatives, educators, teachers, students, and religious leaders. Her work includes designing and facilitating training programmes, developing educational methodologies and practical resources, supporting curriculum development, and strengthening cooperation between civil society and academia. Through Connectors e.V., she contributes to developing innovative approaches that empower young people as active peacebuilders and strengthen the capacities of youth workers and civil society organisations.

She is the author of Self-study Guide on Peace Education for General Education Specialists (Tbilisi, 2021) and Practical Guide for Peace Education with Youth in South Caucasus (Aalen, 2024). Throughout her career, she has designed, managed, and implemented projects supported by international donors and organisations, focusing on peacebuilding, youth participation, civic engagement, dialogue, and education.

Ms. Kobakhidze holds a Master's degree in Political Science and a Bachelor's degree in European Studies from Ilia State University. Before joining the civil society sector, she worked at the Parliament of Georgia, including the Foreign Relations Committee and the Cabinet of the Deputy Chairman of Parliament, and completed an internship at the European Parliament. Since 2023, she has served as an invited lecturer at Business and Technology University, where she teaches the course Contemporary Society and a Citizen.

Hayk Khachatryan is a project manager, youth worker, and peacebuilding practitioner from Armenia. He has experience in civic participation, election observation, youth empowerment, dialogue, and non-formal education. Hayk currently works with a local youth NGO, where he coordinates national and international projects focused on peace education, democratic engagement, and social inclusion. He also works as a peace education facilitator across the South Caucasus.