My name is Marlies and I work at the Clingendael Institute where I develop and provide training in negotiation skills, mediation skills and humanitarian diplomacy for aid workers, groups in conflict and diplomats.

Clingendael believes that the ability to effectively negotiate in stressful circumstances is an essential skill to every humanitarian worker, from the field-based aid worker negotiating access on the frontline to the manager in headquarters talking to donors and governments. Therefore, we focus on equipping our participants with a set of tools which allows them to better analyze a situation they find themselves in and to make more conscious choices on how to negotiate.

Prior to joining Clingendael I was working in humanitarian response operations with the UN and various (I)NGOs in the Middle East and Africa, focusing on the implementation of (child) protection and psychosocial support programs, training and coaching of staff, coordination and similar activities.