About us
Secodev is a non-governmental organisation with charitable status whose mission is to fight and extinguish poverty in the south. Its development assistance program “Reversing the process of impoverishment of rural populations” has been developed with local partners and is based on the needs of the world’s most severely disadvantaged communities.
Focused on countries which have suffered from armed conflicts or are still experiencing unstable geopolitical conditions, Secodev operates in isolated regions where wars and violence have claimed many victims, first and foremost, women and children.
Thanks to its expertise in food sovereignty and vocational training, Secodev empowers supported communities, in particular small rural families and women and children, to become dynamic actors of change, taking control and improving their living conditions in a sustainable manner.
Through a vigorous social inclusion methodology, Secodev ensures the most vulnerable social strata, often forgotten, are included in its programs. This includes widows, widowers, young people, young single mothers, and ex-prisoners.
Background
1966
Establishment of a Development Cooperation division within Caritas Geneva, under the name of Caritas Tiers-Monde (Caritas Developing World)
1967
Secodev becomes a member of the Fédération Genevoise de Coopération (Geneva Cooperation Federation)
2010
Caritas Tiers-Monde changes its name to Secodev, Service de Coopération au Développement de Caritas Genève (Secodev, Caritas Geneva Development Cooperation division)
2012
First funding by the FGC of a four-year action plan
2014
Secodev becomes an autonomous association with the appointment of its own committee and Secretary general. Maintains close collaboration with Caritas Geneva
2016
Second four-year action plan
2019
Appointment of a new Secretary general
2020
Awarded the Zewo label
2020
Third four-year action plan
Organisation, team and committee
Secodev is an association whose secretariat is based in Geneva. It is a small organization, headed by a director supported by two employees, a program manager and a communication and fundraising officer, as well as by a committee composed of volunteers.
Team
Anne Simon
Managing Director
Career
Anne Simon, appointed Director of Secodev, has more than 25 years of experience in management and global strategy consulting, not only in non-governmental organizations, but also in the public and private sectors. She has guided various organizations in the implementation of strategies to carry out programs in the fields of international solidarity and development cooperation. She recently supported the Silvana Arbia Foundation in the development of their program and strategy for the prevention of child soldier issues in Africa and the Middle East.
As Executive Director of the European Federation of Soroptimists International, an organization of over 80,000 women in 126 countries, she was responsible for advocacy at the United Nations. Prior to that, she developed her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), where she spent many years managing the Strategy and Intelligence Research division in the Middle East and the Global External Affairs department in New York.
After five years as a technical commissioner, Anne is now a member of the board of the Fédération genevoise de coopération (FGC), which brings together over 60 associations. She continues to work as a consultant for several foundations and non-profit organizations. She is the co-author of several publications, including the Arab Women Leadership Outlook 2009-2011, a pioneering report on the issues and challenges facing Arab women.
Leny Mora-Monteros
Program Manager
Career
Leny Mora-Monteros holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Foreign Languages and a Master’s degree in International Cooperation and Multilingual Communication from Stendhal University in Grenoble, France (2015).
Before joining Secodev, he worked in Grenoble and Geneva as a project manager in the field of development cooperation. He also worked as a project coordinator for Africa and Latin America in a Geneva-based NGO.
Currently, Leny, as Program Manager at Secodev, is responsible for the planning, monitoring and evaluation of projects in Africa. Since November 2021, he is also a member of the financial control commission of the Geneva Federation of Cooperation (FGC).
Léana Polard
Communication and Fundraising Officer
Career
Léana Polard holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a Master’s degree in African Studies from the University of Geneva (2022).
Passionate about human rights and issues in the South, she has volunteered for non-governmental organizations and human rights events.
Prior to joining Secodev, she was involved in a Swiss NGO working in sub-Saharan Africa, which confirmed her willingness to work in the field of development cooperation.
She joined Secodev in May 2023, as Communications and Fundraising Officer.
Committee
Carole Dromer
Member
Career
- Member of Doctors of the World
- Ex-deputy head of health at the ICRC
Philippe Frésard
Treasurer
Career
- Financial Assistant to the Episcopal Vicariate of the RCC
Théogène Gakuba
Vice-president
Career
- Scientific assistant at the Haute Ecole de Travail Social de Genève
- President of the association REFORMAF
Sylvie Manzini
Member
Career
- Banking sector
- Vice-president of Caritas Geneva
- President of the Caritas Geneva Foundation
Martyna Olivet
Member
Career
- Department on Good Governance of UNICEF National Committees
- Member of the COTMEC
- Member of the Information Commission of the GCF
Ugo Panizza
Member
Career
- Professor of Economics & Pictet Chair in Finance and Development at the Geneva Graduate Institute
- UNCTAD
- Economist at the World Bank and Senior Economist at the
Laure Speziali
Member
Career
- Member of the committee of Caritas Geneva
- Member of the committee of Humanitel
Michel Warynski
President
Career
- Former Secretary General of Caritas Geneva
- Secretary of the Caritas Geneva Foundation
- Secretary of the Association Cité Joie