Yves Daccord

Yves Daccord was born in Zürich, Switzerland. He attended the Collège Saint-Michel^{[9][circular reference]} in Fribourg before pursuing his studies at the University of Geneva,^{[10][circular reference]} where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and international relations in 1986. He subsequently pursued postgraduate training as a broadcast journalist, and began working at Radio Télévision Suisse^{[11][circular reference]} in Geneva in 1987.

Daccord joined the ICRC in 1992, running humanitarian operations in various challenging contexts of armed conflict including Israel and the Occupied Territories, Sudan, Yemen, Chechnya and Georgia. He held a number of progressively senior positions within the organisation, including Head of Communication Division (1998-2002) and Director of Communications (2002-2010) before his appointment as Director-General in 2010.^[12]

As Director-General, Daccord has overseen a period of transformative change within the ICRC in response to ever-increasing humanitarian needs in armed conflicts and other situations of violence around the world. As the organisation has seen significant growth in its operations in recent years,^[13] employing some 16,000 people in more than 80 countries (as of 2017),^[14] Daccord has spearheaded significant institutional reforms in areas such as human resources and people management;^[15] partnerships and stakeholder management;^[16] and innovation and technology .^[17] He has spoken and published widely on key issues such as violence against health care; the risks and opportunities of new technologies in the humanitarian sector;^[18] global humanitarian affairs;^[19] and the future of humanitarian action.^[20]

In 2020, Yves Daccord founded the Edgelands Institute, Harvard University's first-ever pop-up research institute.^[21] The institute was founded in partnership with Dr. Beatriz Arcila Botero^[22] and Danil Kerimi, and incubated at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.

The institute's methodology consists of "popping-up" in different cities around the world to understand the use of digital security technologies, capture local power dynamics, and host diverse spaces of conversation. The institute has so far has been present in five different cities, Medellín, Geneva, Cúcuta, Nairobi, and Houston. The institute has many institutional partnerships including with Magnum Photography, the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, Casa de las Estratégias, among others.^[23]

Given its temporary nature, the institute is set to dissolve in 2025.

In 2014, Daccord was appointed to the chair of the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR), a voluntary alliance of nine of the world's leading humanitarian organisations. In 2015, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan appointed Daccord as a member of the Advisory Group on Reform of WHO's Work in Outbreaks and Emergencies with Health and Humanitarian Consequences.^[24] In May 2017, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor's degree in Social Sciences by the University of St. Gallen, in recognition of his "outstanding services to the fortunes of the ICRC".^[25]

Daccord is father of three daughters. He lives in Switzerland.