Dr. Izabela Pereira Watts, Ambassador for SDG 16 (Australia)

The Icons of Change Global Secretariat proudly announces the appointment of Dr. Izabela Pereira Watts as Ambassador for Sustainable Development Goal 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (Australia), under the Icons of Change Leadership, Democratic Governance & Peacebuilding Fellowship.

A distinguished international development expert, peacebuilding practitioner, academic leader, and author, Dr. Izabela Pereira Watts has dedicated her career to strengthening democratic governance, advancing peace processes, promoting inclusive institutions, and fostering global cooperation across complex post-conflict and development contexts. With extensive field experience spanning Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, and the Indo-Pacific, she has worked with premier institutions including the United Nations, UNDP, UN Women, the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Australian Federal Police.

As Democratic Governance and Political Affairs Officer with the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Timor-Leste, Dr. Watts provided high-level strategic advice to the Presidential Office, National Parliament, government ministries, and civil society on democratic institutions, elections, governance reform, human rights, decentralization, and gender empowerment during a pivotal nation-building period. At the United Nations Development Programme, she designed, coordinated, and implemented 17 strategic development projects worth over US$12 million across Haiti, Timor-Leste, and Angola. These initiatives delivered impactful results in anti-corruption, justice reform, education, healthcare, infrastructure, climate resilience, social inclusion, and capacity building. Her innovative youth, sport, and social inclusion program in Haiti was renewed multiple times and successfully replicated in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.

In Australia, Dr. Watts served as Senior International Gender and Inclusion Specialist with the Australian Federal Police, leading a DFAT-funded regional program across seven Southeast Asian nations to advance gender equality, anti-corruption, and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. She has also made significant academic contributions as Senior Lecturer and Convener of the Master of International Development at the University of Canberra, and through teaching and program leadership at the University of Wollongong, Western Sydney University, UNSW, and Charles Darwin University. She mentors emerging leaders while shaping the next generation of policymakers and practitioners in international relations, peacekeeping, human security, and development.

A respected thought leader, Dr. Watts is the author of Peace or Democracy? Peacebuilding Dilemmas to Transition from Civil Wars (Routledge, 2023), which provides a critical framework for post-conflict democratic transitions. The book features a foreword by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate José Ramos-Horta and has garnered strong endorsements from senior UN officials, diplomats, and academics. Her early recognition includes being named one of the Top 99 Young Professional World Leaders in Foreign Policy Under 33 (2013) and recipient of the Premio Yunque Award for Educational Distinction and Humanitarian Work (2007).

For her exceptional, sustained leadership in advancing Sustainable Development Goal 16 through democratic governance reform, peacebuilding in post-conflict settings, inclusive institutional strengthening, and global cooperation, Dr. Izabela Pereira Watts is proudly recognised as a 2026 Icon of Change.

As Ambassador for SDG 16 (Australia) under the Leadership, Democratic Governance & Peacebuilding Fellowship, Dr. Watts will support the Icons of Change platform by promoting cross-sector collaboration on peacebuilding, democratic transitions, inclusive governance, gender-responsive security, and institutional reform. Her mandate includes engaging policymakers, academics, and international organizations; contributing to global SDG-aligned forums; advancing research-informed policy; and mentoring young leaders working at the intersection of peace, justice, and strong institutions.

Her appointment reflects a shared commitment to building more peaceful, just, and resilient societies — not through abstract ideals, but through practical expertise, inclusive processes, ethical leadership, and the tireless pursuit of sustainable democratic development that leaves no community behind.

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