Simona Costanzo Sow

As Chief, Academic Partnerships at the United Nations Systems Staff College, Simona oversees relations with academic partners and creates spaces for a science-policy-society dialogue to deepen the understanding regarding the required capabilities to address today’s complex challenges in a holistic way. She also works with academic partners on joint initiatives and degree programmes aimed at enhancing the UN’s ability to deliver first-class support to countries. Prior to this position, Simona designed and implemented learning and training formats for senior leaders in the UN System and beyond on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, related leadership approaches, systems thinking and policy coherence. 

Simona has extensive experience in policy advocacy, partnership building and networking in the inter-governmental sphere, as well as in civil society, academia and the private sector. She has track record in capacity-building, non-formal education, learning and training, as well as community empowerment and stakeholder engagement. 

She previously worked with UNV and UNESCO, and led CCIVS, a global civil society organization at UNESCO HQ in Paris, for eight years. Simona holds a PhD in Geography from the Technical University of Munich, focusing on international migration, as well as a Master’s in International Cultural and Business Studies. She speaks five languages fluently and feels at home around the world, with roots in Italy and Germany and branches in Senegal. Simona is the mother of two amazing young women.