RET Germany CEO Elçin Demirel Topuz and RET management from Panama collaborate during an interactive session. Photo © RET International

Article by RET Global Communications

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – In late April, RET’s management team gathered in Geneva for four intensive days of strategy, collaboration, and planning. Seventeen staff from eight countries (Türkiye, Niger, Kenya, Panama, Spain, the United States, France, and Switzerland) participated in 25 sessions totaling more than 40 hours of structured work. It was the most significant in-person convening the organization has held since its International Strategy & Operations (ISO) meeting in Türkiye in 2019. 

25 Years of Bridging the Gaps 

Founded in 2000 by Sadako Ogata, former UN High Commissioner for Refugees, RET has spent 25 years bridging the gaps in education and protection for refugees, displaced populations, and vulnerable communities. Across more than 35 countries and 460 projects, RET has reached over 2.5 million people. The RET Alliance, which is composed of RET International, RET Americas, and RET Germany, operates across two hemispheres and some of the world’s most challenging humanitarian contexts.  

The 2026 Strategy & Operations Meeting (SOM) brought all three Alliance CEOs together in one room to discuss how best to position the organization in a rapidly changing world, and how each entity can respond within its own region and portfolio. 

Left: RET International CEO Zeynep Gülgün Gündüz gives the keynote presentation to kick off the week’s meetings. Right: RET Americas CEO Remi Mannaert leads a discussion on innovative finance in the humanitarian sector. Photos © RET International

Setting the Direction 

RET International President & CEO Zeynep Gündüz Gülgün opened the meeting with a keynote covering RET’s history, strategic direction, and brand evolution. She reflected on what the organizations have achieved as well as the current challenges including changes in global humanitarian funding, expanding and new crises, and reprioritization by governments of their roles in global development. Sessions that followed tackled some of the most pressing questions facing the organization and the sector. 

Embracing AI, Responsibly 

Artificial intelligence was a headline topic: the communications and compliance teams presented a new internal AI governance framework which seeks to address data privacy, responsible use, prompt writing, and risk mitigation, and is designed to help RET modernize without compromising its humanitarian principles. 

Communicating in a New Landscape 

A dedicated communications session engaged staff in activities to map crisis response, test the organization’s discoverability online, and conduct a deep dive of the words and vocabulary the define the Alliance’s work and update it for the realities of humanitarian work and resource mobilization in 2026 

Building Financial Resilience 

On resource mobilization, VP Business Development and RET Americas CEO Remi Mannaert led sessions on RET’s 2025–2029 strategy, including an expert presentation and discussion by a representative of Lombard Odier examining innovative financial instruments and how they can support long-term organizational stability in an increasingly volatile funding environment. Regional strategy sessions were presented by Mr. Mannaert and the Panama team for Latin America & Caribbean (LAC), and by RET Germany CEO Elçin Demirel Topuz and technical staff for Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA).  

Morris Muriithi, the Group CFO for the RET Alliance, conducted a deep dive into RET’s financial reporting commitments and obligations, as well as previewed new processes and tools to help the organization facilitate even more-detailed transparency with institutional, private, and individual donors. 

Strengthening Program Quality & Accountability 

The technical teams held three dedicated working sessions on RET’s Education Model, Monitoring & Evaluation framework, and proposal development. These sessions focused on aligning program quality across regions and reinforcing RET’s commitment to evidence-based, accountable programming. VP Operations Göksu Koç and the partnerships team led sessions on governance, institutional knowledge, and the operational systems that will carry RET into its next chapter. 

Looking Ahead, With Gratitude 

We left Geneva more aligned, more energized, and more committed than ever to the communities counting on us. To our donors, partner governments, implementing partners, and RET teams on the front lines of crises around the world – thank you. This week was for you, and the work ahead is because of you. 

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