Joel Sandhu

Joel Sandhu is head of global dialogue and facilitation at the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin, where he leads the institute’s work on facilitating international and political dialogues. He heads the Global Dialogue program and led the Global Governance Futures – Robert Bosch Foundation Multilateral Dialogues (GGF) program. He has over 15 years of experience facilitating international dialogues and building global networks in a number of countries using a variety of dialogue formats, methods and techniques. He is a certified professional facilitator (with the United States Institute of Cultural Affairs) as well as a certified generative facilitator with the Generative Facilitation Institute. He completed his training in Theory‑U (a change management method) with the Presencing Institute and colleagues from MIT, and is a certified ToP facilitator (technology of participation). Joel has supported policy-driven multilateral dialogues with decision-makers and experts in Asia, Africa, Europe, and South and North America. In addition to his facilitation work, Joel also contributes to GPPi’s research and consulting work in the ​“Global Order” issues area.

Born in Hong Kong to Indian parents, Joel is a polyglot British-German citizen who has lived in a number of countries and on several continents. During this time, he developed a passion for intercultural communication and a professional interest in facilitating multilateral dialogues on global challenges. His areas of research interest include the modern world order, EU-China and EU-India relations, geopolitical and geostrategic issues, the role of rising powers in international institutions, Hong Kong’s political evolution, and facilitating multilateral policy dialogues. 

Joel sits on the editorial board of the Global Policy Journal and is responsible for all Global Governance Futures outputs, including commentaries and scenario reports covering a wide range of international policy issues. In addition, he was the host of two podcasts: the Global Futures podcast on global politics and how rising powers like China and India are influencing it, and Global Strain, a podcast that looks at how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting international politics and our daily lives. Joel is also a mentor with Deutschlandstiftung Integration.

Prior to joining GPPi, Joel was a policy researcher with the London-based Policy Network, where he focused on the economic impacts of globalization, social justice, and the EU’s economic activities. Before that, he was a researcher in the office of the former speaker of the US House of Representatives, Jim Wright, and a team facilitator with Sister Cities International US, a non-profit citizen diplomacy network. 

His commentaries have been featured on the BBC, Deutsche Welle, EU Observer, Frankfurter Rundschau, Global Policy Journal, World Politics Review, South China Morning Post, and The Statesman, among others. Joel holds a master’s degree in international relations and international law from the University of Sussex in the UK, and a bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations from Texas Christian University.