September 26, 2023 to September 29, 2023
We are excited to alert you to our 2023 Annual Policy Conference set for the end of September. The theme is Preventing & Stopping Violence: Effective Actions to Curtail Conflict. The opening of the event on Tuesday, September 26, will feature two speakers: Paul Rogers, Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford (UK) will lead off in the morning, followed in the afternoon by Kai Brand-Jacobsen, President, Peace Action Training and Research Institute of Romania, in a hybrid virtual and in-person program. The conference will continue with virtual and possible in-person sessions of panels and speakers in the next few days.
Further information about the conference, including the rest of the program and registration details, will be announced and posted on our website in the coming months. We hope you will mark this time and join us for the conference.
OUTLINE
Growing evidence suggests that warfare and violent conflict are increasing in many parts of the world. Global tensions have rarely been higher, reflected in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moving the Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds before midnight, its highest alert ever. The UN Secretary-General states in his Our Common Agenda report, ”The world is moving closer to the brink of instability, where the risks we face are no longer managed effectively through the systems we have”. While recognizing the need to deal with underlying causes of conflict, are there actions and measures that can lower the temperature, limit actual violence and create space to build sustainable peace? What works? What must be done differently? The G78 conference will address these questions.
Objective: To explore peace practices that can effectively prevent or curtail conflict and can inform policies and strategies of intergovernmental bodies, governments, and civil society to mitigate violence.
Scope of Conference: The program will set the context by looking at fundamental causes of violent conflict and then focus on actions and practices that can be engaged to prevent or curtail violence. Presenters will examine cases and examples, whether in specific locales or under different themes where conflict has been successfully overcome. Discussions will aim to draw out lessons and recommendations to be conveyed to policy and decision-makers as well as the wider public. Some questions to be explored are:
- What constitutes success in addressing conflict – is it simply the absence of violence or the sustainable and equitable resolution of the deep origins? Is there a spectrum of success?
- How can local and small successes be scaled up to the wider applications, e.g., from local to national to regional to international?
- What are the lessons for the international community to deal with inter-state conflict or major intra-state upheaval?
Format: The event will comprise a number of keynote presenters and panels over several days. All sessions will be provided online, with some also held in person in Ottawa.
Products: The conference report will include pertinent conclusions and recommendations for policymakers in Canada and elsewhere. Video recordings of the presentations and discussions of effective peacebuilding and conflict-preventing actions will be posted online for wide public viewing.
Further Information: G78 will make further information about the conference available on its website as the program is being built. Registration for participating will open in June.
May 2023