Whether you’re choosing three, seven, or even just one webinar, you can find the link to register for each individual session right here. The sessions are listed in order of occurrence under the date of their presentation. The title of the session and the name of the presenter/panelists are listed, as well as an excerpt from the program to describe the session to help you figure out which sessions you want to attend.
Please click on the title to follow the link and register for the webinar.
September 26, 2023
Paul Rogers – A Peaceful World by 2030 10:00 ET
With global marginalisation, increasing military spending, and, above all, the accelerating impact of climate breakdown, the coming years have to involve a fundamental change in our thinking on security. We need to put far greater emphasis on human and common security instead of excessive reliance on state-centred approaches which put too much emphasis on military approaches.
We need to move to a fairer and more sustainable world through environmental and economic reform. This can either be forced on us by an unstable and deeply troubled global environment or we can recognise the urgency of the change needed and be well on our way to a more peaceful world by 2030.
Kai Brand-Jacobsen – Charting a Path to Peace in the Midst of Escalating War & Militarization 13:00 ET
The number of wars in the world has roughly doubled over the course of the last 10 years. Military budgets globally are growing. The number of military bases and operationally deployed nuclear weapons has escalated significantly.
While an incredible breadth of experience in peacebuilding, preventing violence, and addressing conflicts effectively has developed over the past 30 years, today we see governments cutting back on funding and support to peacebuilding and effective approaches and strategies to dealing with conflicts, and instead escalating armed interventions and war.
In this talk, Kai Brand-Jacobsen will draw upon more than 25 years’ of experience working on the ground in mediation and peace processes and engaging with governments, the United Nations, and organizations around the world, to map out both the scale of the challenges that face us, and a realistic road map and practical actions for how we can move from war and worsening tensions and confrontations, to evidence-based and effective approaches to dealing with conflicts, preventing violence, and building just and sustainable peace.
Irwin Waller- Science and the Secrets to End Violent Crime 15:00 ET
Violent crime tragically ruins lives and communities, yet we know how to stop it and help victims. Governments agree on how to get results at the United Nations but do not act locally. The book, Science and Secrets of Ending Violent Crime is the result of a lifetime career working to get violence prevention science applied and frustration with too many preventable tragedies.
Irvin Waller explains the proven solutions that tackle the causes of violence and ways to persuade politicians to buy in to invest in the appropriate solutions. Investing in effective violence prevention is more affordable and successful than policymakers think; a modest equivalent of 10 percent of what they spend on police, courts, and corrections will do it, and often before the next election! Violence prevention is achievable because voters, contrary to what the media tells us, want much more than reaction, they want prevention.
September 27, 2023 Peace-making Actions
Sean Byrne & John McGarry – Northern Ireland: A Successful Peace Story 10:00 ET
Northern Ireland has represented one of the world’s most protracted zones of conflict. Nonetheless, the protagonists were able, with the help of many others, to find a path to end the systematic violence and to begin building measures to prevent its re-emergence. Yet the conflict continues to drive a wedge between both communities. Why is this the case? This panel will analyse the peace process and extract lessons that could be beneficial to other conflicts.
Cesar Jaramillo – Columbia: Successes in a Challenging Country 13:00 ET
Outline of the “Total Peace” path, a multidimensional package of initiatives, initiated by the President and Vice President of Colombia, to tame the chronic violence that has plagued the country for decades and to build a sustainable peace. In addition, progress made thus far to create a Ministry of Peace as an integral component of the government will be discussed.
Isaac Asume Osuoka & Lina Aburas-Awadalla – Addressing the Roots of Conflict in Africa 15:00 ET
Our speakers will discuss how conflict in the Sahel region emerges from the legacies of colonialism, international development malpractices, and the devastating impact of climate change. The panel will address how civic intervention can help by strengthening popular participation and local government accountability to meet the challenges of mass displacement and climate adaptation.
September 28, 2023 Peace-building
It is a rare conflict in which religion plays no role, explicit or implicit. From the barrios of Latin America, across East Asia, woven into the fabric of West Asia; from the Horn to the Cape in Africa, from Puna to the Punjab, some iteration of religion is inevitably implicated. Europe’s wars have all too often proved to be religious wars. To “Guns, Germs, and Steel” might be added, God. Yet regardless of the expressed dreams of some secular utopian visionaries, religion persists. From world religions and spiritualities spring global ethics, philosophies of human rights, and the rudiments of an empathic civilization. More than 80% of the Earth’s people profess a faith. This multifaith and multinational panel will probe religion’s possible role(s) in peacebuilding and the resolution
Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) recently held a major conference titled Beyond Fragile Ground: New Peacebuilding Architectures for Today and the Future. The conference had more than 100 presentations across a broad spectrum of topics. Jessica Baumgardner and colleagues will provide a summary of some of the findings that emerged from this conference that shed light on effective strategies and actions that will prevent and curtail violent conflict.
Peace and health perspectives and work can complement each other. By examining concepts, competencies, determinants, indicators, and real-world examples of the interrelationships and interlinkages between peace/war/violence and health/disease/illness, the panel will examine the critical analysis of integrated peace and health paradigms and delve into the effects of conflict on health and the practice of healthcare; and subsequently the use of health-based concepts and practice to transform conflict.
September 29, 2023 Peace Professionalism
The world has become less peaceful, challenging the adequacy of the whole peacebuilding system. The presenters offer proposals to enhance the effectiveness of peacebuilding, peacekeeping, and conflict prevention. They propose an ambitious proposal for an International Fund for Peacebuilding to support long-term institution and capacity-building to enable countries and their peoples to manage emerging threats to their peace.
Dr. Philip Onguny, Dr. Nathan Funk, & Evelyn Voigt- Peace Professionalism – The Time Has Come 13:00
Peace practitioners are often seen as well-meaning amateurs, idealistic, and marginally effective. They do not have a seat at decision-making tables. This must change.
Effective conflict prevention and resolution require peace professionals with appropriate knowledge, values, and competencies to be in decision-making positions globally. Seasoned peace practitioners will highlight examples of successful peace strategies and practices. In addition, the key elements of an SSHRC-funded Peace Professionalism project will be discussed.
October 2, 2023 Conclusions and Recommendations
Conference Conclusions and Recommendations 13:00 ET
An opportunity for participants to propose and comment on key messages and recommendations emerging from the conference presentations and discussions. The final key messages and recommendations will be the centerpiece of the conference report and will be the basis for future advocacy work on this theme by the Group of 78.