The Global Peace Leadership Conference in Belfast was featured in the most recent newsletter for the Arab International Women’s Forum. The Arab International Women’s Forum connects Arab business and professional women from 22 Arab countries with each other and the international community.
AIWF Founder and Chairman Aifa Al Kaylani was a key organizer of the Global Peace Leadership Conference Belfast 2016. Below is the story as it appeared in the newsletter which can be downloaded here (Issue No 39).
AIWF Founder Chairman Haifa Al Kaylani was delighted to nominate key speakers to address this timely and important conference. AIWF acknowledges the critical role of women in peacebuilding and commends the Global Peace Foundation for bringing into focus key achievements, partnerships and initiatives for women in this critical area.
The Global Peace Foundation (GPF) in partnership with Co-operation Ireland facilitated the Global Peace Leadership Conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland in September 2016, with the theme Ethical Leadership Amid Global Crisis. The conference theme was directly addressed in plenary sessions and further pursued through three sub-themes that linked the many sessions: (1) From identity-based conflicts to a shared future; (2) Refugees, migration and humanitarian responses; and (3) Linking the global and the local: the role of civil society.
The conference provided an important forum for delegates from Uganda, Germany, South Africa, Nigeria, Malaysia, Tanzania, Kenya, UK, Ireland and the US to examine the tension between promoting a shared identity and embracing diversity, explore relevant values-based approaches to addressing identity-based conflicts, and discuss a framework for advancing peace and social cohesion.
A special panel session, Dialogue and Trust: Real Lessons in Countering Violent Extremism, was moderated by GPF International President James Flynn, who led discussion on exploring the root causes of violent extremism and emphasized the importance of building trust within communities. Kawa Hassan, Director of Middle East and North Africa Programs at the East West Institute in Brussels and recommended by AIWF Founder Chairman Haifa Al Kaylani, shared an excellent presentation on De-glorifying and Discrediting ISIS.
Professor Pumla Gobodo-Madizikela, Research Chair for Historical Trauma and Transformation at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, shared an impressive plenary talk on forgiveness titled What Does It Mean to Be Human After Historical Trauma, moderated by GPF Leadership Council Member Dr Eva Latham, President of Human Rights Teaching International. The talk was followed by a special 9/11 Commemoration Banquet featuring an interfaith invocation, special poetry readings, and uplifting, intercultural music by Beyond Skin.
Global Peace Foundation was honoured to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for World Peace (MRAWP), marking a significant partnership between the organizations and a pledge to work jointly to promote peaceful co-existence and harmony among different religions, cultures and ethnicity groups, jointly counter violent extremism, and safe guard young people from radicalization via peacebuilding training. GPF was honoured to welcome the HH Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, Vice President of the Board of Trustees of MRAWP and Brigadier Ahmed Khalfan Al Mansoori, Secretary- General of MRAWP to the conference and signing ceremony.
The Youth Peace Ambassadors Track at the conference gathered young leaders, youth activists, students and young professionals from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, UK, and other parts of the world to share perspectives on identity and diversity, address concerns about radicalization, and consider effective models of cross-community engagement. The main session focused on prospects for building the common ground of global identity and social consciousness, and for advancing effective models of youth leadership and advocacy.
The Global Peace Foundation is an international nonprofit organisation which engages a global network of public and private sector partners in more than 24 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Programs benefit diverse individuals and organisations including youth groups, schools, community organisations, civil society organisations and inter-faith organisations. For more information, please visit https://www.globalpeace.org.