The Government of Flanders is organising an International Peace Symposium on the 4th November 2013.
The International Peace Symposium: The Role of Science in Trauma Treatment and the Transformation of Societies will be held in Brussels.
Speakers including Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, policymakers, scientific experts and practitioners “will share their experiences, views and expertise on the central theme of ‘Science for Peace’”.
Those speaking “will examine how science can contribute to the effective recognition and addressing of traumas inflicted by war, armed conflicts, natural catastrophes and other large-scale calamities, and to the transformation of societies in (post) conflict or (post) disaster situations”.
The aim of the Symposium is “to place the contribution of science as a catalyst for peace high on the international agenda. We would also like to seize this opportunity to forge closer links between policy, science and everyday practice and to emphasize the societal valorisation of science”.
“Organised on the eve of the commemoration period (2014-2018), the Symposium provides a unique opportunity of sending a universal message of peace to the world”.
Programme
9:00-9:45
Registration & welcome coffee
9:45-10:00
Opening of the International Peace Symposium
Speaker: Kris Peeters, Minister President of the Government of Flanders
10:00-10:15
Peace in Europe and the World
Speaker: Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, Representing the European Union, 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
10:15-10:30
The European Union as a Peace Project based on the Rule of Law
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Koen Lenaerts, Professor of European Union Law, KU Leuven; Vice-President, Court of Justice of the European Union
10:30-10:40
Video message by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, 1984 Nobel Peace Laureate
10:40-11:00
From Victim to Peacemaker: How to Empower Women in and after War?
Interviewee: Madam Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Founder & President of Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa
Interviewer: Prof. Dr. Martin Euwema, Professor KU Leuven
11:00-11:20
Coffee break
11:20-11:40
Changing the World for the Children
Speaker: Betty Williams, 1976 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Founder & President of World Centers of Compassion for Children International
11:40-12:00
“To be a Victim no More.” Why Addressing Trauma Needs to be Part of the Peace Building Process
Speaker: Dr. David Bolton, Director of the Initiative for Conflict-Related Trauma
12:00-12:20
Q&A session
12:20-12:35
Journalism and/in Conflicts
Interviewee: Rudi Vranckx, Journalist
Interviewer: Ides Debruyne, Managing Director of Journalismfund.eu
12:35-14:00
Lunch
14:00-14:10
Video presentation of a scientific field project on conflict in Africa (funded by VLIR-UOS)
14:10-14:30
Transformation Research and Policies in Violence against Women and Children; how to bridge the gap between research and policies?
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Marleen Temmerman, Founder of the International Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent University; Director of the Department of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organisation
14:30-14:50
Lord David Trimble, 1998 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Former First Minister of Northern Ireland
14:50-15:10
Transitions in a Multi-ethnic Society: A South African Experience
Speaker: Frederik Willem de Klerk, 1993 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Former President of South Africa
15:10-15:30
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding: Some Experiences
Speaker: Jan Pronk, Emeritus Professor of the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague; Former Minister for Development Cooperation, the Netherlands
15:30-15:50
Q&A session
15:50-16:20
Coffee break
16:20-16:30
Video message on science diplomacy, by Prof. Dr. Anne Glover, Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission
16:30-17:15
Closing debate
Speaker: Tomas Baum, Director of the Flemish Peace Institute
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Rosette S’Jegers, Secretary-General of the Flemish Interuniversity Council (to be confirmed)
Speaker: Pat Colgan, Chief Executive of the Special EU Programs Body
Speaker: Christl Joris, President of Rode Kruis-Vlaanderen
17:15-17:30
Conclusions
Speaker: Kris Peeters, Minister President of the Government of Flanders
17:30-19:00
Cocktail
Host: Jacki Davis
Side Events
Exhibition: Research projects on conflicts in developing countries, organized by VLIR-UOS
Source: International Peace Symposium website
Images courtesy of the International Peace Symposium