The first international Aurora-conference on the role of higher education in peacebuilding takes place now, from 17 to 21 February. The conference aims to provide a platform for discussing critical questions about how higher education institutions (HEI) may respond to complex global circumstances threatening world peace by fostering cultures of peace through educational initiatives, activities, and policies.
The conference features numerous interesting key lectures, and among the speakers are Madeleine Rees, a British lawyer and former Secretary-General of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the human rights organization Center for Civil Liberties, which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. The conference programme also includes 25 panels and roundtables, as well as 17 workshops.
It will be possible to follow parts of the conference via their website
The University of Iceland takes part in the conference at the round table: “The Challenges and Responsibilities of Academia in Times of Conflict, organised by the Höfði Reykjavík Peace Centre and the University of Iceland. Guðrún Sif Friðriksdóttir, researcher at the Höfði Reykjavík Peace Centre and the Nordic Africa Institue in Uppsala, facilitates the discussion with, Marko Lehti, research director at Tampere Peace Research Institute, Olena Muradyan, dean of the school of Social Sciences at V.N. Karazin Kharkiv University in the Ukraine, and Oleksandr Khyzhniak, project manager at CIS - Centre for International Cooperation at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Pia Hansson, Director of Höfði Reykjavík Peace Centre will moderate the discussion.
Further information on the Aurora cooperation can be found on UI’s website.