"Peace is possible" is the motto of Geneva Peace Week 2022, an annual conference that brings together peacebuilders, NGOs, activists, researchers, diplomats and students from all over the world in Geneva for a week from 31 October to 4 November. For the second year, Fondation Hirondelle has joined forces with Interpeace and the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform to produce a podcast featuring interviews with conference participants.
In this new audio series produced for Geneva Peace Week 2022, you will find the theme of peacebuilding addressed from different angles by peacebuilding actors from all over the world.
What are the links between food (in)security and conflict? Paul Opio of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations answers this question by highlighting how improving food and agricultural infrastructure can contribute to peacebuilding:
From the same perspective, Marco Villela, a nutrition doctor and director of World Vision's strategic initiatives in Central America, talks about how World Vision works to address the root causes of conflict:
Anjli Parrin, Director of the Global Human Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, spoke with us about the critical role that young people play in post-conflict societies and the cost of their exclusion and marginalisation from peace and transitional justice processes:
Women's rights activist and feminist journalist in Myanmar Zin Mar Phyo, whose work focuses on gender justice and women in conflict zones, also discusses the key role of women in peacebuilding and the main challenges to advancing gender justice:
On the topic of digital, one of the four main themes of Geneva Peace Week 2022, H.E Ahmed Al Qasimi, Executive Director of Hedayah, the International Centre of Excellence on Countering Extremism and Violent Extremism, invites us to reflect on the possibilities of addressing the trends related to the spread of violent extremism in digital spaces:
Anne-Marie Buzatu, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the ICT4Peace Foundation, shares her analysis of the risks and opportunities of using digital spaces for peace. She took part on Wednesday 2 November in a workshop we organised on this topic in the framework of Geneva Peace Week 2022:
Finally, the research and recommendations of Juanita Vélez, founder of the Colombian NGO Conflict Responses, contributed to the debate on the influence of climate change on conflict dynamics and recruitment into armed groups in Colombia:
A series of short interviews conducted live at the "Radio Corner", a radio studio set up with the support of RTS Genève vision, are also broadcast as part of the podcast. Among the guests who have been interviewed at our "Radio Corner" on the occasion of the opening of Geneva Peace Week on Monday 31 October: Mrs. Margt Wallström, former Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yves Daccord, former Director General of the ICRC, or Hiba Qasas, Secretary General of the Principles for Peace initiative.
All these podcasts can be listened to and downloaded on Spotify, Soundcloud, and on the websites of the Geneva Peace Week, Interpeace and Fondation Hirondelle.