Programme

The Imagine Forum: Bridging Divides - Fostering Dialogue for Peace

10:00 – 10:20 Opening remarks

Ambassador Bergdís Ellertsdóttir, Acting Permanent Secretary of State

Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir, Research Director of Höfði Reykjavík Peace Centre and Professor of International Affairs, Faculty of Political Science, University of Iceland 

10:20 – 11:10 Keynote address - Resilience in the Face of Adversity: Defending Democracy and Human Rights in Ukraine

Svitlana Zalishchuk, Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine on European and Euro-Atlantic integration and former member of the Ukrainian Parliament

Fireside chat with Ambassador Hermann Örn Ingólfsson and Svitlana Zalishchuk

Moderated by Rakel Þorbergsdóttir, Former News Director at the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RUV

11:10 – 12:20 Opening panel - Building Peace in an Increasingly Hostile World: Keeping the Dialogue Going

Dag Nylander, Director of the Norwegian Center for Conflict Resolution (NOREF), Chris Coulter, Deputy Executive Director of the Berghof Foundation, Miriam Coronel Ferrer, Southeast Asian Women Peace Mediators, Nita Yawanarajah, Deputy Director of Oxford Process

Moderated by Baldvin Þór Bergsson, Deputy Director of News at the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RUV

12:20 – 13:00 Lunch

13:00 – 14:15 Keynote address - Advancing Gender Equality and Women's Leadership in Peacebuilding Across Africa

Mme Bineta Diop, Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace, and Security

Panel discussion: Rabab Baldo, Gender Activist, Former Senior Gender & Inclusivity Advisor, Office of the IGAD Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Yolande Bouka, Assistant Professor, Queens University, Nuha Ibrahim Abdelgabar, Technical Expert on the Legal Framework for Addressing Missing Persons in Libya, UNDP Libya and Madame Bineta Diop

Moderated by Guðrún Sif Friðriksdóttir, Senior Researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute and Höfði Reykjavík Peace Centre

14:15 - 15:15 Is Peace in the Middle East Possible? An Exploration of Dialogue as a Pathway to Move Beyond the Impasse

Imad Karam, Director, Initiatives of Change International, Justine Abi Saad, Program Advisor for Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation at GIZ, Mediator and Trainer on Non-Violent Communication, Negotiations and Conflict Resolution, Helen María Ólafsdóttir, Security Sector and Development Specialist

Moderated by Scherto Gill, Professor of Research and Director of Global Humanity for Peace Institute, University of Wales

15:15 – 15:30 Coffee Break

15:30 – 16:30 Charting the Path Forward: Evaluating Two Decades of Women, Peace, and Security under UN Resolution 1325

Fawzia Koofi, President of the board for Women for Afghanistan (WFA), Torunn Tryggestad, Deputy Director at The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Annick Wibben, Anna Lindh Professor of Gender, Peace and Security at the Swedish Defence University, Leandra Bias, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Political Science at the University of Bern

Moderated by Birna Þórarinsdóttir, Executive Director of UNICEF Iceland

16:30 – 16:50 Young Ambassadors of Reykjavík: Enhancing Inclusion and Impact

Guðrún Elsa Tryggvadóttir, Legal Expert at the Human Rights and Democracy Office, City of Reykjavík

Young Ambassadors: Leona Iguma, Mia Ðuric and Noah Newton Obermair

16:50 - 17:00 Introduction of finalists for the Mayors for Peace Children's Art Competition “Peaceful Towns”

Þórdís Lóa Þórhallsdóttir, Deputy Mayor of Reykjavík

17:00 - 18:30 Reception