Höfði Reykjavík Peace Centre’s annual Peace Conference in collaboration with the UNU-GEST and the Ministry for Foreign affairs, The Imagine Forum, was be held on October 10, 2019 in Veröld - Vigdis's House at the University of Iceland. The main theme this year was Women for Peace.

Peace needs women’s meaningful participation, and for that to happen, women must get a seat at the table. Furthermore, sustaining peace is not only about protecting women’s rights during times of war, but also protecting their rights in times of peace.

Shedding a light on this highly important role of women and the valuable contribution of entrepreneurs and activists in striving for sustainable peace will be one of the main objectives of the dialogue taking place in this years annual Peace Conference in Reykjavík on 10/10 2019.

Amongst the speakers were: Madeleine Rees, Secretary General of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Aya Mohammed Abdullah, UNHCR Supporter, Fawzia Koofi, Afghan politician and women’s rights activist, Mariam Safi, Founding Director of the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS), Bronagh Hinds, Co-founder of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition and Founder of the DemocraShe, Aiko Holvikivi, Researcher at the Centre for Women, Peace and Security, London School of Economics and Political Science, Harriet Adong, Executive Director of the Foundationn for Integrated Rural Development in Uganda (FIRD), Zinat Pirzadeh, Iranian/Swedish Award Winning Comedian and Author and T Ortiz, Human Rights Activist, Anti-Trafficking & Exploitation Coordinator at Baltimore Child Abuse Center and Founder of TalkWithT.com.

The conference marked the beginning of Snjallræði Startup Social, which provides individuals, NGOs and companies that want to make a positive change to society with a platform to develop their ideas and find ways to make them sustainable. The winning teams of Startup Social 2019 will be introduced at the conference.

HE Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, President of Iceland

Madeleine Rees, Secretary General of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

Aya Mohammed Abdullah, UNHCR Supporter

Mariam Safi, Executive Director of DROPS, Organization for Public Policy Research and Development Studies in Afghanistan

Bronagh Hinds, Co-Founder of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition and Founder of DemocraShe

Fawzia Koofi, Afghan politician and women’s rights activist

Aiko Holvikivi, PhD Candidate and Researcher at the Center for Women, Peace and Security, London School of Economics and Political Science

Withelma 'T' Ortiz Walker Pettigrew, Human Rights Activist and Anti-Trafficking and Exploitation Coordinator at Baltimore Child Abuse Center

Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir, Associate Professor of International Affairs at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Iceland

Sturla Sigurjónsson, Permanent Secretary of State

Esther Hallsdóttir, Icelandic Youth Delegate to the United Nations