Events

In Iraq, "Salam Shabab" is the very first peacebuilding television program depicting the real life story of Iraqi youth. The series showcases not only a population that is often marginalized, but also the powerful desire and capacity of Iraqi youth to bring peace to their communities. The afternoon featured an exclusive screening of one episode from Season 1 of Salam Shabab, which aired in full on Iraq on Al Iraqiya and throughout the region on Space Power. A Q&A session with the show's producers followed the screening. USIP then welcomed a panel of dynamic young cultural leaders and activists from across the Middle East to discuss the role of youth in peacebuilding in the region. The evening concluded with a live performance by Iraqi pop band UTN1.

The arts, media and culture offer peacebuilders a unique set of tools for transforming conflict, ranging from a variety of live theatre performances and the reinvention of cultural traditions to televised episodic drama. What are the implications of these trends on the field of peacebuilding in general? Where are these tools the most appropriate and how can peacebuilders better engage the arts, media and culture to our advantage?

Father Ivo Markovic, a Bosnian Friar and founder of Pontamina Choir, talked about the status of interreligious cooperation and reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In October 2000, the United Nations Security Council passed landmark Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security, which linked women’s experiences of conflict to the international peace and security agenda, acknowledging their peacemaking roles as well as the disproportionate impact of violent conflict on women. Ten years later, the U.S. Institute of Peace co-hosted a three-day Women and War conference focused on the varied experiences of women during wartime and how to make sustained progress toward international peace and security. The event featured an extraordinary coalition of national and international participants, including U.N. and U.S. government officials, the international diplomatic communities, military personnel, academics, civil society leaders, and practitioners in the fields of security, development, and conflict resolution.

This event examines the historical patterns of international engagement in Afghanistan through the lens of the new production, "The Great Game: Afghanistan." Join USIP and the British Council for an engaging discussion about the relationship between cultural relations and conflict transformation in Afghanistan.