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Highlights from the 28th IPRA General Conference in Nairobi, Kenya and Online
Highlights from the 28th IPRA General Conference in Nairobi, Kenya and Online
Delegates report successes and achievements despite the challenges of a global pandemic
Delegates report successes and achievements despite the challenges of a global pandemic
Amidst the ever-changing and troubling conditions of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and with limited funding due to economic challenges in both northern and southern hemispheres, the International Peace Research Association (IPRA) was proud to host the 28th Biennial General Conference, both in-person and on-line formats. Over 250 participants from 41 countries and six continents took part. Hosted by Multi-Media University of Kenya (MMU) from 11-15 January 2021 in Nairobi, the conference ushered in a new era of IPRA collaborations and possibilities as IPRA members-new and long term-responded creatively to the theme of “Peace Technology: Positioning the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Emerging Technologies in Fostering Global Peace.” This issue of the IPRA Newsletter is thus dedicated to reporting on the entire conference from all perspectives. As IPRA delegate Debasish Nandy (who attended the in-person conference from West Bengal, India) put it: “IPRA organizers took a very bold decision to organize such a big global event.”
Excerprts-IPRA 2021 Nairobi Highlights.pdfIn the special Newsletter supplement above, "Nairobi Highlights: The 28th Biennial IPRA General Conference," IPRA delegates to Kenya recount their experiences and highlights of the MMU proceedings: Fouzia Ajmal, Mokua Ombati, Wim Laven, and Sikander Mehdi share what was most personally meaningful. Miriam Coronel Ferrer reprises her keynote address. Dr. Duncan Omanga summarizes the Journalism and Media Commission papers, and Candice Carter reports on the Peace Education Commission activities at the Conference
The on-line conference opening included a keynote address from International Science Council (ISC) Board member Saths Cooper, the South African psychologist who also led the International Union of Psychological Science and helped his country heal from the traumas of apartheid as founder of the Psychological Society of South Africa. IPRA opened a new avenue of participation by establishing an IPRA YouTube channel on the conference’s opening night, so that members and friends from every time zone could connect with deep content at the times which suited them best. Though some presentations took place “live” in direct inter-active cooperation with in-person delegates in Nairobi, and other workshops were only available during the week of the content, much of the speeches and presentations remain on the channel for continued access.
Highlights of the on-line conference included: a joint plenary session led by Betty Reardon and the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders; an incredible five-minute musical production, made just for the conference by IPRA colleagues from seven Latin American countries featuring as many musical forms; a panel on “Collaborations of Integrity” including leading Kenyan peace scholar Kitche Magak, Vice-Chancellor of Maasai Mara University; remarks from Social Science Research Council leader Cyril Obi of the African Peacebuilding Program and the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa program; and closing plenary speaker Ela Gandhi, former Vice-Chancellor of the Durban Institute of Technology, South African Member of Parliament, and grand-daughter of Mohandas K. Gandhi.
IPRA News
Members for the 2021-2023 IPRA Governing Council were elected at the IPRA 2021 Conference and held their first meeting via Zoom videoconferencing. ...Read moreIPRA News
In Memoriam: Bernard Swan by Frank HutchinsonBernard Swan, one of the pioneers of peace studies in Australia, is remembered as a person of deep moral conscience and helped to inspire many. Some reflections on Bernard Swan's life are offered at: https://blog.une.edu.au/pulsenews/2021/02/11/remembering-bernard-swan/
Call for Papers and Presentations
The World International Conference On Reconciliation will be held in Tokyo, August 5-7, 2021. Prospective participants are invited to submit proposals. Click HERE for more information. Call for Papers and Presentations
The Latin American Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies (ReLaPaC) announces an open reception for article for Volume 2, Issue 4 (2021). Click HERE for more information.
EuPRA 2021 Conference – Tampere, Finland: EuPRA has extended its deadline for the call for papers to the 7th March 2021. The theme of the conference is ‘Empowering peace: The role of civil society in peace building and conflict transformation’. The full call for papers can be found at: https://www.euprapeace.org/2020/12/09/cfp-eupra2021/ Abstracts should be sent to Euprapeace@gmail.com. Please do not be discouraged from sending in abstracts with a view to presenting online during the conference, because there is still much uncertainty due to the pandemic situation.
Reports and Articles
Africa Peace Research And Education Association (AFPREA) revamped by Dr. Charles Ndalu Wasike... the new AFPREA leadership has embarked on a serious business re-engineering with a view to reinvigorating the organization. ... Read more.Reports and Articles
WNV Community Report by Bryan Farrell & Eric Stoner, summarizes WNV's achievements in 2020, including its media productions for IPRA. ...Read more
The 4th Conference of Victimology in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be held November 2, 2021 in Sarajevo. For more information, click HERE.
Publications
IPRA members have a free subscription to Journal of Resistance Studies. Click HERE for more information about the journal and its open call for articles. Publications
The preface and free chapter previews are now available for: Oswald Spring, Úrsula, Brauch, Hans Günter (Eds.): Decolonising Conflicts, Security, Peace, Gender, Environment and Development in the Anthropocene, (Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021).
Other recent and featured IPRA book publications are listed HERE.
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