Conciliation Resources has partnered with IWM Institute, the Imperial War Museums’ new innovation hub, which seeks to increase the public’s understanding of war and conflict. Reimagining Victory sees leading journalists, peacebuilders, artists and academics, discuss the concept of victory, and look at some of the most pressing issues surrounding conflict in today’s world.
Speakers include former President of Colombia and Nobel Peace Prize winner Juan Manuel Santos; UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths; former chairperson of the peace panel of the Government of the Philippines Miriam Coronel-Ferrer; founder and CEO of International Civil Society Action Network Sanam Naraghi Anderlini; negotiator of the Good Friday Agreement Jonathan Powell; and Conciliation Resources’ Jonathan Cohen and Dr Rachel Clogg.
Filmed discussions and debates examine the changing nature of peace and conflict in the digital age; the binary notions of winners and losers in relation to war; and the creative ways societies build peace and reconcile in the wake of violent conflict.
This series is free to view via Imperial War Museums’ website.
Conciliation Resources has an ongoing collaboration with the IWM Institute – Executive Director Jonathan Cohen, is one of the institute’s associates. Associates use their own informed perspectives to support the development of fresh and creative approaches to public engagement with conflict and peace.
Reimagining Victory Programme
The following panels, debates and conversations, which form part of Reimagining Victory, are available to watch via the Imperial War Museum website.
Understanding Victory Today
Keynote: Steven Pinker, psychologist and best-selling author of The Better Angels of our Nature, gives the long view on war and peace, and asks whether the last world war really is the last.
Steering a Country to Peace – a series of Talking Heads
BBC Radio 4’s Ritula Shah speaks to Juan Manuel Santos, former President of Colombia and member of The Elders; Martin Griffiths, UN Special Envoy for Yemen and Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, former Chairperson of the Peace Panel of the Government of the Philippines, about their varying experiences of steering a country to peace.
Mission accomplished? Victory in the age of endless wars
A panel including Jonathan Powell (former diplomat and negotiator of the Good Friday Agreement), Margaret MacMillan (historian and IWM Trustee) and Tarak Barkawi (Professor of International Relations, LSE) unpick the traditional concept of military victory and ask what it means to ‘win’ a war today, in an age of unending conflicts and protracted crises. The conversation is chaired by BBC’s Chief International Correspondent, Lyse Doucet.
Healing from War: Peacebuilding after Conflict
Bosnia, Northern Ireland, Liberia, Nepal, Colombia - more than 1,500 peace agreements have been signed since 1990. Rachel Clogg, (Senior Advisor, Conciliation Resources), Simon Wessely (conflict psychiatrist) and Waad Al-Kateab (director of BAFTA-winning For Sama) ask whether peace processes always mark the end of hostilities and how countries can move on in the wake of deadly violence and societal divisions. The conversation is chaired by BBC’s Middle East correspondent, Jeremy Bowen.
Understanding Interventionism – Debate: The West Should Not Use Military Force to Prevent Mass Atrocities
Should the West use military force to prevent mass atrocities? Some argue the West has a responsibility to protect civilians around the world, whilst others say the West should stop acting as a global police force. Instead of putting boots on the ground, we should be pushing for political and diplomatic solutions. Channel 4’s Lindsey Hilsum chairs a debate between Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, Director of LSE's Centre for Women, Peace and Security and CEO of the International Civil Society Action Network and David Aaronovitch, journalist and author of ‘My Family and other Communists’.
Cyber Warfare – Debate: Cyber Warfare Is A Threat to Peace
Can cyber war really be a threat to peace, when no actual acts of physical violence are committed? Some argue that the term ‘cyber war’ itself is a misnomer, while others point to the devastating impact of increasing numbers of cyber attacks committed by states, terrorists and criminal organisations alike. The Sunday Times’ Rosamund Urwin convenes a debate between Kim Zetter, investigative reporter and author of Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon and Thomas Rid, political scientist and author of Cyber War Will Not Take Place.
The Northern Ireland Troubles – Dramatic Reading from 24 Hours of Peace
A dramatic reading of a real-life conversation between Jo Berry, daughter of Sir Anthony Berry, killed in the 1984 Grand Hotel Brighton bombing, and Pat McGee, a member of the IRA who was responsible for the attack.
Introduced by Neil Bartlett (playwright and director of 24 Hours of Peace) and Jonathan Cohen (Executive Director, Conciliation Resources)
Cast: Miranda Richardson & Steffan Rhodri
Readings by authors
Three writers read from their work, exploring the themes discussed in the symposium. Featuring Philippe Sands, barrister and author of East West Street, Aminatta Forna, author of Happiness and Hisham Matar, author of The Return.
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