Brendan’s career in mediation and peacebuilding began in Northern Ireland. During some of the darkest days of the conflict Brendan worked across all sectors of Northern Ireland to show that another way of being was possible, and quietly made a huge contribution to peace on the island of Ireland. 

Peacebuilders from the Pacific took part in a two-week course to explore the complex relationship between peacebuilding and climate change. The course was delivered by Transcend Oceania, in partnership with Conciliation Resources.

"The UK’s peacebuilding approach achieved meaningful results”, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) confirmed in its latest report published on 9 December 2022, “but a more reliable and long-term funding approach would make them even better”.

2022 has seen the outbreak of more violent conflicts around the world, as well as new challenges to peacebuilding. The unpredictability of conflict requires innovative and creative ideas to respond quickly and explore new ways to build peace. 

It’s becoming increasingly clear that climate change can exacerbate fragility and conflict. However, we still lack evidence to help us understand precisely how this happens. Gender provides a lens that can help us analyse and understand this, which in turn can support the development of effective conflict prevention and resolution strategies. Yet, gender, climate change and conflict have mostly been looked at in siloes, rather than in an interrelated way, when it comes to peacebuilding.