Although global focus has shifted recently to battling the pandemic, international crises and peace processes continue to require attention. These times demand a forward-looking analysis of the international scene and the post-COVID-19 challenges to peace and peacebuilding. How is the COVID-19 pandemic going to shift the levels of peace? How is the post-COVID-19 period going to affect peace operations and peace processes? Join us as we reflect upon these questions and take a look at the latest trends in peace and the impact of COVID-19.

In this webinar, Mr. Serge Stroobants, Director of Europe, Middle East and North Africa at the IEP, will present the findings from Global Peace Index 2020 and the COVID-19 & Peace report. Produced by IEP, the Global Peace Index (GPI) presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis on trends in peace, its economic value, and how to develop peaceful societies. In this edition, the report will cover three new topics: trends in civil unrest, ecological threats, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then, the programme will follow with comments from Ms. Annika Hilding Norberg, Head of Peace Operations and Peacebuilding at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). Ms. Hilding also serves on the Geneva Peace Building Platform. Her work focuses on strengthening leadership for peace as well as on peace operations and peacebuilding with a specific focus on dialogue, research and policy development, and education and training.

The webinar will also feature Dr. Kai Brand-Jacobsen, Director of the Department of Peace Operations at the Peace Action, Training and Research Institute of Romania (PATRIR). With over 20 years of experience in international crises, Dr. Brand-Jacobsen is a leading pioneer, innovator and practitioner in the field of peacebuilding, conflict transformation and addressing challenging and complex conflicts and crisis in the world today.