TWO Nobel Peace Prize winners, two former heads of state and Alistair Campbell are among the figures heading to Coventry for the return of a major peace summit.
RISING Global Peace Forum brings international peacebuilders, policymakers and academics from around the world to Coventry – the UK’s only City of Peace and Reconciliation.
This year’s event, RISING 2018: The Anatomy of Peace, will take place at Coventry Cathedral on September 12 and 13.
It will focus on the complex process of initiating contact, making a deal and sustaining peace.
John Bruton, former Irish Taoiseach and Ambassador of the EU to the US, and Nobel Peace Prize winners Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia, and Tawakkol Karman, an international human rights activist from Yemen, are among the headline speakers.
A gala dinner on September 12 will hear from Alastair Campbell, former Downing Street director of communications and strategy.
He will speak about his experiences of politics, business, football and his journey to personal peace in overcoming mental health problems.
The event is led by the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University, who says the forum has become a powerful force for worldwide peace since being launched in 2015.
Associated events have been hosted in the USA, Northern Ireland and Columbia last year.
Matt Qvortrup, RISING’s director, said: “RISING was launched as a partnership with Coventry Cathedral, Coventry City Council and Coventry University, and now in its third year, is established as an internationally-recognised peace forum.
“Since 2015, it has been bringing political leaders, academics and experts together from around the world to discuss and promote ways of making and sustaining peace.
“We have once again attracted some very high-profile speakers to this year’s event and look forward to welcoming them to the city to lead and spark debate among delegates.
“Coventry has a long history of looking outwards and for many centuries has been prepared to have peaceful dialogue and trade with people from other cultures, and as the UK’s only City of Peace and Reconciliation is perfectly placed to stage the event.”
The Forum will host a diverse range of speakers, panels and workshops over the two days to address the theme question.
Attendance to the daytime events is free, with prior registration and more information available by emailing [email protected] or visiting www.rising.org
Tickets to the gala dinner are available at £99 per person by emailing [email protected]
