This conference, organised in partnership with the John & Pat Hume Foundation, is guided by the theme of ‘Leadership for Peaceful Change’. A series of panel discussions over two afternoons, on 1 -2 July 2021, will examine past and current practices in peace making, peace building and reconciliation work in a range of diverse contexts, with a particular focus on Europe and the neighbouring regions.

Speakers and moderators include: Mary McAleese (former President of Ireland), Brigid Laffan, Seán Farren, Mairead McGuinness, Simon Coveney, Claire Hanna, Pascal Lamy, Federica Mogherini, Hans-Gert Pöttering, Richard Corbett, Miroslav Lajcák, Heather Grabbe, Franak Viacorka, Pat Cox, Zahra’ Langhi, Michael Keating, Conor O’Clery, Tony Connelly and Rory Montgomery.

John Hume (1937 - 2020) was an Irish European, a politician and a peace maker, who considered the European Union as the world’s most effective model of conflict resolution. The continuing relevance of John Hume’s work was highlighted by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her first ‘State of the Union’ address to the European Parliament on 16 September 2020 when she lauded him as ‘one of the great Europeans’ and quoted the often referenced words expounded by John Hume in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech: ‘Difference is the essence of humanity’.

The event will be livestreamed here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDTVHWxSNPA.

Details of the two day Programme over 1 - 2 July, speaker biographies, and instructions for registration can be found here.