On 2-4 May 2023, AP organizes the 5th edition of the Bologna Peacebuilding Forum (BPF), a key event on peacebuilding in Italy and Europe. The BPF has two main goals. Firstly, strengthening the network of peacebuilding scholars and practitioners to improve policy-oriented research and fieldwork. Secondly, opening up the peacebuilding domain to a wider audience.

Peace processes have complex dynamics. Peacebuilding practitioners have few opportunities to reflect on their work and share their expertise with fellow professionals or researchers. At the same time, scholars experience the same and opposite challenge. Indeed, they have a comprehensive view of the discipline and entertain exchanges with other fellow experts. Still, they often lack direct interaction with peacebuilding practitioners in the field.

The Bologna Peacebuilding Forum aims to bridge this gap by offering a space for dialogue between peacebuilding scholars and practitioners. Furthermore, the BPF strives to open up the discussion to a larger audience comprising foreign policy experts, civil society actors, and the public opinion. From 2019, the BPF has developed as a major annual gathering fostering open and constructive dialogue on key issues and challenges facing the discipline.

Now in its fifth year, the BPF offers a platform for debating relevant and timely  topics concerning various aspects of peacebuilding. After successful previous editions from 2019 to 2022, the BPF has become a prime venue for peacebuilding discussions in Italy and internationally.

Peace in Europe and Beyond

This year, the Bologna Peacebuilding Forum will analyze and discuss the possible trajectory for peace on the European continent, from the Mediterranean to the Caucasus. The war in Ukraine has generated an impressive disruption in Europe and its effects are reshaping global peace and security governance. Peace advocates have had to reconcile solidarity toward Ukraine and a call for diplomatic solutions. International organizations, from the OSCE to the UN, have struggled to find their role in the crisis and have remained marginal so far. This marginality could reshape the whole multilateral peace and security system. At the same time, the European Union has clearly defined its position and role. Yet, its choices will affect its financial and political capacity to build partnerships with countries from North Africa to Southeast Asia, from the Caucasus to Southern Africa. New multilateral formats are under discussion or taking shape, such as the European Political Community that gathers 44 countries of the Eurasian continent. The Forum will provide the opportunity to analyze these scenarios and possible future trajectories, including how CSOs and societies are adapting and which role they can play in the future. The Forum will also discuss how the ongoing war in Europe has impacted the rest of the world and the EU’s capacity and instruments to work for peace abroad.

Events

The 2023 BPF will unfold in different moments and activities:

• Beyond Rhetoric: the humanitarian-peace-development nexus in action: launch of AP’s research on Italy and the Triple Nexus, with the cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
• Peace in Europe and Beyond: public international conference featuring speakers from a plurality of professional backgrounds and countries, in partnership with universities, international organizations and think tanks.
• Workshop on Media and Peacebuilding (subject to application process): workshop for university students and youth on the role of media in conflict and peacebuilding with professional jounalists.

The Forum will host closed-door events subject to invitation:

• Closed-door Roundtable with private Foundations.
• Networking Event.

Visit the Programme section for more information!