RISING Global Peace Forum

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

RISING Global Peace Forum seeks out and promotes new ways of thinking about peace and conflict. Our annual gathering in our home city Coventry brings together political, faith and community leaders; peacebuilders; diplomats; academics; the media; and members of the public in the common cause of provoking peace.

Inspired and supported by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, RISING Global PeaceForum began in 2015 through a founding partnership between CoventryUniversity, Coventry Cathedral and Coventry City Council. As the UK’s City ofPeace and Reconciliation, Coventry is uniquely placed to demonstrate both the catastrophic consequences of conflict and the transformative power of peace.

RESEARCH IMPACT

Since being devastated by wartime bombing raids, Coventry has worked tirelessly to help different communities better understand each other, to end conflicts and to foster forgiveness. Today it is a proud multicultural city, where people of all cultures, backgrounds and faiths live together as one community, and the ruins of the old cathedral serve as a powerful reminder of the value of peacebuilding.

RISING Global Peace Forum aims to ignite debate, challenge assumption and lend moral authority to calls to action. At our annual gathering, speakers and participants share brave and creative ideas that challenge us to go beyond conventional thinking and change how we approach threats and confrontations in our societies. 

The inaugural annual gathering, RISING 15, took place in November 2015. It brought together global leaders, practitioners and advocates working for peace and explored the idea that it is A Hard Road to Hope. The theme set the seemingly intractable crises of today against what history tells us we can achieve; sometimes addressing conflict feels like an impossible task, but we know from the past that we can achieve the impossible when it comes to making peace. 

RISING 16 will examine “the ripple effect” of responding to conflict, whether with action or inaction. A blend of high-profile speakers, panel discussions and cultural activities – will allow participants to interact, to learn and to explore solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. 

There is no other forum that combines the personal with the political to identify positive, practical solutions. And there has never been more of a need for a global peace forum that unites great minds to rise up and provoke peace.

A video library of RISING talks is open to a global audience.