High Level Opening Session

The opening session, hosted by the Foreign Minister of Türkiye in light of his role as the co-chair of the Groups of Friends of Mediation at the UN, the OSCE and the OIC will be joined by the Foreign Ministers of the State of Palestine and Kuwait. The Secretaries-General of the UN and the OSCE, which represent the largest global and regional organizations with leading roles on peaceful resolution of conflicts, will also join by videomessages.

• H.E. Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah,

  Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs of the State of Kuwait

• H.E. Mr. Riad Malki,

  Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine

• H.E. Ms. Helga Maria Schmid,

  Secretary-General of the OSCE (videomessage)

• H.E. Mr. António Guterres,

  Secretary-General of the UN (videomessage)

• H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu,

  Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye

Coffee Break

Session I: Masters’ Stage

Leading and taking part in mediation is an arduous job. As every conflict is different and mediation is a heavily human-centric endeavor, there is no specific formula to be followed by mediators. Furthermore, more often than not, the valuable experience of mediators goes undocumented. Accumulating experience, transmitting it to future generations, and capturing the state of the art however, is critical to building capacity for peaceful resolution of conflicts. This panel aims to capitalize on the knowledge of a distinguished group of mediation practitioners, and provide them with an opportunity to share their insights.

Moderator:

• Michael Keating,

  Executive Director, the European Institute of Peace

Panelists:

• Miroslav Lajčák,

  EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and other Western Balkan regional issues, President of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly

• Jeffrey Feltman,

  Former U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Former UN Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs

• Ján Kubiš,

  Former United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya

• Betty Bigombe,

  Former Chief Mediator to the conflict in Uganda

Q&A

Coffee Break

Session II: Women and Youth in Peace Mediation

More than enough time has passed since the adoption of the landmark UN Security Council Resolutions about the role of women and youth in peace and security matters. Despite the overwhelming evidence highlighting the importance of inclusion as a key marker of success and sustainability of mediation, only a few peace processes include women and youth as mediators, negotiators, or signatories. In this session, a panel of distinguished guests will discuss the essential role of women and youth in securing and maintaining peace.

Moderator:

• Janne Taalas,

  CEO, Crisis Management Initiative

Panelists:

• Hind Kabawat,

  Deputy Head, Syrian Negotiation Commission’s Geneva Office; Director, Interfaith Peacebuilding at the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy & Conflict Resolution, George Mason University

• Esra Çuhadar,

  Senior Expert on Dialogue and Inclusion, U.S. Institute of Peace; Associate Professor, Bilkent University; Mediterranean Women Mediators Network

• Bineta Diop,

  Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace and Security

• Maria Raczynska,

  Special Representative on Youth and Security of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office on Youth and Security

• Jayathma Wickramanayake,

  UN Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth (videomessage)

Q&A

Wrapping Up:

A Conversation with Michael Keating, Executive Director, the European Institute of Peace and Janne Taalas, CEO of the Crisis Management Initiative