Peace Café - Towards Artistic Diplomacy: How Can Art Contribute to Peace?

How can creative peacebuilding and the arts be used to build more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient peace across the globe and improve outcomes for conflict-affected communities? Join the Peacebuilding Initiative on Thursday, October 16th from 13h00-14h30 for an enriching discussion with Guila Clara Kessous, accompanied by Anna Torres on the interconnectedness of art and diplomacy.

This event will include an acoustic performance of Kessous and Torres’ new song, ‘Mothers of the Earth’, dedicated to fundraising for Congolese mothers affected by the war in the DRC. Moderated by Peacebuilding Initiative’s Peace Café Officer, Victoria Houpert, this space will offer an intimate opportunity to engage with Kessous, a leading UNESCO Artist for Peace, and Geneva Peace Week’s Artist-in-Residence for the week on feminine diplomacy, theatre as a tool for community-building, and capacity-building for healing to transform emotion into action.

Story of the Peace Café:
The Peace Cafe is a recurring event series of the IHEID Peacebuilding Initiative. Initiative members gain a unique and personal insight into the lives of peacebuilders, through discussion on current trends in the field, personal stories, and wisdom from one generation of peacebuilders to the next.

Our Objectives:
- Connect academic learnings with professional insights;
- Provide students with an opportunity to explore future career paths;
-Share wisdom through intergenerational dialogue and open discussion.

Find out more about Peacebuilding Initiative’s flagships projects on our website.