Finland Times

 

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland will organize the second conference on Non-Formal Dialogue Processes and National Dialogues bringing together the world's leading peace and reconciliation experts in Helsinki on 16–18 November, 2015.

 

The conference will provide a platform for joint reflection and in-depth discussion between practitioners, stakeholders and experts working with dialogue processes in different contexts, said a press release from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

 

The conference is a continuation to the first conference held in April 2014, which had a participation of over 200 international experts and practitioners.

 

The three-day event will be opened by Secretary of State at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland Peter Stenlund.

 

Keynote speakers include Nobel Laureate Jerry White, Shaykh Abdallah bin Mahfudh ibn Bayyah, who is one of the leading scholars of Islamic law in the world, and Thania Paffenholz, Director of the Inclusive Peace and Transition Initiative (IPTI).

 

Parliament member Pekka Haavisto, the Foreign Minister’s Special Representative on Mediation, will chair the opening session.

 

The conference will this year focus on Myanmar, Yemen, Somalia and Tunisia. Examples of experiences of challenging changed processes and mediation and peace-building efforts in these countries will be examined and analyzed, according to the release.

 

The overall objective of the conference is to provide a forum for national stakeholders, facilitators and international experts for sharing and reflecting on their experiences of non-formal dialogue processes and National Dialogues in the current changing landscape, particularly in the context of fragile states and other areas affected by fragile conditions.

 

The event will be organised in cooperation with the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission, Finn Church Aid, Crisis Management Initiative and Common Space Initiative.