HOW TO HACK DYSTOPIA IN OUR CURRENT GLOBAL MESS

Day01. Wednesday, July 7, 09:00-10:00 EDT

In the face of our dystopian reality, innovative approaches to peacemaking, preventing, and mediating conflict & peace-building are essential more than ever before. COVID-19 has made direct interaction, with conflict parties & peace constituencies difficult. This puts new tech for secure dialogue at the forefront. Learn about the UNDPPA's approach to 'futuring peace', an invitation for a conversation about the new possibilities of innovating radically to end wars.

“Futuring peace” is an invitation for a conversation about the new possibilities of innovating radically to end wars. With 2020 its 75th anniversary year, the UN is beating the drum for progress. Listening for ideas on how to do things differently is more important than ever. For the peace field, this means that we need to better connect with talent, thought leadership, and solutions both outside and inside the UN cosmos. For our species, global messes are recurrent; we can do nothing but innovate — like the very creation of the UN in the first place — to stay ahead of them.

Dr. Martin Waehlisch leads the Innovation Cell in the Policy and Mediation Division of the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (UNDPPA), an interdisciplinary team dedicated to exploring, piloting, and scaling new technologies, tools, and practices in conflict prevention, mediation and peacebuilding. He holds a PhD in International Law and recently published the edited volume “Rethinking Peace Mediation: Challenges of Contemporary Peacemaking Practice”.