INVITATION TO THE MEDIA: Will 2026 be a turning point in conflict resolution?

As global power dynamics shift and conflicts disproportionately affect societies in the Global South, long-standing Western assumptions about security, diplomacy, and peacebuilding are increasingly being questioned. Approaches developed in and for the West have often fallen short in addressing the complex realities of contemporary conflicts, underscoring the need for more inclusive, self-critical, and locally grounded models of conflict resolution.

Welcome to a timely seminar exploring how conflict resolution must evolve in a changing world, and how greater attention to perspectives from the Global South challenge, complement, and reshape Western policy and practice.

The seminar brings together leading policymakers, practitioners, and experts to reflect critically on humanitarian action, diplomacy, and civilian crisis management, while highlighting the roles of religion and traditional actors and women’s leadership in peace processes.

Keynote addresses:
Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council
Outi Holopainen, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Security Policy at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Johanna Sumuvuori, Director of the European Centre of Excellence for Civilian Crisis Management

Confirmed panelists include:
Mohammed Elsanousi, Executive Director of the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers
Johanna Poutanen, Head for Women in Peacemaking and Digital Peacemaking at CMI
Teppo Turkki, Senior Adviser at Sitra, Strategic Foresight Expert at CMI, Non-Fiction Writer
Mika Hentunen, correspondent Yle (Moscow)

Moderator:
Jouni Hemberg, Chair at Nordic South Forum

The Seminar is organized by Nordic South Forum and Hanaholmen - the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre in cooperation the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Foundation. 

For more information and media registration: Jyrki Karvinen, Nordic South Forum, tel. 045 2588451, jyrki.karvinen@gmail.com