Archbishop of Canterbury among guest speakers at RISING Global Peace Forum in Coventry

Tuesday 7th of September 2021 12:21 PM

The former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell and the current Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will be speaking about leadership at the sixth RISING Global Peace Forum in Coventry.

Campbell was the first, and to date only, female Prime Minister of Canada and since leaving office she has championed the role of women in leadership by serving as chair of the Council of Women World Leaders and as President of the International Women's Forum.

As Archbishop, Welby is the worldwide leader of the Anglican Communion. Speaking at the event at Coventry Cathedral will be a return to his local roots having been co-director of the international ministry at the International Centre for Reconciliation after starting as a curate in nearby Nuneaton.

Campbell and Welby will be two of the keynote speakers at the event which takes place from Wednesday 10 November to Friday 12 November in Coventry — the UK’s only International City of Peace and Reconciliation — with a series of live lectures and discussions in the city’s cathedral.

They will be joined by Lord Peter Hain, who helped to negotiate the Northern Irish power-sharing deal between Sinn Féin and the DUP while Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in Tony Blair’s Labour Government, and Lord Peter Ricketts, retired senior British diplomat and the UK government’s first national security adviser from 2010 from 2012.

The three-day event is led by Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations in partnership with Coventry Cathedral and Coventry City Council.

RISING brings together global leading politicians, policymakers, academics and community organisers to discuss and promote new ways to make and sustain peace, both in local communities and on an international level. It highlights the extensive work undertaken at the university to create impact worldwide through its portfolio of research on peace and security. Participation at the event is open to anyone of any background with an interest in creating peaceful communities.

The theme for this year is Leadership for Peace, with a full line-up of speakers from around the world to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

There will be a return for live audiences after RISING was streamed entirely online last year as a result of the pandemic, although some speakers will again appear via video-link.

The programme will also include the annual Lord Mayor’s Peace Lecture, which will be given this year by Neville Staple, of 2Tone band The Specials, and his wife Sugary, a writer, producer and performer in her own right.

Professor Mike Hardy, Chair of the RISING Board, said: “Since our launch of RISING some six years ago, the scale of the challenges facing people and their communities worldwide have continued to concern and upset us all. Conflict, climate change and the Coronavirus bring threat and suffering. Many countries appear stuck, unable to adapt and respond. We require leaders at all level in our communities to step forward with both a new vision and strategy for building and sustaining peaceful communities.

“This year’s theme will provoke focus and discussion on the demands for fresh leadership which is critical for enabling the changes we need; new leadership that can shed short-termism and/or self-preservation and create sustaining outcomes.”

RISING was launched in Coventry in 2015 and has since gained widespread international recognition, spawning events in Colombia, the USA, Mexico, Westminster and Northern Ireland.

It has increased the city’s standing as a source of inspiration for peace, and a force for conflict resolution across the world. 

During the recent lockdown, RISING also launched a series of short online films through YouTube entitled ‘RISING Great Reads’, which have been viewed more than 1,300 times. Online RISING seminars have also been organised this year to discuss the Anfal genocide, the rebuilding of Mosul and the Nanjing massacre.

For more information about this free-to-attend event and prior registration, visit www.rising.org.