Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will return to his local roots to mark Armistice Day and to deliver a global message alongside international leaders at a major event in Coventry.
Welby – a former co-director of the international ministry at the Coventry Cathedral-based International Centre for Reconciliation – started his ecclesiastical career as a curate in nearby Nuneaton.
He will be a keynote speaker on the second day of the seventh annual RISING Global Peace conference which takes place from 10-12 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 under the theme of Leadership for Peace.
RISING brings together leading politicians, policymakers, academics and community organisers from around the world to discuss and promote new ways to make and sustain peace, both in local communities and on an international level.
The three-day event is led by the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University in partnership with Coventry Cathedral and Coventry City Council.
Welby will be joined by Sabir Zazai, Chief Executive of Scottish Refugee Council who settled in Coventry after feeling Afghanistan 20 years ago; former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell; and Lord Peter Ricketts, a retired senior British diplomat and the UK government’s first national security adviser from 2010 from 2012.
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.
This year’s programme will also include the annual Lord Mayor’s Peace Lecture, which will be given by Neville Staple, of 2Tone band The Specials, and his wife Sugary, a writer, producer and performer in her own right.
Professor Mike Hardy, Professor at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations and Chairman 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 as an international platform to discuss and promote new ways to build and sustain global peace, and has since gained widespread international recognition.
It has spawned events in Colombia, the USA, Mexico, Westminster and Northern Ireland, and 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 has also launched a series of short online films through YouTube entitled ‘RISING Great Reads’, which have been viewed more than 1,100 times.