World War I and the Twenty-First Century:  Have we learned anything about Peace-Building?

A one day conference was hosted by the Dublin Quaker Peace Committee and the IICRR at The Helix, Dublin City University (DCU) on Friday, 15th May 2015, on the legacy from World War I and its lessons for peacebuilding.

The conference used World War I as the focal point for understanding what happened before, during and after it in terms of peacebuilding. It worked from historical and contemporary perspectives, and discussed the philosophy of just war, social and economic justice and peace as a realistic alternative to violence. It also considered the challenges of building international and local organisations and agreements to limit national/international violence.
Videos of the main presentations can been seen here.

09.00   Registration and Coffee

09.30   Prof John Doyle (Director of DCU Institute for International Conflict Resolution and Reconstruction)

Welcome and opening address: World War One and Contemporary Conflict: reflecting, learning and strengthening peacebuilding

10.00   Historical Perspectives

Dr Eileen Connolly (DCU)
Feminism, Pacifism and Nationalism: Ireland and the First World War

Glynn Douglas (Dublin Quaker)
Quakers’ Social Outreach – A Consideration

11.00   Coffee Break

11.20   Ethical and Moral Perspectives

Prof Edouard Dommen (Swiss Quaker)
Calvin attacks! How to undermine a warlike economy.

Dr Peter Admirand (MDI / DCU).
“For Truth….”: Interreligious Dialogue and Peace Studies through Ellipses and Gaps.

12.30   Lunch Break

13.30   Civil Society and Arms Control

Tony D’Costa (Pax Christi)
International Peace and Security -The Role of Civil Society in disarmament in the Post-Cold-War Era

Dr Diana O’Dwyer (DCU)
Limiting and Legitimising Western Military Power: A Gramscian Analysis of Humanitarian Arms Control Campaigns

14.30   Coffee Break

15.00   Perspectives from International Affairs

Prof Michael Pugh (University of Bradford)
Aggressive Peace?

Noel Dorr (former Sec Gen Irish Dept of Foreign Affairs)
From continental war to managing a planet: how far have we come in a century?
We are grateful for the generous support of Dublin City University, The Chapman Trust, Concerns Fund, Dublin Monthly Meeting, Irish Friends Education Committee, Irish Quaker Faith in Action.