Co-created by Parkhall Integrated College, Campbell College, the Integrated Education Fund, Queen’s University Belfast, Younited International School and Sustainability Education (SusEd), the International Education for Peace Summit offers a distinctive opportunity for schools and organisations from Northern Ireland and around the world to come together in a spirit of solidarity, exploring education as a force for peacebuilding, democratic renewal, sustainability and shared humanity.
The Summit will take place in Belfast, where the region’s experience of conflict and peacebuilding provides a powerful setting for courageous dialogue and collective action towards a future worth inheriting.
Our Focus
The three-day Summit will bring together students, teachers and leaders from national and international systems of education, with artists, policymakers, leaders in business, industry and development, and climate experts. Following Otto Scharmer’s “Theory U” and exploring “The Future of Education in a Post-Conflict Society”, the Summit experience will engage with the connected themes of Active Hope, Regenerative Leadership, Democracy and Dialogue, Community and Belonging, Sustainability and Peace, and Youth Agency. Through carefully curated engagements, critical friendship, experiential learning, creative practice and deep reflection, we will examine education’s role in regenerating trust, strengthening social cohesion and embracing ecological responsibility. Together, across generations and sectors, we will explore how education and leadership can equip young people to shape a better, more peaceful and sustainable future - and a world worth inheriting.
Active Hope, Regenerative Leadership, Democracy and Dialogue, Community and Belonging, Sustainability and Peace, and Youth Agency
Day 1: The challenge we face
Day 2: Meeting the challenge
Day 3: A call to action
Outcomes
By critically examining education’s role in peacebuilding, deepening cross-sector collaboration and creating networks for action, delegates will develop practical commitments and a shared sense of purpose to regenerate trust, strengthen democracy and connect ecological responsibility with peace and equality within their schools, organisations and communities. Through leadership action groups, storytelling, and critical, compassionate engagement, the Summit will enthuse delegates with a spirit of active hope. Young people and adults from around the world will learn alongside one another, sharing lived experience and exploring how to lead with courage, care and a commitment to our shared humanity.
Beyond the International Education for Peace Summit, delegates will remain connected through collaborative leadership groups over the following 6–18 months, supporting one another to translate reflection into sustained action. This international, intergenerational community will help nurture the relationships and collective responsibility needed to shape a more peaceful and sustainable future - and a world worth inheriting.
Cross-sector and intergeneration by design, delegates through dialogue, experiential learning, creative practice, environmental inquiry and leadership action groups, we will examine how education can:
• Strengthen trust, belonging and social cohesion.
• Deepen democracy and encourage courageous dialogue.
• Address identity and intergenerational trauma.
• Connect climate responsibility with peace and equality.
• Equip young people to become active, hopeful, informed citizens.
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Registration
We have reserved places for representatives from up to 25 schools and universities across the island of Ireland, Europe and beyond. Each school is encouraged to send five participants, typically including the Principal, Bursar/Operations Manager (or equivalent), a ‘champion teacher,’ and two students from Grade 11 or above. However, we recognise that we will need to be flexible in accommodating as broad and diverse a demographic as possible, so please be encouraged to explore a different shape to your delegation as your context dictates.
When registration is opened, please click on the link above for more information on how to apply for a place.