What does peace mean to you? This is the question we’ll be asking at the first Stockholm Peace Talks on 29 January.

Following on from the successful Geneva Peace Talks series and drawing on Stockholm’s long-standing experience in the peace sector, the aim of the Peace Talks is to bring together different actors for an evening of inspirational talks. Coming from a wide range of horizons, the speakers will look at what peace means within their own lives and how they’ve come to play an active role in promoting peace.

Taking place in the inspiring Swedish Parliament Buildings, the Stockholm Peace Talks aim to show that everyone can contribute to peace, and that all branches of society must be involved in the peace process. As with other Peace Talks, we hope this event will spark greater discussion around peace and demonstrate that, despite violent conflict dominating the news, peace is not an unachievable goal.

Modeled on the Geneva Peace Talks, this event will feature a handful of speakers sharing short speeches on a common theme. Due to limited space at the venue, attendance is by invitation only. The Peace Talks will however be filmed and made available on the Interpeace and Peace Talks websites. We will also be streaming the event live.

We are also proud to announce the 2015 Stockholm Peace Talks speakers:

Urban Ahlin, President of the Swedish Parliament
Jason ‘Timbuktu’ Diakité, Musician
Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations
Deline Revend & Tomas Amanuel, young people from Tensta
Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi, Executive Director of the Injaz Center for Professional Arab Local Governance
Peter Wallensteen, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Uppsala University
Margot Wallström, Swedish Foreign Minister (via video link)
Elaine Weidman-Grunewald, Vice President of CSR issues within the Ericsson Group
Forest Whitaker, Artist, Founder and CEO of The Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative, and UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation (via video link)