Santa Coloma de Gramenet (Barcelona) will host the international Build Peace 2025 conference from November 21 to 23. The event is co-organised by the International Catalan Institute for Peace (ICIP) and Build Up, a collective that designs and implements technology- and arts-based tools and processes to address conflict and promote peace. The conference is also supported by the Santa Coloma City Council, Catalonia International, and the Government of Catalonia.
Held annually, the Build Peace conference brings together activists, technologists, researchers, artists, and civil society leaders from around the world to explore new approaches to peacebuilding.
The twelfth edition will take place at La CIBA, Santa Coloma’s hub for women, innovation, and feminist economics. Under the theme “Towards a Pluriverse of Peace”, the conference will focus on how creative and technological innovation can help transform conflict and foster more inclusive coexistence.
To attend, please register through the following link:
Towards a Pluriverse of Peace
In today’s world—marked by oppression, division, inequality, and loss of trust—it is essential to rethink what it means to speak of peace. How can we reclaim and give new meaning to the concept of peace in this context? How can we harness new possibilities to connect, learn from the experiences of diverse communities, and cultivate interdependence?
Through art, technology, and other forms of innovation, Build Peace 2025 provides a platform to question, redefine, and collectively envision what a culture of peace truly means. To this end, the conference will centre on three sub-themes that address key dilemmas in the field of peace and conflict:
Between Polarisation and Deliberation
This subtheme will focus on the power of dialogue and narratives. What participatory and deliberative tools, methods and spaces can tackle rising affective and toxic polarisation? How can polarised digital spaces become deliberative? We aim to explore where and how that shift happens, the role of alternative narratives and what approaches (technological or otherwise) can be used to include all voices in social and peace processes and movements.
Between Deterrence and Nonviolence
This subtheme dives into peace and security policies. How can we reshape and reclaim the use of technology in surveillance states, regions and borders in the name of “safety”? What are existing and future alternatives to militarised security? We aim to reflect on how we understand peace and security, from pacifism and nonviolence to deterrence and the perceived need for militarized security.
Between Erasure and Memory
This subtheme invites us to consider how we collectively learn from the past, live in the present, and imagine the future. How do we heal from trauma that poses a challenge to coexistence? In what ways can/ do we collectively learn and heal from societal crises? What role do reconciliation processes, truth commissions and amnesties play in bringing lasting and sustainable peace? We aim to highlight the importance of creatively exploring innovative tools and ways to archive and preserve memories and foster intergenerational dialogue, thereby cultivating peaceful present and future societies.
The conference will feature plenary sessions, short talks presenting projects and initiatives, interactive workshops, and artistic installations, including exhibitions and musical performances.
