Within the framework of the Second World Peace Congress, which will take place in Barcelona on 15-17 October, ICIP, the Permanent Social Forum and Baketik will hold a workshop on the ten years of peace in the Basque Country and the role of civil society.

The workshop will focus on the role that various civil society organizations have played and continue to play in the peace process in the Basque Country.  It will also recall the International Peace Conference that the Basque social organization Lokarri convened on 17 September 2011.  This conference was attended by international figures in politics and peace such as Kofi Annan, Bertie Ahern, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Pierre Joxe, Gerry Adams and Jonathan Powell.

The conference concluded with a four-point statement in which the international representatives urged the organization Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) to declare a definitive cessation of violence.  It also urged the Spanish and French governments to start negotiations to end the conflict and seek solutions through democratic conflict resolution.  On 20 October 2011, three days after the Conference, ETA announced the definitive cessation of its armed activity.

Workshop participants include Paul Ríos, organizer of the Peace Conference; Agus Hernan, of the Permanent Social Forum; Maider Maraña, of Baketik; and Andy Carl, expert in peace processes.

The event will take place on 17 October from 10:45am-12:45pm during the celebration of the Second World Peace Congress organized by the International Peace Bureau (IPB) and ICIP.  The main goal of the congress is to provide a space for people involved in international peace and justice movements to meet and share experiences.

The Second World Congress has a hybrid format.  Five hundred people are expected to attend in person while more than 1500 have registered to follow it online.

The session on the ten years of peace in the Basque Country can be followed online by pre-registering on the Congress website. You can register here.

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