The Science of Peace Education

Presented live on UN World Science Day,  Nov. 10, 2025- the Global Peace Education Network and the World Academy of Art & Science shared a webinar entitled The Science of Peace Education. More than 30 individuals spoke,  sharing tools to shift mindsets and mobilize communities.  The event featured highlights from the Paris Summit.

Around the planet, we urgently need peacebuilding skills.  Climate upheaval, armed conflict, historic waves of human displacement and other crises now threaten our existence.  To survive, our communities must quickly master the peace practices required, building skills for trust, transformation and tomorrow.

Here are the 5 conference topics we covered:

Peace Education for Global Transformation
Tools to shift mindsets and mobilize communities

Human Security, Health & Wellbeing
Programs and perspectives that safeguard lives

Human Rights & Justice
Strategies to uphold dignity and fairness for all

Prosperity & Sustainability
Pathways to economic development that heal our planet

Cultural Arts: Conduits to Peace
How music, media and the arts build bridges to understanding

The event schedule-:

THE SCIENCE OF PEACE EDUCATION

Highlights of the Paris Summit

SECTION I:   TAKING PEACE TO HEART

10:00 Introduction, 

Darlene Shelton, Ph.D.

Phillipine Dolbeau

10:10   Opening Plenary

Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary General

Amb. Anwarul Chowdhury, President, GPEN Advisory Council; former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations

David Weinberg, CEO, GPEN

Mabingue Ngom, GPEN Global Ambassador; Senior Advisor, Global Health and International Development

10:30 Transformative Power of Peace Education

Chair, Philippine Dolbeau, Entrepreneur, Journalist, TV Host, 

Amb. Prof. Karim Errouaki, UNACCC High Representative/ EU; Special Envoy, GPEN Member, GPEN Global Advisory Council

Helena Murseli, Ph.D., Senior Education Advisor for Education in Emergencies, UNICEF 

Kehkashan Basu, Founder, President of Green Hope Foundation, UN Human Rights Champion, 

SECTION II:  GOING FAR TOGETHER

11:00 Partnerships for Peace Education

Chair: Donato Kiniger-Passigli, Vice President, World Academy of Arts and Science

Aryan Salman, President and General Director, Global Citizenship Foundation

Bea Gasca, Founder, Womanpalooza and Philanthropist

Helena Murseli, Ph.D., Senior Advisor for Education in Emergencies, UNICEF

Usaama Kaweesa, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Councilor, Merton Council, UK

Anna Maria Lubelska, Chair of Trustees & Founder of The Peace Building Project, Author, and Interfaith Minister

11:30 Lifetime Achievement Award – 

Constance Riviere, Director, National Museum of Immigration History, Paris.  Presented by Guila Clara Kessous, GPEN Human Rights Ambassador

11:35 Go Live / Congo Tales 

Music by Jenn Johns; Photos by Pieter Henket

SECTION III:  SECURING LIFE

12:00 Human Security, Health and Well Being

Chair: Donato Kiniger-Passigli, Vice President, World Academy of Arts and Sciences

Felipe Domingues, Country Director for Portugal, Institute for Economics and Peace; Biographer for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres 

Ramata Almamy Mbaye, Ph.D., Chief of Human and Social Sciences, ICESCO

Charlotte Courtois, Founder and Director, Constellation Association

Sabrina Gaffre Vallicelli, Educator, Facilitator of the Peace Education Program, TPRF

12:30 Peace Education, Prosperity, and Sustainability

Chair, Felipe Domingues, Country Director for Portugal, Institute for Economics and Peace, Biographer for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

Jihane El Ghiati, ICESCO Youth Peace Ambassador, Student

Kehkashan Basu, Founder and President of Green Hope Foundation, GPEN Global Advisory Council

Jacob Johns, Artist, Activist, Executive Director, Wisdom Keepers Delegation

SECTION IV:  ARCING TOWARD JUSTICE

1:00 Human Rights and Justice

Chair: Massimo Scaliotti, International lawyer;  International Human Rights Council of the European Union

Delia Mamon, Founder and President, Graines de Paix Foundation, Geneva

Jacob Johns, Artist, Activist, Executive Director, Wisdom Keepers Delegation

1:50 Chronicle of Peace, Vicky the Poet

SECTION V:  CELEBRATING PEACE

2:00 Cultural Arts Forum:  People Unite as One

Chair: Jenn Johns, Multidisciplinary Artist, Founder, The F.U.N. Manifesto

Jacob Johns, Artist, Activist, Executive Director, Wisdom Keepers Delegation

Hussein Al Amry, TV Host, Poet, and Media Advisor

Juan Antonio Simarro, Composer and Concert Pianist

Pieter Henket, Fine Art Photographer

Justin Gaspar, Creative Producer

2:45 Voices for Peace Education

Chair, Henar Maillo Valdes, Poet, Activist, Student

Jacob Johns, Artist, Activist, Executive Director, Wisdom Keepers Delegation

Noe Levasseur, Poet 

Juan Antonio Simarro, Composer and Concert Pianist

3:00 Youth Leadership – Part 1

Chair: Alexandra Torres, European Youth Parliament Representative for Spain;  Chair, GPEN Youth Leadership Team; Student, Political Science and Human Rights

Nuria Lopez Mendez, Student in Economics

Indira Pera Gonzalez, Student in Political Science 

Hannah Neo Khambule, Student in Archeology, Anthropology and Arabic

Mitesh Desai, M.D., Global Representative, Peace Education Program, TPRF

Christelle Despagne, Youth Peace Ambassador, ICESCO

3:30 Youth Leadership – Part 2

Aylina de la Mano Markau, Vice Chair, GPEN Youth Leadership Team;  Student in Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Lidia Lopez, Student in Media and Marketing

Carolina Garcia, Student, International Management and Development

Marina Acosta Andres, Student in Feminist Social Studies

Gonzalo Galvan, Student in International Relations

Henar Maillo Valdes, Poet,  Activist; Student in European Studies

4:00 Adagio for Violin, Piano and String Orchestra, Juan Antonio Simarro

4:05 Closing Remarks, Amb. Anwarul Chowdhury, President, GPEN Advisory Council; Former Under-Secretary-General of High Representative of the UN

4:10 Overture for Human Rights.  Juan Antonio Simarro