Die Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung e.V. (AFK) organisiert gemeinsam mit der Hochschule Rhein-Waal ein online Podium mit dem Titel “Feminist Spaces in Peace and Security” auf Englisch. Die Veranstaltung hätte ursprünglich in Kleve an der Hochschule Rhein-Waal stattfinden sollen und wurde nun wegen COVID-19 spontan in ein online Format verwandelt.

Das Podium findet am 29. April 2020 um 18 Uhr statt.

The field of peace and security in both academia and politics is widely associated with national security, defence systems, the military apparatus, peacekeeping missions, or peace negotiations. Peace and security, however, is not restricted to the absence of war and violence as well as the presence of intact defence systems or nuclear umbrellas. Feminists claim that peace and security needs to include discussions on issues such as an intact planet, access to food and water, a safe place to live, and a gender-just and supportive social system. Peace and security issues concern all people on a structural and individual level. Yet, institutions such as governments, international organizations and universities are mainly male-dominated, both in representation and in ideas and often lack an intersectional representation.
Women’s and feminist movements are currently on the forefront of entering these unbalanced systems of power, contesting security practices and criticizing the exclusion of several groups of society in decision-making. An increase in feminist and women’s meaningful participation in the discourse of peace and security takes place in several spaces, such as in governmental organizations, civil society movements, youth organizations and academia.

With representatives of these different spaces of society we will discuss the following questions:

• What is feminist peace/feminist security?
• Why are feminist analysis and theories still not accepted as norm in policy and academia?
• How can the women’s and feminist movement contribute to the balancing of the current system of peace and security?
• How can we bring feminist theory and practice into the centre of policy and research? Where are opportunities and entry points?
• What are successful strategies for change? Do we have to go big or start small?

The event is hosted by the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences and German Association for Peace and Conflict Studies.

Zur Veranstalterin: afk-web.de