WHAT IS IT REALLY LIKE TO BE AMIDST CONFLICT AND TO WORK FOR PEACE?
Most of us have seen the headlines, but not many of us know what war is like in reality. In the chaos of violence and conflict, it’s easy to lose sight of the individuals involved.
Through Conciliation Resources’ new #SeeTheHuman event series, you will hear the real life experiences of those who have been on the front lines and who have managed to bring people together across divides to create peace.
At the first event, Conciliation Resources is delighted to be in conversation with Yalda Hakim and Emma Leslie, hosted by Jonathan Cohen.
YALDA HAKIM
Yalda is an Afghan-Australian broadcast journalist, news presenter and documentary maker. She currently anchors the flagship program ‘Impact with Yalda Hakim’ on BBC World News. In addition to her presenting duties, Yalda regularly reports in the field for the BBC. Recently, she has been reporting directly from Kabul, including the Panorama show “Return of the Taliban” aired at the end of August 2021. From a headline-making investigation in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province to her reporting from Libya during the Arab Spring, Yalda has built up a wealth of journalistic experience around the world. She was a finalist for the Australian Young Journalist of the Year Award and won the United Nations Media Peace Prize for Best Australian Television News coverage in 2009.
EMMA LESLIE
Emma is an Australian-Cambodian peacebuilder supporting peace processes across Asia. As director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, she developed MA and Ph.D. programs in Applied Conflict Transformation Studies, launched the Cambodia Peace Museum and for a decade has served the Philippine Government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front peace talks as a member of the International Contact Group, leading to a peace agreement being signed in 2014. Emma has also been actively engaged in the Myanmar and Korean Peninsula peace processes. Emma was one of the 1000 women nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, and was profiled by KAICIID as a ‘hero of dialogue’.
JONATHAN COHEN
Jonathan is Executive Director of Conciliation Resources, an NGO committed to stopping violent conflict and creating peaceful societies. Jonathan joined Conciliation Resources in 1997 and developed work in the Caucasus. Becoming Director of Programmes in September 2008, he supported peacebuilding and dialogue initiatives in the Caucasus, Colombia, West Africa, East and Central Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Philippines, Fiji and Kashmir. In 2018 Jonathan became Chair of the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office, and is also an associate of the Imperial War Museum’s Institute for the Public Understanding of War and Conflict. In 2007 he was awarded an OBE by the British Government for services to conflict prevention and conflict resolution in the Caucasus.
Join Conciliation Resources for a fascinating insight into the realities of war and peace in 2022.