19/10/2021 | |

Barcelona’s World Peace Congress concludes with successful participation

The World Peace Congress organised by the International Peace Bureau (IPB) and the International Catalan Institute for Peace (ICIP) ended this Sunday in Barcelona after three days of conferences, workshops, and cultural events.

Under the title “(Re)imagine the world. Action for peace and justice”, more than 2,500 people took part in this hybrid congress, with activities in Barcelona. The events took place in the Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB) and the Blanquerna – Universitat Ramon Llull, and broadcast on the Internet.

1,000 people attended to the congress in person, while 1,500 attended online. Participants came from 126 countries. In Barcelona, activists from 75 countries including South Korea, the United States, Afghanistan, India and Mongolia, were also able to listen to the speeches covering issues such as nuclear disarmament, climate justice, racism and the rights of indigenous peoples.

As IPB Executive Director, Reiner Braun, explains, this is the biggest international peace event of this year. “The congress was a great success. We got a great support from the city of Barcelona and the government of Catalonia. From my point of view, it was the right congress in this difficult political time and in the right place because we got a big support from the city. The IPB will definitely continue working on the way of more engagement for peace after the congress”.

Jordi Calvo, IPB Vice-President and member of the local committee, affirms: “At the congress we have seen that the peace movement is not alone. The large participation of feminist, anti-racist and global justice movements in the conferences and seminars shows that pacifism is more alive than ever, but that it needs to adapt to new narratives and generations. After this congress, the Catalan, Spanish, European and global peace movement is stronger”

The congress started on Friday 15 October with an event attended by the President of the Generalitat Pere Aragonés and the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau. The opening session was attended by prominent names such as British politician Jeremy Corbyn and ICAN Executive Director Beatrice Fihn. The open plenary can be accessed here.

The GCOMS workshop organised within the congress on October 16, ‘Defund the Military · Defend People and the Planet’, gathered over 60 people both in person and online, and can still be watched in our YouTube Channel.
Chaired by Jordi Calvo, GCOMS coordinator, speakers included Sam Perlo-Freeman (CAAT); Jürgen Grasslin (RüstungsInformationsBüro); Laetitia Sedou (ENAAT); Roisin Putti (Nonviolence Canada); Emily Rubino (Peace Action NYS); Pere Ortega (Centre Delàs of Peace Studies)

Photos from the congress:
You can access the photos of the congress via this link.

Press Release and final declarations:
You can find all the press releases and the final declarations here.