On June 23, the panel "Peace and Reconciliation" took place under the moderation of Gregor Walter-Drop, Director of the Peace Academy Rhineland-Palatinate Peace Academy Rhineland-Palatinate.

The experts brought a variety of perspectives on very different crises and wars to the panel, highlighted the different connotations of "reconciliation" throughout history and noted that different contexts can provide contributions to a kind of toolbox of possible elements for reconciliation. In addition to important state actors, they also emphasized the relevance of civil society initiatives. Thus, encounters and engagement at local and interpersonal level offer opportunities for reconciliation even when peace seems impossible.

In interaction with the audience, the speakers noted that reconciliation is based on values such as respect, but that religion can also have a reconciliatory effect. Although the nature of a conflict has an impact on the possibilities for reconciliation, adapting the measures to the respective contexts, avoiding asymmetries and involving all parties in reconciliation processes seems essential. According to the speakers, talking about history and trauma as well as coming to terms with it through legal means can enable people to question opposing narratives of reconciliation, while dialog is fundamentally essential in order to give peace a chance.

The panel discussion was attended by

CORINE DEFRANCE (Directrice de Recherches du CNRS, Université Paris, Panthéon Sorbonne)
Steffen Hagemann (RPTU University Kaiserslautern-Landau)
Jean Damascene MBONIGABA (Civil Peace Service Refugee Program/GIZ)
Ulrich Pfeil (Université de Lorraine)
Donata Uwimanimpaye (Catholic University of Rwanda)