War & Peace Series
SEPTEMBER 2026
Image: Merton College, University of Oxford
Finding Hope Amid Rising Global Violence—Critical Deliberations on Human Rights, Forced Migration, Emerging Technologies, and Intergenerational Trauma
1—5 September 2026 | Merton College, University of Oxford
6—8 September2026 | Belfast, Northern Ireland
By invitation only. For inquiries, please contact admin@oxfordglobalethics.org.
The study of war and peace at the University of Oxford dates back to the 1500s, with notable contributions to just war theory and the ethics of conflict. Building on this legacy, our workshop-symposium series explores contemporary challenges in war and peacemaking, with a focus on emerging technologies and humanitarian law, gaps in human rights mechanisms, forced migration, and intergenerational trauma. We foreground the roles and agency of women as central in both war and peace—how they participate in conflicts, how they shape collective life, and how intergenerational trauma can sustain intractable struggles across communities and nations.
This program is especially valuable for those preparing to conduct trauma-informed fieldwork with vulnerable populations in conflict-affected areas. Participants receive the Oxford Initiative’s Duty of Care Training Certificate in trauma-sensitive interviewing techniques, developed in partnership with Resonate Joy trauma specialists. Duty of Care training is required for further collaboration with the Global Women’s Narratives Project.
War, when understood as an intractable human constant, can be demoralizing. Yet there is much to learn from successful peacebuilding endeavors, moral community, and the resilience of the human spirit. Join us for an interactive week in Oxford with faculty and practitioners committed to sustained, practical reflection on how communities can uphold human dignity and build peace.
Optional narrative fieldwork is available with a Global Women’s Narratives Project (GWNP) team following the Oxford program:
6—8 September 2026 | Narrative fieldwork in Belfast, Northern Ireland, focused on intergenerational trauma, conflict & peacebuilding
Why the work is increasingly urgent
Emerging research shows that war-related violence can reverberate across generations—socially, psychologically, and even biologically. Global conflicts have more than doubled in the past five years, and civilians are bearing an accelerating share of the harm. Recent UN reporting shows a 72% rise in civilian casualties in 2023 and the UN Human Rights Office reports civilian deaths rose 40% in 2024 . Grave violations against children in armed conflict also reached unprecedented levels with a 25% increase in 2024.
How do we respond to the global chaos and violence increasingly compromising our lives and institutions? Join our community of practitioners and academics for sustained, practical reflection on how we can uphold human dignity in a time of rising global violence.
Schedule for 2026
The Fall Symposium will convene at the University of Oxford from Tuesday, 1 September to Saturday, 5 September 2026. Daily sessions typically run 9:00 am to 3:30 pm, with one special evening gathering and an afternoon reserved for exploring Oxford. Participants arrive and check in on Tuesday afternoon, and depart Merton College on Saturday morning.
Delegates continuing with the GWNP team to Belfast, will begin meetings on Sunday afternoon, 6 September through Tuesday evening, 8 September 2026. The days in Northern Ireland will be hosted by poet and playwright Damian Gorman and Advisory Board member and renowned community leader Anne Carr.
A central challenge in the Northern Ireland peace process is recognizing that peace demands more than agreements, institutional reform, security measures, and economic development—it also depends on transforming attitudes between communities to reflect genuinely new relationships. This fieldwork centers on culture, change, and reconciliation, with a focus on intergenerational narratives.
The symposium workshops are uniquely curated each session, shaped by the themes and participants of that year.
The Resonate Joy Nonprofit, an arm of the Optimum Joy private practice in Chicago, IL, USA, partners with the Global Women’s Narratives Project to provide trauma-informed training and therapeutic support.
Trauma specialists lead several sessions in our Oxford training and travel with global interviewing teams.
