Past Events

Summer Networking Event

UPDATE, 14th July: This event has been postponed due to last minute changes in facilitator and participant availability. A rescheduled date and registration link will be shared in coming days. 

Join the Scottish Peace Platform in partnership with Secure Scotland for a summer networking event for members and those interested in learning more about our work! The day will focus on building connections and community amongst those doing peace-related work in Scotland, with a particular focus on grassroots and community-based work. 

The teams are planning sessions to identify what participants want to see from peace work in Scotland and where this fits into the ‘ripples of peace’, as well as activites for attendees to get to know one another better and identify ways they can work together. 

Following the sessions participants are invited to stay for a shared, vegetarian meal from 5-6:30pm. 

Webinar: UK Defense Policy Under Labour and its Impact on the Devolved Contexts with Academi Heddwch

Join the Scottish Peace Platform and Academi Heddwch Cymru (the Welsh Peace Institute) for a webinar on ‘UK Defense Policy Under Labour and its Impact on the Devolved Nations’. Registration via the link below! Dr. Bethan Sian Jones, Project Development Manager at Academi Heddwch, will introduce and provide background about the institute’s work. Professor Colin McInness, Research Lead at Academi Heddwch and an Emeritus Professor of International Politics at Aberystwyth University, will present the institute’s research on UK defence policy and its interplay with the Welsh devolved context. 

The Scottish Peace Platform, through its partnership on this webinar with Academi Heddwch, aims to platform insights from another UK devolved context and a well-established peace centre, with the goal of sharing and exchanging learning for the Scottish peacebuilding context. 

Background on the topic

Since being elected in 2024, the Labour Government in Westminster has made a series of major announcements concerning defence policy, while the Prime Minister has referred to improving defence as a ‘generational challenge’ and that ‘[t]he fundamental truth is clear: a step-change in the threats we face demands a step-change in British defence to meet them.’ Although defence remains a reserved power many of these announcements have implications for devolved governments, including potentially infringing on devolved powers. Further, the underpinning basis of these changes – of responding to a perceived threat with a military build-up, and of increasing nuclear reliance – are problematic from the perspective of building a peaceful world. This presentation draws on research conducted for Wales but which has wider relevance to other devolved governments and for the peace movement more broadly.

Webinar: Working with Trauma in Peacebuilding: Principles, Practice, and Application

Join counselling psychologist and specialist in trauma, well-being, and culturally responsive practice Dr. Jeeda Alhakim for an interactive workshop introducing the core principles of trauma-informed practice and exploring what they mean in peacebuilding settings. Register below!

Peacebuilding often unfolds in contexts shaped by conflict, displacement, injustice, and collective loss. Even when it is not explicitly named, trauma frequently sits beneath dialogue processes, community initiatives, and organisational work. Developing a deeper understanding of its impact can strengthen trust, deepen participation, and enhance the sustainability of peacebuilding efforts. This interactive workshop introduces the core principles of trauma-informed practice and explores what they mean in peacebuilding settings. We will consider how trauma shapes the nervous system, emotional regulation, relationships, and group dynamics, and what this means for facilitation, leadership, and programme design. Participants will reflect on the difference between being trauma-aware and fully trauma-informed, and what practical shifts are required to move from knowledge to embodied practice.

Through accessible theory, guided reflection, and applied discussion, participants will develop a clearer framework for integrating trauma-informed principles into their existing work. 

Jeeda Alhakim is an alumna of the Beyond Borders Scotland ‘Women in Conflict 1325 Fellowship’. This webinar is part of a series highlighting and sharing the expertise of the Fellowship alumnae. 

This workshop is primarily aimed at members of the Scottish Peace Platform and alumnae of the WiC 1325 Fellowship, but it is open to anyone to register.

Scottish Peace Platform World Café Networking Day

Educators for Peace/SPP Conference

Educators for Peace, in partnership with the Scottish Peace Platform, invite you to join us for a conference entitled ‘Rebuilding Gaza: The role of the education sector.’

The conference will take place on Saturday 28th March 2026 from 9:30am4:00pm in Edinburgh. The exact venue will be confirmed in due course.

The event will bring Palestinian officials, educators and initiative leaders together with their Scottish counterparts – officials, educators, education stakeholders, aid agencies and international development organisations.

The core conference objectives are to:

1. Highlight the impact of the mass atrocities on Gaza’s educational sector.

2. Promote knowledge exchange between Palestinian and Scottish educators, researchers, and NGOs working in education, development, aid and peacebuilding.

3. Establish partnerships between universities and schools in Gaza and educational institutions in Scotland.

4. Explore practical ways Scottish institutions and organisations can support rebuilding efforts.

5. Build solidarity networks and amplify the voices of Gaza’s educators and students internationally.

We hope you will join us for this vital event of active Scottish solidarity with Palestinian educators.

Email hello@educatorsforpeace.co.uk if you would like to register!

Webinar: Peace Education Workshop

Webinar: Peacebuilding, healing, and reconciliation in the DRC and Rwanda

Reflections on Conflict and Peacebuilding with Andrei Gomez-Suarez

Join us on 25th November in Glasgow for an evening of ‘Reflections on Conflict and Peacebuilding with Andrei Gomez-Suarez’, marking 9 years of the Colombian Peace Process! (Registration on Eventbrite)

At the event organised with the Glasgow Latin American Research Network (GLARN), Andrei will share reflections from his insightful new memoir, ‘We Are Not Made From Sugar’ in conversation with Juliana Ramirez Munoz from the University of Edinburgh. Interweaving family history and the trajectory of conflict, together they will explore opportunities and challenges for peace in Colombia. 

The event will be chaired by Scottish Peace Platform Manager, Noor al-Naser and include a performance by academic and musician Magda Angélica García von Hoegen of Rafael Landívar University, Guatemala, currently a visiting scholar at the School of Education, University of Glasgow. 

It will be followed by a drinks reception.

SPP Annual General Meeting

The first SPP Annual General Meeting is a chance for registered members to review the draft Terms of Reference for the Platform, oversee the election of the first Advisory Board, and discuss SPP priorities and activities for its first 6 months.

The SPP team will be organising this event and look forward to meeting new members and seeing those who have attended our inception period events!

Please register at the link below and get in touch if you need any information.

SPP Launch Webinar

SPP Launch Webinar

The SPP launch webinar will provide an overview of the Platform’s inception period, a tour of the new digital platform, and an explanation of membership categories and governance structure ahead of the first SPP annual general meeting (AGM.) This event is open to any interested parties and there will be a chance to ask questions. 

Please register at the link below.

Inception Workshop

This event has now passed. 

Join us for an open inception workshop on the Scottish Peace Platform (SPP) on 19th August from 10am-5pm at the Lister Learning and Teaching Centre in central Edinburgh!

The event will be a chance for our teams at Beyond Borders Scotland and University of Edinburgh Law School to give updates on the inception phase of the SPP project, as well as a valuable opportunity for us to hear from the organisations and individuals working on peace in Scotland about their needs and expectations.

To confirm your attendance please register on this link by 14th August 2025: https://lnkd.in/ekmwzBQx

Please note, due to limited catering and venue capacity we ask organisations to limit capacity to one or maximum two participants. We have a limited fund for reimbursement of travel within Scotland, with more information on the registration form.