Peace mediation and national dialogues benefit from a growing body of research, comparative experiences, and expert knowledge. Yet, much of this expertise remains underused in practice, while mediation and negotiation practices are not always translated back into academic and policy knowledge. Why does relevant knowledge so often fail to inform real-time decision-making and vice versa?
This workshop seeks to explore the link between knowledge production and peace negotiations, focusing more specifically on the conditions that can make research and expertise more relevant and practically usable in mediation settings. In such tense and sensitive contexts, stakeholders indeed face high political pressure, limited time and low trust, which render the uptake of external insights challenging.
Bringing together practitioners and researchers with expertise on recent conflict situations, the session will invite the participants to discuss and reflect on the types of knowledge produced and what counts as expertise as well as how this knowledge and expertise can be translated into accessible, credible and actionable formats.
Through group discussions, the workshop will invite participants to explore concrete approaches and to address key tensions. The session eventually aims to identify practical ways to bridge the gap between knowledge and action in contemporary peace processes.
SPEAKERS
- Nedra Cherif
Associate Expert, Mediterranean Platform - Bilal Salaymeh
Senior Researcher, Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP), Geneva Graduate Institute - Peter Harling
Founder and Director, Synaps - Sara Hellmüller
Co-Director, Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP), Geneva Graduate Institute
MODERATOR
- Virginie Collombier
President and Co-founder, Mediterranean Platform
ABOUT THE EVENT
This workshop is organised by the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP) at the Geneva Graduate Institute, in collaboration with the Mediterranean Platform and Synaps, as part of the Geneva Peace Forum 2026.
Evolving from Geneva Peace Week, the Geneva Peace Forum is the flagship initiative of the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform. Its inaugural edition takes place from 12 to 15 October 2026 at the CICG under the theme Choose Peace.