Overview

Policy Fora
This includes expert policy briefings and military and police policy fora. The International Peace Institute’s (IPI) Policy Fora bring together representatives from the UN and NGO communities, primarily in New York, and include policy experts, government officials, the media, scholars, and the secretariats of international organizations. Meetings usually begin with a buffet lunch or breakfast. The featured speakers and discussants engage in a lively panel discussion regarding pressing issues on the international peace and security agenda. These discussions are typically chaired by IPI President Terje Rød-Larsen, and IPI Vice President Edward Luck, or one of several IPI senior fellows and advisors. Following the panel discussion, guests are invited to participate in a broad-ranging question and answer period with the panelists.

Book Launches
IPI book launches are presentations of recent IPI publications, which range from policy papers and working papers to edited volumes, regional, and thematic books. IPI book launches also occasionally provide a forum to showcase publications written by members of the UN scholarly and NGO communities who work closely with IPI and whose publications contribute to our work-streams and policy agenda. Similar to IPI’s Policy Fora, book launches bring together representatives of the larger UN and NGO communities in New York, policy-makers from capitals, the media, and academic experts. Book launches are often held over lunch or at an evening reception, with keynote remarks or a panel discussion featuring the author(s), followed by an open question and answer session.

SRSG Series
IPI’s Special Representatives of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Series was launched in 2006 as a way to bring together members of the UN, NGO, and academic communities in New York with visiting SRSGs. These meetings aim to shed light on the Special Representatives’ respective posts and experiences with UN missions around the world. SRSG Series events feature one of the Secretary-General’s Special Representatives or Special Envoys and a senior IPI representative, who discuss the situation on the ground, the progress of the mission, and the prospects for the future. Audience members are invited to raise questions and make comments following the SRSG’s presentation.

African Leaders’ Series
The African Leaders’ Series is the most recent addition to the IPI event scene. This series of events was launched on September 25, 2007 and featured the President of Senegal, H.E. Mr. Abdoualye Wade. The purpose of this new initiative is to provide an opportunity for leaders from across the African continent to present their vision and ideas on key peace, development, and security challenges. It is expected that this innovative series will continue to draw large and diverse audiences in the coming year.

Conferences and Seminars
Since its founding in 1970, IPI has run a series of conferences and seminars designed to foster the professional development of practitioners, policymakers, and influential figures in the field of peace and security, with a particular emphasis on the needs and interests of the broader UN community.

The annual seminars are residential workshops that focus on a different topical theme each year and bring in eminent speakers and scholars to engage with participants. More than thirty years of IPI professional development activities have produced an impressive worldwide network of policymakers and practitioners who consider themselves to be both IPI alumni and part of its extended global family.

IPI’s longest-running series is its flagship Vienna Seminar, held annually since 1970 with the goal of bringing military and civilian personnel together to address issues critical to their complementary roles in peace operations and related conflict management activities. In 2007, the Seminar focused on peace operations in the Middle East.

In 1996, IPI initiated an annual New York Seminar dedicated to the particular needs of the New York-based diplomatic community working in or around the United Nations. The theme for the 2007 seminar, held at West Point, was transnational security challenges.

IPI has also collaborated with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) on an annual Fellowship Program in Peacemaking and Preventive Diplomacy. In October 2007. the two groups also organized a seminar in Mont-Pèlerin, Switzerland for the Secretary-General’s Special Representatives and Special Envoys from around the world, as well as top officials from New York headquarters.