February–June 2026
SKY Peace School 2026 brought together 20 participants working in five teams between February and June 2026, continuing SKY’s commitment to making peace education accessible, practical and relevant to people from diverse backgrounds.
Building on the experience of the previous year’s Peace School, the 2026 programme explored peace and conflict from a wide range of perspectives: the nature and history of war, peace and conflict research, inclusivity in times of crisis, peacebuilding in the South Caucasus, political resistance and activism, environmental peacebuilding, and grassroots approaches to reconciliation.
The programme brought together academic researchers, peacebuilding professionals, activists, journalists and practitioners. This diversity of voices allowed participants to explore peace not as an abstract concept, but as something connected to politics, history, society, the environment and everyday human relationships.
Objectives of the School
The SKY Peace School is founded on the idea that peace is not only the responsibility of governments, diplomats and international organisations. It is also a responsibility shared by communities and individuals.
The 2026 programme aimed to:
- deepen participants’ understanding of war, peace and conflict;
- introduce participants to the history and development of peace and conflict research;
- explore practical approaches to peacebuilding and conflict transformation;
- examine the importance of inclusion and participation during crises;
- understand how historical narratives, identities and political structures influence conflicts;
- connect peace activism with environmental and social activism;
- encourage participants to become active contributors to peaceful and sustainable communities; and
- create opportunities for people from different backgrounds to learn from one another and develop future collaborations.
Rather than treating peace as simply the absence of war, the school encouraged participants to think about peace as a continuous process involving justice, dialogue, inclusion, environmental responsibility and active citizenship.
Lectures and Speakers
Throughout the programme, participants were introduced to different dimensions of peace and conflict through expert lectures and discussions.
- Dr. Vadim Romashov (University of Eastern Finland): The Crisis of Liberal Peacebuilding
- Dr.Risto Marjomaa (University Lecturer and Docent, University of Helsinki): The Nature of War
- Prof. Tuomo Melasuo (Professor Emeritus of Peace and Conflict Research, TAPRI, Tampere University): The History of Peace and Conflict Research
- Marina Danoyan (Project Manager, CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation): Inclusivity in Crisis
- Dr. Sergey Rumyansev (Researcher and Board Member, CISR e.V. Berlin): Peacebuilding in the South Caucasus and Beyond
- Dr.Bonn Juego (Senior Lecturer in International Development Studies, University of Jyväskylä): Peacebuilding Against Trump’s Imperialist Wars
- Jorma Penttinen : Peace Activism Through Activists’ Lenses
- Kerttu Matinpuro (Documentarist, Producer and Journalist): Seeking Common Ground Between Peace and Environmental Activism
- Dr. Sevil Huseynova (Social Anthropologist and Researcher, CISR e.V. Berlin): How to Exchange Villages in Conflict Situations
Learning Beyond the Classroom
One of the distinctive features of SKY Peace School is that learning does not end with lectures.
The programme encouraged participants to discuss the topics with one another, connect academic ideas with their own experiences, and consider how peacebuilding principles could be applied in their own communities.
The diversity of participants was particularly important. People with different educational, professional, cultural and personal backgrounds brought different understandings of what peace means and what prevents it.
This created a learning environment in which difference became a resource rather than an obstacle.
Participants were encouraged not only to ask:
What is peace?
but also:
What can I do to contribute to peace?
From Peace Research to Peace Action
A central message emerging from the 2026 Peace School was that knowledge should lead to action.
The programme moved across several interconnected levels:
Understanding war → researching conflict → building peace → including communities → supporting activism → protecting the environment → creating common ground.
This progression helped participants see peacebuilding as a process rather than a single intervention. A peace agreement may stop fighting, but sustainable peace requires much more: trust, inclusion, justice, dialogue, community participation and the willingness to understand perspectives different from our own.
A Community of Peacebuilders
The SKY Peace School also served as a meeting place for people who may otherwise never have had an opportunity to learn and work together.
Participants were able to encounter researchers alongside activists, practitioners alongside students, and people with different cultural and professional backgrounds alongside one another.
These encounters were an important part of the programme’s value.
Peace begins with relationships.
By creating a space where people can listen to one another, challenge assumptions, exchange experiences and work together, the Peace School seeks to contribute to a culture in which peaceful action becomes part of everyday life.
Looking Ahead
The 2026 SKY Peace School strengthened the foundation laid by the previous year’s programme and demonstrated the value of combining academic knowledge, practical experience and grassroots perspectives.
From the nature of war to environmental activism, from the history of peace research to local experiences of peacebuilding, the programme showed that peace is a multidimensional challenge requiring contributions from many different fields and communities.
The SKY Peace School will continue to provide a space where people can learn about peace, question established assumptions, meet others and transform knowledge into action.
Because peace is not something that can simply be taught.
It has to be understood, practised and built—together.
With peace,
The SKY Team