Escalations of violence in Israel and Palestine and the surge of violence in Afghanistan are urgent challenges. Multilateral organisations and nation-states have worked for years in the name of fostering peace, justice, and strong institutions. Yet, war remains very much present. What is working, what is not working, and what needs to be done to achieve peace?

Join us for a workshop with Caecilia van Peski on SDG 16 - Peace, Justice, & Strong Institutions. Van Peski just returned from a nine month stay with NATO in Kabul as a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Netherlands Navy. Previously, she has also been deployed all over the world, including in Ukraine and Georgia. She has extensive experience working on peacebuilding missions around the world.

Van Peski was the UN Special Representative for the Netherlands addressing the 65th United Nations General Assembly in New York with her statement ‘Women, Peace, Security’. Caecilia van Peski has worked for (inter-)governmental, multilateral organizations, such as the Netherlands Foreign Office, the United Nations (UNDP, DPKO), the European Union (EEAS), the European Commission (EIDHR), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR), the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and DCAF-ISSAT Geneva.

As the recipient of the ‘Ambassador for Peace’ award granted by the Universal Peace Federation, Caecilia van Peski is regarded as being among the most influential women of her generation in the Netherlands - listed as one of the 'Viva' top 400 (2009) and among the top 100 of 'Opzij' (2010).

Before studying at Oxford, Gabrielle was Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Senior Speechwriter. She joined Mr Trudeau's team as an intern after graduating from McGill University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History. A year later, she started speechwriting. Gabrielle wrote speeches in English and French for over four years, worked on two federal election campaigns, and eventually led Prime Minister Trudeau's speechwriting team during his second mandate.

Gabrielle is currently a Master of Public Policy candidate at the Blavatnic School of Government.