Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the Global Peace Index (GPI) report presents one of the most comprehensive data-driven analysis on trends in peace, its economic value, and how to develop peaceful societies. The report also outlines a study on the evolution of civil unrest over the past decade and IEP's Ecological Threat Register (ETR) report. The ETR illustrates the intersection between ecological risk and societal risk, which can impact on the economic performance and peace.

In addition to the findings from the GPI 2020, the webinar will include an overview of the COVID-19 & Peace report. In this report, IEP outlines the global impact of the pandemic, resilience and coping capabilities of countries, and changes in socio-economic systems and in patterns of conflict and violence. It also examines key aspects of the post-pandemic world and comments on forward-looking initiatives to reshape the global economy.

The recent publication of the Global Peace Index finds that globally peacefulness has fallen, with a sustained rise in civil unrest in the last decade. This is set to worsen as the economic impact of COVID-19 takes hold.

What will this mean for global peace, and what are the political, economic and societal implications for the UK and Ireland?

Join us to discuss the findings of the Global Peace Index and the implications of the Covid-19 crisis on peace and political, environmental, economic and societal stability.

Leading the panel in discussion are Serge Stroobants, Director Europe and MENA from the Institute for Economics & Peace.

Serge is joined by is joined by Dr Andrew Thomson and Professor Michael Semple from the Senator George J Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice and Enda Young of the William J Clinton Leadership Institute.

The panel will review the findings of the annual Global Peace Index (GPI) report, and discuss in particular the outlook for our part of the world.

Serge Stroobants is the Director of Europe and MENA region at the Institute for Economics & Peace in Brussels, Belgium. Mr. Stroobants specialises in political science, security and defence, counter-terrorism, global risk analysis and crisis management. He bases his expertise on 30 years of experience in the security and defence domain underpinned by an extensive academic background with degrees from the Belgian Royal Military Academy, the Free University of Brussels, Université Jean Moulin Lyon III, the German General Staff College and Vesalius College.

Enda is a highly experienced conflict resolution facilitator and trainer who specialises in negotiation, mediation and experiential learning. Mr Young is a programme director at the William J Clinton Leadership Institute and leads the Aspiring Leaders and Leadership and Negotiation Open programmes.

Dr Andrew Thomson is a lecturer in the School of History Anthropology Philosophy and Politics and a Fellow at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. His research interests include pro-government militias and civilian defence forces, dynamics of violence in civil war, the Colombian conflict and peace process and also works on ex-combatant dialogue in Colombia.