Introduction to IIPE 2026
IIPE 2026 was held from July 19-26 in the multicultural city of Granada, Spain, at the University of Granada’s Colegio Mayor Jesús María. IIPE Granada fostered an intercultural, intergenerational, and interdisciplinary peacelearning community. It brought together sixty diverse peace educators from twenty-five countries and five continents. Participants ranged in age from twenty-one to eighty-six years old and came from professional contexts spanning formal and non-formal education, research, psychology and mental health care, cultural and educational project development, grassroots and community organizing, humanitarian work, and ecological stewardship. The IIPE 2026 community reflects the diversity of the field of peace education and those who practice it and emphasizes the power of peacelearning to foster connectivity in a highly divided world.
By bringing together participants with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and insights, IIPE 2026 brought its central theme, ‘Granada: Intercultural Crossroads for Global Dialogue & Peacelearning,’ to life. Not only did plenary, workshop sessions, and excursion days offer space to reflect on this theme, but participants also actively crafted an intentional, intercultural community grounded in compassion, curiosity, open dialogue, and cooperative learning.
World Café
The foundation of the IIPE 2026 community was built on the first day in Granada through a powerful World Café session that provided space for participants to connect with one another, reflect on guiding questions, and build a common vision for the week ahead. Participants generated shared values, principles, and commitments to guide reflection, dialogue, and learning throughout the week and to inform their personal peace education practices. This opportunity to connect the IIPE experience to participants’ lives and work in the outside world reflects how IIPE serves as a microcosm, providing space to reflect on both what is and what can be.
From the World Café reflections, several central guiding principles and commitments emerged. They can be grouped into three categories: 1) best practices for peacelearning; 2) fostering connection and community; and 3) putting peace into action. First, participants emphasized that the deepest forms of learning are cooperative; that to be a peacelearner, one must approach their work with humility and curiosity; and that discomfort and conflict throughout the learning process can lead to growth. They also underscored the importance of acknowledging the interdependence between global communities and between humans and the natural world; fostering interconnectivity; and treating all beings, human and non-human, with compassion, respect, and dignity. Finally, participants outlined how building sustainable peace requires both taking time to reflect and to take action; embracing sentipensar, or a thinking-feeling approach; and engaging with multiple modalities within diverse fields of practice.
These initial reflections framed participants’ engagement in reflective inquiry and experiential learning throughout the week. These were later developed into an official Proclamation and Commitment to Action for Cultures of Peace endorsed by the IIPE 2026 participants.
Plenaries
Each day of IIPE 2026 began with a 90-minute plenary session wherein three participants shared reflections and insights on a common theme, followed by time for all participants to collaborate in groups to reflect on the panel presentations and generate a central question about the material.
Plenary sessions took the form of a thematic arc, in which each day’s theme was intended to build upon the content of the session the day before and inform the sessions that followed. The thematic arc can be broken down into five phases:
- The first plenary session aimed to identify the challenges the field of peace education is facing today. Presenters addressed questions about how the field of peace education can more deeply and intentionally integrate ecological and intercultural perspectives and about how peace education can heal structural injustice, violence, and oppression. Presenters invited reflections on how the legacy of intercultural connectivity in Granada can inform the work of peace educators and possible best practices for nurturing a culture of peace within a violent world, including the power of local and global commitments to peace in the form of Peace Manifestos.
- During the second and third plenary sessions, presenters reflected on the possibility for a paradigm shift within the field of peace education that would focus on embracing the interconnectivity of peace and justice, prioritizing de-colonial perspectives and practices, learning from the natural world, and fostering ecological interconnection and care.
- The fourth plenary session was unique as presentations were given by local community members in the La Taha municipality of Granada. They shared their lived experience cultivating relationships of care and respect with the natural world and nurturing interbeing connections within their communities. These powerful presentations offered participants time to reflect on how the call to bridge the human and more-than-human worlds is actively being answered within communities.
- The fifth and sixth plenary sessions centered on how peace and justice can be fostered within and outside of formal organizations and institutions. Presentations explored both the opportunities and the challenges that arise when working within traditional institutional structures and proposed alternative pathways for cultivating peace. Instead of offering a definitive answer as to the future of peace education, participants were asked to reflect on how the global community can nurture a culture of peace in ways that reflect and honor the values and principles of peace and justice.
Ultimately, the six plenary sessions led participants on a reflective journey that carried them from exploring the most pressing challenges facing the field of peace education and best practices for navigating these obstacles, to considering the need for a paradigm shift within the field, and finally to questioning standard practices within the field and envisioning new pathways for implementing peace education to nurture a culture of peace.
Workshops
IIPE 2026 featured thirty-five workshops over five days, and nearly all participants facilitated a session. Workshops were offered twice a day, with five workshops held concurrently in the morning and five more in the afternoon. Participants were able to select one workshop to attend during both sessions.
The workshops were informed by the principle of participatory practice advanced by IIPE. Participants, whether they were facilitating or attending a workshop, were invited to enter the space with an open and curious mind, ready to learn and engage. When leading a workshop, participants were able to share their specialized knowledge, personal experiences, and professional insights with their session group while also holding space to learn from the reflections of attendees. For participants attending workshops, sessions provided an opportunity to dive deeper into a specific topic, whether the aim was to explore a new field or methodology or to gain greater insight into a familiar subject. Session attendees were welcome to participate fully during workshops, whether through dialogues, activities, or reflective exercises. Ultimately, workshops provided a space to put peace education into action through reflexivity and experiential learning.
Workshops spanned a wide range of topics and forms, reflecting the diversity of fields and methodologies under the umbrella of peace education. From reflective inquiry to ludopedagogy to embodied practices, workshops embraced a broad range of frameworks for engaging in peace education and peacelearning. They also spanned a variety of themes, including healing and mental health; ecological interdependence; theater, dance, and art as pathways for reconnecting with the self and others; frameworks of justice; peace education in action; youth engagement; and navigating violence and conflict using peace education. The diversity of subjects covered in workshops reinforces peace education’s breadth and depth and also lends insight into current areas of interest in the field. The full list of workshops can be viewed on the program schedule.
Excursions
During IIPE 2026, the landscape of Granada was an extension of the classroom, with historical legacies of intercultural connection and present-day commitments to peace offering a dynamic opportunity to learn from the city and those who call it home.
Participants’ first formal opportunity to explore the city came during an evening walk through the Albaicin neighborhood, Albayzín. As Granada’s oldest neighborhood, it has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is emblematic of the city’s cultural diversity. During the excursion, participants visited several scenic spaces and historical landmarks within the neighborhood that reinforced Albayzín’s historical importance, cultural richness, and continued relevance for the field of peace education.
Later in the week, participants had a second opportunity to immerse themselves in the local community and culture of Granada through a day-long excursion to the municipality of La Taha, which includes the villages of Pitres, Capilerilla, Mecina, Mecinilla, Fondales, Ferreirola, and Atalbéitar.
The visit to La Taha was particularly meaningful because it coincided with the signing of a local peace manifesto, entitled ‘Pueblos por la Paz,’ by the mayor of La Taha; two IIPE representatives, David Adams and Janet Gerson; and two representatives from the Instituto de la Paz y los Conflictos at the University of Granada. As one of the drafters of the UN Declaration and Program of Action on a Culture of Peace and and the architect of a new Peace Manifesto, David Adams was able to share valuable wisdom from his extensive experience working to create and implement global peace manifestos and underscore the transformative potential of peace manifestos in nurturing a culture of peace. The manifesto signing forged a partnership between La Taha and IIPE centered on a shared commitment to peace. The manifesto signing served as a powerful reminder of the vitality of local commitments to peacebuilding and the potential for community initiatives to serve as a bridge between local and global visions of a culture of peace. Participants were encouraged to learn about David Adam’s new Peace Manifesto and join a powerful movement towards a culture of peace.
Following the signing of the manifesto, participants gathered together in Mecina to learn from community members working at the intersection of peace and ecology. The first presenter discussed her book, Memorias Sobre el Sistema Tradicional de Riego en la Alta Alpujjara, and her advocacy efforts for a return to traditional irrigation systems in the Alta Alpujjara. The second presenter represented an organization called Semillistas, which focuses on reforestation and land regeneration through a framework of interbeing relationships and environmental stewardship. Together, these presenters emphasized the deep interdependence of humans and nature, the lessons that can be learned about peace through witnessing the natural world, and the essential role ecology must play in any path towards peace.
As the IIPE excursion to La Taha fell on the first day of the Al-Taha Festival, participants were able to spend the rest of the day enjoying the festivities, including a moving cello concert in the Mecina church and an inspiring Flamenco concert in Pitres.
Ultimately, the excursion to La Taha allowed participants to immerse themselves in the rich culture of the municipality and to learn from its commitment to cultivating a culture of peace. The experience perfectly encapsulated IIPE 2026’s focus on intercultural relationships and ecological perspectives on peace.
Looking Forward
As IIPE 2026 came to a close, a new chapter began with the announcement of IIPE 2028’s host: Incheon Nanjeong Peace Education Institute in South Korea. Several of the institute’s team members were participants in Granada, and on the final day, they had an opportunity to share insights into Incheon Nanjeong Peace Education Institute’s profound role in advancing peace education both nationally and globally, as well as their eagerness to advance the mission of IIPE in 2028. As the torch was passed from IIPE 2026 to IIPE 2028 organizers, it was a beautiful reminder of the global solidarity that fuels the advancement of peace education and the ever-evolving nature of the field. Looking forward, IIPE 2028 will offer a new opportunity for a group of dedicated peace educators to come together to build community, learn from one another, and foster hope in a more peaceful world.
Gratitude
The IIPE was made possible through the generosity of service of its volunteer organizing team. We express our sincere gratitude to our gracious host in Granada, Purificación Ubric Rabaneda, and to the Instituto de la Paz y los Conflictos (IPAZ) de la Universidad de Granada. A special thank you is also extended to the IIPE 2026 Spain organizing team composed of IIPE community members: Gloria María Abarca Obregón, Cécile Barbeito, Victoria Falcó, Leonardo González Torres, and Tomas Dario Perez Vega. Finally, we would like to recognize the IIPE Secretariat: Tony Jenkins, Janet Gerson, Mica Segal de la Garza, and Madeleine Piersol.
