Stadtschlaining, 3–6 July 2023 — The Global PeaceTech Hub was featured at the inaugural Austrian Forum for Peace, held at the historic Schlaining Castle, where international experts, policymakers, and peacebuilders gathered to rethink strategies for conflict resolution and sustainable peace in a rapidly changing global landscape.
The forum, titled “A Future for Peace: Rethinking our Answers in an Unpredictable Global Landscape,” focused on the compounded effects of war, climate disruption, geopolitical fragmentation, and technological transformation. Through panels and expert workshops, participants explored how innovation can help navigate the complexity of today’s peace and security challenges.
PeaceTech in Focus
During a dedicated session titled “Global PeaceTech Hub Initiative,” Michele Giovanardi, Coordinator of the Global PeaceTech Hub at the European University Institute’s School of Transnational Governance, presented the Hub’s vision and work. He emphasized the critical importance of developing governance frameworks that can both mitigate the risks of emerging technologies and leverage their potential to foster peace, inclusion, and sustainable development.
“The future of peace, prosperity and sustainability of our societies will crucially depend on how we will be able to govern emerging technologies. This has equally to do with mitigating risks through good governance, education and capacity building, and mapping, analysing and investing in PeaceTech initiatives that work.” – Michele Giovanardi
The session highlighted the Hub’s unique role in creating a platform for dialogue among tech developers, peacebuilders, policymakers, and academics, aimed at shaping transnational responses to the global governance challenges posed by technological disruption.
A Marketplace for Innovation
In the final phase of the Forum, a PeaceTech marketplace showcased a range of initiatives working at the intersection of technology and peace. The Global PeaceTech Hub was among the key contributors to this space, reinforcing the growing recognition of PeaceTech as a vital and expanding ecosystem within the broader peacebuilding field.
Shared Knowledge and New Networks
The Austrian Forum for Peace brought together experts from five continents and produced concrete findings, partnerships, and recommendations for future work in peace education, conflict resolution, and governance innovation. The full plenary discussions from 4 and 5 July are available on the ACP podcast “Inside Conflict.“
