On 09 December 2024 the Founder and Executive Director of ACCORD, Dr Vasu Gounden, was invited by the Doha Forum and the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, to participate in the inaugural session of the Qatar Mediation Forum under the title of “Innovation in Mediation and Peacemaking”, held in Doha, Qatar.
Each year, the Doha Forum convenes policymakers, government leaders, private sector representatives, civil society, and non-governmental organisations with the belief that diversity in thought will enhance how we deal with our collective challenges. This year, the inaugural Qatar Mediation Forum complemented the Doha Forum’s focus by providing an in-depth reflection on how innovative approaches can enhance the effectiveness of conflict resolution. It explored the use of innovation in conflict mediation, offering a convening platform for high-level dialogue between leading mediators, diplomats, policymakers, and academic experts.
Dr Gounden was invited to be a panellist in Session 4 focusing on the topic of Diversity in Mediation: A Matter of Approaches and Interests? Against the background of rapidly changing security landscape, peace mediation is in flux, more than ever. With increasing multipolarity of the world order, there is also diversification of peace actors in terms of geography, perspectives, and resources. Increasingly, a growing number of states are playing important roles in the international system, supporting regional peace and security efforts. The diverse actors in mediation bring in different approaches to peace mediation, potentially leading to innovation in the field. The session reflected on some of the different strategies diverse mediation actors apply, and aimed at unpacking some of the lessons for the broader mediation community.
