The Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) in collaboration with the CoRE on Interdisciplinary Peace is organizing a workshop titled “Ontologies of Peace in Ethiopian Societies”. While conventional research often prioritizes the mechanics of conflict resolution or peacebuilding, this workshop seeks to explore the deeper philosophical and cultural foundations that underpin how peace is understood and lived.

To have a holistic understanding of peace while appreciating the specific characteristics of diverse cultures, it is important to establish the relationship between societal worldviews and the conceptualization of peace and harmony. This workshop seeks to move beyond exploring the rituals and mechanisms of peacemaking or conflict resolution to examine the “ontologies of peace”, the fundamental mythos of a given society. Cognizant that an understanding of the rituals, songs, artifacts, stories, and other material and non-material values associated with the peace making / conflict resolution process are central to the work, the workshop calls on researchers who critically examine the articulation of “peace” or related concepts such as “reconciliation” through these diverse materials.