On May 4-7, 2017, the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation partnered with the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt to convene the 9th BMW Foundation Global Table in Bogotá, Colombia. The event, titled “Responsibility, Trust and Reconciliation in Post-Conflict Societies,” brought participants together in order to work towards better identifying and analyzing factors that are critical to the success of peacebuilding efforts in societies that have emerged from a period of strife.
The BMW Foundation Global Table series is dedicated to engaging decision-makers from Europe, the United States, and countries with emerging and transitional economies in a strategic dialogue that seeks to reach across sectors and generations. The second cycle of the Global Table series, now ongoing, focuses on identifying new mechanisms for the implementation of an efficient framework for governance. Previously, Ms. Andrea Gualde, AIPR’s Senior Adviser for Latin American Programs, participated in the 6th Global Table event, held in June of 2016 in Santpoort, The Netherlands.
The 9th Global Table, fostered dialogue on the development of frameworks for collaboration between local, regional, national, and international actors to increase their ability to aid in reconciling former conflict parties, taking responsibility for past atrocities, and for measures aimed at building and developing trust. The event focused on various case studies, involving conflicts, and legacies of conflict, in Colombia and other parts of Latin America.
In addition to benefitting from the expertise of AIPR’s Latin America Program staff, including Program Director Eugenia Carbone and Senior Program Adviser Andrea Gualde, the Global Table event in Bogotá welcomed the participation of AIPR International Advisory Board member Dr. Per Bergling and Raphael Lemkin Seminar alumnus Marlon Weichert. Dr. Tibi Galis, Executive Director of the Auschwitz Institute, led a segment entitled “Setting the Stage: Strong Coalitions as Pillars of the Peace-Building Process,” which lay the framework for the third day of the event.
The concept note and an overview of the 9th Global Table can be found here on the BMW Foundation’s website. Additionally, a photo album from the event provided by the BMW Foundation can be found here.