Peace Studies Webinar | Peace Begins Now: A Global Conversation
the chair
1st Peace Studies Webinar
Peace Begins Now: A Global Conversation – in regard to the International Day of Peace
Welcome from the Chair, Dr. Stacey Connaughton, Purdue University
Welcome to “Peace Begins Now: A Global Conversation,” a webinar dedicated to honoring the International Day of Peace and its ideals of peace and non-violence. Today, we gather thought leaders who explore the everyday acts of everyday people that shape the promise of peace around the world.
The promise of peace is intricately related to how we communicate with each other, interpersonally and through digital forms. As our thought leaders in this webinar will demonstrate, communication foci lend insight into the possibilities and challenges of peace. Join us in celebrating the International Day of Peace and discussing some of the possibilities we must hold on to, and the barriers we must work to overcome, together for peace to be realized. You will leave this webinar ready to “Invest in Peace—For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day” (Theme for 2026: International Day of Peace).
Date: 21 September 2026
Time: 6:00 pm (CEST) | 12:00 pm (EDT)
Webinar ID: 879 8043 6549
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Meet Our Chair
Purdue University, USA;Stacey L. Connaughton (Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin) is a Professor in the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University, the Vice Chair of the Purdue@DC Council, and the Director of the Purdue Policy Research Institute (PPRI) in Purdue’s Discovery Park District. PPRI organizes Purdue’s annual Space Policy, Science, and Technology Symposium which convenes thought leaders from US government, private sector, academia and allied nations to produce issue briefs on a pressing space policy issue and catalyze research and innovation in related areas. Dr. Connaughton’s research examines leadership and multi-stakeholder organizing, most recently in the context of political violence prevention initiatives. Dr. Connaughton co-founded and serves as Director of the Purdue Peace Project (PPP), housed in the Purdue Policy Research Institute. As Director of PPP, Dr. Connaughton has led the multi-stakeholder relationship building, project development, and monitoring and evaluation for locally led political violence prevention initiatives in Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria. In these efforts, she has worked closely with media organizations, government, private sector, NGOs, civil society, and everyday citizens – both those who affect violence and those affected by violence. From that body of work, Dr. Connaughton has developed what she calls the Local Leadership Model of political violence prevention and the Relationally Attentive Approach to doing engaged scholarship (i.e., academic-practitioner political violence prevention collaborations). She has authored four books, several peer-reviewed journal articles, and numerous practitioner articles and white papers based on her empirical work in peacebuilding. Central to all this work is helping to inspire everyday citizens to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, effective communicators, and leaders as they work together to address issues that affect their communities.
This is a FREE webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
Certificates of attendance will be delivered to those who attend the live webinar.
Can’t attend? Register anyway and we’ll let you know when the recording is available to watch.
Meet Our Speakers
Marquette University, USA;Sudeshna Roy is the Lucius W. Nieman Chair of Journalism and Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at the Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University, Wisconsin. Her research focuses on amplifying marginalized voices, particularly immigrants, migrants, refugees, and communities from the Global South. Through her work, Dr. Roy challenges systemic biases in journalism, fostering inclusive storytelling practices that empower underrepresented groups. A dedicated educator and thought leader, she bridges academia and industry to advance ethical, socially responsible journalism in a rapidly evolving media landscape. Her work has been published in leading international peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Communication, Journal of Media Ethics, Media, War & Conflict, International Communication Gazette, and others. She is also the co-editor of several books and the Chair of Intercultural Communication Division of the International Communication Association and the International Communication Division of International Association for Media and Communication Research.
University of Sheffield, UK;Stef Pukallus, PhD, is Professor of Public Communication and Civil Development at the University of Sheffield (UK) and founding Chair of Hub for the Study of Hybrid Communication in Peacebuilding (HCPB). Stef’s research focuses on the role of public communication in the development, strengthening, rebuilding, diminishment or destruction of civil society. She examines civil societies across the globe of both mature and emergent nature. Her 2022 monograph ‘Communication in Peacebuilding. Civil wars, civility and safe spaces’ provided the basis for a model of communicative peacebuilding that has since been used widely in East Africa and the MENA region. Her fifth book ‘Internal exile. Communication, complicity and forgetfulness’ is in production with Bloomsbury. Stef has undertaken consultancy for the United Nations, the European Commission and the European Parliament. She is currently working with educators, peacebuilders and teachers in Kenya and Uganda on developing a communicative peace curriculum toolkit that can be used in refugee camps and informal settlements as well as primary and secondary schools.
Possibility of Peace in the Age of the Return of Geopolitics
Edited by Prof. Dr. Hideaki Shinoda
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2027
