Swords into Plowshares Meeting
On June 30, 2026 global meeting of Working Group ‘Swords into Plowshares’, dedicated to actual issues in present-day peace culture, took place. The meeting was convened online. It was organized at the basis of UNESCO Chair in Transcultural Studies, Interreligious Dialogue and Peace, and UNESCO Crossings Institute for Conflict-Sensitive Reporting and Intercultural Dialogue, both working at University of Oregon, USA (Swords into Plowshares | University of Oregon – UNESCO Crossings Institute). The meeting was moderated by Mr. Steven Shankman, Chair, and by Mr. Yitzhak Husbands-Hankin (Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Beth Israel in Eugene, USA). About a dozen international participants took part in the rally, representing UNESCO Chairs in Australia, Austria, Finland, Macedonia, and other countries. General discussion was focused upon possible ways of promoting peace culture in present-day world, establishing working contact with UN Peacebuilding Commission, and гusing the opportunity of UNESCO Visit by the Pope planned for September 2026. Our Chair was represented by Mr. D.Spivak who briefly introduced main issues in our work and reminded about two major programs conducted by UNESCO this year, namely International NGO Forum conducted in the framework of ‘Africa Week 2026’, which was dedicated to Advancing a Culture of Peace in Africa: From Roots to Resilience; and UNESCO 2026 Youth for Peace Intercultural Leadership Programme.
Attachment: Program of the Meeting.
