Education is a normative human right, but it also serves the practical function of improving domestic and international governance performance. It serves the collective good and betterment of society, and fends humanity from non-traditional security threats such as the global climate crisis, humanitarian emergencies affecting refugees, stateless persons, internally displaced people, and forced migrants, as well as natural disasters, pandemics, and demographic shifts.. However, education must compete for resources with other policy sectors, especially in a global climate where realpolitik and national interest dominate policy and budgetary agendas.
At IAFOR’s Paris conference in June 2025, UNESCO Assistant Director General on Education, Dr Stefania Giannini, reminded us that hard power is ill-suited to communicate in today’s polarised world. According to her, soft power, as exercised through education, culture, and the arts, can lead to innovative and peaceful solutions to conflict resolution. In this context, creative industries and the Arts emerge as unexpected but powerful allies, able to generate alternative funding streams and create impactful, awareness-building initiatives, from refugee storytelling to public murals and documentary films.
This panel looks at the importance of education and the arts in fostering peace in a contested space. Overall, while acknowledging the challenges posed to education funding and implementation by geopolitical contestation, this panel identifies opportunities for new actors, initiatives and avenues of innovation.
Read presenters' biographies