Do you have ideas to share? Please send us a short pitch to peacelab@gppi.net with a few sentences on what you would like to contribute and in what format, e.g. text, interview, audio/video statement, contribution to an online workshop or other formats. The editorial team of the PeaceLab blog at GPPi will make a selection and organize an exchange on the blog and beyond.

Questions to discuss:

• What challenges does the virus pose to those involved in early warning, crisis prevention, conflict management and peacebuilding?
• As experts in policymaking, academia, civil society and working on the ground, what do you expect from the pandemic and how will it affect your work?
• How can reliable predictions and scenarios on the potential impact of the Covid-19 pandemic be made for policymakers, academia, civil society and practitioners on the ground? Which actors can and should be involved and how do we avoid duplicating such efforts?
• The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic potentially interacts with existing crises and amplifies risks of new conflict. Which crises are likely to be most affected? Where do you expect the strongest interaction effects?
• What do you suspect the Corona virus means for peace processes and conflict dynamics – e.g. in Mali, in Syria, in Colombia and other countries? How does this affect men and women differently?
• What does the Coronavirus mean for the instruments and approaches in this policy area – e.g. early warning, mediation, promoting the rule of law, security sector reform, transitional justice and international peace operations?
• At times, you see rigorous restrictions on civil liberties being employed in context of crises. How can we deal with them, especially concerning the work on the promotion of the rule of law (and of human rights)? How can we, under these new circumstances, promote civil society, especially "after" Corona and in order to secure civil liberties and democratic mechanisms?
• What ideas does the PeaceLab community have on how to adapt or permanently change your concrete project work during and after the crisis?
• What impact does Corona have on the work of multilateral actors on the ground? What role can these organizations play?
• What are the skills needed right now, both by decision-makers in Germany and implementers in conflict contexts in order to be equipped for this crisis? How can they acquire them quickly?
• How could humanitarian measures connected to Corona (concerning both prevention and the Corona response) interact with crisis prevention instruments? How does this apply to awareness raising in local communities or to the joint crisis management by the UN and national governments/authorities? How can the (governance) structures of national response capacities to Corona be strengthened by using crisis prevention instruments?
• What experiences and lessons learned, both in practice and in research, do we have on the impact of (somewhat) comparable societal shocks such as the Ebola crisis on peacebuilding? What can we learn from this, for example with regard to gender-sensitive responses?
• How should the German government adapt its instruments in the field of crisis prevention, conflict management and peacebuilding in the short and long term?
• How can the Federal Government support inclusive crisis management by other governments and by implementing partners?
• In the current situation, what measures should the United Nations, and in particular individual UN bodies such as the UN Secretary-General, the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, take in order to prevent crises, manage conflicts and build peace?
• Which – observable or conceivable – positive side effects and innovative approaches in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic could offer opportunities for other conflicts and crises?

Call for Contributions (PDF): Corona-Peacelab - How Do We Need to Adapt Crisis Prevention and Peacebuilding?

A German version was also published on this blog.