Roundtable Meeting, Dublin and Belfast, 7-11 October 2016 Keeping dialogue alive – how to get a process back on track in the aftermath of a major crisis? The Irish experience from a gendered perspective

This four-day roundtable brought together MPs, senior advisors, lawyers, academics, media representatives and civil society leaders from across Turkey’s political and cultural spectra to discuss the issue of incorporating and integrating women into peace processes and conflict resolution, in particular in times of crisis. It follows on from DPI’s last event, which took place in Kızılcahamam, Ankara, on the weekend of the 15-17 July 2016. The activity comprised roundtable meetings with key actors from the process leading to the Good Friday Agreement, exploring in particular the subject of maintaining dialogue in the face of a major challenge. Speakers included representatives from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, former Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, prominent members of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition Jane Morrice and Bronagh Hinds, representatives from the UK’s Northern Ireland Office, experts from Queens University and former political prisoners including the Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast and Assembly Members at Stormont. The agenda took place through a gendered lens and topics relating to women’s incorporation into a peace process were addressed specifically.