Coming two decades after the Good Friday Agreement, and timed to coincide with the Papal visit to Ireland, this conference offered a distinctive opportunity to assess the lessons learned from the peace agreement, as well as the daunting challenges and human toll of the world's current refugee crisis; the largest population of displaced people since World War II.

The conference addressed the human cost of violent conflict and identifed emerging strategies for conflict resolution.

The academic agenda for the conference was developed by The Pearson Institute and the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, incorporating the academic strength and excellence of two leading institutions while drawing upon the experiences of international leaders such as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, former US Senator George J. Mitchell, former US Assistant Secretary of State Anne C. Richard and Dominic MacSorley, CEO of Concern Worldwide. 

Gathering at Queen's, leading voices from around the world engaged in robust debate and discussed strategies that focus on reducing the prevalence of violent conflict and its tragic impact on people, especially families. Key content areas and panel discussions include:    

• Northern Ireland: How peace was built
• Colombia: The path to peace
• Policy responses to the current global refugee crisis
• Impact of the refugee crisis on individuals and families

These panel discussions highlighted evidenced-based research on various conflicts as well as first-person narrative accounts,and explored conflicts and humanitarian issues through the eyes of global leaders who are working on-the-ground to address these challenges.