The “Peace Forum”, organized jointly by the City of Osnabrück and Osnabrück University, features public lectures and debates on peacebuilding and peacekeeping issues involving competent and prominent speakers. The successful cooperative forum has established itself as an important institution in the cultural life of Osnabrück, helping the city to embrace a culture of peace. The Peace Forum provides a platform for constructive exchange of views, reflection and dialogue. To this end, there is a controversial consideration of topics, different perspectives are included, and space is also given to opposing positions. The aim is to make an active contribution to living democracy and to promote a productive culture of debate. The events seek to provide an impetus for tolerant, peaceful coexistence and to identify potential solutions.
The first Peace Forum was hosted by the City of Osnabrück in its historic Town Hall in the spring of 1986. Questions of war and peace attracted a great deal of public attention at that time, given the arms race between East and West, the disputes over NATO’s rearmament, and the mass peace movement demonstrations in the early 1980s.
Since then, more than 200 lectures and debates have been held within the Osnabrück Peace Forum, featuring many renowned personalities from the fields of politics, science, media and culture. There have also been 30 concerts in keeping with the “musica pro pace” theme. Information on individual events is available in the archive.
Scientific Council
The Scientific Council of the Osnabrück Peace Forum, comprising academics from Osnabrück University and Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, is responsible for the program design:
Chairperson: Professor Dr. Martina Blasberg-Kuhnke, Osnabrück University
Deputy Chairperson: Professor Dr. Siegrid Westphal, Osnabrück University
- Retired Professor Dr. Roland Czada, Osnabrück University
- Professor Dr. Valeriya Dinger, Universität Osnabrück
- Retired Professor Dr. Wulf Gaertner, Osnabrück University
- Professor Dr. Thomas Groß, Osnabrück University
- apl. Professor Dr. Stefan Hanheide, Osnabrück University
- Professor Dr. Johannes Hirata, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences
- Professor Dr. Andrea Lenschow, Osnabrück University
- Retired Professor Dr. Reinhold Mokrosch, Osnabrück University
- Professor Dr. Ulrich Schneckener, Osnabrück University
- Emeritus Professor Dr. György Széll, Osnabrück University
- Professor Dr. Chadi Touma, Osnabrück University
- Professor Dr. Rolf Wortmann, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences
Peace Forum on radio and video
OS-Radio 104,8 – the radio station serving the city and district of Osnabrück – broadcasts recordings of the Peace Forum, usually on the following Sunday.
Since 1997, Osnabrück University’s Center for Digital Teaching, Information Management and Higher Education Didactics (virtUOS) has been making video and audio recordings of the Peace Forum. Since 2014, the video recordings have been published on YouTube, and can be accessed from the archive of events. Recordings of earlier events can be ordered on DVD for private or school use.