News & Events

12th Asian Peace Practitioners Research Conference 2024

Inspired by the theme “Bridging Generations: Pathways to Peace,” the 12th Asian Peace Practitioners’ Research Conference (PPRC) hosted by CPCS brought together 132 peace practitioners, researchers, and scholars from across the region and other parts of the world to engage in meaningful discussions on the crucial role of intergenerational collaboration,...
Read More

2022 Peace Practitioners’ Research Conference

The 11th Asian Peace Practitioners’ Research Conference (PPRC) aims to highlight the ways that people in Asia are mobilizing for peace in 2022. In the face of structural violence and stalled peace processes, there are courageous and inspiring movements across the region being led by young people, women, and indigenous...
Read More

Paris Peace Accord from War to Peace

Delivered online on 25th October 2021 hosted by The Initiative for Peacebuilding “Cambodia’s journey from war towards peace: Reflections from Cambodian peacebuilders “Cambodia’s journey from war towards peace: Reflections from Cambodian peacebuilders on the 30-year anniversary of the signing of the Paris Peace Agreements”on the 30-year anniversary of the signing of the Paris Peace Agreements”

Save the Date! Cambodia Peace Museum opens October 23, 2018

The Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies is pleased to announce that the Cambodia Peace Museum will open on October 23, 2018. CPCS has chosen this date of the 27th anniversary of the Paris Peace Agreements in line with our aim to celebrate Cambodia’s journey from war to peace, with...
Read More

Cambodia’s Journey: Told Through Stained Glass

Inspired by the museum’s commitment to celebrating Cambodia’s journey to peace, Australian artists Gerry Cummins and Jill Stehn have created a series of stained-glass windows that they are generously donating to the museum. Gerry says his inspiration to create the windows is routed in his reflections about the horrors of...
Read More

CPCS in Pyongyang and the Demilitarised Zone

The Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPCS) visited Pyongyang and the DMZ area in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) in November 2017. CPCS filmed a series of videos to share their learnings and experiences from this visit. These videos can be helpful in understanding...
Read More

Peace & Perseverance: An evening with His Excellency Jose Ramos-Horta

On August 4th 2017 the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies hosted a special evening with His Excellency Jose Ramos-Horta GCL AC, former President of East Timor, and co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize.  President Ramos-Horta reflected on East Timor’s journey from war to peace, noting the recent elections marked as...
Read More

Celebrating the Music and Arts of Cambodia

The ChubMet Festival showcases the importance of music and arts as ways for people to share their experiences, their hopes for the future, and celebrate resilience in Cambodia. Siem Reap’s second annual ChubMet (Friendship Festival) kicked off on Friday night in Kandal Village. The weeklong festival celebrates friendship, community, and...
Read More

RESILIENCE: Let’s Tell the Story of How Cambodia Stood Up

CPCS Co-founder and Director Emma Leslie opened the RESILIENCE Exhibition with these words: “Cambodia is the possibility for us to be reminded that there is always hope; that there is always resilience; that there is always the chance to come back from terrible things that we do to each other, human...
Read More

RESILIENCE Exhibition goes to Phnom Penh!

In October 2016, the Cambodia Peace Museum project together with CONSTABLE At Large Gallery created the photography exhibition, RESILIENCE, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords. The exhibition celebrate the remarkable resilience of Cambodians during this period, highlighting the many ways this rebuilding took shape. RESILIENCE will feature...
Read More

John Paul Lederach 2016 PPRC Key Note Remarks

John Paul Lederach, a highly respected and knowledgeable leader in peacebuilding, shared his experience of reconciliation with participants via Skype at the 2016 Peace Practitioners Research Conference on November 26. The following is notes from his key note address on November 26: John Paul Lederach The importance of working in local...
Read More

Dr Emma Leslie 2016 PPRC Welcoming Remarks

CPCS hosted our 5th annual Peace Practitioners Research Conference, with this year’s theme of Revisiting Reconciliation: Making It Real. Emma Leslie, CPCS  Executive Director, welcomed participants to PPRC and proposed this challenge to how we use the space:   Good morning to all of you. We wanted to start this conference by offering...
Read More

“Peace is for Everyone” Cotabato Book Launch

On July 13, in another momentous event, the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPCS), together with the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies (IBS), launched the publication Peace is for Everyone; Bangsamoro Stories of Hope, Survival, Pain and Resilience in Cotabato City, Philippines. Like the event held in Marawi City on...
Read More

“Peace is for Everyone” Marawi Book Launch

On July 12, the Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies (CPCS), together with the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies (IBS) officially launched the publication Peace is for Everyone; Bangsamoro Stories of Hope, Survival, Pain and Resilience at the Mindanao State University (MSU) in Marawi City, Philippines. We would like to extend...
Read More

BOOK LAUNCH INVITATION: “Peace is for Everyone”

The Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies (CPCS), together with the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies (IBS), cordially invites you to join distinguished guests at the official book launch events for ‘Peace is for Everyone: Bangsamoro stories of hope, survival, pain and resilience”. MARAWI CITY DATE: July 12, 2016 TIME: 9am-12pm...
Read More

New Peace Museum archives highlight hope & resiliency

In April 2016, the Cambodia Peace Museum – a major project being carried out by the Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies (CPCS) – received archival photographs and journal articles from Doug Hostetter, a US citizen who visited Cambodian schools and refugee camps in January 1980.* Doug documented his visit...
Read More

“We Want Genuine Peace” Book Launch

The Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies (CPCS) would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all those who joined us for the official launch of We Want Genuine Peace – Voices of communities from Myanmar’s ceasefire areas 2015 on June 9 in Yangon, Myanmar. In particular, we would like...
Read More

“We want to know what peace is – we want to feel it”

In violent conflict, communities are the ones who are the most affected and who experience first-hand any changes brought about by ceasefire agreements. These people need to be heard for a deeper understanding of how ceasefires arrangements, and wider peace processes, affect those at the forefront of the conflict. Listening...
Read More

New archives, new partners and Paris Peace Accords Gala

The Cambodia Peace Museum has been busy collecting archives and strengthening and expanding our networks to build a solid foundation for the project in Cambodia. Our most recent archival photographs and articles came from volunteers and journalists visiting the country in the 1980s and 1990s. American Doug Hostetter, of the...
Read More

People of Myanmar’s Peace Process now in Burmese

The CPCS publication Making Peace in Their Own Words: People of Myanmar’s Peace Process is now available online in Burmese. The book, launched late last year in Yangon and New York, presents an interwoven narrative of the views, origins and life experiences of key individuals from different sides of the...
Read More

Listening to communities: Strengthening inclusivity & understanding

What is CPCS Listening Methodology and how is it carried out? How can listening projects be used in peacebuilding efforts to increase inclusivity and strengthen dialogue? What are the opportunities and challenges such an approach entails? How can listening methodology contribute to policy discussions to promote greater understanding and representation in peace...
Read More

Ceasefire monitoring report now in Burmese

The CPCS publication We Want Genuine Peace: Voices of communities from Myanmar’s ceasefire areas in 2015 is now available in Burmese. Based on 772 conversations carried out between November 2014 and March 2015 with 1,072 people living in six states which have ceasefires, We Want Genuine Peace presents community opinions about...
Read More

Communal violence publication now available in Burmese

Using CPCS Listening Methodology, this publication elevates community voices from six locations in Myanmar that experienced communal violence to reveal a strong alternative narrative to the one commonly heard on the issue. Conversations were held in November 2014 with 220 community members from Meiktilla, Mandalay Region; Lashio, Shan State; Mandalay,...
Read More

Karen unity building paper now in Burmese

The CPCS publication Karen Unity Building Initiatives: Towards sustainable peace in Myanmar is now available online in Burmese. In light of ongoing unity-building measures in Myanmar, the CPCS Learning Paper examines the Karen history of conflict, seeking to analyse the push for greater unity amongst the Karen. It explores Karen opinions...
Read More

What next in the Mindanao peace process?

Emma Leslie & Kristian Herbolzheimer The non-passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) by Congress did not come as a surprise. It was a scenario foreseen by many since early after the Mamasapano tragedy in January last year. In fact, given the risks that Congress might enact a law that was...
Read More

Liaison Offices Learning Paper available in Burmese

Building Infrastructures for Peace: The Role of Liaison Offices in Myanmar’s Peace Process, a Learning Paper published by CPCS, is now available in Burmese. Based on CPCS observations and interviews with over 100 liaison office staff, this paper provides an analysis of liaison offices in the scope of the larger...
Read More

MILF peace history launched in Mindanao

On February 15, the Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies officially launched a new book, The Journey of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s First Ex-Combatants, at the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) in Cotabato, Mindanao, the Philippines, following a launch in Manila on February 12. Produced with support of the UK...
Read More

Reaching out, sharing reflections

MUSEUM DIARY: Phnom Penh, February 11 2016 The Peace Museum Team has just wrapped up a busy week in Phnom Penh. We met with several embassies, international NGOs and Cambodian peacebuilders to share our plans for 2016 and how we will involve Phnom Penh and the rest of the country. The...
Read More

CPCS receives first Peace Museum archives

On February 4, CPCS Co-founder and Peace Museum visionary Ngarm Soth Plai and CPCS Executive Director Emma Leslie accepted the first archives for the Cambodia Peace Museum from Venerable Tola and Bob Maat at Battambang Buddhist University. The archives document the story of Venerable Samdech Preah Maha Ghosananda – a key figure in...
Read More

Exploring Cambodia’s peace and history through art

Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies co-founder and Cambodia Peace Museum visionary Ngarm Soth Plai and Siem Reap-based artist Sasha Constable recently visited the Cambodia Landmine Museum (CLMM) to give a presentation on peace to 26 youth ranging from 11 to 21 years old. The presentation aimed to introduce and...
Read More

What are Peace Infrastructures?

The following is an extract from the CPCS Learning Paper – Building Infrastructures for Peace: The Role of Liaison Offices in Myanmar’s Peace Process.  In the past decade, the peace infrastructure framework has emerged as a key aspect of conflict transformation. The concept was first developed by John Paul Lederarch who...
Read More

The year ahead for the Peace Museum

MUSEUM DIARY: January 18, 2015 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on 23rd October 1991. The Paris Peace Accords signified an official end to the civil war that was plaguing Cambodia from the 1960s through the 1980s, and laid the foundation for a transition to democracy...
Read More

Learning Paper: Karen Unity Building Initiatives

In light of ongoing unity-building measures in Myanmar, Karen Unity Building Initiatives: Towards sustainable peace in Myanmar examines the Karen history of conflict, seeking to analyse the push for greater unity amongst the Karen. The paper explores Karen opinions and experiences of unity building, derived from conversations with Karen individuals from various communities,...
Read More

“Let’s listen to what they have to say”

The following is the preface to The Journey of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s First Ex-Combatants. Download the full publication here. On June 16, 2015 a Ceremonial Turnover of Weapons and Decommissioning of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants was held at the old Capitol Building in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao....
Read More

New way to support Peace Museum

MUSEUM DIARY: December 8, 2015 Hosting our first event in New York created a great opportunity to reconnect with long-time friends and colleagues who have known and worked alongside CPCS co-founder and Peace Museum visionary Soth Plai Ngarm and CPCS Executive Director Emma Leslie in Cambodia in the 1990s. Some of the people who joined...
Read More

4th Peace Practitioners Research Conference

Siem Reap, Cambodia December 9-10, 2015 Learning from Asian practices of mediation, negotiation & dialogue The 2015 Peace Practitioners Research Conference (PPRC) brought together more than 120 peace scholars and practitioners to critically reflect on lessons learned in the areas of mediation, negotiation and dialogue from current peace processes in the...
Read More

Making Peace in Their Own Words book launch speech

The following speech was delivered by Executive Director of Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies Emma Leslie at the launch of Making Peace in Their Own Words: People of Myanmar’s Peace Process on October 7, 2015, Sedona Hotel, Yangon, Myanmar. Minister U Aung Min, distinguished guests, ladies and gentleman. Firstly, I would like...
Read More

Towards peace in Myanmar: Building common humanity

Encouraging dialogue in grassroots communities through the People’s Dialogue Initiative is helping to create a better future in Myanmar, writes Richard Smith, conflict transformation strategist and CPCS consultant.  Silence isn’t always golden Silence is golden goes the saying. But in the golden land of Myanmar the culture of silence that still dominates...
Read More

Why a Cambodia Peace Museum?

The following speech was delivered by CPCS co-founder Soth Plai Ngarm at an event in New York City on October 19 to mark the official start of the Cambodian Peace Museum campaign. To view more photos from the event, click here. Why a Peace Museum? Firstly, I would like to...
Read More