Peace Innovation Lab Berlin Off to Fast Start

The Berlin Peace Innovation Lab got off to a great start on May 23rd.On a sunny afternoon local movers and shakers met up to be introduced to peace innovation. The local founder, Anne Kjær Riechert, warmly welcomed the audience and gave a short presentation describing the future plans for the Berlin Peace Innovation Lab. Hereafter, event partner Dr. Joana Breidenbach, director of Betterplace Lab, gave a short introduction to their exciting work, researching digital communication for the social sector.  Mark Nelson, co-founder of the Stanford Peace Innovation Lab, took the stage and briefed the participants on the Peace Innovation Engagement Framework and peace metrics concepts. He cited models of ‘Positive Peace’ and pro-social behavior change that were occurring using social technologies  such as Ronny Edry's citizen diplomacy Israel loves Iran campaign.

When it was time for the Q&A, the audience was eager to engage with challenging questions, displaying both deep experience and interest in the topic. Unfortunately, only 15 minutes were set aside for discussion, but the dialogue had only just begun. The audience wanted more, and so, the conversation continued at a local beer garden until midnight.Following up with the participants after the event was a humbling and highly encouraging experience. The excitement was evident with feedback ranging from ‘fascinating’ and ‘bleeding’ edge to ‘perfect’.The Berlin Peace Innovation Lab team was very excited to host the event and look forward to continue building the local community of peace innovators in Berlin.