On 9-10 th September retreat seminar for Georgian stakeholders on Pease and Negotiation process was held in Bakuriani “Rooms Kokhta Hotel”. The topic of the Seminar was: role of civil society and political actors in peace processes - sharing experiences of joint confidence-building projects. Trade and education projects - examples of Northern Ireland, Cyprus and Transnistria.

The seminar was held in hybrid format. Invited expert of CMI, Program Coordinator for the Master of Advanced Studies ETH Mediation in Peace Processes (MAS ETH MPP) program at ETH Zurich, Emeli Osoyaho shared information about the theoretical aspects of the peace process, the participants/actors and issues of the official negotiation process. Former negotiators and experts from Northern Ireland, Cyprus and Moldova shared their experience of specific educational and trade projects on confidence building and peaceful resolution process.

The senior advisor of CMI, the former special representative of the UN Secretary General in Georgia and the co-chair of the Geneva Negotiations in 2010-2018, Antti Turunen, attended the seminar as a special guest. In the framework of the seminar, an informal discussion about his diplomatic experience on negotiation process regarding the conflict resolution in Georgia was held in the lobby of the Hotel. The discussion continued in Q and A format.

The seminar was jointly organized by the International Centre for Geopolitical Studies (ICGS), Georgia, and CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation, Finland, as part of the organizations’ join initiative launched in the Autumn 2021 entitled “Expert Exchange on Conflict Resolution Efforts - Lessons Learnt from International Practices”. This initiative consists in a series of closed-door seminars and is meant as an opportunity for selected experts, civil society representatives and political actors to benefit from first-hand experience from international experts and peers, as well from a safe space for discussions on various topics related to peace process and negotiations.

Financial supporters of the project: Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden.