Nepal Dialogues Summit 2022

Background

In Nepal, after the end of armed conflict in 2006, there have been efforts to find dialogue as a way of building peace and weaving the social fabric. Various organizations have run dialogue programs to build constitution during the post-conflict era in their own capacities. Building on these works of dialogue and peacebuilding, Nepal Dialogues Forums were organized in 2018 and 2019 with an aim of creating shared spaces of sharing and learning among dialogue practicing individuals and institutions. The previous Dialogues Forums were organized in collaboration with The Asia Foundation and since then GIZ and The Asia Foundation, along with Nepal Forum for Restorative Justice (NFRJ) have taken a lead in converging nationwide efforts on dialogue and peacebuilding in Nepal.

For 2022, the dialogue organizations aim to build on this momentum and organize a Nepal Dialogues Summit in 19=20 December 2022. This year, the Summit will be organized by NFRJ, a non-governmental organization working in the fields of dialogue, peacebuilding, and restorative justice since 2017. NFRJ currently works as a Secretariat for Nepal Dialogues Initiatives and towards this end, it has convened several meetings of dialogue practitioners, and recently collected profiles of dialogue practitioners and organizations.

Objectives of the Nepal Dialogues Summit 2022

Two main objectives of the Summit stand out:

a. To learn from international experts on the experience of dialogue and peacebuilding; and

b. To create a sharing space for dialogue practicing individuals and institutions in Nepal

Activities

a. Learning from international expert on dialogue practice NFRJ and GIZ will invite an internationally esteemed dialogue practitioner, possibly a member from Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, a Nobel Peace Prize winner for 2015, and have her share insights on the importance of dialogue on peacebuilding and justice.

This will be a public event and it will be attended by about 200 individuals representing judiciary, social service, academics, law enforcement agencies from government and non-government sectors.

b. Sharing space for dialogue practicing individuals and institutions

The other aspect of the National Dialogues Summit is to provide a shared space for about 70 practitioner organizations and individuals from around Nepal to share their experiences and expertise with fellow practitioners.