Celebrating 40 years of Peace Studies in Bradford

The conference will launch on Thursday May 1 with a traditional football match played between Bradford’s Peace Studies students and War Studies students from King’s College in London. The match plays for the “Tolstoy Cup” and is a tradition started in 1995. The Lord Mayor of Bradford will present the Tolstoy Cup to the winning team during a reception on Thursday evening.

Following the match, speakers at the conference will include Palestine’s Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat, an alumnus of Peace Studies at Bradford University and Dr Shirin Ebadi, former Iranian judge and Nobel Peace Laureate.

The conference will also include the launch of a new book about the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases (CAAB) by Peace Studies alumnus Margaret Nunnerley. The book is entitled "Surveillance, Secrecy and Sovereignty: How a Peace Campaign Challenged the Activities of a US Base in Britain". Margaret will appear to talk about her new book on Friday afternoon along with veteran peace campaigner Lindis Percy.

A round table discussion and exhibition will take place on Thursday evening. The event will then continue on the Friday and Saturday, with over 50 speakers presenting papers across a diverse range of peace studies, security and international relations themes.

Professor David J. Francis, Head of the Peace Studies Department, said: “Peace Studies at Bradford, through its teaching programmes, and its internationally renowned and locally engaged research centres, continues to offer an environment in which scholars from all over the world study, research, and debate the future of peace and conflict in the 21st Century.

“We have seen huge growth in the last 40 years and I’m proud to be welcoming speakers and delegates from across the world to share in our celebrations.”

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