The world as we know it, is undergoing what appears to be a churning. With the stinging aftertaste of the COVID-19 pandemic, merging with present day despondency, the time calls for deep thinking, contemplation and reflection. We invite academics, practitioners and early career researchers across the spectrum of conflict, gender and human security (studies), to share their empirical, normative and philosophical learnings, garnered to strengthen global commitment towards collective action and prevention against violence. 

Amidst rising violence and uncertainty, the year 2025, marks 25 years of the United Nations Security Council Resolution-1325 (UNSC1325). A historic achievement, the resolution was a culmination of decades of activism and pressure by women’s groups, civil society and political actors. By centering gender in the UN’s approach to conflict, conflict resolution and peacebuilding the resolution held out the promise of a radically different approach to women and war in the UN system and beyond. In the 25 years since the resolution was passed, it has been referenced in multiple UNSC resolutions, several states have declared ‘feminist foreign policies’ and the architecture of peacekeeping missions have changed to centre and provide accountability for the WPS agenda. 

However, wars in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and other underreported conflicts, have demonstrated how quickly feminist agenda is overridden by ‘hard’ political approaches of militarisation and militarist solutions. The rise in global numbers of forced displacement due to war or climate-related risks/vulnerabilities, reinstate the structural and colonial power asymmetry leaving lasting impact on women, children, men and the planet. The consequences of war-making, new technologies and change in geo-strategic partnerships/alliances, leaves us in the world with growing anxieties and possibilities.  

In order to address these issues and reflect on the past, present and future, the DCU Conflict Institute and the DCU Institute for Research on Genders and Sexualities are organising a two-day conference. Scheduled for 23-24 October, 2025, the conference will be held in-person. Day one of the conference will be exclusively dedicated to UNSC1325, followed by day two with a focus on conflict, gender and human security. 

The featured keynote speakers include Dr. Shirley Graham (23 October keynote) and Dr. Patricia Lewis (24 October keynote). Dr. Graham is the Director of the Gender Equality Initiative in International Affairs, George Washington University, U.S. She researches on gender, peacekeeping and military institutions. Her work on feminist foreign policy and furthering the WPS agenda is situated between academia, civil society and government institutions. Dr. Lewis is an independent expert on international security, focusing primarily on arms control and disarmament. She is the former Director for international security at Chatham House and former Director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDR). She serves on the EEAS Space Advisory Board (SAB) as a Senior Space Advisor to the EU Special Envoy for Space and a recipient of Ireland’s Presidential Distinguished Service Award in 2023. 

Dr. Graham's keynote on October 23 will be followed by a round table discussion with Prof. Roberta Guerrina, University of Bristol, Dr. Katharine A.M. Wright, Newcastle University, and Dr. Adelina Hasani, Kosovo Centre for Security Studies to facilitate a wide-reaching and invigorating discussion on feminist international affairs and future trajectories.

Please see the conference programme below. Please note the schedule is indicative and may change.

You can also download a PDF version of the programme.