Forms of Peace: GariwoNetwork 2026
By the Gariwo Foundation
Turin, November 6-7, 2026, and Rome, November 27-28, 2026
In 2026, GariwoNetwork reaches its tenth edition and explores the different Forms of Peace (Forme di Pace) we can recognise and build today.
Peace does not take just one form. It can emerge from the choice to keep talking when everything pushes towards confrontation; from learning to live together with people who grew up on opposing sides; from protecting a place and its resources with future generations in mind; or from an individual choice, however small it may seem, that opens up new possibilities within a conflict. This is the starting point for GariwoNetwork 2026, together with the stories of the Righteous.
This year, GariwoNetwork places a special focus on its Italian network of Gardens of the Righteous, giving space to the community of educators, local representatives and partners who have been bringing the values of the Righteous to life in their territories for many years. By bringing GariwoNetwork to two different Italian cities, we want to recognise their work, encourage the exchange of experiences and strengthen the connections between those who promote the message of the Righteous in their communities. This renewed focus on the Italian network is part of Gariwo's broader commitment to fostering dialogue and cooperation among Gardens of the Righteous worldwide.
For Gariwo, telling the stories of the Righteous means reflecting on individual responsibility in the face of the great crises of our time. Peace, too, cannot be left solely to diplomacy, institutions or agreements between states: it needs people who can make choices, take responsibility, recognise others and create opportunities for dialogue even when they seem to be disappearing.
Four perspectives on peace
Dialogue and diplomacy
Creating spaces for dialogue even in situations of conflict and confrontation.
Education
Learning to live with differences without erasing them, navigating conflict without turning others into enemies, and educating people to exercise their own judgement and responsibility.
The environment
Reflecting on the human consequences of the climate crisis, competition for resources, and the inequalities and tensions caused by the destruction of ecosystems.
Individual responsibility
Recognising that even in situations where there seem to be no alternatives, there is room for individual choice and action.
Two cities, one shared question
The conferences, open to the public, will explore this responsibility from different perspectives: from our relationship with nature to living together in society, from education for dialogue to the international dimension of peacebuilding.
On Saturdays, workshops will be held exclusively for the network of Gardens of the Righteous representatives, educators and Gariwo Foundation collaborators.
Turin | Friday 6 November at 6.00 pm
Polo del ’900, Piazzetta Franco Antonicelli - Palazzo San Daniele entrance
What is the relationship between peace, environment and responsibility? The climate crisis, the destruction of ecosystems and competition for resources have increasingly profound consequences for people’s lives and can fuel inequalities, tensions and conflicts.
We will bring journalism, science, law and individual responsibility into dialogue, exploring how environmental protection can become part of a broader reflection on peace and the way we inhabit the world.
Speakers:
Gabriele Nissim, President of the Gariwo Foundation;
Marco Girardo, Editor-in-Chief of Avvenire;
Telmo Pievani, Full Professor of Philosophy of the Biological Sciences, University of Milan;
Matthew Burnett-Stuart, Programme Management Officer at the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI).
Rome | Friday 27 November at 6.30 pm
Zest Hub, Via Marsala, 29H
How can peace be built in societies marked by conflict, polarisation and differences? And what responsibility do individuals, educators, institutions and the international community have in creating the conditions for coexistence?
The Rome conference will bring the international dimension of peace into dialogue with practical experiences of education, nonviolence and coexistence.
Speakers:
Gabriele Nissim, President of the Gariwo Foundation;
Paolo Gentiloni, former Prime Minister of Italy and European Commissioner;
Anna Maria Brogi, foreign news desk, Avvenire;
Marianella Sclavi, ethnographer and writer, spokesperson for the European Nonviolent Action Movement;
Murat Cinar, journalist specialising in Turkey;
Mariachiara Billi, Project Manager at the United World College of the Adriatic in Duino, an international educational community where young people from different countries, cultures and backgrounds experience coexistence and dialogue every day;
Andrew Watson, co-founder of Sustainability Education (SusEd), working on international educational programmes focused on sustainability and on conflict and post-conflict settings.
Speakers
Matthew Burnett-Stuart is a Programme Management Officer at the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), based in Turin. He works on organised crime and security, with a particular focus on environmental crime and the links between climate change, security and justice. His work encompasses research, training and international cooperation to prevent and counter the criminal exploitation of natural resources and the risks of crime and corruption in transitions towards sustainability.
Murat Cinar is a journalist, researcher, trainer and interpreter. He covers politics, human rights, forced migration and social movements, with a particular focus on Turkey and the Middle East. He contributes to Il Manifesto, Internazionale, GariwoMagazine, Messaggero di Sant'Antonio di Padova and MicroMega, among other publications. He is the author of Undici storie di resistenza, undici anni della Turchia (EBS Print, 2022) and Una guida per comprendere la storia contemporanea della Turchia (Edizioni Simple, 2016), and co-author with Deniz Yucel of Ogni luogo è Taksim (Rosenberg&Sellier, 2018). He has contributed to several collective volumes, including 2023: Orizzonti di guerra (OGzero, 2023), with the essay Turchia: industria bellica a conduzione famigliare ed espansione paramilitare, and Disonorare la guerra. Percorsi e proposte per una maschilità di pace (Multimage, 2026), edited by Maschile Plurale, with the contribution Guerra, Stato e Maschilismo: dal pensiero di Murray Bookchin al Confederalismo Democratico di Abdullah Öcalan.
Paolo Gentiloni served as Prime Minister of Italy from 2016 to 2018, after holding office as Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and, previously, Minister of Communications. A founding member of the Democratic Party, he was a long-serving Member of Parliament and, from 2019 to 2024, European Commissioner for Economy in the Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen. Throughout his political and institutional career, he has focused particularly on European politics, international relations, the economy and the European Union’s role on the global stage. In 2026, Rizzoli published his book Diventare una potenza. Istruzioni per una rivoluzione europea, in which he advocates stronger European integration and greater strategic autonomy for the Union, looking towards a new form of federal integration.
Marco Girardo has been Editor-in-Chief of Avvenire since May 2023. A journalist, essayist and radio presenter, he specialises in economics, economic policy and the transformation of news in the digital age. He graduated in Philosophy from the University of Trieste and earned a master’s degree in Communication from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. He began his journalism career contributing to the weekly Voce Isontina in Gorizia and Il Piccolo in Trieste. He has worked at Avvenire since 2000, heading its Economics and Economic Policy desk from 2011.
Martina Landi is Director General of the Gariwo Foundation, coordinating its staff and activities. She manages public relations with local, national and international organisations and institutions. Over the years, her work at Gariwo has covered the environment, climate change and efforts to counter hatred, and she has taken part in events, conferences and seminars on the Foundation’s areas of focus. Specialising in International Relations, she oversaw Gariwo’s work leading up to the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention. She is also currently Vice President of the Association for the Garden of the Righteous in Milan.
Gabriele Nissim, a writer, is the founder and President of Gariwo, the Foundation dedicated to researching and sharing the exemplary stories of the Righteous. In 2003, he promoted the creation of the Garden of the Righteous in Milan, an initiative that has inspired hundreds of Gardens around the world. After meeting Moshe Bejski, former Chairman of Yad Vashem’s Commission for the Righteous, he launched the campaign that led the European Parliament to establish the European Day of the Righteous in 2012, later recognised in Italy as the Day of the Righteous of Humanity. He is the author of numerous books, including Il Tribunale del Bene, La bontà insensata, Il bene possibile, Auschwitz non finisce mai and Ricucire il mondo, due to be published by Mimesis at the end of October. His work has earned him honours in Italy and abroad, including the title of Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Milan’s Ambrogino d’oro and France’s National Order of Merit.
Telmo Pievani, an evolutionary scholar, philosopher of science and essayist, is Full Professor of Philosophy of the Biological Sciences at the Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences of the University of Milan. From 2017 to 2019, he was President of the Italian Society for Evolutionary Biology. The author of 395 publications, translated into more than 10 languages, his most recent books include: Imperfezione (Cortina, 2019); Finitudine (Cortina, 2020); Serendipità (Cortina, 2021); Tutti i mondi possibili (Cortina, 2024); Dove comincia l’uomo (Solferino, 2025, with G. Remuzzi); and Uniti per la vita (Il Mulino, 2025, with M. Casiraghi). A member of leading scientific societies and the editorial boards of international journals, he chairs the Scientific Committee of BergamoScienza and directs the multimedia platforms Lucy sui Mondi and Pikaia. The winner of 19 awards and the author of books on evolution for children as well as adults, he has created science-themed theatre and music projects with Banda Osiris, the “Deproducers” collective, Gianni Maroccolo and Marco Paolini. He contributes to Il Corriere della Sera and the magazines Le Scienze and Micromega.
Marianella Sclavi works on the art of listening, creative conflict management and creative dialogue. She taught Urban Ethnography at the Polytechnic University of Milan and founded Ascolto Attivo srl. She is also spokesperson for the European Nonviolent Action Movement (MEAN). Her research focuses on regenerating neighbourhoods in crisis, the subject of La signora va nel Bronx (Bordeaux, 2025), and on renewing democracy, explored in Elogio dei tre saperi (Bordeaux, 2026). Her approach is set out in the enduringly popular Arte di ascoltare e mondi possibili, first published in 2000 and now published by Pearson.
Andrew Watson is an artist, international education leader, and CEO of Sustainability Education (SusEd), an Ireland-based foundation born in 2015 through United World Colleges and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, nurturing the cultural shift education needs to address today’s most urgent connected challenges, in particular Peace and Sustainability. Andrew specialises in designing and leading schools. He develops professional learning for educators, co-creates global peace and sustainability initiatives, and co-authored the IB Leadership Pathway. Andrew supports Child Rescue Nepal, which rescues and serves disadvantaged Nepalese children. Andrew has two adult daughters and lives between Edinburgh and northern Israel, reading, painting and writing.
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