On 8 October 2026, representatives of civil society, education, culture and science came together at the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean Foundation in Seville for an event marking the International Day of Peace.
Held under the theme “Creativity in the Service of Peace”, the hybrid event brought together UNESCO’s official NGO partners and other voices from civil society to explore how creativity, education and cooperation can help build more peaceful and inclusive societies.
The gathering was led by Dr Marie-Claude Machon-Honoré of BPW International, who acted as master of ceremonies, with the participation of the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean Foundation, represented by its Director General, Mar Ahumada Sánchez. The event benefited from the support of the Spanish and French National Commissions for UNESCO.
The programme brought together perspectives from different regions and fields, with contributions addressing education for peace, cultural diversity, storytelling, water, social inclusion and the role of young people. Professor Alain Tschudin, holder of the UNESCO Gandhi-Montessori-Luthuli Chair on Education for Peace and Transformative Solidarity, was the keynote speaker. The discussions were moderated by Hummas Sohail and Professor Mehdi Lahlou.
Women as ambassadors for peace
Within this programme, Dr Jenny Lind Elmaco and Ricardo Domínguez Jover, Technical Director of MEDNIGHT, delivered a joint contribution on Women and Peace: Peace Ambassadors, connecting the role of women in science with science diplomacy and public participation.
Jenny Lind Elmaco, UNESCO representative of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (BPW International) and Chair of the Gender, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group of the Marie Curie Alumni Association, called for a broader understanding of women’s contribution to peace.
Women build bridges not only through formal diplomacy, she explained, but also through research, education, technology, community engagement and the exchange of knowledge. Science can provide a common language across borders and differences, while creating opportunities for women to help shape the questions, priorities and direction of research.
Drawing on her collaboration with MEDNIGHT through Her Science Speaks, Jenny also highlighted the importance of giving women scientists platforms to communicate their work and experiences in their own voices. She pointed to the growing role of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, and the need for people to understand and critically engage with their implications.
From scientific knowledge to collective action
In his contribution, Women, Science and Collective Action for Peace in the Mediterranean, Ricardo Domínguez presented MEDNIGHT as a network that brings institutions and communities together around a shared Mediterranean space of knowledge.
He spoke about the importance of recognising women as producers of knowledge and scientific authorities. This means making their work visible and addressing the barriers that affect whose research is heard and recognised, including language, geography, institutional resources and career stage.
Exhibitions such as The Marie Curies of the Mediterranean and Mediterranean Women for Health, as well as the multilingual stories in Tales from MEDNIGHT, show how creative science communication can connect people across cultures and generations. School activities and encounters with researchers also help young people discover scientific role models from across the region.
Ricardo also emphasised the potential of citizen science: people who know a coast, a neighbourhood or an ecosystem through their daily lives can contribute valuable observations to research. Turning that knowledge into action, however, also requires lasting relationships among researchers, schools, public authorities, civil society, businesses and the media.
He connected this approach to MEDNIGHT’s recognition as an initiative of the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development. Cooperation across borders, he argued, is especially valuable when political circumstances make dialogue difficult. Science cannot resolve conflicts on its own, but the relationships built through scientific cooperation can sustain understanding and support joint responses to shared challenges.
Peace and justice
The Seville gathering took place after the International Day of Peace and one day before the announcement of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. On 9 October, the prize was awarded to South African jurist Navanethem “Navi” Pillay for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
Throughout her career, Pillay has defended human rights and sought accountability for serious international crimes. She also chaired the UN Commission of Inquiry that concluded that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Her recognition is a reminder that building peace also requires defending human dignity, upholding international law and pursuing justice—even when doing so is difficult.