«Peace Activism in the 20th and 21st Century. History, Reality, Narratives and Images»

Press Release (Italian)Conference program (12-13 september)Conference registration

Major operations of international diplomacy are also mediatic mise-en-scènes that accompany and control the development of negotiations and debates, define the strategic reception of major issues of geopolitical importance and their echo among individual nations and communities. As a hub of audiovisual culture, PalaCinema Locarno pays particular attention to the role of these staged media images.

The audivisual intallation presents ten video stations with footage from archives of audiovisual heritage: their critical gaze opens up reflection on the construction of audiovisual narratives in support of strategies of public communication of peace processes, from open information to manipulation and propaganda, to consolidate or counter narratives; to legitimise or delegitimise organs and expressions of civic engagement or activism. What narrative is suggested by the media and with what intent? What is the role of narrative and image in democratic society?

In addition to a two days conference and an installation, the project includes a collaboration integrating the participatory project by Swiss artist Yves Mettler, which will be present in the public space from the week before the conference and opening of the installation. During the conference, a kiosk and a seating area for workshops will integrate the function of a platform for democratic discourse. These aggregative elements will extend the exhibition's discourse to a spatial concept and will in part return to dialogue with the public space.

Yves Mettler's platform interrogates public space as the media of the democratic process. Nourished by a direct relationship with the public and aided by the SUPSI-DFA/ASP students who will take part in the project, the platform will become an important agent of dialogue and sharing on the fringes of the congress and the installation. While remaining independent, the two projects relate as a platform for democratic debate to activate inclusive access of different audiences to the exhibition content.

The congress moments are a constitutive part of the interdisciplinary symposium that extends the contents of the exhibition to the contemporary discussion on the contributions that forms of government and media bring to peacekeeping and war. The congress integrates mediation activities and workshops reflecting on how peacebuilding research results can be passed on to future generations.

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCE «PEACE IN THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES: NARRATIVE LAW, REALITY, AND IMAGE»

Friday, 12th September – Sunday, 2nd November 2025

Program:

First Day / Vernissage
Friday, September 12, 2025
Cinema Hall 3, PalaCinema Locarno

1:00 PM	Institutional Greetings (Nicola Pini, Mayor of Locarno) and Introduction to the Day
1:20 PM	Prof. Jakob Tanner, Historian, Zurich «Vom Ersten Weltkrieg zum Frieden von Locarno: Friedensperspektiven in den 1920er Jahren»
2:00 PM	Prof. Gloria Gaggioli and Prof. Maya Hertig Randall, UNIGE University of Geneva «Paix, démocratie et droit international»
2:40 PM	Break
3:10 PM	Marco Poloni, Director CISA, Locarno «Peace, As Seen From the Sea»
3:50 PM	Break
4:00 PM	Roger de Weck, Author, Zurich Moderation of the debate «Pace: fra storia e attualità/Frieden zwischen Geschichte und Gegenwart/La paix entre histoire et actualité»
4:45 PM	Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Thomas Geiser, Board of Directors PalaCinema Locarno Closing Remarks
5:00 PM	Vernissage of the installations «Peace Activism in the 20th and 21st Century: History, Reality, Narrative and Image» with curator Dr.Theo Mäusli and «PUBLICsPACE» with artist Yves Mettler and curator Noah Stolz Institutional Greetings: Ms Nancy Lunghi (Head of Department of Culture, City of Locarno)

Second Day
Saturday, September 13, 2025
Cinema Hall 3, PalaCinema Locarno

8:45 AM	Introduction to the Day
9:05 AM	Martina Fehr, CEO MAZ, Lucerne «Journalismus: Gerüstbauer des Friedens»
9:40 AM	Reto Ceschi, Director of Information RSI, Lugano «Pace e guerra: la forza delle immagini e il ruolo del giornalismo»
10:15 AM	Break
10:30 AM	Dr. Gal Harmat, swisspeace, Basel «Peace and Art in Dialogue Processes»
11:00 AM	H.E. Tim Enderlin, Ambassador, Head of Division, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, State Secretariat, Peace and Human Rights Division, Berne «Friedenspolitik der Schweiz in Zeiten der geopolitischen Umwälzungen»
11:30 AM	Prof. Sonia Castro Mallamaci, DFA SUPSI, Locarno «Metodo storico, propaganda audiovisiva: l’importanza della formazione»
12:00 PM	Debate: «Media and information between naive consumption and critical attention: the role of education». Moderation: Theo Mäusli. Guests: Sonia Castro Mallamaci, DFA SUPSI, Locarno; Reto Ceschi, Director of Information RSI, Lugano; Martina Fehr, CEO MAZ Lucerne.
12:15 PM	Prof. Dr. Michele Mainardi, PalaCinema Locarno Closing Remarks