Is Making Peace Good Business? Examining the Corporate Role in Preventing Violence and Fostering Peace

With our partners at the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, the Stanley Center will host a salon dinner and off-the-record discussion examining the corporate role in preventing violence and fostering peace.

The economic impact of violence and conflict on the global economy is staggering. About 13 percent of world GDP is spent containing or dealing with the consequences of violence. While the economic benefits of preventing violence and sustaining peace are clear, no single actor, organization, or sector can produce and maintain peace.

The dinner will include participants from the media, private sector, think tanks, and policymaking and peacebuilding communities to consider a variety of questions, with facilitation by New York Times journalist, Jina Moore, and other discussion leaders. In this age of interconnectivity, how does the media and the private sector influence our collective acceptance—or rejection—of violence as a solution to conflict, and what can be done to shift this influence in a positive direction? Can corporate leaders easily identify risk factors for violence and take actions that are more likely to foster peace? How can leaders from local and global institutions, states, and civil society work together with business leaders to reduce violent conflict and create conditions for peace?