These days, as I’ve said before, it is difficult to talk about peace and disarmament and imagine what peace could look like.  And it has never been more necessary to do so.

The 2026 annual conference of the Group of 78 on October 9 & 10 offers an opportunity to do so. You can participate online (register here) or in person at the University of Ottawa. Its stated goal is to be part of designing a new architecture for peace in our dangerous world – renewing the institutions, defunding the war machine, assessing the role of AI, connecting with citizens’ movements.

I will be one of three keynote speakers along with Peggy Mason (Rideau Institute) and former Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy.