Calendar

Sat

15 Dec

2018

Festival

Night of Conflict

Powerplay & Underdogs: one year of the Netherlands in the UN Security Council

The Netherlands held a seat in the UN Security Council in 2018 for one year. On the highest level we talked about war, peace and international security. How did we do? And what were the most important issues on the world stage? Find out during the Night of the Conflict!

During this festival we will dive into the complex world of conflictmanagement and international security. You will hear from high officials and diplomats, but also from biologists, philosophers, theater makers, soldiers and people from conflict countries how to work on peace & security.

For example, Sigrid Kaag, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, will discuss what the UN Security Council and the Netherlands can do in preventing conflicts, Victor Ochen from the African Youth Initiative Network will tell his personal story and biologist Frans de Waal let’s you think about the peace-loving and violent urges of people. Another urgent question? Go speed-dating or take a seat at the bar with the speakers. Enough talk? Indulge yourself with art, experiment and theater from, among others, Het Nationale Theater.

You can download the schedule of the programme here,
↓ Scroll down to see the full English spoken program ↓

To view the Dutch programs click here.

Join the conversation and stay informed via the Facebook-event.

Various programs of the Night of Conflict will be registered by video, photography and sound. These videos, podcasts and/or photographs will be available online after the event.

Programme

Opening Night of Conflict

with Karel van Oosterom, Saskia Bruines

The Night of Conflict will be opened by Karel van Oosterom, the permanent representative of the Netherlands on the UN Security Council, and Saskia Bruines, alderman for International Affairs in The Hague.

Karel van Oosterom represented the Netherlands on the UN Security Council last year. We look back with a short interview. What were the most important moments of the past year? Where did the Netherlands make a difference? And what have we learned about working on peace at the highest level? Alderman Saskia Bruines talks about what the past year has meant for The Hague, city of Peace & Justice.

Moderator: Bahram Sadeghi
Time: 19:30 – 20:00
Language: English

Keynote Speech

by Victor Ochen

Victor Ochen is the youngest African ever nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the African Youth Initiative. In his keynote speech at the Night of Conflict, he shares his personal story and talks about his extensive experience working for peace and justice on the African continent.

Born in the north of Uganda, Ochen spent most of his youth as a refugee in camps and grew up in the midst of violent conflict. However, he has since become one of the most important voices in Africa and a key figure when it comes to campaigning for human rights and justice. He travels across the whole continent and beyond to talk to victims of war, youths, leaders and UN representatives about making peace and justice a reality. In this keynote speech he talks about his personal journey from war to peace and shares his experience working on peace and justice on the African continent.

Monika Sie, director of the Clingendael Institute, introduces Victor Ochen with a spoken column.

Time: 21:15-21.45
Language: English

War and Peace in our DNA?

insights from primatology by Frans de Waal

Is mankind peace-loving or violent by nature? How do people differ from animals? And is an institute like the Security Council the way to coordinate our primary behaviour? You will hear about these issues from Frans de Waal, one of the best known primatologists in the world.

Frans de Waal has done a lot of research into conflict resolution, reconciliation, empathy and the evolution of morality by looking at chimpanzees and bonobos. According to De Waal, people do not differ that much from these animals. In this short lecture he will share his insights about mankind. What can we learn from monkeys about ourselves? And why is man so good not only at conducting war, but also at making peace?

Time: 20:15 – 21:00
Language: English
Location: Zaal 2

Automated Sniper

interactive performance

For the Night of Conflict, we are hosting the prize-winning performance The Automated Sniper by Julian Hetzel. In The Automated Sniper, two performers are shot with an automatic weapon by members of the audience and, further away, from the Middle East.

What are the rules of art? What are the rules of war? And how far will the audience go in this experiment?

By comparing art, gaming and war in ways that are both hilarious and embarrassing, this performance raises questions about the effects of modernizing warfare, in which the enemy is increasingly reduced to pixels on a screen.

Time: 23:15 – 00:45
Location: Zaal 2
Language: no problem.

HagueTalks

personal stories

In the HagueTalks studio you can hear personal stories from people who have experienced conflict and who work for peace and justice. No big, abstract analyses, but concrete ideas and inspiration.

HagueTalks are short personal stories of ten minutes. The HagueTalks studio is located in a hidden spot in the Theater aan het Spui. To get there, go to the meeting point in the foyer. There you will be picked up and brought back again.

Mohammad Kanfash, Syrian director of Damaan Humanitarian Organization on what civilians can do, in the face of political stalemate and inaction.

Major-General Richard Oppelaar, Director of Joint Operations at the Ministry of Defence, talks about the military contribution to UN operations.

Moderator is Haja Yagkoubi, the new youth representative of the UN.

Time: from 21:15 – 22:00
Location: HagueTalks studio
Note: gathering place is in the Foyer at 21.15!
Language: English

HagueTalks

personal stories

In the HagueTalks studio you can hear personal stories from people who have experienced conflict and who work for peace and justice. No big, abstract analyses, but concrete ideas and inspiration.

Thana Faroq, a storyteller and photographer from Yemen talks about ‘Women and the war in Yemen: Five lessons I’ve learned’. Thana has photographed many women in Yemen and written their stories. During the Night of Conflict she talks about her personal encounters with conflict, displacement, the resilience of women and the challenges they face.

Hariwa Negisa Adil, lives in Europe, but travels regularly to Afghanistan. She talks about the contradictions from within when trying to address the conflict but also the beauty of Afghanistan as an Afghan living in Europe.

Moderator is Haja Yagkoubi, the new youth representative of the UN.

Time: 22:15 – 23:00
Location: Gathering place is in the Foyer
Note: gathering place is in the Foyer at 22.15!
Language: English

Speeddating

What is it like to provide emergency aid? What does it mean to be sent as a soldier to a conflict area? What kind of research is involved in a mission and what is the working method behind the scenes? Find out during speed dates with employees of think tanks, NGOs and other international organizations.

Merlijn Twaalfhoven will ensure that these speed date sessions take place in a creative and inspiring way.

Big words vs reality
18.15-19.15

Researchers, advisors, politicians and diplomats are important figures in keeping peace and making peace. A mission starts on paper, but what happens after that? Are you curious to find out how researchers work and how words then become missions? Do you want to hear from politicians and diplomats about how they translate the findings of these studies into their daily work? Participate in this speeddate-session!

With a.o. Kirsten van den Hul and Monika Sie

Good causes, big dilemmas
21.00 – 22.00

Come face to face with NGO directors and professionals working in the humanitarian field. During these special talks you will personally meet these professionals and pass on your own insights. Also present are experts from OPCW and UNHCR.

With a.o. Michiel Servaes, Tineke Ceelen and Chris de Bode

The Vulnerability of the Mandate
22.00-23.00

Curious to find out about the individuals and stories behind our military personnel in uniforms? What’s it like for an outsider to get involved in a conflict? What types of decisions and tasks confront a soldier? Meet and learn from veterans and soldiers who have actively worked to maintain peace.

With a.o. Ella van den Heuvel and Niels Roelen

Language: English / Dutch
Location: Foyer

Exhibition

KABK photography

Diana Gheorghiu and Filippo Maria Ciriani, two photography students from the KABK, were inspired by the Night of Conflict and will exhibit their work in the foyer of the Theater aan het Spui.

Diana Gheorghiu from Romania is interested in the phenomenon of ‘fake news’. In her work, she uses 3D software to create an environment that is surreal, disturbing and reassuring at the same time.

Filippo Maria Ciriani is an Italian photography student. He wants to reveal background information about an event, individual or place through research and stories. His project examines the boundary between militarization and the public domain.

Time: ongoing
Location: Foyer

Theatrical experience

with a.o Abdel Daoudi

During the Night of Conflict you will not only hear but also experience conflict. Theatre maker Abdel Daoudi will make that happen by transforming the theatre specially for the Night of Conflict. Both the speakers and audience occupy his decors. Daoudi uses images, sounds and unexpected encounters to bring the experience of conflict closer.

Abdel Daoudi is a theatre maker at the Toneelschuur in Haarlem and worked as a directing assistant at Het Nationale Theater with Eric de Vroedt. He also teaches at the Theatre Academy in Maastricht and the Amsterdam University of the Arts. During the ‘Climate Refugee’ programme, he invited climate experts and policy-makers to sit in a large container of water. As they talked, the ice around them melted and the water rose higher. For the Night of Conflict, Abdel takes over the entire building. From the foyer to the halls, and from the toilets to the bar, he will make that conversations about conflict and peace will be experienced in a unique manner.

Time: ongoing
Location: all areas

Bar Talk

with Bahram Sadeghi and speakers

The best conversations always take place at the bar. Journalist Bahram Sadeghi therefore invites several of the night’s speakers to join him at the bar. They will talk about everything they heard on stage and what they didn’t hear. Will you join them for a drink?

Bahram Sadeghi is the ultimate companion to have at the bar. He is direct yet always humorous and seeks answers to questions that everyone wants to ask, but nobody dares to ask. To give an example, he went undercover in the refugee camp at Calais. And he travelled to Sierra Leone to ask people there: ‘Why are you so poor?’ During the Night of Conflict he chats to speakers at the bar, asking them about their role in the programme and letting them respond to the other discussions. What question should have been asked? What answer surprised them? What was just total nonsense?

From: 21:45 – 23:00
Location: Foyer
Language: English

Negotiation Simulation

by Clingendael Institute

To conclude the Night of the Conflict, you can take part in a negotiation simulation of the Clingendael Institute. In this 2-hour simulation you will learn all about the stages of negotiation, feel the pressure, reflect on dilemmas and improve your own negotiation skills.

Clingendael Institute trains and guides hundreds of people worldwide every year in conflict negotiations. From diplomats in the UN Security Council to local religious leaders, from young women to the opposition, and from military commanders to employees of humanitarian organizations. During the Night of the Conflict you get the unique opportunity to participate in a negotiation simulation. With the people in the room you will start with a fictitious case and have the chance to put your own negotiation skills into practice. After doing this simulation, you will really understand the complexity of diplomacy!

Time: 23.15-01.00
Location: Zaal 1
Language: English

Bunker Party

with DJ Prace, Massih Hutak, Aida Kalender

Can you think of a better way to end the Night of Conflict than dancing? Enter the night with DJ Prace and word artist Massih Hutak and embrace life, music, creativity or just your neighbor.

DJ Prace, or Joram Kroon is a musician, DJ, producer and artistic director. You might know him from parties like Bankra, Safari or Echo Sect. He regularly plays DJ sets on internet radio station StrandedFM. During a trip to Palestine, he discovered the richness of Arab music and to date this has had a major impact on his work. Prace takes you on a musical journey around the world, sitting is no longer an option rest of the night.

In addition, writer and rapper Massih Hutak gives a short performance.

Time: 23: 00-01.00
Location: Foyer

Event series

Alternative Security Council

In 2018 the Netherlands takes up a seat on the UN Security Council for a period of one year. The council allows our country to discuss peace and conflict around the world at the very highest level. We are convinced that international peace and security require broad discussion, so we have decided to set up an Alternative Security Council for the year. This Alternative Council brings together artists, economists, philosophers, journalists and academics to shed new light on important political and social issues from the perspective of their disciplines. The Alternative Security Council is a programme series by Humanity House in collaboration with the National Theatre and Clingendael. Partners are vfonds, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fonds 1818, Vrij Nederland and Just Peace.

Complete series

Details

Spoken languageNL/EN
Café / foyer open18:30
Start program19:30
End program01:00

Theater aan het Spui
Spui 187
2511 BN, Den Haag