Post | May 2026 | 1 min read
Fireside Peace Chats: Who makes peace? with Ilya Shcharbitski

On the International Day of Peace, Hope Box, The Hague Humanity Hub, Leiden University College and Amare come together for an evening of art and dialogue as part of Hope Box – Piece for World Peace.
The programme opens with the hanging of a Hope Box Kite for World Peace, followed by a Fireside Peace Chat exploring the many ways peace is created, through international institutions, communities, artists, activists and individuals.

In this special edition of the Fireside Peace Chats series, we welcome Ilya “Admiral” Shcharbitski, a Belarusian community organiser based in The Hague. He believes peace is not something that arrives; it is something people make.
Drawing on personal experiences from conflict-affected environments, the conversation asks us to look beyond diplomacy and politics and consider the role each of us can play in building peace, solidarity and understanding.
Join us to listen, reflect and ask: Who makes peace and what can I do to contribute?
Practical information:
Location: Tribunetrap, Amare, The Hague
Date: 21 September
Programme: Hope Box: Piece for Peace art event and dialogue
17:00 – Hanging of the additional Hope Box Kite for World Peace
17:30–18:30 – Fireside Peace Chat at the Tribunetrap
The hanging of the kite provides a visual and symbolic opening to the programme, followed by a one-hour public conversation.
What are the Fireside Peace Chats?
The Fireside Peace Chats aim to create a space where practice, research, and policy in the field of peacebuilding come together in an informal way through the experiences of people on the ground. By sharing personal stories from peacebuilders and other figures with extensive experience in conflict areas, we want to contribute to a locally informed paradigm shift in liberal peacebuilding.
The Fireside Peace Chats originally emerged as a joint initiative of Leiden University College (LUC) the Knowledge Platform Security and Rule of Law (KPSRL)


