Summit Agenda
What You’ll Experience
Whether you joined us live on the day, or are here to watch the Replay - you have the opportunity to be part of a transformational global gathering inspired by the life and work of Dr. Riane Eisler, exploring how the patterns we learn at home ripple out across society — shaping our cultures, systems, and relationships.
To build a more peaceful world, we must shift from cultures of control to cultures of care and partnership — starting where it all begins.
Through an extraordinary mix of keynotes, lived stories, TED-style talks, interactive reflections, and real-world solutions, the Summit brought together trauma survivors, peacebuilders, and leading scientists to reveal how partnership can transform everything — from our families to our systems.
Guided throughout by MC Angela Sterritt, award-winning journalist and storyteller, this day-long broadcast flowed organically between live and pre-recorded sessions, inviting participants from around the world to connect, reflect, and act together for peace.
Opening & Visionary Keynotes
Welcome & Presence Practice — A moment to arrive together, with a transformance by Gary Malkin & Sarah McCrum
Dr. Riane Eisler: Connecting the Dots — How Home Shapes Our World and the Partnership Path to Peace
Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury: Peace Begins at Home — Realizing the Potential Benefits of this Inspirational Phrase for Humanity
Dr. Lyla June Johnston — Indigenous scholar and poet — reclaims ancestral models of partnership in her talk, “Honoring the Womb: Diné Society’s Respect
for Women.”
Youth Voices: Mursalina Amin (Afghanistan) & Joseph Akilimali (DRC) *
When Peace Breaks Down —
From Trauma to Transformation
Three deeply personal stories of surviving violence and leading change:
Scarlett Lewis — Sandy Hook mother & founder of Choose Love
Ela Gandhi — Anti-apartheid activist & granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi
Na’kuset — Cree leader & Executive Director, Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal
Followed by:
Franz Jedlicka — The Forgotten Peace Formula
Dr. Richard Davidson — The Neuroscience of Violence & Compassion
Youth Voices: Chaïmae Ribani (Morocco) & Sheku Mohamed Gassimu Jr
(Sierra Leone) *
Rewriting & Rewiring the Systems from Domination to Partnership
Part I — Families & Foundations
Sarah Benson — Domestic Abuse is Everybody’s Business
Dr. Suzanne Zeedyk — It turns out we need Fierce Curiosity to face
up to the Science of Connection
Dr. Gary Barker — We Need to Talk About Men
Youth Voice: Eli Stone (Korea/US) *
Part II — Media, Economics & the Natural World
Helena Norberg-Hodge — The Economics of Happiness
Dr. Yalda T. Uhls — The Power of Storytelling to Help the Next Generation Thrive
Zainab Salbi — Healing Ourselves and Healing our relationship with Nature is all the same journey
Youth Voice: Licypriya Kangujam (India) *
Solutions Showcase & Live Q&A
Solutions in Action: Replicable Models for a Partnership Future
Moderated by Diane Williams, Founder of The Source of Synergy Foundation. Featuring:
Dr. Edit Schlaffer (Austria) — MotherSchools: Empowering Mothers as
First-Line Peacebuilders
Refilwe Mokoena (South Africa) — Community-Driven Child Protection Models
Dr. Ayo Ayoola-Amale (West Africa) — Restorative Justice & Relational Peace
Jackson Katz (USA) — Mentors in Violence Prevention Program
Includes a 20-minute live audience Q&A.
Closing Reflections &
Musical Offering
Dr. Riane Eisler & Angela Sterritt return with final reflections and a collective recommitment to building a world where peace truly begins at home.
Concludes with a musical performance by Rising Appalachia.
* More about our Youth Voices:
Six young activists share brief reflections throughout the day — offering a message to their peers and elders on what it will take to build peace from the inside out.
Youth Voices include: Eli Stone (Korea/US) • Mursalina Amin (Afghanistan) • Joseph Akilimali (DRC) • Sheku Mohamed Gassimu Jr (Sierra Leone) • Chaïmae Ribani (Morocco) • Licypriya Kangujam (India).
