The formal closure of the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali on the last day of 2023 ignited critical discussions at UN headquarters in New York regarding the future of peacekeeping, especially in Africa. The development highlighted a pivotal moment for the UN to explore and potentially finance alternatives to traditional blue helmet operations.

On 19 February 2024, Professor Marsha Henry, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton Chair in Women, Peace, Security and Justice at the Mitchell Institute, joined a panel of experts for the Seminar entitled ‘What does the future of peacekeeping hold?’ hosted by the Danish Institute for International Studies in Copenhagen, Denmark. This seminar brought together some of the key voices in debating the future of peacekeeping.

The event was recorded and is available to view here.

 

Also, in February, Professor Henry taught as a guest lecturer on the Gender Equality Studies and Training (GEST) Programme at the GRÓ International Centre for Capacity Development, Sustainable use of Natural Resources and Societal Change in Reykjavík, Iceland.

The mission of the GEST Programme is to use a multidisciplinary approach to promote gender equality and social justice in low income, conflict and post-conflict countries. The Programme was established in January 2009 through an agreement between the University of Iceland and the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Since 2020, GRÓ GEST has developed Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for the EdX platform. EdX is a leading international online learning platform founded by Harvard and MIT. Professor Henry was involved in the creation of these MOOCs.

These online courses are free and further information is available here.

 

The featured image has been used courtesy of a Creative Commons license.