NOREF Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution

02/02/2026

Last week, Nordic Women Mediators–Norway met at PRIO for their first gathering of 2026, bringing together members and guests—including South Africa’s Ambassador to Norway—for a timely conversation about today’s changing mediation landscape. Discussions highlighted how global shifts are influencing mediation work and why it remains essential to protect inclusive, gender‑responsive approaches. The meeting also marked the 10‑year anniversary of the Nordic Women Mediators network—an important milestone for the community working to advance women’s leadership in peace processes. Chris Coulter, Director of Berghof, gave a keynote address while NOREF's Ingebjørg Finnbakk provided comments.

Read more here:

On 28 January, Nordic Women Mediators–Norway (NWM–No) convened its first membership meeting of the year at PRIO, gathering 19 network members in-person ...

09/09/2025

We are very happy to welcome another NOREF intern! Hosting interns is a great way for us to collaborate and share practical experience with students in fields of relevance to our work, and as we have come to realise the learning goes both ways!

So please meet Fatimé Remadji Kabo! Fatimé holds a Bachelor's degree in Development Studies from Oslo Metropolitan University. As part of her studies, she conducted fieldwork in Namibia and spent a semester studying African Studies at the University of Cape Town. She has also participated in a school project in Chad through the organization Our Children Learning. Her thesis focused on parts of Francophone Africa, with a particular interest in the Sahel region. Fatimé is currently engaged in media work through Afrika.no, the editorial team of the Norwegian Council for Africa, and has contributed to youth activism through Norwegian People's Aid Solidarity Youth. Welcome to NOREF!

Interested in interning at NOREF? All open vacancies and internships are announced on our website.

17/06/2025

We are very excited to announce that NOREF’s Board has appointed Johan Vibe as NOREF’s new Director. Vibe, currently Norway’s Ambassador in Rome, has broad experience in working on peace and conflict resolution, including leading the Section for Peace and Reconciliation in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Johan Vibe's extensive professional background and broad managerial experience makes the Board confident that he is the right person to lead and further develop NOREF at a time of swift and dramatic geopolitical changes,” says NOREF's Chair of the Board, Kim Traavik.

“I look forward to being part of an exciting team, with broad knowledge and experience from conflict diplomacy in different regions,” says Johan Vibe.

https://noref.no/insights/news/johan-vibe-appointed-new-director-of-noref-norwegian-centre-for-conflict-resolution

27/05/2025

NOREF søker studentpraktikant!

Vi søker etter en engasjert studentpraktikant med særlig interesse for konfliktdynamikker, innsats for fred og konfliktløsning og politisk utvikling i Vest-Afrika og Sahel-regionen. Søknadsfrist 8. juni!

Les mer og søk her: https://www.jobbnorge.no/ledige-stillinger/stilling/281283/studentpraktikant-noref

13/05/2025

WPS at 25: In the anniversary year of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSC1325) Norway and Japan are co-chairs of the WPS Focal Points Network. This week the network is hosting a thematic meeting of the Network at the Oslo Opera House. The meeting focuses on increasing women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in peacebuilding and peace processes. 25 years have passed since the passing of UNSC1325, and the Network, formed in 2016, still strives to assist member states and regional organisations to improve and strengthen the WPS agenda.

Today NOREF's Senior Adviser Christian Ruge co-hosted a session entitled "Impact of a changing geopolitical environment on women’s roles in conflict contexts". The panel featured introductory speakers Sanam Anderlini (ICAN), Lara Scarpitta (OSSE), Sorita Koung, (Kambodsja/ASEAN), Anny Modi (DRC) and Antonia Mulvey (LAW). More about the meeting and relevant WPS resources here:

https://wpsfocalpointsnetwork.org/oslo-meeting/

01/04/2025

Hvilke forutsetninger må være til stede for å skape dialog mellom stridende parter? I denne artikkelen i Dagens Perspektiv (+) reflekterer NOREFs direktør Dag Nylander over dette spørsmålet, samtidig som han beretter om veien frem til fredsavtalen i Colombia. https://www.dagensperspektiv.no/ledelse/en-krigsherre-begynner-ikke-plutselig-a-stole-pa-en-annen-krigsherre/1313158
(Artikkelen ligger bak betalingsmur)

Dag Nylander ledet fredsforhandlingene i Colombia, og er nå direktør i Noref, som jobber med konfliktløsning verden over. Han er en sterk tilhenger av dialog.

13/03/2025

Ledig stilling!

Direktør NOREF Senter for internasjonal konfliktløsning

Vi søker en inspirerende direktør med sterkt engasjement for konfliktdiplomati.

Les mer om stillingen og søk her: https://www.jobbnorge.no/ledige-stillinger/stilling/277186/direktoer-noref-senter-for-internasjonal-konfliktloesning

Søknadsfrist 8. april 2025.

20/11/2024

I kveld reiste vi til Sinjar. Under panelsamtalen om gjenopplivingen av Sinjar hørte vi sterke vitnesbyrd fra overlevende etter IS’ grufulle forbrytelser mot jesidiene i 2014. Ti år senere gjenstår mye gjenoppbygging, 2700 kvinner og barn er fortsatt savnet, og mer enn 150.000 jesidier lever fortsatt i teltleirer for internt fordrevne i Nord-Irak.

I kveldens samtale, som blant annet satte søkelys på hva som som står i veien for jesidienes retur, hørte vi fra Dr. Khalaf Sinjari, seniorrådgiver for yazidi-spørsmål ved statsministerens kontor i Irak, den norske jesidi-aktivisten og samfunnslederen Nariman Salem Ham, og Haider Elias, medgründer og tidligere president i YAZDA-organisasjonen. Samtalen ble ledet av NOREFs Frida Nome og ble gjennomført i samarbeid med Nobel Peace Center og Norwegian People's Aid.

💡Les Frida Nomes kronikk om hvorfor området i dag fortsatt er truet: https://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/debatt/i/W0ag8G/ti-aar-etter-is-er-det-over-naa

💡Besøk den sterke og prisbelønte VR-utstillingen på Nobels Fredssenter denne uken: https://www.nobelpeacecenter.org/utstillinger/forgotten-voices-of-sinjar

18/10/2024

We are very excited to welcome Jonathan Pedneault as a new Adviser with our Global Programme! Prior to joining NOREF, Jonathan worked for two years as a politician in Canada. Between 2008 and 2022, he reported from more than 20 conflict areas in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the Americas as a journalist and a researcher for various media and rights organizations. He speaks French, English, Norwegian and Spanish. We are lucky to have Jonathan with us!

10/10/2024

The Imagine Forum: Fostering Dialogue for Peace is currently taking place on Iceland. Hosted by Höfði Reykjavik Peace Centre and the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the conference aims to facilitate honest discussions on the efficacy of current peacemaking strategies and the dynamics of external support in a tense global environment where established goals and norms are eroding.

The Forum features keynote addresses and panel discussions by experts, one of whom is NOREF’s Director Dag Nylander who sits in the opening panel. Alongside Chris Coulter of the Berghof Foundation, Miriam Coronel Ferrero of the Southeast Asian Women Peace Mediators and Nita Yawanarajah of Oxford Process, he sets out to discuss how one can keep the dialogue of peacebuilding going in an increasingly hostile world.

Follow the live stream and read more about The Imagine Forum here: https://ams.hi.is/en/projects/fridar-radstefnan/