The international conference - “Peace, Democracy and Media: Rethinking the Emerging World Order and its Implications for Iran” - was held on June 19-20, 2025 at the Leiden University The Hague Campus, and online on June 21. The event, which was part of the Just Peace Festival and was held on the eve of the NATO Summit in The Hague, came at one of the most sensitive times in regional and global politics. The three-day event was broadcast live and simultaneously translated into English, Persian, Kurdish and Arabic.

The conference, which was initiated, organized, and organized by Iran Academia (Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities), provided a platform for Iranians and international experts to come together for reflection, empathy, and synergy. Amid the increasing violence and military tensions in the region, and especially in the midst of Israeli attacks on Iranian soil – whose main victims are ordinary people – this conference provided a unique platform for an in-depth examination of these issues, aiming to address peace, democracy, and the role of the media in these turbulent times.

The lack of participation by media outlets, despite being officially invited to attend and cover this conference, is itself evidence of the lack of attention paid by mainstream media in the diaspora to covering in-depth and scientific content, especially in the field of media criticism.

During the conference, various panels were held with the participation of intellectuals, researchers, journalists, and activists. A variety of topics were discussed and examined, from the global crisis of democracy, war-oriented politics, war- and peace-oriented media, political economy, international relations and the emerging world order, women, the narrative of imprisoned women, the situation of Iran and war, the philosophical explanation of peace and the debate on freedom, populism, the far right, fascism, the war of narratives, cultural journalism, the state of diaspora media, to the role of civil activists against authoritarianism.

Iran Academia is proud of the successful organization of this conference, and plans to publish videos of each panel separately in the coming days to make them available for a wider audience. Currently, the full content of the three-day conference is available to those interested on Iran Academia's YouTube channel.

📸 In the gallery below, you can review a collection of memorable moments from this event.

The Peace, Democracy and Media Conference was held at the initiative and expense of Iran Academia and with the support of various institutions, and was part of the Just Peace Festival in The Hague; an event that took place on the eve of the NATO Summit and in cooperation with the Municipality of The Hague, The Hague Humanity Hub and Leiden University. We are sincerely grateful for the enthusiastic presence of participants from near and far, and to all those valuable speakers who helped to enhance the quality of this conference with their scientific, specialized and methodical presentations. We hope to increase this quality in the future by paying more attention to the scientific and responsible process of accepting speeches, and encouraging diverse voices to participate in order to create a multi-voice.

Hoping for a world without war and violence,

With hope for responsible, peace-oriented, people-oriented, and independent media,

And with a vision for the growth of democracy and peace in Iran and the world.

Iran Academia - PDM 2025 Conference Organizing Committee