CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS ON
CONFLICT & PEACE

Conflict In the Workplace

Sandra Melone & Éva Kamarás

Ideas / Conversations | Sat 20th Sep | 5-7pm

This popular Conversation Series of monthly meet ups on Conflict & Peace continues into the new Season! Our fabulous host, Sandra Melone, together with a diverse range of expert guests will bring conflict and conflict transformation centre-stage in rich discussions that better inform and equip us with tools to face tensions near and far.

For our first gathering, Éva Kamarás joins Sandra in unpacking conflict at work. A common occurrence with diverse causes, workplace conflict can come in different forms - from disagreements right up to systemic issues. We’ll dive into it, share our experiences and look at effective, constructive ways to come closer to a resolution.

Éva Kamarás is a seasoned Brussels professional with a practical mindset and experienced in strategy, communication, change management and workplace culture.

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ABOUT THE HOST

Hosting the Series is Sandra Djuvara Melone, CEO of Zancora Consulting, which she founded in 2021, with a strong expertise in peacebuilding, conflict resolution, crisis management, human rights and, not last, gender. With a vast experience on the ground, she has worked across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. She knows first hand what living through civil war is like. Sandra is the Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Search for Common Ground, Europe, one of the world’s leading international non-governmental organisations working in peacebuilding and conflict transformation, where she's been involved in various roles since 1995. Sandra is a founding member of the European Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation (EPCPT), of the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO), and of the Child Soldiers Initiative (CSI). Before dedicating her career to conflict transformation, Sandra worked in human rights advocacy with Amnesty International, and in international education.

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ADDITIONAL INFO 

FOOD & DRINK	EVENT SIZE	WHEELCHAIR ACCESS
Bar open with snacks	Medium (15-20)	Available on request

Deep Thought series

with Andreea Petre-Goncalves

Ideas / Conversations | Sat 27th Sep | 5-7pm

Join us for a hopeful conversation with Andreea.

Stay tuned, more details coming soon. 

Open to everyone | Booking required
Bar open

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ABOUT THE HOST

Andreea Petre-Goncalves was 8 years old when totalitarian Communism collapsed overnight in her native Romania. She saw then how quickly yesterday’s absolute truth can become tomorrow reviled atrocity. She knows that societal narratives can shift fast, and when they do, they make deep system re-set possible. For two decades she worked for international development, human rights, health and sustainability in the EU institutions and international NGOs. In 2019 she set up Flare, a Brussels-based think-and-do tank that experiments with practical ways of shifting the collective ideas we hold of what is normal and desirable. This work builds on 15 years of her researching and writing about societal narrative shifts. She is a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader and a member of Global Diplomacy Lab.

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ADDITIONAL INFO 

FOOD & DRINK	EVENT SIZE	ACCESS
Bar open with snacks	Medium (15-20)	Available on request

DON'T TALK ABOUT POLITICS
How to change 21st Century minds 

with Sarah Stein-Lubrano

Salon / Ideas | Fri 3rd Oct | 6.30-8.30pm

*Doors open at 6.30pm. The speaker will start at 7pm.

Not a Member yet? Join Full Circle now & come to events at the Members' rate!

How do you change someone’s mind? About something big, like politics or values? Political theorist and bold new voice Sarah Stein Lubrano compellingly illustrates why we shouldn’t talk about politics - and what we should do instead. Evidence shows that arguing our case rarely convinces others. If anything, the very art of conversation is breaking down with our political systems. So how do we move forward? Are there any effective forms of thinking and doing that can unstuck us from trite polarised conversations or push us to take action for real?

Thinking at the intersection of psychology and politics, Sarah believes that in our troubled times we focus too much on words. However, what’s really needed by anyone hoping to promote progressive ideas is not arguments, but an infrastructure that fosters new relationships and experiences. She delves deep into our contemporary social fabric and looks at how we build much needed social infrastructure and change 21^st century minds. She challenges us to rethink politics and reveals how to be a good political thinker.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Sarah Stein Lubrano is a researcher, author and broadcaster. Her academic research has focused on the role of emotion in political communication, and specifically cognitive dissonance. Lubrano is the head of research for the Future Narratives Lab. For many years she was the head of content at The School of Life, where she is still a content lead. She writes and speaks publicly on a variety of topics. In earlier lives, Lubrano made films and worked as a prison tutor and obituary writer. 

GOOD READS

Don't Talk About Politics, How to change 21st-century minds (2025).

KEY LINKS

Sarah Stein Lubrano: Website

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ADDITIONAL INFO

FOOD & DRINK	EVENT SIZE	ACCESS
Bar & snacks	Large >50	Available on request

CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS
CONFLICT & PEACE

On Israel & Palestine

Sandra Melone & Eva Dalak

Conversations / Sat 11th Oct / 5-7pm *

Join us for a critical conversation on peace in Israel and Palestine. Joining Sandra is Eva Dalak, an Israeli Palestinian and a peace activator with over two decades of experience in conflict transformation. 

Eva is the founder of Peace Activation and co-founder of One Whole Peace, both soul-centred peace movements in Palestine and Israel bringing citizens of different faiths together in conflict transformation. She is passionate about activating peace, promoting gender equality, interfaith dialogue, and empowering communities to build peace from within.

As a skilled conflict transformation facilitator, peacebuilding trainer, and gender advisor, Eva has amassed experience in over 22 countries in conflict zones across Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. She is committed to promoting individual soul-centred leadership and radical responsibility through innovative and entrepreneurial initiatives. 

Open to everyone | Booking required
Bar open

* This event was postponed from July 2025, due to travel restrictions.

__________________________________________________________

ABOUT THE HOST

Hosting the Series is Sandra Djuvara Melone, CEO of Zancora Consulting, which she founded in 2021, with a strong expertise in peacebuilding, conflict resolution, crisis management, human rights and, not last, gender. With a vast experience on the ground, she has worked across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. She knows first hand what living through civil war is like. Sandra is the Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Search for Common Ground, Europe, one of the world’s leading international non-governmental organisations working in peacebuilding and conflict transformation, where she's been involved in various roles since 1995. Sandra is a founding member of the European Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation (EPCPT), of the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO), and of the Child Soldiers Initiative (CSI). Before dedicating her career to conflict transformation, Sandra worked in human rights advocacy with Amnesty International, and in international education.

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ADDITIONAL INFO 

FOOD & DRINK	EVENT SIZE	ACCESS
Bar open with snacks	Medium (20-40)	Available on request

EXILE ECONOMICS:

What if globalisation fails

Ben Chu

Salon / Ideas | Fri 17th Oct | 6.30-8.30pm

*Doors open at 6.30pm. The speaker will start at 7pm.

Not a Member yet? Join Full Circle now & come to events at the Members' rate!

Nations are turning away from each other. Faith in globalisation has been undermined by the pandemic, the energy crisis, surging trade wars and great power rivalry. A new vision is competing to replace the economic order we've known for many decades. One that leading economic journalist Ben Chu calls Exile Economics. A rejection of interdependence, a downgrading of multilateral collaboration and a striving for greater national self-sufficiency. The supporters of this new order argue it will establish genuine security, prosperity and peace. But is this promise achievable? Or a seductive delusion?

Through the stories of globally traded commodities - from silicon to steel, from soybeans to solar panels - Ben Chu illustrates the intricate web of interdependence that has come to bind nations together - and underlines the dangers of this new push to isolationism. There are far better alternatives to exile. Join Ben as he guides us to this new world in all its promise and peril.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Ben Chu is one of the leading economic journalists of our time, renowned for making complex economic ideas urgently intelligible. A former economics editor at Newsnight and The Independent and now Policy and Analysis Correspondent at BBC Verify, Chu has long challenged the austerity consensus with clarity and conviction. Chu’s work is grounded in a deep moral concern for how economic narratives shape everyday lives. He was nominated for Business Journalist of the Year at the 2015 British Journalism Awards and for Business Commentator of the Year at the 2018 Comment Awards. He was born in Manchester to a Chinese father and British mother. He lives in London.

GOOD READS

Exile Economics, What happens if globalisation fails (2025); Chinese Whispers: Why Everything You've Heard about China is Wrong (2013).

KEY LINKS

Website: Ben Chu

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ADDITIONAL INFO

FOOD & DRINK	EVENT SIZE	ACCESS
Bar & snacks	Medium (20-50)	Available on request

Deep Thought series

Andreea Petre-Goncalves

Ideas / Conversations | Sat 18th Oct | 5-7pm

Join us for a hopeful conversation with Andreea.

Stay tuned, more details coming soon. 

Open to everyone | Booking required
Bar open

__________________________________________________________

ABOUT THE HOST

Andreea Petre-Goncalves was 8 years old when totalitarian Communism collapsed overnight in her native Romania. She saw then how quickly yesterday’s absolute truth can become tomorrow reviled atrocity. She knows that societal narratives can shift fast, and when they do, they make deep system re-set possible. For two decades she worked for international development, human rights, health and sustainability in the EU institutions and international NGOs. In 2019 she set up Flare, a Brussels-based think-and-do tank that experiments with practical ways of shifting the collective ideas we hold of what is normal and desirable. This work builds on 15 years of her researching and writing about societal narrative shifts. She is a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader and a member of Global Diplomacy Lab.

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ADDITIONAL INFO 

FOOD & DRINK	EVENT SIZE	ACCESS
Bar open with snacks	Medium (15-20)	Available on request

Deep Thought series

with Andreea Petre-Goncalves

Ideas / Conversations | Sat 8th Nov | 5-7pm

Join us for a hopeful conversation with Andreea.

Stay tuned, more details coming soon. 

Open to everyone

__________________________________________________________

ABOUT THE HOST

Andreea Petre-Goncalves was 8 years old when totalitarian Communism collapsed overnight in her native Romania. She saw then how quickly yesterday’s absolute truth can become tomorrow reviled atrocity. She knows that societal narratives can shift fast, and when they do, they make deep system re-set possible. For two decades she worked for international development, human rights, health and sustainability in the EU institutions and international NGOs. In 2019 she set up Flare, a Brussels-based think-and-do tank that experiments with practical ways of shifting the collective ideas we hold of what is normal and desirable. This work builds on 15 years of her researching and writing about societal narrative shifts. She is a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader and a member of Global Diplomacy Lab.

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ADDITIONAL INFO 

FOOD & DRINK	EVENT SIZE	ACCESS
Bar & snacks	Medium (15-20)	Available on request

GREEN CRIME

Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet, and How to Stop Them

A salon with Julia Shaw

Ideas / Salon | Fri 14th Nov | 6.30-8.30 pm

*Doors open at 6.30pm. The speaker will start at 7pm.

Not a Member yet? Join Full Circle now & come to events at the Members' rate!

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Julia Shaw is a German-Canadian criminal psychologist at University College London, bestselling author, and regular presenter of TV and audio shows. As a scientist, she specialises in false memory, memory hacking, investigative interviewing, and understanding the criminal mind, as well as identity in the age of social media and digital ethics. She is also a best-selling writer translated into twenty languages, author of four books. She strives to to form more tolerant, respectful and inclusive working places and environments. In 2017 Julia co-founded the startup Spot which uses artificial intelligence and memory science to help individuals document and report inappropriate workplace behaviour. In 2024 she released two series on BBC Radio 4. Experts on Trial, about the secret world of expert witnesses, and The Human Subject, co-hosted by Dr Adam Rutherford, about the dark history of modern medicine. Between 2020 and 2024 she wrote and hosted the award-winning BBC Sounds podcast Bad People.She has also been a presenter for German television.

GOOD READS

Green Crime, Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet, and How to Stop Them (2025); Bi, The Hidden Culture, History and Science of Bisexuality (2022); Making Evil, The Science Behind Humanity's Dark Side (2020); The Memory Illusion, Remembering, Forgetting and the Science of False Memory (2016).

KEY LINKS

Julia Shaw

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ADDITIONAL INFO

FOOD & DRINK	EVENT SIZE	ACCESS
Bar & snacks	Medium (20-50)	Available on request

CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS
CONFLICT & PEACE

Theme & guest to be announced

Sandra Melone

 Conversations | Sat 15th Nov | 5-7pm 

Join us for a critical conversation on conflict and peace with our experience host, Sandra Melone. 

Open to everyone | Booking required

Bar open

__________________________________________________________

ABOUT THE HOST

Hosting the Series is Sandra Djuvara Melone, CEO of Zancora Consulting, which she founded in 2021, with a strong expertise in peacebuilding, conflict resolution, crisis management, human rights and, not last, gender. With a vast experience on the ground, she has worked across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. She knows first hand what living through civil war is like. Sandra is the Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Search for Common Ground, Europe, one of the world’s leading international non-governmental organisations working in peacebuilding and conflict transformation, where she's been involved in various roles since 1995. Sandra is a founding member of the European Platform for Conflict Prevention and Transformation (EPCPT), of the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO), and of the Child Soldiers Initiative (CSI). Before dedicating her career to conflict transformation, Sandra worked in human rights advocacy with Amnesty International, and in international education.

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ADDITIONAL INFO

FOOD & DRINK	EVENT SIZE	ACCESS
Bar & snacks	Medium (10-20)	Available on request

MAKING PEACE IN THE CULTURE WARS

A.C. GRAYLING

Salon / Ideas | Fri 20th Nov | 6.30-8.30pm

*Doors open at 6.30pm. The speaker will start at 7pm.

Not a Member yet? Join Full Circle now & come to events at the Members' rate!

The ‘war on wokeness’ may feel like a new phenomenon, but in fact, it’s been around for centuries. People have been ‘cancelled’, in one way or another, since the beginning of time – it’s human nature to form tribes, create an Us vs Them, and serve as judge, jury and so on. And yet, it feels like today we can’t talk about anything. How did we end up here?

Nuanced and historically grounded, philosopher Anthony Grayling searches for middle ground in an otherwise incendiary debate. Looking at the history of cancellation, from Ancient Greek ostracism through hemlock cups, witch trials and the House of Un-American Activities, his is a timely examination of the state of our public culture and the chilling effect it's having on intellectual discourse.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER

A.C. Grayling is an outstanding British philosopher and public intellectual, as well as a prolific author (over 30 books) and frequent writer, columnist, broadcaster and commentator on all of the main national media in the United Kingdom. He contributes to the ongoing reflection on how we should live and about possibilities for good lives in good societies. In 2011 he founded and became the first Master of New College of the Humanities, an independent undergraduate college in London. He was previously Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London, where he taught from 1991. He is also a supernumerary fellow of St Anne’s College, Oxford. He has been a judge on the Booker Prize twice, in 2015 serving as the Chair of the judging panel. He is a Vice President of the British Humanist Association, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. 

GOOD READS

Discriminations, Making peace in the culture wars (2025); Who owns the moon, In defence of humanity's common interests in Space (2024); Philosophy and Life, Exploring the great questions of how to live (2023); For the Good of the World, Why our planet's crises need global agreement now (2022); The Frontiers of Knowledge: What We Know about Science, History and the Mind (2021); The Good State, On the Principles of Democracy (2020); Democracy and Its Crises (2017); War: An Enquiry (Vices and Virtues) (2017); The Challenge of Things: Thinking through troubled times (2015); Ideas That Matter: The Concepts That Shape the 21st Century (2010); Liberty In The Age Of Terror (2009); The Mystery Of Things (2004); Meditations for the Humanist: Ethics for a Secular Age (2002); and more...

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ADDITIONAL INFO

FOOD & DRINK	EVENT SIZE	ACCESS
Bar & snacks	Medium (40-70)	Available on request