From Bangkok to a New Calling
Attending the 5th Global Peace Summit in Bangkok last month, Emelia Haskey discovered that peacebuilding is deeply personal – and that justice begins within our own circle of influence.
February 16, 2026
by Emelia Haskey, Global Peace Ambassador
The opportunity to attend the 5th Global Peace Summit at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok seemed like a good opportunity to learn from survivors of conflict around the world and a place to make new friends. I knew I’d find it insightful, challenging, and something I could proudly put on my resume. What I didn’t realise was how it would change my life.
Over 450 university students and faculty from 60 countries around the world attended the event organised by non-profit organisation Humanitarian Affairs Asia, which was formed after the September 11 attacks to equip and encourage young adults to be peacebuilders and justice activists in their own communities. Speakers included Dr Manal Omar, a Humanitarian Activist disenchanted with her former work at the United States Institute of Peace, Ruben Mawick, a German medic who served in Ukraine, Emtithal ‘Emi’ Mahmoud, who survived the genocide in the city of Darfur in Sudan, Lejla Damon, a Bosnian war-child, and many others.
What was so moving to me was not just their stories of survival, but their honesty and bold criticism of the failures of humanitarian organisations, and what it means to work for peace when international law has finally been exposed as a façade for the powerful.
“Being able to share my thoughts on what I had experienced with my peers ... left me with a profound sense of hope. We had come from all walks of life but shared many of the same stories, challenges and goals.”
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Dr Omar spoke out against creating more NGOs in the image of the west and boiling our peacebuilding work down to simple awareness raising, stating: “The UN, the World Bank, NATO, no one is in control, and change from within organisations does not work…we must look to our own circle of influence and go micro [with our justice work]”. Reuben Mawick emphasised the same message in his powerful speech about the devastation he witnessed in Ukraine, reminding us that “freedom is not free, and peaceful surrender is not peace”.
Being able to share my thoughts on what I had experienced with my peers from countries, such as Brazil, China, the USA, Ireland, Martinique, Samoa and Canada, left me with a profound sense of hope. We had come from all walks of life but shared many of the same stories, challenges and goals. Being the only student of theology in attendance, I thought I would be somewhat isolated. But instead, I had so many long conversations around the nuances of faith and how it can shape our resilience that I lost count! There is something awe-inspiring about being in a room that represents the young people of much of the world. This was not a corporate event for budding diplomats and politicians. It was a gathering of people preparing for the birth of a more just world.
I am endlessly grateful for the support of UCFAMS and Christ Church Wayville who provided me the funding needed to attend this trip. We can empower our young people in the church by giving them the resources to chase their own passions and develop into young leaders.
I am also grateful to the support and fellowship I found in my fellow traveller and Academic Dean of the Uniting College in Adelaide, Dr Rosemary Dewerse, who challenged me intellectually and also put up with my snoring!
I will never forget my time in Thailand, and I have come away profoundly changed forever.
Emelia Haskey works as the Pastor of Unley Uniting Church and Youth Worker at Brougham Place Uniting Church.
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