UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio — John Carroll University will host on Friday (Feb. 13) the 2026 annual Ohio Peace & Conflict Studies Network (OPCSN) Conference, which will bring together faculty, students, and nonprofit organizations from across the state to explore how civic engagement can serve as a powerful form of peacebuilding to create and strengthen democratic practices.

The conference, titled “Strengthening Democracy through Civic Engagement & Peacebuilding,” will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday at John Carroll University, 1 John Carooll Blvd. in University Heights.

The public is invited to participate by registering, through Feb. 11, here. Faculty, staff, administrators, and students from 16 colleges and universities across Ohio have already registered to attend.

Presentations will be centered on the work of Ohio colleges and universities, as well as community organizations engaged in related efforts statewide.

Registration for the conference includes a light breakfast and lunch, with fees set at $35 for members of the general public; $25 for Ohio college and university faculty, staff, and administrators; and $10 for Ohio college students.

John Carroll will be the first Jesuit university to host the OPCSN conference. Over the years, JCU has supported collaboration and growth in the field of peace and conflict studies through hosting an international college and university seminar, developing courses and programs, and training faculty, staff and students in conflict management and sustained dialogue.

The event will be hosted by JCU’s Tuohy Center for Interreligious Understanding, Peace, Justice & Human Rights program; Center for Service Learning & Social Action, and Office of Student Experience & Campus Belonging.

The conference is co-sponsored by Wilmington College’s Peace Resource Center and Community Campus Coalition, with partners that include The Ohio State University’s Divided Community Project and the University of Akron’s Center for Conflict Management.

The annual OPCSN conference convenes Ohio colleges and universities committed to peace studies, justice, and conflict transformation.

This year’s theme focuses on how civic engagement — through local governance, community organizing, dialogue across differences, and media literacy — can strengthen democratic institutions and foster more just and inclusive communities.

Ohio currently has more than 19 colleges and universities with peace and conflict studies programs, making the state one of the foremost regional hubs for peace education in the country.

“Ohio has a long history of innovative statewide work in the field of alternative dispute resolution, conflict management, and peace studies,” said Jennifer Batton, who is Conflict Management Training Instructor at the University of Akron’s Center for Conflict Management and Coordinator for OPCSN, in a release.

“As early as 1989 the Supreme Court of Ohio Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) was created by the Chief Justice to explore how ADR methods could be used across the state and the non-partisan Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management was created to incorporate these methods and programs into education, court and community, and state and local government.

“The OPCSN was built on this foundation, from work supported state-wide in higher education, in order to help students develop the knowledge, skills and abilities to solve their local and global communities’ most pressing problems.”

This year’s OPCSN conference will feature:

• An opening panel with representatives from John Carroll University, The Ohio State University, and Kent State University’s Growing Democracy Project
• Student poster sessions highlighting civic and peacebuilding initiatives across Ohio
• Two rounds of interactive workshops and panels focused on community engagement, dialogue, and democratic participation
• A networking luncheon for OPCSN member institutions

For more information, visit ohiopeaceandconflict.org.