This event is organised by  International Alert, in partnership with Sussex University’s School of Global Studies.

In the media, lead coverage is often given to stories and images from the front lines. As the old newsroom saying goes: “If it bleeds, it leads.” But what happens when a conflict fades from the headlines and the long path to peace begins? Can the power of the media be harnessed to highlight positive stories of peacebuilding, reconciliation and change?

Join us to explore how the media depicts the stories of both conflict and peace, with:

Martin Bell, veteran war correspondent.

Timothy Large, Editor-in-Chief, Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Cynthia Weber, Professor of International Relations, University of Sussex.

Chaired by Dan Smith, Secretary General, International Alert.

The event is free to attend and will be followed by a drinks and canapés reception.

As fierce fighting continues in Syria, the death toll according to the United Nations has now reached at least 93,000 and the number of refugees fleeing the country has exceeded 1.5 million.

On the ground, assaults are being conducted on all sides and we have seen increased intervention from other parties, such as Hezbollah. On the international stage efforts are being made to bring all parties to the table and the debate about arming rebels is still raging.

We will be joined by five journalists who have covered the situation in Syria extensively since the uprising began in early 2011. They will be discussing recent developments, on the ground and on the international stage, and asking what changes we could see in coming months.

Chaired by Lyse Doucet, BBC Chief International Correspondent.

The panel:

Dr Halla Diyab is an award-winning screen-writer, producer, broadcaster and the founder and the director of Liberty Media Productions.

Anthony Loyd is an award-winning war correspondent and writer. He is currently roving foreign correspondent for The Times. He has travelled to Syria eight times in the past 15 months to cover the conflict. A former army officer, he served in Northern Ireland and the First Gulf War. He left the army in 1991. He is the author of My War Gone By I Miss It So.

James Harkin has been covering the conflict in Syria from all sides for the last two years, from Damascus, Homs and Aleppo and for The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly, Newsweek, The Nation, the Guardian and a range of papers throughout Europe. He is director of the think-tank analysing new media and social change, Flockwatching.

Patrick Cockburn has been a Middle East correspondent since 1979, first for the Financial Times, then for The Independent. He has covered the conflict in Syria extensively since protests began in 2011. He is author of several books including The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq and Muqtada Al-Sadr and the Battle for the Future of Iraq.