S-PACE
ENIT

A NEW SPACE
FOR PEACE

Making peace a question of matter.

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01 /The Core

Peace needs space.

S-PACE is an independent research and practice lab for peace.

We create space to rethink how peace is understood, designed and put into practice - from international disarmament to justice, from dialogue to social transformation - bringing together different perspectives, disciplines and experiences.

Through research, dialogue and experimentation, S-PACE explores new approaches to conflict, violence and complex social challenges - turning ideas into frameworks, methods and possible forms of action.

02 /From Space to Peace

Thinking differently is only the beginning.

Through a 360° perspective, S-PACE advances a renewed vision of peace.

Grounded in a systemic approach, peace is understood not as an isolated outcome but as something that emerges from the relationships between people, institutions, structures, environments and choices.

Design

Designing thought.

What if the usual answer is part of the problem? We question established concepts, assumptions and responses around peace, conflict and security, then design frameworks, processes and tools that make other ways of thinking and acting possible.

Inspire

Inspiring change.

By sharing knowledge, methods and insights, we foster new ways of thinking and acting within communities and open alternative pathways.

Create

Creating the future.

We encourage people, communities and organisations to imagine possibilities beyond existing frameworks and turn them into conditions for future action.

Peace is not one field. It is a question that crosses many of them.

Different contexts. The same fundamental question: how do we respond to conflict, harm and the erosion of trust?

International Disarmament

How can security be built without continuously expanding the means of violence?

Prison & Probation

How can justice respond to harm while supporting responsibility, reintegration and renewed trust?

Counter-terrorism

How can societies respond to violence without reproducing the conditions that sustain it?

Dialogue, Mediation & Facilitation

How can space for dialogue be created when positions appear incompatible?

Peace is not only an outcome. It is something we can design the conditions for.

A systemic perspective looks beyond single events and isolated actors. It examines the patterns and relationships through which conflict, security and trust are produced.

This means paying attention to how decisions are made, power is distributed, institutions respond, people relate and alternatives become possible.

Systems

Peace depends on the structures within which people and institutions act.

Relationships

Peace is shaped by the quality of relationships, trust and recognition.

Choices

Conflict always contains moments in which different responses remain possible.

Space

Peace requires spaces where alternatives can be imagined, negotiated and tested.

03 /Experiences

Documented experiences and work.

Ideas become meaningful when they meet reality.

S-PACE moved from ideas about peace into public dialogue, research and experimentation. Each experience tests a question, connects perspectives and shows what can move forward.

Pisa · Spring 2022
Public Practice

Three spaces for talking about peace

Three public encounters designed to bring questions of peace into the city and create opportunities for discussion beyond specialist and academic environments.

January 2024
Research & Publication

Overcrowding, Drug Abuse and Violence vs. Rehabilitation

Ravagnani, Luisa and Ricci Bitti, Nicolò. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 13, 201-210.

Read publication ↗
Tvind · May 2024
Public Practice

Restorative Justice - A Journey into the Future

Workshop at the Peace Justice Conference in Tvind, Denmark, on 18 May 2024.

Brescia · July 2024
Public Practice

First Nelson Mandela Day in Brescia

Two flash mobs at Nerio Fischione and Verziano, together with testimonies and short films, connected the city's prisons with the wider community and drew attention to dignity, overcrowding and the rights of people in detention.

Event record ↗
Brescia · November 2024
Public Practice

Second Peace Studies Day

War, Terrorism and New Technologies: Managing Conflicts Today. Department of Law, University of Brescia.

Geneva · December 2024
Public Practice

Strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention

Fifth session of the Working Group on the Strengthening of the Biological Weapons Convention, held at the Palais des Nations from 2 to 13 December 2024.

Meeting record ↗
Faenza · February 2025
Public Practice

Peace! What Future?

Workshop held in Faenza on 16 February 2025, inviting students to question inherited ideas of war, peace, freedom and responsibility.

New York · March 2025
Public Practice

Third Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW

United Nations meeting on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, held at UN Headquarters from 3 to 7 March 2025.

Meeting document ↗
Brescia · July 2025
Public Practice

Second Mandela Rules Day in Brescia

A public initiative in Largo Formentone, organised by Associazione Carcere e Territorio with the patronage of the City of Brescia. Messages created by people held in Canton Mombello and Verziano called on the city not to lose its humanity.

Event record ↗
Trento · October 2025
Public Practice

Dialogue in Crisis: Listening, Communicating, Facilitating

Contribution to the 38th Congress of the Italian Society of Criminology, held in Trento from 16 to 19 October 2025.

December 2025
Research & Publication

From the Legal Vacuum to Autonomous ASAT

Ricci Bitti, Nicolò. “Challenges for International Cooperation and Peace in Outer Space.” Advanced Space Law, Volume 16, 30-41. Published 30 December 2025.

Read publication ↗
February 2026
Research & Publication

End of Sentence and Desistance

Romano, C. A., Ravagnani, L., and Ricci Bitti, N. “Incarceration at the End of Sentence Enforcement and Social Reintegration.” In The Difficult Access to Alternatives to Detention, Giappichelli, 79-100.

If you are working on conflict, peace, security, justice or dialogue - or questioning how these fields are approached - we would like to hear from you.

Start a conversation →
04 /Manifesto

An unfinished formula for harmony.

Begin by making space.

Consult the manifesto →
First page of the S-PACE Manifesto 2026

05 / Some questions cannot be answered alone.

OPEN A SPACE

Start a conversation →