“Imagine is a wonderful word”
October 12, 2026
Photographs: Pétur Fjeldsted.
A conversation among women leaders at the Imagine Forum.
The three women leaders’ conversation with Christiane Amanpour was part of the Imagine Forum peace conference, which was held for the tenth time this year.
A recording of the entire Imagine Forum program is available on the conference website. The conversation between the three women leaders and Christiane Amanpour begins at 03:30:30.
Watch the recording.
The President of Iceland, H.E. Ms Halla Tómasdóttir, the President of Slovenia, H.E. Ms Nataša Pirc Musar, and the former President of Ireland, Ms. Mary Robinson, took part in a discussion on leadership and peace in times of division and uncertainty. Ms Christiane Amanpour, CNN's chief international anchor, moderated the discussion, which was part of the Imagine Forum conference.
The discussion began with a review of the 1986 Reykjavík Summit and the lessons it offered. President Tómasdóttir recalled that immediately after the summit, many felt it had failed, but over time it became clear that the dialogue between the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union had laid the groundwork for important disarmament agreements. President Tómasdóttir said she viewed Iceland as one of those places where the impossible could become possible.
Ms. Mary Robinson pointed out that seemingly minor details can often make a crucial difference in the broader context. She said that when she was President of Ireland, she always kept a candle burning in the window of the presidential estate The message was that Irish emigrants were welcome to return home. She said the impact of this symbolic light had been far greater than she had expected. Robinson also discussed the growing disregard for international law and international agreements. She said it was important for leaders to uphold both and to speak out when democracy and freedom were under threat.
President Musar discussed Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and linked it to the conflict in the Balkans during the final decade of the last century. She said that humanity was poor at learning from history and that, unfortunately, achieving genuine reconciliation between warring factions and overcoming deep-seated resentment was both difficult and time-consuming. She said it was important to understand that we could not change the past and that we needed to look to the future with a solution-oriented mindset. Repeated attempts were often necessary to achieve success at the negotiating table.
Among the other topics discussed by the leaders were the development of social media and artificial intelligence, and the need for international community to create guardrails to protect the public, especially children, from their negative effects. They also spoke about A Call from Reykjavík they and other participants in a leadership circle at Höfði House had formulated during discussions on Sunday, October 11.
At the end of the discussion, the leaders spoke about the importance of bringing younger generations to the table in shaping the future. “Imagine is a wonderful word,” Robinson said, emphasizing that older generations needed to harness the imagination of young people in addressing global challenges. President Tómasdóttir and President Musar echoed her remarks, each referring in their own way to the lyrics of John Lennon’s song “Imagine”. President Tómasdóttir stressed that although storm clouds were gathering in many places, there was still room to dream of better times. President Musar said she would gladly let herself be inspired by her colleague’s optimism and concluded with Lennon’s words: “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”
Following their conversation with Christiane Amanpour, the three women leaders formally signed the aforementioned appeal, “Call from Reykjavík.” Other international leaders of various fields will be invited to endorse it in the coming days and weeks.
The Leadership Circle dialogue at Höfði and the “Reykjavík Call” (“A Call from Reykjavík”) are discussed in greater detail in an earlier news article on this website.
Learn more.
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