The workshop will describe in detail the 5-stage process of Sustained Dialogue Campus Network (SDCN), while discussing the goals and objectives and “do’s and don’ts” of each and every stage. The workshop will be accompanied by practical examples from moderator Mirit Balkan and her experience in a pilot program at Tri-C’s East campus. Some hands-on activities will also be included. The session will be concluded with a comparative summary of SDCN vs. other ADR facilitation methods.
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Experiential and Service-Learning Models for Undergraduate Conflict Resolution Education
The Undergraduate Experiential Learning Project: Curricular Innovation in Conflict Analysis and Resolution is a FIPSE project based at George Mason University. This workshop will present assessments and lessons learned from the project’s pilot initiatives: A series of experiential learning activities implemented in undergraduate courses and a five-week service-learning intensive that partnered US students with local peacebuilding initiatives in Liberia. Administrators, faculty and students are encouraged to attend the workshop, share ideas and reflect on areas of partnership and potential integration of experiential and service-learning approaches into Conflict Resolution curricula at their institutions.
Creating Inclusive Classrooms
Learn how to create an inclusive classroom learning experience for all learners. Participants will be provided with an opportunity to increase their personal and professional sensitivity about aspects of diversity, gain information and skills to more effectively serve and meet the differing needs of a diverse student population; explore diversity topics both from a personal and professional standpoint; discover ways in which increased diversity contributes to a rich learning environment; and how to prepare all students with skills to effectively function in today’s rapidly changing global society.
Not in my Town Anymore! Bullying: A Multi-Systemic Approach
This workshop will examine the definitions of bullying, the many different forms it takes and how this affects families. There will be a series of brief interviews with local victims of bullying and how this issue has impacted not only how they perceive their respective world, but how this issue has impacted their family and community members.
The Role of Culture in Mediation
This workshop explores the disconnect between the institutional practice of mediation and the cultural practices of the island of Trinidad. This workshop shared how mediators, through more culturally sensitive training and practice can become attuned to particular cultural nuances of disputants, which may lead to more lasting agreements and further reinforce the uniqueness of the local culture.
Peace, Human Rights, and Civic Education for Children and Young People in Nepal
This workshop shared how a culture of peace, tolerance, and respect for different opinions, values and ethnic groups as well as a culture of civic responsibility among young people is being developed in Nepal. The presenter shared a project designed to bring together UNICEF and Save the Children, to support the government of Nepal as it works to transform the education system to one which actively and deliberately promotes the key concepts of Peace, Human Rights and Civic Education.
Neighbor Circles as a Tool for Building Community
Neighbor Circles is a process based on the concept that building community begins with one-on-one relationships. Participants learned how Neighborhood Connections is using Neighbor Circles to build relationships in and across University Circle in Cleveland, Ohio and its surrounding neighborhoods. This is the first phase effort to narrow the social distance between low-income neighborhoods and the thriving University Circle, comprised of educational, medical, and cultural institutions that have added 5,000 jobs in recent years.
Strategies for Creating a Safe School Environment
This workshop focused on the essential elements of a safe school environment. Research has shown that a safe school environment enhances academic and social-emotional learning for all students. Most schools have focused on making schools physically safe but have neglected the fact that the psychological atmosphere is also important. Students and teachers must feel it is safe for optimum learning to occur. This workshop illustrated “best practices” in safe schools research and outlined the necessary steps for creating this environment.
(Trinidad and Tobago) Conflict Resolution: Is Research the Missing Link?
This presentation draws on the findings of research conducted by graduate students of the Department of Behavioral Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, and Trinidad as it relates to managing conflict within the home, the school, the church or within organizations.
Evaluating Long-term Impact in Peace Education: The Case of Seeds of Peace
This presentation provides an overview of peacebuilding activity of more than 800 Israeli and Palestinian graduates of the Seeds of Peace (SOP) program. The Middle East peacebuilding activity of all graduates during the program’s first decade of operation (1993-2003) is examined along with research on the activism, educational, military and professional paths of more than 200 adult graduates. This research tells the stories of a pivotal generation: Israelis and Palestinians who entered adolescence at the dawn of the Oslo process, to emerge as adults amidst the second intifada.
Empowering Youth as Democratic Citizens in the Community and the Classroom
One of the main challenges of education for democratic citizenship is the development of spaces both inside and outside the schools that allow young people to strengthen and practice citizenship competencies. The development of these spaces provides young people not only with the opportunity to channel their voice but also to strengthen their social ties and increase their integration into the community. The purpose of this address is to highlight the importance of working in the formal and non-formal education sectors in order to ensure that young people have opportunities to learn citizenship competencies inside the classroom and in the community. During this presentation, experiences and lessons learned will be shared from two of the projects that the Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices www.educadem.oas.org (Office of Education and Culture, Organization of American States). The professional development course for teachers that is overviewed was supported by this research report on teacher issues related to democratic citizenship education in the Caribbean Sub-Region. The course offered was piloted and then evaluated as reported here.
Intercultural Communication: Perception, Self-Reflection and Change
This two-day highly interactive workshop focused on providing participants with an in-depth understanding of intercultural communication and its significance in conflict resolution education. Participants were introduced to, and participated in, the use of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory (ICS). The IDI is a cross-cultural tool for assessing intercultural competence at the individual, group and organizational level. With the IDI and the ICS, individuals identify strategies for resolving conflict across cultural and ethnic differences, identify personal approaches to resolving cross cultural difference, and assess the strengths and weaknesses of each intercultural conflict style. Participants reflected on their current level of cultural communication and conflict competency.