Parliament of Worlds Religion 2004 Barcelona

Author(s): Parliament of the World’s Religions
Publisher: USA Parliament of the Worlds Religions

Page 66

Religion & Conflict Resolution
Opening Session: Preventing, Resolving and Containing Conflict: The Third Side
July 8th, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Sagrada Familia Room, AC Barcelona
All of the world's religious and spiritual traditions carry a deep commitment to alleviate suffering and create a peaceful world. Unfortunately, we often feel as though we lack the skills to achieve these goals. In every conflict there are two sides, but there is also a third side. The third side sees not only the perspective of both sides in a conflict, but the "bigger picture" as well. Being a third sider is a way of looking at the world.
Rev. Robert V Thompson is a trustee and former Board Chair of CPWR and Senior Minister of the Lake Street Church of Evanston, Illinois.
Dr. Andrea Bartoli is Senior Research Scholar Director at the Center for International Conflict Resolution, Columbia University.
Dr. Yehuda Stolov, an Orthodox Jewish-Israeli, is the Director and founding member of the Interfaith Encounter Association.
Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, was a vigorous nonviolent opponent of apartheid, and member of South African Parliament for nearly nine years. She is currently Editor of Satyagraha, Secretary of the Gandhi Development Trust, Vice President of WCRP South Africa, and Member of Commission on Religious Affairs of the African National Congress:
The Third Side: A Workshop on a New Way of Seeing and Dealing with Conflict
July 9th, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Montjuic Room, AC Barcelona
The Third Side is a systemic approach for perceiving and handling conflict. In contrast to the traditional two sided view of conflict that often polarizes people with tragic consequences, the Third Side envisions conflict as three sided - the two parties and the surrounding community. This interactive workshop will focus on key skills associated with preventing, resolving and containing conflict.
Joshua N. Weiss is currently the Associate Director of the Global Negotiations Project at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard University. Joshua received his Ph.D. from the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University.
Shari N. Leyshon is a co-founder Great Lakes Consensus, a consulting group which provided joint problem solving processes in public land planning forums, for government agencies, and NGO's specializing in ecological issues, social justice and early childhood education. Shari is a Harry S. Truman Scholar with a degree in Cultural and Physical Geography from the University of Chicago.
Religious Contributions to the Prevention of Violent Conflict
July 10th 11th, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm Montjuic Room, AC Barcelona
Over the course of two days of group work, participants will 1.) Review and respond to a concept paper on the role of religion in preventing violent conflict; 2.) Share and draw lessons from their own experiences in conflict, peacemaking, and conflict prevention; 3.) Analyze those experiences based on Third Side methodologies 4.) Propose next steps and action plans for their specific context in preventing violent conflict.
Symposia
Day 1: Sharing Stories and Gathering Lessons of Religious Peacemaking
July 10th
9:30 am 4:30 pm
Montjuic Room, AC Barcelona
Day 2: Strengthening Our Role as Religious Peacemakers July 11th
9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Montjuic Room, AC Barcelona
Dr. Andrea Bartoli is the Founding Director of CICR. A Senior Research Scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs, Dr. Bortoli has taught at SIPA since 1994. He also is the chair of the Columbia University Seminar on Conflict Resolution.
Bridget Moix works as a lobbyist with the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). She has worked with the Quaker United Nations Office in New York from 2000-2002. Bridget also worked from 1998-2000 with the World Policy Institute's Arms Trade Resource Center. Bridget is a member of the Religious Society of Friends. In 2000, she received a grant under the Clarence and Lily Pickett Quaker Leadership Fund and now serves on the Board of Trustees for the Fund.
Alternatives to Violence
July 12th,9:30 am - 4:30 pm Montjuic Room, AC Barcelona
Alternative to Violence Project workshops empower people to lead nonviolent lives through affirmation, respect for all, community building, cooperation, and trust. Founded in and developed from the real life experiences of prisoners and others, and building on a spiritual base, AVP encourages every person's innate power to positively transform themselves and the world. These experiential workshops are currently in operation in Rwanda, supported by the Rwandan government to manage a potentially explosive situation.
Note: This program will be delivered in both Spanish and English and attendance is limited to 25-30 people
Elaine Klaassen has been an AVP facilitator in Minnesota, USA, for four years.
Elena Garcia, from Valladolid, Spain, has facilitated workshops in Nicaragua where she worked in an NGO. In Spain she is a social worker who works especially with young people.
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