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2010
07/21
Recently, at a conference at a local law school, I was asked how to respond when a client asks “How can we go to mediation when the other side has done something evil? Isn’t mediation just about compromise? How can we compromise with evil?” In my visit to Sudan last fall, I was asked essentially the same question each time I spoke to a group about peacebuilding. Usually the question was put to me in terms of “How can you encourage peacebuilding when justice is not being done and there is little evidence that it will be?” They have a point, don’t they?
2010
07/09
The final report of the Cambridge Review Committee investigating the confrontation between Prof. Gates and Sergeant Crowley has been released. I am excited because it is full of lessons in constructive conflict management, not only for relations between police officers and citizens of the communities they serve, but for all of us as we navigate through the conflicts of our daily lives.
2010
06/30
On Tuesday, June 15, 2010, the chief executives of two countries made speeches to their citizens. If you live in the United States, you probably remember one of the speeches. Need a hint? Think oil spill. That's right, President Obama made his first speech from the historic Oval Office since taking office to address the oil spill in the Gulf.
Now, who was the other chief executive who spoke to his nation that day? Need a hint? Think apology. Still stumped?
2010
05/01
This has been a day of emotional extremes. This afternoon we visited the memorial to the deaths of 261 wounded men, physicians and hospital staff who were removed from the hospital, after the fall of Vukovar in 1991, taken to a hangar in the country outside of town and systematically tortured and beaten before being executed and pushed into a mass grave. The hangar where they were tortured and where four of the men were beaten to death has been transformed into a memorial.
I just read Tom Friedman's op-ed in yesterday's NY Times about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process (go to http://tinyurl.com/yfsbpqa). I have to agree that Pres. Obama should give all sides his phone number and tell them to call when they are ready to seriously address the material issues standing in the way. Peacemaking research supports the concept of "ripeness" for conflict resolution.
We spent the first six days of our recent Leadership Development Workshop, helping 26 leaders from all regions of Sudan “build a relational container strong enough to hold their differences.” Then we spent the better part of our seventh day together putting the strength of that container to the test as we talked directly about an issue that had been haunting the workshop almost from the outset.
2008
08/06
Over thirty years ago, Robert Greenleaf wrote an essay entitled "The Leader As Servant" that has had a profound influence throughout the world. Two weeks ago, "the leader as servant" was one of our themes at the ROM 10th Year Celebration in Fuzine, Croatia. From July 13-27, I joined seventy young leaders and speakers/mentors from 16 countries who came together to celebrate the past ten years of the ROM Leadership Development & Peace Gathering and to explore how to contribute to building a more caring society when they return home. Tonight I want to tell you the story of just one of the young leaders that participated.
2008
07/15
It is almost midnight here in Fuzine, Croatia and we just finished the second full day of this year’s project. This is the 10th meeting of the project, which began in 1999 while shots were still being fired in some parts of the former Yugoslavia. This year’s project is different in its focus.
2007
08/23
I am reporting again from the ROM 2007 Leadership Development & Peace Gathering in Fuzine, Croatia. Thursday morning of the second week we had the privilege of hearing three modern day heroes tell their stories.
I am reporting from the ROM 2007 Leadership Development & Peace Gathering in Fuzine, Croatia. The most significant thing that I heard said today came from Todd Becker, Ambassador of OSCE to Croatia.
