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South Asians complete conflict resolution course

Twenty south Asian professionals active in peace and conflict resolution have completed a three-month training programme with International Conflict Research at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.

Conflict resolution course participants from south Asia are pictured with INCORE staff after completing their three-month programme.

University Vice-Chancellor Gerry McKenna hosted a farewell event for the group where he presented each member with a certificate marking the completion of the course. "We have been privileged to host such a dedicated and professional group and hope that the shared learning experience you have gained here in Northern Ireland will have a positive impact on conflict resolution in south Asia," Prof. McKenna said.

The groups comprised members of parliament, academics, civil servants, journalists, NGO workers and members of civil society from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. "I had to come all this way, not only to learn about Northern Ireland, but to get to know people from my own region whose governments are at odds with my own," one participant said.

The programme involved a mixture of seminars, workshops, role play situations and guest lectures by prominent policymakers, practitioners and academics active in peace and conflict issues internationally. Comparative and shared learning was a core component of the methodology employed.

Among those who spoke with the group were Prof. John Hume, 1998 Nobel Laureate and former Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader; Fine Gael MEP John Cushnahan; Lord Alderdice, member of the International Monitoring Commission and until recently Speaker of the NI Assembly; and Councillor Eoin Obroin of Sinn Féin. 

Members of the group conducted field visits to Belfast and Dublin, where they met with political leaders, government officials, prominent NGOs and the media. Each participant completed a two-week work placement. This involved linkages with a number of organizations, including the NI Human Rights Commission, the Committee on the Administration of Justice, Women’s Aid Foundation, Peace and Reconciliation Group, the Junction, the NI Equality Commission, the Special E.U. Programmes Body, the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, the Irish Times (NI bureau), BBC Radio Foyle, FOSEC, the Centre for the Advancement of Women in Politics, Mediation Northern Ireland, the Conflict Trauma Resource Centre, Corrymeela, NI Council for Ethnic Minorities, and INCORE itself.

The programme was funded under the British Council’s Chevening Scholarship scheme. It aimed at exposing professionals working in a variety of contexts to the Northern Ireland peace process and to best practice in conflict resolution.

"This programme has confirmed the importance of working regionally, since conflicts nowadays are not confined to individual countries," said programme co-ordinators Steve and Sue Williams. "It has also demonstrated the usefulness of Northern Ireland as a laboratory, where visitors can learn from the experience of local people as well as academic expertise."

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