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	Conference Provides Skills for Empowering Peace in Middle East an article by Common Bond Institute (abridged) An International Conference on 'Transforming Conflict” will be held June 20-23, 2012 in Amman, Jordan. At a time of unprecedented transformation in the Middle East, this unique international conference will teach effective skills in conflict resolution and cross-cultural communication that empower individuals in these societies to take a more proactive civic role in addressing reform issues facing their communities. click on photo to enlarge Common Bond Institute (CBI), International Humanistic Psychology Association, and People’s Peace Fund are organizing the Conference . . , an initiative that has been endorsed by King Adbullah II of Jordan. The 4 day practical skills training program is dialogue oriented and highly interactive, providing state-of-the-art training in dialogue and deliberation, interpersonal communication, decision making, negotiation, problem solving, conflict resolution, teamwork, leadership, good governance, and sustainable reconciliation. Presenters from various countries and training institutes in the region and around the world, including a number from the US, will be on hand to provide intensive practical workshops and lead topical roundtable dialogues focusing on improving relationships within and between communities. With over 75% of it’s population under the age of 35, the conference offers a unique opportunity to equip key individuals in Jordan and other countries in the region going through momentous transition with the kinds of skill set and abilities that can allow them to become direct contributors and future leaders in guiding this transition. “After most of a century with little in the way of active civic participation, there is both an intense wish to move forward in advancing democratic civil society, and a great need for more practical hands-on experience with the necessary skills at the grassroots level to effectively engage in this,” said Steve Olweean, Director of CBI, a Michigan based nongovernmental organization that holds international conflict resolution conferences and trainings around the world. “We feel this is a time that calls for stepping forward to offer the best skills available in support of this amazing wave of liberation and empowerment sweeping across the Middle East.” Workshops on proven, collaborative methods like NonViolent Communication, Win-Win Negotiation, Dialogue and Deliberation, Consensus Building, and Interpersonal Relationship are integrated with daily facilitated dialogue groups to incorporate & assimilate learning experiences to formulate sound, practical applications that can best contribute to the development and progress of each participant’s society. Examples of expert in the field presenting include William Ury, John Marks, and Don Edward Beck. . . After a highly successful 1st conference launched last July in Amman, the TC Conference has been established as an annual event in Jordan intended to progressively build local networks of trainers who can conduct more frequent trainings in their communities throughout the year. CBI has organized over 40 international conferences on conflict transformation and social healing, and numerous training projects, in more than 22 years, held in various countries including the US. . . Complete information about program and registration is available online at www.cbiworld.org, by Email at SOlweean@aol.com, or by telephone at 269-665-9393.		DISCUSSION Question(s) related to this article: Does research show that nonviolence works?, * * * * * Latest reader comment: Did the writings on nonviolence by Gene Sharp help inspire the movements of the Arab Spring in Egypt and elsewhere? This is debatable.  The New York Times said "yes" and some Egyptians, for example, the blogger Karim Alrawi say "no". However, it should be recognized that the ideas of nonviolent resistance have a way of transcending borders and centuries.  Nelson Mandela was influenced by Martin Luther King who was influenced in turn by Mahatma Gandhi who was influenced in turn by Henry David Thoreau. [Note added later: The blog of Karim Alrawi is no longer available on the Internet, but see instead the blog of Hossam El-Hamalawy who says that the Palestinians "have been the major source of inspiration, not Gene Sharp, whose name I first heard in my life only in February after we toppled Mubarak already and whom the clueless NYT moronically gives credit for our uprising."
This report was posted on May 29, 2012.