PEACEMAKING IN A WORLD OF D IFFERENCE An Advanced Workshop for Mediators and Facilitators
Debuted in Sweden in 2008 and introduced in Brazil, Spain, and Indonesia in 2010
MOVING FROM HARM TOWARD VALUE
Sphere of value: Sphere of harm:
Difference is relevant, but non-problematic, and even valuable.
Differences are managed in damaging or destructive ways.
Sphere of challenge: Difference is relevant, but problematic, creating obstacles that require special management.
Sphere of irrelevance: Difference does not seem to matter and goes largely unnoticed.
Human differences can be valuable, challenging, or even harmful. Peacemakers must find ways to work with difference that lead away from harm and toward value. This involves processes of transformation that make possible constructive use of differences and avoidance of destructive patterns of conflict. Such transformation creates a shift in how we define the relationships among the parties or the system in which the conflict is occurring. Participants may not change their opinions on the issues they face, but they do change how they view themselves, others, and the community itself. Transformative processes make it possible for groups and individuals to accept the value of diversity, acknowledge the legitimacy of positions other than their own, respect people who hold very different ideas, and continue a constructive conversation that permits multiplicity and even harvests the benefits of diversity.
Stephen Littlejohn is a communication consultan t specializing in facilita tion and mediation. He is Adjunc t Professo r of Co mmunication at the Universi ty of New Mexico and consults with groups and organizations on processes fo r effec tive communication in planning, decision making, and conflict managemen t. S tephen works in Europe, Sou th America, Asia, and No rth America. Clients include In tel, Church Mission Society (UK), ICMC (Indonesia), and the Consu mer Elec tronics Association.
S tephen is au tho r of Moral Conflict: When Social Worlds Collide;
Systemic Practice: Engaging Communication in Conflict; Facework: Bridging Theo ry an d Practice; Communication, Conflict, and the Management of Difference; and M edia tion: Empowerment in Conflict Management. To learn more abou t S tephen, see http://littlejo hn.intuitwebsi tes.com/.
OUTLINE OF THE W ORKSHOP Context and Principles for Peacemaking World of difference Engaging, challenging, and imagining Living in the tension
Peacemaking in the Sphere of Value Cases Methods Exercises
Peacemaking in the Sphere of Challenge Cases Methods Exercises
Peacemaking in the Sphere of Harm Cases Methods Exercises
Harvesting, Planning, and Design