Pre-Assembly DPC Workshop in Ghana

The Ramseyer Training Centre in Abetifi hosted from 26 - 29 November 2008 the workshop included as a pre-event before the General Assembly of ACLCA. The training team - Jaap vand der Sar, Igeme Katagwe, Iulia Picu - introduced 26 participants from all over Africa, members of ACLCA, to the content of Dialogue for Peaceful Change, with emphasis on aspects like communication, models of understanding human behaviour when conflicts are arising or present – as well as different possibilities of dealing with conflicts. Quite some time was spent on mediation, both formal and informal.Through experiential learning, the participants were led into becoming aware of their almost instinctive reactions in conflict situations and understand that they could bring their own experience and knowledge as a key-resource to the workshop.The reactions, both in a verbal round in the last plenary session as well as on paper, indicated that participants recognised the patterns, as they were taught. There was an overwhelming positive response and requests for future training to be held in other centres.

"On my part what I found striking especially from participants is the avalache of requests to hold DPC in their Centers. Two ladies from Cameroon were emphatic and made it my farewell message that I should arrange a DPC workshop for francophone Africa. I spoke to the Francophone representative, Dr Pascal Foussou, who was excited about the idea. In a nutshell life in Africa is bridled with types of conflict that can have social disruption on unwanted scale. So DPC training with its emphasis on mediative skills is appropriate. With Africa we have to widen the part of mediative behaviour because of the latent conflicts that are on the rise regarding different enthnic communities"

Igeme Katagwe

DPC Coordination Team met in Wageningen/NL

 

Successful Inter-religious DPC-training in Pakistan

20 new DPC-facilitators. This is the result of the training of DPC facilitators, held at the Christian Study Centre in Rawalpindi, Pakistan from 12 - 17 July 2008. Participants came from different organisations from all over the country, as well as from different religious communities - Muslim and Christian. At the beginning of the training the question was raised whether DPC-methodology is applicable in the Pakistani context. The conclusion at the end of the training was: Very much so. Participants recognised that DPC offers a methodology which can be easily applied in families, in organisations as well as in relationships between groups that have conflicting views, or in the prevention stages of conflicts. DPC helps preventing to go to violent stages - that was one of the key learnings that participants took home.
Jaap van der Sar

Conflict and cooperation

Recently two trainings have been given in the USA. The main focus was how to improve the way different organisations, all focused at the youth within a certain area of San Fransisco, can cooperate effectively. As in all forms of cooperation, it can be expected that tensions will arise. How to handle them? This was subject of the DPC-training, knowing that it is far better to be prepared than to be surprised.

This modification of the Training of Facilitators adds to the possibilities to apply DPC.
The same subject is now discussed in a small project in the Netherlands, where we look for possibilities to apply DPC in the diversity-discussion. Many challenges ahead where DPC offers opportunities.

Jaap van der Sar

New Trainers for DPC

Last week some 8 new associate trainers passed the DPC-Training of Trainers in No. Ireland. Participants have quite a variety of nationalities: United Kingdom (Northern Ireland and England), Mexico, Zimbabwe, United States, Kenya, Romania. With this new group we have now 12 associate trainers, 8 trainers and 4 coaches. We expect to get in each category in this year.

The new people are available for the delivery of a DPC-Training of Facilitators, wherever these will be held. Through the new people we now have better possibilities to serve people in different languages, like German and Spanish. English still is the main language for DPC; the main materials for the trainings are available in this language.

Jaap van der Sar

ir. J. van der Sar
Oikos
Postbus 19.170
NL - 3501 DD  Utrecht
tel + 31 (0)30 2361524(direct)/2361500(secretariaat)
fax + 31 (0)30 2364903
e-mailadres: jvdsar@stichtingoikos.nl
www.stichtingoikos.nl
www.een.nl

DPC Training at Spirit in the Desert (Phoenix, Arizona) from May 4 to 9, 2008

Dialogue for Peaceful Change, May 4 - 9. Dialogue for Peaceful Change is a methodology used globally, that creates a setting and provides a pathway for overcoming division. DPC is not the goal but the instrument in a process which seeks to build the creative and practical skills of peaceful change. It’s about facilitating the road to solutions found and agreed by the people caught in negative conflict patterns. I have taken this training and highly recommend it. Contact Paul Campbell if you are interested.

Mapping the election conditions in Zimbabwe | Sokwanele

Mapping the election conditions in Zimbabwe Sokwanele