Many Peaces Magazine #1

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VOLUME 12015 - 01

A JOURNEY CONTINUES:THE FESTIVAL OF MANY PEACES Page 6

FACILITATING LEARNING: BUILDING A SCHOOL WITH PLASTIC BOTTLES IN UGANDA Page 27

ACTIVATING POTENTIALS: THE SOCIAL LEADERSHIP ACADEMY IN ALGERIA Page 24

TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION: ALUMNI COOPERATING WITH SOLDIERS 3

- 3 Editorial - 3

E D I T O R I A LFellow alumni, students and faculty members - dear peace family!

The Many Peaces Magazine aims to be a companion for Innsbruck Peace Stu-dies alumni, students and faculty members in the ongoing process of becoming peace and conflict workers and researchers - regardless where our paths have taken us after Innsbruck. With this new outlet we hope to create a space for sharing experiences, projects and initiatives related to the Innsbruck School of Peace Studies and offer a means of expression to (re-)connect both to the Peace Studies program and as alumni.

There is incredible potential within our group of alumni, which is comprised of people across the globe who at some time have been peace studies students in the Innsbruck program. We are a beautiful and diverse group. This became particularly evident, when a group of 18 Alumni met at the Grillhof Seminar Center this summer to create a shared vision for the Innsbruck Academic Festi-val of Many Peaces. This new initiative will be a bi-annual conference open for everyone who has participated in at least one presence phase, either in the role of being a student or facilitator at the MA Program.

As the editorial team, we believe that transrational peace philosophy and its applied method, elicitive conflict transformation, have something meaningful to contribute to the state of the art in peace building. Indeed, Innsbruck has become an internationally recognized center for developing new approaches and theories under the umbrella of transrational peace philosophy and elicitive conflict transformation and many of us have carried this philosophy to diverse cultural contexts. Certainly, an elicitive method that works in one cultural con-text at a given time might fail elsewhere. Therefore, we hope to provide a space for an ongoing exchange between practitioners and theorists, who have been inspired by the Innsbruck School of Peace Studies in different ways.

We envision the potential to continue contributing to this great work collabo-ratively as alumni of the program. This first issue of the Many Peaces Magazine is one step in that direction. In the future we are curious to also read about your stories and your paths, wherever they have taken you!

Isabelle GuibertAdham HamedPaul LauerMayme Lefurgey

4 - Many Peaces Magazine

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T SGREETING NOTE 5

ALUMNI PROJECTS

FESTIVAL OF MANY PEACES 6Innbruck Academic Festival: Initial Stages and a Re-union with a Purpose, by Mayme Lefurgey

CONFERENCE CALL 8FESTIVAL AGENDA 11PEACE STUDIES BRAZIL 12SEE YOU ON THE DARK SIDE 13Operation NC_ST14 – Alumni Roleplay at the Native Challenge in Summer 2014, by Egidio de Bustamente, Hannah Kuske and Veronika Lex

COOPERATION PARTNERS

LIVING IN THE HERE AND NOW 16Acting for Peace: A Participant’s Perspective, by Hele-na Howen

MANY PEACES INTERVIEWS

DYNAMIC HARMONY 18Interview with Wolfgang Dietrich, by Inasa Bibić

MASTERS OF PEACE 22Interview with Filmmaker Sananda Kirschner

ELICITIVE PEACE WORKERS

ACTIVATING POTENTIALS 24The Social Leadership Academy in Algeria, a Personal Experience, by Isabelle Guibert

FACILITATING LEARNING 27The Social Innovation Academy is Eliciting Potentials in Uganda, by Emina Briga

RESEARCH

NEW MASTERS OF PEACE 30PUBLICATIONS 34THE EDITORIAL TEAM 36

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Greeting Note - 5

G R E E T I N G N O T EDear Alumni,

Does a tree know all its leaves? Of course, the joker softly speaks, each and every single leave

makes the tree complete, makes it what it is. Every single leave is an aspect of the tree, embraces the completeness of the tree in itself.

No reason to get excited, the thief he grimly states. In the cold season the leaves are leaving. They are blowing in the wind. They fall to the ground and disappear. The tree stands naked then; just invisible root hairs, a dull trunk and hideous snow covered skele-tons of branches.

And soon new leaves will emerge. They dance with the sunlight and the rain, the joker whimsically smiles. They will nourish the roots, the trunk and the branches. They will make them stron-ger, let them grow. The tree will bloom majestically treeish late in spring.

...and yield fruits and seeds; the thief, he greedily adds.

- - -

This somehow dylanesque parable blew itself into my mind when I was invited to write the greeting message for this first issue of the Many Peace Magazine. The alumni dynamics that have emerged around our UNESCO Chair and its MA Program are really ama-zing. It makes me feel like this dull trunk somehow, still recalling the yet invisible root hairs, connected to the major arms and to certain extend aware of all the leaves it ever carried. But every now and then the winds of change remind me of the tender clado-phylls out there. They are parts of the tree yet having a life on their own right. And they are producing the most attractive blossom that a dull trunk and even its principal arms hardly can imagi-ne. Every leaf makes the tree complete, every alumna or alumnus contributes to our project, while he or she magically embraces its completeness.

How many things have happened in this last year alone?

Native Challenge, with Hannah as playwright under Coronel Rott’s direction, Adham, Paul and Joschi as tutors for the re-cruits; all together gaining a momentum that hardly anybody dreamed of only a few semesters ago; making Native Challenge already now a big promise for the EURAD 2015;The incredible and beautiful kick off to the Many Peaces Fes-tival;Alumni of different generations running great projects on their own initiative at prominent research places like Noor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Norway or in the field like Etienne at the Social Innovation Academy (SINA) in Uganda;Publishing a topical book like Adham with a whole group of alumni as authors;Starting a complete series like Matías’ “Elicitiva” - and more of that expected as a result of the festival;The Masters of Peace series, like Billene’s new volume hitting

literally fantastic selling numbers for such a format;Alumni producing substantial movies within and about the program like Cerys, Rosalie and Gigio;Complete movies produced about the program like Sananda’s masterpiece;Directing academic programs like Noah in Cambodia;Coordinating workshops, core faculty-tours and entire aca-demic programs for getting the transrational and elicitive ap-proach to their home countries, what Cerys perfectly did in Brazil;Launching national initiatives like the Mexican gang;Projects initiated by alumni with the core faculty in the frame of AARESPECT and equally totally independent workshops and seminars run by alumni, like Nassima and Isa’s in Algeria;But most important, knowing many of you doing great jobs out there at really hot places or in the institution jungle.

Ufff, the air is steaming and radiating from all that energy. Forgive the dull trunk when it does not have everything present that is going on at the cladophyll blooms and ends. The wind is whispe-ring adventurous stories, fairy tales, rumors and legends only of this and that. And the dull trunk does what dull trunks tend to do: standing proud, still and stable, contemplating and meditating about the treeish world; knowing that there is a mysterious con-nection to the wild life out there. How good it is to be a dull trunk. It is a never ending wowing and gazing at the beauty of cladophyll ends.

Recently, I discovered another one. It is called Many Peaces Magazine. This trunk is too dull for understanding how it deser-ves so much beauty. But why worry? It is there. It is swinging co-lorfully in the wind, a pure dance of life. So, be welcome Many Peaces Magazine, our latest flower! Long may you dance! May you enjoy many and may you be the pride of those who made your light shine brightly.

WOLFGANG DIETRICH holds the UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck, Aust-ria. He is the program director of the MA Program for Peace, Development, Security and International Con-flict Transformation at the same university. He has written several books and articles, and his works have been published in five languages. Contact: [email protected]


On July 17 and 18, 2014 a small group of Innsbruck Peace Stu-dies alumni met at the Grillhof for the first of many planning mee-tings of what has been coined— an Academic Festival of Many Peaces. Seeking to stretch beyond a standard academic conference framework and incorporate the methods of the Innsbruck school of Peace Studies; we came together, to connect, share and create a collective vision for this new project. After an initial call out, interested alumni had been in touch over the summer months by Skype and email to plan for this reunion and festival-organizing weekend. After much anticipation, we found ourselves back in one of our many homes.

We came from all over—Spain, Egypt, Germany, Israel and Ca-nada to name a few. 18 alumni from several different cohorts and research areas joined together with unique ideas and experien-ces and varying areas of work and motivations for participating. We shared the uniting quality of being Innsbruck Peace Studies Alumni and Modular Period 6 students of course, for those of us who have not yet graduated!

F E S T I V A L O F M A N Y P E A C E S

INNBRUCK ACADEMIC FESTIVAL: INITIAL STAGES AND A REUNION WITH A PURPOSE

BY MAYME LEFURGEY

Alumni Projects - 7

You might wonder if so many voices and perspectives in one forum would be chaotic, especially with a new event idea. This project is not only new, but it is large-scale, requires in-depth planning, a great deal of commitment and holds several layers of uncertainty as an alumni initiative. However, we quickly found ourselves ef-fectively and passionately self-organizing, revisiting and restruc-turing our itinerary and planning details with both confidence in what we were producing and a genuine commitment to helping to add to the alumni experience. We found ourselves very much in resonance and inspired by the collective energy in the room.

During our two days of planning, we structured our time to in-clude several small working group sessions where we would break into teams to brainstorm in order to ensure that everyone’s voices were heard and that we were relying on different methods to ge-nerate our creativity. We often found that once reunited in our larger sharing session that the various groups were very much in tune and that we were truly building a collective vision with the grounding ideas of our vision being similar. The weekend flowed, almost effortlessly, and though we were tired from the long hours; the dynamic was vibrant and the outputs of the weekend we‘re truly inspiring. This safe, collective and energetic space brought forth so many constructive ideas that by the end of the seminar we had created our working mandate, had divided up responsibilities, created working groups and left with a sound vision of where we are going with this project.

For me personally it has meant so much to have been able to at-tend this planning event and to have joined the organizing team and work with some previous classmates and new friends on this initiative. I jumped right away at the opportunity to be involved with this alumni project with the desire to both personally and academically stay connected to Innsbruck’s methods, teaching philosophy and community. Many of my colleagues, also feel this strongly and I believe this is at the heart of this project. Although we are spread out, we’ve been working together across geographic boundaries and time zones— connecting via Skype and email; hosting online meetings, working on collaborative documents and having integrative seminars. What is developing here is so-mething I believe to be truly transformative and I am anxious to see how this first festival will unfold and how this initiative will change and grow in future years.

As a group we’ve agreed that this festival encapsulate our vision of an academic space; meaning the incorporation of both theo-retical and practitioner influences and various opportunities and mediums for alumni to reconnect and engage. We see the truly unbounded potential of creating an open space for alumni to crea-te together.

MAYME LEFURGEY (ST‘12, Upeace ‘11) is living in Canada where she is a Ph.D. Candidate in Women’s Studies and Feminist Research at Western University, pursuing a Collaborative Program in Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruc-tion. Contact: [email protected]


C O N F E R E N C E C A L L

Inspired by the Innsbruck Peace Studies transrational approach to peace and conflict research and praxis, we invite you to par-ticipate in the first Academic Festival of Many Peaces. This festi-val has been organised in order to create an integrative space for unfolding personal and academic potential, based on Transratio-nal Peace Philosophy and its applied method of Elicitive Conflict Transformation. The Academic Festival of Many Peaces will provi-de a platform for balancing peace theory and praxis, while creating an opportunity for fellow practitioners to network and collaborate interculturally through innovative academic work and research.

As part of this dynamic festival, you will be offered a space to pre-sent critical and innovative academic peace-related research in the form of academic papers, presentations on projects, methods or ‘peace talks’ on new ideas within the discipline of Peace Studies. Participants will receive detailed feedback from other participants and present their feedback during cross-sessions. The participant’s work should fall under one of the following themes:

Transrational Peace PhilosophyElicitive Conflict Transformation Tools, Techniques and Me-

thods

In an effort to bring together traditional academic theoretical work and a more practical and experiential approach to knowledge and learning, the format we have chosen for the conference does not separate theory and practice, but rather seeks to integrate the va-rious mediums of presenting which we detailed above and have them complement each other.

Participants will engage in a ‘cross-reading’ process during the first three days of the festival, where they give feedback on written pa-pers as well as peace project presentations and conflict transfor-mation methods outlined by practitioners. This will offer a dyna-mic opportunity for learning and research development, and help to enrich debate with contributions and feedbacks that go beyond the discussions we might be familiar with in our everyday work and scholastic environments. While the first three days of the fes-

tival will focus on the topics outlined in this conference call, day four will host an ‘open space’ where participants will have the op-portunity to network, exchange ideas, and participate alumni-run workshops. On our final day, we will rejoin in order to focus on one elicitive method as a group. In sections A-C. (A. Paper Contri-butions, B. Contribution through a Method or Project Presentati-on, C. Contribution through a Peace Talk), you will find detailed information on the three different ways in which we invite you to contribute to the Festival. Section D. details information on the conference venue and accommodation, while Section E. outlines the terms of admission.

A. Paper Contributions

Paper contributions should concentrate on one or a combinati-on of the two previously mentioned topics of the festival and ex-plicitly address questions related to one or both of these themes. Only papers written in the English language will be accepted. The length of the papers should be between 9,000 and 10,000 words. Please note that you will be required to read your peers’ papers and to provide detailed feedback on them in order to foster an enriching debate, maximizing your potential as a creative thinker.

In order to ensure your proposal will be considered, please submit a 300 word proposal. Please make sure it includes a title, a list of 5 key-words and a brief list of main references. The key-words, refe-rences and title should not be counted in the proposal. In additi-on, please include author’s information with this submission. You will find our guidelines for paper writing on the official festival website: www.manypeacesfestival.org

Due to the time involved for the papers to undergo proper and thorough consideration and feedback, we are reviewing proposals in two rounds: The first round of submissions ends on Febru-ary 15th (deadline for submissions of proposal eligible for early bird registration fee). We strongly encourage participants to apply during the first round as festival spots might fill up quickly. Pro-posals submitted at a later point will be reviewed by March 31st (deadline for abstract submissions). Authors will receive feed-back on the approval of their proposals within two weeks of the respective submission deadline. Complete papers, videos, photo documentations or other creative facets are expected to be recei-ved no later than May 20th, 2015. Please note that the conference spot can only be guaranteed once you have paid your conference fees. Also, be aware that for the cross-session during the confe-rence you will be required to give feedback on papers, methods and projects presented.

After the Festival and the incorporation of the feedback from cross-sessions, the publishing committee will select those papers with outstanding quality in order to compose an edited confe-rence volume which will be published as the first in a new series at the University of Innsbruck’s UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies. The publishing committee will contact participants in case their work is eligible for publication.

CONFERENCE CALL FOR THE 1ST INNSBRUCK ACADEMIC FESTIVAL OF MANYPEACES: INNSBRUCK, AUGUST 9-14TH 2015

Alumni Projects - 9

B. Contribution through a Method or Project Presentation

This part of the conference allows practitioners to outline their proposed methodology or project which employs elicitive con-flict transformation. We define a practitioner as a person who works with elicitive conflict transformation methods. This might be a peace worker, therapist, youth worker, facilitator, teacher or mediator, among others. This space opens the possibility to ela-borate on a chosen methodology; work on personal difficulties and receive constructive feedback in a safe environment. It is also an outlet for the practitioner to train facilitation skills, to probe visions that currently only exist in theory and to receive feedback on project ideas for conference attendees.

If you wish to contribute to this section, please submit one docu-ment written in English that includes a title page, a short biogra-phy and a 300 words abstract.

Due to the time involved for the proposals to undergo proper and thorough consideration and feedback, we are reviewing pro-posals in two rounds: The first round of submissions ends on February 15th (deadline for the early bird registration phase). We strongly encourage participants to apply during this first round as places are limited and may fill up quickly. Proposals submitted at a later point will be reviewed by March 31st (deadline for ab-stract submissions). Authors will receive feedback on the appro-val of their proposals within two weeks of the respective submissi-on deadline.

After accepted admission, practi-tioners will be asked to document their ideas in the form of a 10-15 page paper, video, photo docu-mentation, or other creative facet which clearly defines and illust-rates their ideas and work. For a guideline on what we expect in the final submissions, please visit our official website.

Complete papers, videos, photo documentations or other creati-ve recordings of your work are expected to be received no later than May 20th, 2015. Please note that the conference spot can only be guaranteed once you have paid your conference fees. Ple-ase note for the cross-session during the conference you will be required to give feedback on papers of both theorists and prac-titioners.

After the festival, the practitioners will have the possibility to submit a piece of visual or written work on their method/project including new insight gained, findings and feedback they recei-ved during the festival. These submissions may then have the op-portunity to be published on the Many Peaces Festival website, allowing the new ideas and methods to be made available to a wider audience.

C. Contribution through a PeaceTalk

The PeaceTalks is a section of the conference open to everybody who is interested in contributing to shared visions and ideas about methods/projects/visions related to the festival theme.

Do you want to share your vision of elictive conflict transforma-tion? Do you want to present the lessons you have learned or in-sights that you are making with your work/project? Do you want to elaborate on why there are more than five peace families? It does not matter which job you are currently doing or which pro-ject you present… All are welcome here!

Our vision is to create a platform for spreading ideas! We believe that each of us has wonderful potential that is worth sharing. One key idea of the Innsbruck School of Peace Studies is to start from within yourself before going out into the world. Inspired by this root, the intention of the PeaceTalks is to start with your idea/vision, and then finding people to listen to it. We believe that by sharing with other people the energy you are already celebrating

within yourself, your project/idea/vision becomes even more rea l and participates in transforming our re-ality.

If you would like to contribute to this section please email us a creati-ve PeaceTalk application in English that includes a short biography, and a 150 - 200 words abstract.

Your submission should include:- Last name, First name- Email address- The title of your PeaceTalk

A brief, concrete and creative sum-mary of the content of your talk. (We intend this summary to be a ‘Tweet’ of your PeaceTalk, and must therefore not exceed 140 charac-ters).

In your biography please tell us in 5 sentences:

- Who you are as a Peacetalker.- What your professional and/or academic background is (that

includes not only your current profession).- What are the professional circumstances in which you are

currently working?

Please consider the following questions in your application:- What will you talk about?- Why do you believe your idea/vision/project is worth sharing?- What is the connection with many peaces/elicitive conflict

transformation?- What are the roots of your idea/vision/project?

PeaceTalk applications will be considered even if applicants have also submitted paper or project/method proposals; participants are welcome to apply to both. We are reviewing PeaceTalk applications in two rounds: The first round of submissions end on February 15th (deadline for submissions of proposal eligible for the early


bird registration fee phase). We strongly encourage participants to apply during the first round as festival spots might fill up quickly. Proposals submitted at a later point will be reviewed by March 31st (deadline for abstract submissions). If accepted, please note that you will be required to submit your full 20-minute Peace-Talk (either in headwords or as a full text) by June 20th, 2015.

During the Academic Festival the conference team will audio- and videotape your PeaceTalk in order to potentially make it available to a larger audience on our homepage in future. You will be con-tacted in case (a part of) your talk is chosen for publication. If your talk is considered for our homepage, it is of course, ultimately your decision as to whether or not you wish to have it published.

D. Conference Venue & Accommodation

All festival sessions will be held at the Grillhof Seminar Center, Grillhofweg 100, 6080 Vill, Austria. We are happy to offer the fol-lowing packages for food and / or accommodation:

*A single room can be booked for an additional fee of 15 Euros.

Please note that the conference spot can only be guaranteed once you have paid your conference fees.

Overnight-stays at the Grillhof Seminar Center without a corresponding booking are strictly prohibited.

E. Admissions Information

Six Steps to the Many Peaces Festival:

1. Submit your abstract no later than February 15th (deadline for submissions of proposal eligible for the early bird registration fee phase) or March 31st to [email protected]

2. Transfer the conference fees (150 EUR by April 30th, 2015 (120 EUR early bird fee if you register before February 15th) to the following bank account:

Account holder:AA RESPECTBank Code: 36.000 (Raiffeisen Landesbank Tirol)IBAN: AT27 3600 0000 0061 8827BIC: RZTIAT22

3. Please add your name + “Many Peaces Festival Conference Fees” in the subject line of the transfer. Please note that your festival spot is only guaranteed once we have received your conference fees. Write your paper / elaborate on your topic / prepare your PeaceTalk by May 20th, 2015.

4. Submit final version of your paper/topic. Your paper will be sent to your peers and you will receive your peers’ papers. Prepare your feedback for the conference.

5. Prepare your trip to Innsbruck (if you need a visa to enter Aus-tria, make sure that you apply on time).

6. Travel to Innsbruck and be part of the Innsbruck Academic Fes-tival of Many Peaces!

Cancellation Policy

Registrations cancelled before April 30th, 2014 will be refunded 75% of the conference fee. Registrations cancelled before May 31st will be refunded 50% of the conference fee. Registrations cancelled after June 30th, 2014 will not be eligible for a refund.

web: http://manypeacesfestival.orgfacebook: Innsbruck Academic Festival of Many Peacesemail: [email protected]

F E S T I V A L A G E N D ADay 1 - Aug 9 Sunday

18:00 – 19:30 Opening Dinner 20:00 – 21:30 Opening Ceremony

Day 2 - Aug 10 Monday

09:00 – 10:00 PeaceTalks 10:00 – 12:00 Lecture: Prof. DDr. Wolfgang Dietrich 14:00 – 18:00 Cross-session seminars 19:00 – 20:30 Cross-session seminars (Optional)

Day 3 - Aug 11 Tuesday

09:00 – 10:00 PeaceTalks 10:00 – 12:00 Lecture: Dr. Josefina Echavarría, M.A. & Dr. Norbert Koppensteiner, M.A. 14:00 – 18:00 Cross-session seminars 19:00 – 20:30 Panel Discussion

Day 4 - Aug 12 Wednesday

09:00 – 12:00 Cross-session seminars 14:00 – 18:00 Cross-session seminars 19:00 – 21:00 Integrative Seminar

Day 5 - Aug 13 Thursday

09:00 – 12:00 Open Space 14:00 – 18:00 Alumni-run Workshops

Day 6 - Aug 14 Friday

09:00 – 12:00 Group Workshops 14:00 – 18:00 Closing Group Workshop 19:00 – 20:00 Closing Ceremony


P E A C E S T U D I E S B R A Z I L

I am very happy to announce the launch of an academic program on peace and con-flict transformation from the transrational perspective is currently being developed in Brazil. The program was co-created by Wolfgang Dietrich and myself and starts al-ready on 15th of May 2015 on the island of Florianopolis in southern Brazil where he will teach MA-level students. The goal of the program is to educate students who as-pire to both academic and/or professional activities in the field of national and inter-national peace and conflict transformation and other fields such as: humanitarian and social work, development cooperation, hu-man rights, mediation, security, disaster re-lief and conflict work on all social levels in the broadest sense of the word. Special em-phasis will be put on the conflict awareness and the emotional balance of the conflict worker. A key highlight of this program is the focus on emotional balance training for peaceworkers with an emphasis on the me-thod Cultivating Emotional Balance, which was created by Alan Wallace. Besides that other ancient methods of emotional balan-ce will be taught.

The program offers a postgraduate conso-lidation of knowledge and skills according to the latest results of Peace and Conflict Studies, Mind and Awareness Training,

and Humanistic Psychology as academic disciplines. It aims to teach the state of the art and to contribute to the Brazilian aca-demic and practitioners’ debate. It attempts to frame these results in a praxis-relevant, experimental and experiential teaching method. The program understands itself as a completion and extension of already existing programs in neighboring discipli-nes. Students will be trained practically and prepared for innovative academic work in the field. The graduates will be able to pro-cess research questions and practical chal-lenges by the application of theory-based and experimental approaches. They will be able to relate to the international state of the art in the discipline and work with them independently. Knowledgebased abi-lity to address problems, creative thought, intuition and elicitive conflict transforma-tion in inter-disciplinary, trans-cultural, trans-rational and widely unfamiliar con-texts will be trained as balance between sci-entific peace theory, balance and awareness of the mind and praxis-related exercises.

The program is scientific, international, in-tercultural and oriented towards practical application. The structure of the curricu-lum is made for best possible national and international compatibility with similar programs of the first (BA), second (Master) and third (PhD) circle. Transrational peace philosophy and elicitive conflict transfor-mation are guiding principles. The pro-gram is comprised of both in-class curricu-lum and online seminars and takes place in a monthly rhythm, on a weekend in order to facilitate the participation of students from many regions of Brazil- even if they have other commitments or work. Interna-tional students will be welcome as soon as the international cooperation is finalized and more details about this are to follow.

BRAZILIAN POSTGRADUATE PROGRAM IN PEACE, CONFLICT, MIND AND AWARENESS STUDIES

BY CERYS TRAMONTINI

CERYS TRAMONTINI (ST‘12, WT‘12/13, ST‘13) is living in Brazil where she teaches conflict trans-formation based on the study of emotions. She is the coordinator of the Peace, Conflict, Mind and Awareness Studies Program in Brazil and has been studying and practicing Tibetan Buddhism for 20 years. She teaches meditation as a process of tran forming the mind and heart. For more information, please contact Cerys at: [email protected]

Alumni Projects - 13

Hannah Kuske - We’ve done it again. Counting the EURAD exercise of summer 2013, this past summer term was the sixth consecutive occasion where an Alumni Component was part of the coopera-tion between the Austrian Armed Forces and the MA Peace Stu-dies program. Growing in complexity and scope, the team of nine alumni was also the biggest to ever have been involved.

Nine alumni to dedicate two solid weeks of their time for doing their share of contemplating, planning and ultimately helping in the execution ofan operation, in many cases travelling from wide and far flung places to join in and learn – from each other, them-selves and those around them. Under the wings of the program and the Austrian Armed Forces, together towards a type of civil-military cooperation that again has proven to work for and train those involved.

And yes - cookies, craziness and caffeine remain to be the mi-racle fuel of our ventures. (As well as pure talent and brilliance, naturally – but don’t mention that, modesty and a humble deme-anour are the key assets to our success.) Read below how another two virgins to the dark side, Gigio and Veronika, managed their turn.

Hoping to see many of you amongst us soon – the organising team.

OPERATION NC_ST14 – ALUMNI ROLEPLAY ATTHE NATIVE CHALLENGE IN SUMMER 2014

BY EGIDIO DE BUSTAMENTE, HANNAH KUSKE AND VERONIKA LEX

S E E Y O U O N T H E D A R K S I D E

HANNAH KUSKE (WT‘11, ST‘11, WT‘12) cur-rently lives in Innsbruck after completing a degree in psychology at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in 2010. Her research interests are mainly based in cognitive clinical neuropsychology, and include the neural bases of behaviour of dementia, memory and music. She is further interested in trauma and emergency psychology and is at present finishing her MA thesis in Peace Studies on indivi-dual peaces and intuitive storytelling.


Egidio De Bustamente - Dear all, if there is something to say about the Alumni Component of the Native Challenge it is that there is a lot of hard work, thorough and meticulous planning, tough acting, little sleeping, crazy working hours and above all deeply addres-sing our shadow aspects, which might not be an easy task. And it would sound as if only a masochist would take part in such a thing but, truthfully, what the alumni roleplay meant for me was reconnecting with the program, seeing old friends, working with them, meeting fellow alumni from other years, translating what we have come to learn in our dear MA in Peace into practice and thenbeing able to reflect upon it and learning all over again.

What I am trying to say in here is that, as a PhD student, taking part in the NC meant for me preparing myself for contexts of ne-gative peace, learning how I tend to behave and act upon specific contexts and how to transform it in order to do the kind of peace work I believe in. All this while sharing the space with ongoing MA students and having the amazing opportunity of learning to-gether.

And if it ain’t enough to convince you, well, let’s just say there’s quite a sweet side to the dark side, and I am not talking about dextro, but Miss Kuske’s amazing cookies to boost our stamina for this amazing challenge!

Veronika Lex - Before deciding to study in the MA Program I had doubts whether

I really was up for it. Rather than doubting the program itself, my doubts were really only circling around one specific week of every term...the one of the Native Challenges, the week with the Armed Forces. I then decided to take the risk, thinking that I will more or less survive these three weeks of my life anyway. I did! Even more so, these weeks turned out to be the ones that I learned the most in; about things I never wanted to know, about myself, about the Armed Forces, about the people and the faces behind it.

You may now ask yourself: Why is she starting from so far aback?

Well, because these are the reasons for me to have been role-playing last term. My biggest doubts from the beginning in my three terms had transformed into one of the most impressive lear-ning experiences I have ever been exposed to. Not only because of the scenario that was created for us students by alumni and milita-ry role players, by military personnel and recruits. But even more so because of the people I met there and the person I met inside myself through being confronted with the roleplay situations.

I therefore decided that I wanted to give something back; to give the opportunity to share to others and have that opportuni-ty again myself, to learn even more, to look behind the working structure of the scenario and again, to learn and to work with peo-ple that I found I can learn quite a lot from.

Indeed, in order for the whole thing to work, these two weeks do require a lack of sleep, chaotic phases, working nights, a lot of coffee and the best cookies in the world! But even though I was more or less in the same hurry that I was in during my time of being a student, this time I at least had a glimpse of an idea what the time schedule will bring.Henrietta – probably the most im-portant member of the Alumni Roleplaying Team – is, at least in theory, the one who always knows what comes next and when I will get a bit of sleep, where and when there is a break for coffee and food –Henrietta, in case you didn’t know is our time schedule.And it still holds: I don’t regret having taken the risk to study in the MA Program despite my doubts - I more than survived, and gladly so.

VERONIKA LEX (WT’13, ST’13, WT’14), from Southern Germany, studied Economics at the University of Innsbruck, before she joined the MA Program. Veronika is an active member of the Alumni Network. Currently she is working on her thesis under the supervision of Wolfgang Dietrich. Contact: [email protected]

EGIDIO DE BUSTAMENTE (ST‘11, Castellón‘13), from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, currently resides in Castellón undertaking the PhD in Peace, Conflict and Development International Studies at Univer-sitat Jaume I. There he also holds the positions of assistant-teacher in Peace Studies Methodologies and Philosophy for Peace and co-facilitator at the Intercultural Seminars. He is also involved in the DEEP Network in the San Francisco, California node. His main topics of interest are International Studies, Transrationality, Anthropology, Intercul-turality.

Alumni Projects - 15

NATIVE CHALLENGEPRESS REVIEW


We created a bubble. A space where you could be utterly your-self. A space where you could share your greatest joy and your deepest pain. A space built on support, compassion, understan-ding and sincerity.

As my train pulled into Imst, I was expecting two weeks of fun activities and interesting people, but as that train pulled out of the same station two weeks later, what I had experienced was so much more than simply ‚fun.‘ Those two weeks embarked me on a very personal roller coaster journey.

For the first time I fully grasped the meaning of the Ubuntu proverb: “I am because we are”. You are not a single, constant wave, but one amidst many in an ever-changing ocean. I felt this many times in Imst - there were so many magical moments, like the time we stood in a circle holding hands and looked each other straight in the eyes without wavering. Another strong memory was when we sat around the blazing camp fire in the darkness of our tipi, singing songs late into the night. And these people may not know how many siblings I have or my plans for the future, but they know about my hopes, fears and passions which make me who I am.

L I V I N G I N T H E H E R E A N D N O W

ACTING FOR PEACE: A PARTICIPANT’S PERSPECTIVE

BY HELENA HOWEN

Cooperation Partners - 17

As I faced the challenges the course presented me with, thanks to the support of our group, I feel I grew as a person, becoming more confident. Many of us faced our fears: be it standing up on stage, abseiling down the side of a building, jumping into a free-zing cold mountain river or opening up to the group. Through this I have learned to take all the opportunities I was offered, but most importantly to step outside my comfort zone, for this is where the magic happens. And it is true what people say: leave that zone and it will expand, you will do things you never imagined possible.

I have also learned what it really means to live in the moment. I am the type of person who wants to record every moment, for fear of forgetting and in order to relive it later. However, as a keen pho-tographer, I have surprisingly few photos of the two weeks. Why? Because I was able to live in the ‘Here and Now’. And that is after all what is important: this moment is made for the present, not for the future; you have to live it right now, because otherwise you never live at all, only existing through memories and recordings of those past moments. When was the last time you actually stopped and appreciated the moment for what it is? Well I can say that for two weeks I did and it was pure bliss, utterly refreshing and en-lightening, it made me feel alive because I was living for now and not for the future. And the memories of those weeks are stronger than any other of which I have a thousand photos to remind me.

A major component of the course was exploring the concept of peace. However, if we entered the course with a slight idea of what peace is, it certainly was not the same as when we left. Did you know that there is not only one ‚type‘ of peace, but many? I certainly did not and thanks to Wolfgang Dietrich, everything I thought I knew got turned upside down and I became quite dis-orientated. I was also faced with something I had rarely thought about: inner-peace. Forget the UN, peacekeeping missions and ‚achieving world peace‘; what is your personal definition of peace? At the end of those two weeks I concluded my definition of peace to be as such: peace is coming to terms with what life throws at you, peace is accepting the difficult times and coming out stronger the other end.

We built a family. Going from awkward silences over meals to deep meaningful conversations lasting long into the night; from hesitant greetings on day one to hugs and tears when it came to our departure. If you ever visit Imst, go see the tree we planted: it is growing from our hopes - our hopes of peace, honesty, courage, love, unity, light, friendship, sincerity, harmony, compassion...

Together, we created a bubble and after two weeks it popped and was sent in many different directions. But just as the memo-ries of those two refreshing and enriching weeks remain strong in my mind, so remains the warmth of that bubble in my heart.

HELENA HOWEN is 18 years old and has just finished high school in France. Currently, she is spen-ding the first part of her gap year living in Berlin and volunteering with UWC Deutschland and Survival International. She is passionate about bringing young people together to increase cultural understanding and prevent conflict. Contact: [email protected]

WOLFGANG DIETRICH

holds the UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. He is the program director of the MA Program for Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation at the same university. He has written several books and articles, and his works have been published in five languages. Contact: [email protected]


In this interview with Inasa Bibić, Wolf-gang Dietrich, the academic coordinator of “Acting for Peace“, shares some of his personal stories, thoughts on revolution, peace, balance, and what he calls the dance of life. He shares his journey through the decades, systems of peace work, internati-onal peace missions, peaces, elicitive con-flict transformation – or in a nutshell: life itself.

I would like to start by asking you about your work and career. You started your academic work in the 1980s in Central America. Can you tell me more about how this came about, why you went the-re, and how this whole experience influ-enced your later work?

Wolfgang: Well, this could be a long story of course – it’s my life. It is difficult to give a clear answer to your question. Why Central America? Well, it was sexy at that time.

After the 1970s guerilla movements, Ni-caragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala beca-me very famous. According to the general opinion of student movements across Euro-pe, it was popular that these people were re-

belling against ‘the bad dictator’. Therefore, all the other ones were considered ‘the good ones’. Of course, this was a very attractive concept.

I was a student and was interested in what we called the ‘Third World’ at that time. Since Nicaragua was a point of tension, I got closer to researching it and immediately fell in love with this revolutionary spirit. It was a fascinating project in a small country and at that time – with a very limited populati-on (the official number was 3 million, but in reality it was rather around 2.5 million). The new government was trying to be inno-vative and interested in social experiments. I had a human rights background and was on my way to become a lawyer, so I soon began inquiring into questions of human rights and constitutional law. There were many questions calling for discussion, for example, the tension between doing a revolution and following the legal standards. The conditions were similar in El Salvador and Guatemala, where the guerilla turned out to be not as innocent as they presented themselves to the world. In Guatemala there was the classi-cal leftist guerilla movement, supported by Moscow and Beijing and also the religionist movement – all mixed up in a country of 23 different ethno-political groups.

This complex situation fascinated me. That is how I got involved into working for different organizations in Central Ameri-ca. I always tried to balance fieldwork and academia. Hence, I started to write my first book: Nicaragua – Entstehung, Charakter und Hoffnung eines neuen Weges. The book became a bestseller and it was the only book of such kind in German at that time. Many German journalists bought my book and in-vited me for interviews.

Between 1989-1991, I became president of the Austrian section of Amnesty Interna-tional. Interesting period: I did not yet con-sider myself a peace researcher. Back then I did not even know that this field existed. I rather considered myself as someone who does Latin American and Human Rights Studies. That changed as I got invited to more conferences, where I discovered that an academic branch called Peace Studies actually existed. It was in the 1990s that I started my academic work in Peace Studies.

How do you see the role of conflict trans-formation in the 21st century? Where does it fit into our society in the context of an individual?

Here I have to be a little bit picky. At our program in Innsbruck, we follow this parti-

D Y N A M I C H A R M O N Y

INTERVIEW WITH WOLFGANG DIETRICHBY INASA BIBIĆ

Many Peaces Interviews - 19

cular peace philosophy and elicitive conflict transformation. There, we tend to distin-guish between conflict resolution and con-flict transformation. And this is partly the answer to your question, since it has a lot to do with epistemology.

Conflict resolution perceives the conflict as a problem – one could almost say as a sickness – and the conflict worker as a doc-tor who comes to the patient – the conflict – and knows what is wrong. But where is the conflict? Is it within the parties, or between the parties? As a doctor, the conflict worker knows the remedy and makes some prescrip-tion. In the end, if the patient conflict follows this medication, the conflict will be resolved. And that’s the end of the story. This is a very lenient philosophy – it means that the per-ception of human relations is factorial, and therefore believes in – what the word says – resolution.

In our systemic approach of transrational peace studies, we strictly talk about conflict transformation – meaning that we under-stand conflicts as dysfunctions in relations and therefore the energy for transformation lies within dysfunctional relations. The con-flict worker does not know the answer or the solution, but can just provide a frame for the parties to meet and become aware of the dysfunctions in their communication and relations, and discover options in differences of their behavior and the way of re-lating. What you get, if this works, is a change, and not a solution. The place of conflict transformation in the 21st century is in the awareness of the systemic relational nature of conflict. This goes for all kinds of human relations – from issues of domestic violence, to the big international headliners. It is always the same thing – human rela-tions, and dysfunctions in communication.

You already said quite a lot about the approach to the conflict that is exercised at the MA Peace Studies program at the University of Innsbruck. But for some-body who does not know anything about the school, what would you like to add?

We presume that students of Peace Studies are people who want to work in the field of conflict transformation. The conflict worker can only provide the frame for encounter and dialogue. This Masters Program is not cognitive-oriented, while most other pro-grams in our field are. You will not know about 25 different conflicts in the end. We do not believe that successful peace work follows from doing only what academia

tells you. We focus on the person, the future peace worker. It is all about YOU, as the student in the program. As the peace wor-ker provides the frame for the parties, he or she has to has to fulfill a lot of requirements and needs much more subtle skills than the conventional peace worker that works as a doctor. Why? Because, to find out where the conflict between the parties lies, it takes much more than reason. Therefore, we call the approach “transrational”. It is not irra-tional; we totally accept reason and believe in all the rational methods that are availab-le. However, we also accept that the human being is more than rational, especially when it comes to conflict. Most conflicts in the world are not created reasonably, and hence cannot be solved reasonably. We start from the conviction of different layers in human nature, and try to map the human character to find out the imbalances on these layers.

Most of the time, as a conflict worker, you get a story. Nonetheless, you will never get the complete story or know the real truth – just versions, surfaces, or what we call “the narratives of conflicts.” And what you get through this narration is usually not what

the conflict is all about. That means – and everybody I think knows it – that you are fighting about things that seem to be very obvious and can be solved with a little bit of good will. But still – we keep fighting. The point is that the energy for the conflict lies on another, not immediately visible layer. And, as

the conflict worker, you need to know about these layers. We all are – as humans – fami-lial, communal, societal, and in a way glo-bal beings. All of these things are relevant for our self- interpretation.

What we are doing in our program now is that we try to equip the students – first of all – with awareness of their own aspects on all these layers, and then – according to the three principles that we are following (cor-respondence, resonance, homeostasis) – that they train these relational aspects of them-selves. This is what the whole program is about, which means that you find that the-re are few conventional, academic exercises and seminars, but all sorts of these (what you probably thought in your mind as) un-conventional things that we are doing be-cause we have to address all these previously mentioned factors. So, we (purposefully) bring the student into a situation where the-se aspects are addressed, and then a questi-on is posed: “Who am I, if?” That is more or less the point of how the program works.

“THE ART OF CONFLICT WORK HENCE DOES NOT BEGIN WITH AN EXTERNAL INTERVENTION INTO THE DYSFUNCTIONAL AFFAIRS OF

THE PARTIES, BUT WITH PROVIDING A SAFE FRAME FOR ENCOUNTER, DIALOGUE AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING.“


In a nutshell: you try to bring these dif-ferent layers into balance at the Peace Studies program. But, what about people who do not have this balance? If the con-flict stems from one layer, can you “fight” it with another one? For example, would you fight or influence the primal nature with the ethical one, or how does it go?

If we talk about balance, homeostasis me-ans dynamic balance – it is not static. Me-aning – you cannot have this balance. You are always dancing around it. In the best of all cases – if you dance the dance of life in a smooth way – you get a bit bored of that and you want the other thing.

The simple way to understanding this is just breathing. We know that the human body needs oxygen; therefore it is really good to inhale. But, if I tell you to inhale – and I do not let you stop inhaling for some minu-tes – you will feel very uncomfortable, and you will soon realize that it is great to exha-le. So after a certain time of inhaling, you feel the need to exhale. Suddenly, your value system turns around. “Wow, exhaling is so great”, because it releases you and allows you to get rid of all the particles that have to get out, and of course – it continues the dance of life in this energetic way.

This also goes for relational aspects: you want to be with a lot of people, you want to be alone. This is never totally true, but it is always like a dynamic change of desires that you have in this regard. Being aware of that is the beginning of the outer conflict trans-formation.

For a peace worker, it is important to be aware of that and know how to deal with these needs of yourself. Usually – this is our observation – most people who are interes-ted in peace work are wounded, or have been wounded. The motivation for going into such a program and such a job is that you want to do something because you have been through this or that experience, which made you want to do things like peace work. And if this is the case, you have a lot of po-tential. The wounded healer is a wonderful figure in our world. However, the woun-ded healer also means that you heal your wounds first, and then – because you know the pain – you can be empathic with others since you went through something similar.

…We respect that a conflict is about the

people who live in a certain area and with a certain conflict. The whole process is about providing the frame, and not about solving their problems. Therefore, the methods are very different, and what we are doing now

in our program is that we show the students a lot of methods that belong to this toolkit of elicitive conflict transformation, and we apply them in our directives on them. If I tell you that, for example, The Five Rhythms dance is a healing thing – then first of all, you have to dance. It does not matter that you know this, and that you know somebody who can instruct it. The point is: feel it!

It sounds like a very unique approach to Peace Studies. Going from conflict reso-lution to conflict transformation.

Perhaps I can you a concrete example – so-mewhat away from spirituality and dan-cing, but hands on. The UN has formed its missions on the clear principle of neutrality. What we did in our simulations with the Austrian army is that, for one whole week, the students did not get very much sleep – all that intertwined with changes from low to high altitudes, temperature, rain, wind, and a lot of stress.

Suddenly, they had to relocate the squads to a safe place, and just run down the steep slope, before coming to the safe place where the armed UN forces were waiting. What we then did with masked role-players was – as the soldiers were running down the slope – to have wounded people on the way, asking for help. It was clear that the shooting was going on above them and armed people were after them: meaning, they needed to run. They were really exhausted. It was a role-play, but the lack of sleep gave them a difficult time in distinguishing reality from role-play. Then, they started to yell and shout, and were trying to grab the wounded and get help – while they had to run. In this moment, the emotional reaction of so many students was truly extreme. Some of them broke the rule and said they cannot abandon the injured, trying to carry them down – which of course created a lot of troubles. Others run down, and reached the safe place. However, once they were there, they started crying and were emotionally exhausted since they did not do what the humanitarian ethical prin-ciple would tell them (to save those in need).

I can do the same thing in a classroom – discuss this internal predicament intellectu-ally – or I can show them this way, and trust me: those who run down the slope will never forget this lesson. They then know what the dilemma is. Before they go on a mission, they will think twice about that – which is what we want. We want them to be really aware of what is waiting on international missions. There are too many people who break in these situations because they are

“CONFLICT RESOLUTION PERCEIVES THE CONFLICT AS A PROBLEM – ONE COULD ALMOST SAY AS A SICKNESS – AND THE CONFLICT WORKER AS A DOCTOR WHO

COMES TO THE PATIENT – THE CONFLICT – AND KNOWS WHAT IS WRONG.“

Many Peaces Interviews - 21

not properly prepared before deployment, or do not have the psychological supervision that is necessary in such cases.

Talking about fieldwork, you are a per-son who’s done both: academic- and fieldwork. From your experience, what is a(n) “(un)typical” day on the field in a different country? What do you do, how do you collect information?

Well, the usual work is boring, compared to what you usually relate to it. An inves-tigation means reading a lot, meeting peo-ple, having interviews, networking, writing reports, checking a lot of material… Partly it is not that boring, because you met a lot of interesting people in the interviews, peop-le who have gone through things. But, after a while, you get used to that, and it is not that emotionally striking anymore. For ex-ample, if you talk to somebody who has gone through torture, or has lost a family mem-ber – it is certainly touching. But listening to that often becomes a routine.

You develop a kind of insensitivity.

Yes, and it is necessary as a professional mode. It is very important to be careful with yourself to be able to distinguish between this professional mode that is crucial (other-wise, you’ll just be sick all the time and that is not helpful for anybody) and your private mode, where you get your senses (re)activa-ted to find your personal balance. Again, it is about the balance here.

This work on the field though – to go back to your question – is not that thrilling. Then again, there are exceptional projects that are reported in the newspapers – when you do a real hard investigation like forensics, or you visit (like the things I did in Guatemala) and talk to people whose villages have been completely wiped out (wondering how they survived at all), or if you become involved with the guerilla movements and so on. The-se things – yes, they are thrilling.

However, they are exceptional, not an everyday life routine. You usually work qui-te normal days for about two months, then you have one day with the people. But still, things can be very dense.

For example, in Guatemala I evaluated projects with people who were in danger, and that is not boring because “nothing hap-pens until nothing happens.” But, you never know whether something will. That means, they could sit like the two of us here and suddenly somebody comes in and shoots you or me. You may be on the uninvolved side,

but you never know. So, on the one hand, nothing happens – on the other hand, there is always a high level of tension in the room. You need to learn how to cope with these things. This is again the question of balance, and also seeing with whom you are. Some of the heroes of these movements really are the people who look for danger, so you should pose the question of what it is that drives them. Is it the cause that they have on their flag? Or maybe some personal aspect that is (again) hidden behind the story? This is what I have found very often in these revo-lutionary settings.

This is probably a good point to make a connective transition from the topic of conflict transformation to “Acting for Peace.” You are the academic coordinator of the short course – did you know about the United World Colleges before?

Only vaguely. Paul Müller and Gebi Schatz came to me with the idea of “Acting for Peace”, and I said it sounds good. After that, I familiarized myself with the UWC move-ment and I found out that it is quite similar to what we are doing in Innsbruck, just with another age group. The UWC principles and the history made it recommendable for me to cooperate in this project. It was also quite convenient that it would be happening here, in Imst – a town close to which I live and am connected to.

Lastly, what would be your message to these young people – our “actors for peace?”

I think that what we have already discussed is a major part of the message. My experi-ence with the young people is that they grow up in this modern narrative that conflicts are a problem that has to be solved. I think that this belief in itself is dangerous. Giving them an idea that being alive means cons-tant encounter, constant interrelation, and the challenge of the decision between self-conservation and self-enlargement. That too is the beauty of life – this dance of life. If we accept the plurality of peaces, and accept the challenge of letting them meet and see what they produce, then – life is different.

I also think that is a very rewarding expe-rience, especially for young people. They do not get stuck in these solution-based beliefs – excluding seemingly strange, crazy things – and they can accept that sometimes, even the paradox might be the promotion to a higher level of life.

“MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE YOUNG PEOPLE IS THAT THEY GROW UP IN THIS MODERN NARRATIVE THAT CONFLICTS

ARE A PROBLEM THAT HAS TO BE SOLVED. I THINK THAT THIS BELIEF IN ITSELF IS

DANGEROUS.“


M A S T E R S O F P E A C EINTERVIEW WITHFILMMAKER SANANDA KIRSCHNER

With his camera the Tyrolean filmmaker Sananda Kirschner followed a generation of peace students for an entire semester. He interviewed current students, faculty members and alumni about their experi-ences in Peace Studies and their notions of a concept that has many meanings. We have talked to him about this remarkable project.

How would you describe yourself as a person and filmmaker?

Sananda Kirschner: I am someone who feels a little bit different than most people of his age group. I have other things in mind. For example I have never stepped foot in a disco; this is something that does not interest me at all. When I know that at the other end of the world a rainforest is cut down or a tragic event is happening, I simply cannot sit passively. What occurs in the world makes me unable to rest.

I am very grateful to be born in Austria, a country that has granted peace to its people

for more than 70 years. And I am especially thankful to have grown up at Native Spirit, a place that has enabled me to freely pursue my interests since my early childhood. Over time, I took interest in alternative topics like fringe science, according to which the earth might have been visited by an extraterrestri-al civilization in early times. Such provoca-tive ideas go beyond the limits of the social status quo and have always fascinated me. So, to summarize, I could describe myself as someone who tries to make the most of his short life on earth. Thanks to my experiences and opportunities, I strongly feel that time is precious. I believe that it is important to provide impetus for the future. Even if our acts, as individuals, are small and seemingly insignificant, we can move the world.

One way of giving people impetus is by making movies. My aim is to create an en-hanced audiovisual experience that deeply touches the audience’s emotions. I like com-bining clear, sharp and beautiful shots with emotional music. Pictures and music pro-duce emotions that can move us positively

SANANDA KIRSCHNER is 17 years old. He grew up and lives together with his fa-ther Peter Kirschner in Tyrol at the International School of Life & Nature called Native Spirit. Beside school, he has become an independent film-maker and founded his own film company, “Native Spirit Media“. Contact: [email protected]; Website: www.native-spirit.at

and increase our motivation. I hope that the people who watch my documentaries can be moved in this way. I want to arouse their inner emotions - emotions they might not even be aware of. I see so many people sitting in the train or bus with a grumpy, unhap-py face who actually have a treasure inside themselves and do not know about it!

Why did you decide to create a movie about the Innsbruck School of Peace Stu-dies?

The idea itself to create a movie arose in Ja-nuary 2014. In fact, my father is the one who told me about it. At the beginning, because of other ideas I had in mind, I was not sure if I would realize that project. Then, it beca-me clear to me that I would make a movie about the Peace Studies in Innsbruck. Since Native Spirit has played an important role in the Peace Studies for a long time by offe-ring a spiritual approach to students, I can say that I grew up with this program. Thus, I realized by myself that it is a unique, ver-satile, thoughtfully organized and valuable program, although it is not as well-known as it could be. Through my project I want to give the program - which stands right in front of my door in Innsbruck - the possi-bility to get more media attention in online forums and beyond. In that way, those who have a potential interest in peace work have can get a first look into the theoretical and practical contents of the Peace Studies. In my eyes, the Innsbruck School is only at its beginning. It is very young and has great potential. I hope that this movie will help the tree of international peace work to grow further. Masters of Peace is intended to pay homage to Wolfgang Dietrich’s work and to

everyone who has made a contribution to the Innsbruck School.

What are your artistic intentions behind this movie?

In terms of art, my primary intentions are to show through images combined with tou-ching music and personal interviews how each of us, independently from our culture

and religion, can become a peace worker. I want to sensitize people to the large topic of peace(s) and lead them to reflect upon their own inner peace. We often forget to listen to our inner peaceful voice and find peace in ourselves.

Nowadays, western democratic countries impose their definitions of peace upon other countries at the other side of the world, their primary aim being to grab resources instead of helping civilian populations. It is for ex-ample proven that the Iraq War has been provoked by lies spread in the media. This preoccupies me and makes me very angry because it is unclear if people are helped or not. Therefore, I appeal to everyone who is in peace with him/herself to do something for peace instead of leading war for war al-ways follows one principle: get the power.

How did you experience the process of producing the movie?

I was able to get an insight into other ac-tivities outside Native Spirit! That was very interesting and gave me a change of perspec-tive. In addition, I learnt a lot on camera work and editing. So, this film and the shoo-ting helped to my own development. It took me to another level, which amazingly it hap-pened automatically. When I watched again my very first documentary (Crop Circles 2013), I realized how much I would change it if I cut it once more. But I am also happy with my first project. Who you are as a film designer is defined by the way you look at things. And one of the things you constant-ly do is question what you did in the past so that you constantly redesign and develop your abilities and senses. My first film pro-ject enriched me a lot and today I cannot imagine planning a new project without that experience.

What have you been able to take with you from this experience?

In addition to the cinematic experience, I gained something else. The motivation of the students in their role-plays and their efforts to deal with themselves rose my at-tention and gave me hope in the fact that planet Earth and humanity are not lost, so to say. In the Innsbruck School I do not see any competition among students but rather people who are strengthened and renewed in their personality, hence more capable of con-tributing to peace. I wish the program and all the students the best for the future and to be actively involved in peace in one form or another.

“I HOPE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO WATCH MY DOCUMENTARIES CAN BE MOVED IN THIS

WAY. I WANT TO AROUSE THEIR INNER EMOTIONS - EMOTIONS THEY MIGHT NOT

EVEN BE AWARE OF.“

Watch the Masters of Peace Movie on the UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies‘ new Youtube Channel.


THE SOCIAL LEADERSHIP ACADEMY IN ALGERIA

A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, BY ISABELLE GUIBERT

On 7 August 2014 I left Innsbruck for Algiers, the capital of Algeria, a country that means a lot to me due to personal, his-torical and family reasons. Nassima Dzair had invited me there to take part in the first edition of the Social Leadership Acade-my (SLA) she had founded a few months earlier. With a back-ground in medicine, Nassima is also a student in Peace Studies (ST13, UPeace 13/14, WT14), for she strongly believes that peace and health are interrelated. Born from Algerian parents in Norway, she created an Algerian start-up in 2014, Inter-Bridge, which itself gave birth to the SLA as a means to develop the potential of the Algerian youth, who represent 65% of the population. This is an “invaluable human capital” according to Nassima who believes that “personal empowerment is the gate-way to collective leadership”. Consequently, InterBridge’s mis-sion is to develop and promote leadership in the various sectors of society. Its slogan is “Activate your potential”, a task that the SLA has proposed to fulfill.

A C T I V A T I N G P O T E N T I A L SFrom the four corners of Algeria

To that aim 33 young Algerians, aged between 18 and 30 and ori-ginated from different social and geographical backgrounds of the country, were selected. The language used at the SLA is Eng-lish, which is already innovative and audacious knowing that, as a former colony of France (1830-1962), Algeria is the second largest francophone country worldwide where French is widely used in politics, culture, media and high education. As part of the selection process, the candidates had to fill an application form and send a one-minute video. Among other questions they were asked what are in their opinion the most important social issu-es in Algeria and what solutions they would suggest to address them. More personally they were questioned about what inspires them in life and what they wish to improve about themselves. As a member of the selecting team, I was amazed – and moved – by the genuineness, the dynamism and the critical mind of the can-didates, as well as by the excellent command of English many of them proved to have.

A mosaic of facilitators

On the evening of Sunday 10 August 2014, coming from all cor-ners of Algeria, the 33 selected gathered in the outskirts of Al-

NASSIMA DZAIR

Elicitive Peace Worker - 25

giers, at the coastal hotel Riadh that was to host the whole event until 18 August. So, then, when the Opening Ceremony started, 33 expectant young people with shining eyes and bright smiles were standing in front of us, the organising and training team. We were composed of about 15 Algerians and Europeans with different (his)stories, ages, geographical origins and educational backgrounds: artists, educators, entrepreneurs, consultants, soci-al and medical workers. Beside our diversity though, at least two common factors had all brought us here. On the one hand: our faith in human potential, on an individual as well as on a societal level, and our will to contribute to its development. On the other hand: our belief in Nassima’s initiative and vision.

Journey through three pillars

The programme was organised around three main pillars. The first one, named “Me, Myself, and I”, was aimed to encourage the par-ticipants to discover themselves and strengthened their potential. They were posed the following question: How am I connected to my inner voice? Be it by drawing, acting or telling, they would expose their self to each other. For example, they discussed their life-paths, values, fears and desire, strengths and weaknesses. Personally, I co-facilitated the first workshop of the week titled “Storytelling”. Among the activities my colleague and I offered the participants, three in particular remain etched in my memory. The first one was the active listening session which I myself took part of. My partner was an 18-year-old participant who so genui-nely opened up to me that I perceived him as a pure raw gem and thought to myself how rare and precious that is. The participants were trustful and avid to share confidences with their partner. Further, I facilitated a meditation by which the participants were invited to visualise their personal life journey so far and inwardly answer the question: What brought me where I am today? That exercise created a space for everyone to contemplate and integrate how each particular existential event – be it painful or enjoyable – has a reason for being, a legitimate and unique place in each in-dividual life puzzle. It led to another activity, the personal journey map, by which the participants could draw the life journey they had just visualised in the meditation.

The second pillar, “Me and My Relations”, was motivated by the question of how the participants interact with their entoura-ge (family, friends, colleagues, etc.). In other words, it focused on their interpersonal connections and interactions, which is to say communication with others, intercultural dialogue, personal per-ceptions and emotional intelligence. Within that frame two work-shops that drew on elicitive methods ran in parallel: “Sound and Music Discovery” and “Theatre of the Oppressed”. The latter was the workshop Nassima had requested me to prepare for the SLA, which was an honour for me. I had had the chance to be introdu-ced into that method by David Diamond, Birgit Fritz and Michael Thonhauser. Nevertheless, it was an enormous challenge to faci-litate a workshop of my own. I had one day at my disposal, which amounted to only half a day per group of about 15 people. I started both sessions with various warm-up and preparatory exercises, before shortly introducing Augusto Boal, the concept of oppres-sion and two main techniques among Boal’s tools – Rainbow of Desire and Cops in the Head – focusing on forms of internalised oppression. The rest of the session was dedicated to the Rainbow of Desire. Among the stories the participants offered, each group selected the one they considered being the most representative of Algerian cultural issues, namely a man torn between his wife and

his mother and a young woman forced to marriage. In both cases, the fears and desires of the respective Protagonists were explored. The participants’ commitment and concern was astonishing! The experience was deep, constructive and transforming. I felt blessed when one of the story tellers confided to me that our work had helped him to stop feeling like a victim. I thank Nassima for the trust she gave me.

Both the music and the theatre workshop led to the analysis of crises and paradigm shifts and to the third pillar, “Me and My Society”. The latter concentrated on the participants’ societal in-teractions, which involved environmental consciousness and responsibility, crisis management, negotiating and making one’s voice heard. The following questions were raised: What is my role in society? How do I communicate to society? In that respect a World Café was set up around five stations. Each of them invited the participants to a personal and group reflexion on the Algerian society.

Balancing spirit, body and mind

Regarding the form, every day started on the beach with yoga, me-ditation, swimming or running, one of the principles of the SLA being the balance between spirit, body and mind. After breakfast, a check-in gathered the participants who then joined their respec-tive workshops from 9 till 18 hours, with a two-hour lunch break in between. That space was meant for them to freely design their time and have the opportunity to be alone, get together or talk to the facilitators.

After dinner, the evening offered a platform for various events. One evening, for instance, every participant had a chance at per-forming a free expression, like playing a musical instrument, sin-ging, dancing, declaiming a self-written poetry, telling a story, etc. That evening is still vivid in my memory as a deeply touching moment. Some participants surprised everyone by revealing their hidden talent or story. Another evening, an atelier was set up by two Algerian artists who then invited the participants to paint their self-portrait on individual canvas. A multi-coloured and multifaceted expression of creativity! Another time, an Algerian cultural evening was organised for the participants to dress in their regional costume and perform a traditional dance.

On Monday 18 August the Academy was crowned by the Closing Ceremony to which relatives and officials were invited. Before that however participants, organisers and facilitators had their own ceremony where I offered to facilitate a wonderful ritual learnt at a Peace Studies’ Closing Ceremony. A deeply moving ex-perience for everyone that fulfilled me beyond expectation.

Personal discovery and transformation

After three terms as a Peace Studies student, it felt extremely enri-ching and gratifying to work “on the other side” as a facilitator and put in practice some elicitive tools I had acquired in Innsbruck. And the SLA gave me that opportunity! Remembering how the Peace Studies facilitators had accompanied me throughout my own doubts and crisis was a real source of inspiration. Therefore, having the privilege to be there for the participants, welcoming their words with an open heart, helping them to see things in ano-ther light, observing their transformation(s) embodied a kind of outcome and therefore a new opening in my life.

Concerning our team, a colourful bunch of beautiful and lo-ving people, we had to deal with intercultural and interpersonal


conflicts. For some reason, though, I personally felt emotionally balanced and neutral; I could really understand everyone’s point of view and feelings and was in the here and now. I was happy. Admittedly, my position within the SLA constellation was unique: indeed, among the Europeans I was the only one who already had beforehand a strong connection to Algeria, due to my French ori-gins and my family, as explained underneath. So, beyond the SLA, getting to know Algeria was one of my old dreams and I did feel in my element. Further, I have lived in extremely different coun-tries. During several years, I even literarily “commuted” between Innsbruck and Buenos Aires, going constantly from structured and predictable Austria to chaotic and improvising Argentina, and vice versa. Additionally, in the past years, I got the chance to take part in socio-artistic projects in West-African countries. My partner himself is from Senegal. All in all, the conflictual issues at the SLA allowed me to fully appreciate how much my intercultu-ral experiences had brought me: comprehension for the respective expectations of my North-European and Algerian colleagues, as well as for the administrative and infrastructural vagaries of the country. Organically, I thus became a kind of “emotional support” to the team before I was even aware of it. When the team chose me as their mediator, I was speechless and honoured. It was not an easy task, but I was in tune with myself and discovered that I want to explore that field. I am deeply grateful to the beautiful role my colleagues gave me.

Yet, the most significant and eye-opening experience was my encounter with the Algerians and Algeria. As mentioned above, Algeria has long been a sensitive topic for me. On the one hand, is-sues such as the perpetual existence of oppressors and oppressed, majority population and second-rank-citizens, the way(s) how and why people respond to conflict, humiliation and discrimina-tion have always been important to me. Henceforth, from an early age I started to enquire into the French colonisation system, in particular the case of Algeria and the Algerian War of Indepen-dence (1954-1962), sadly famous for the cruelty of the methods the French Army then inaugurated. On the other hand, in 1937, my paternal grandfather served as police officer in what was called at the time French Algeria. His love for the Algerian people often cost him the contempt of his colleagues and superiors. Somehow, my trip also meant following in my grandfather‘s footsteps. As a matter of fact, I was both excited and nervous to travel to Algeria. How would the Algerians perceive me for being French? Well, my encounter with them was extraordinarily transformative. Not only was I received with open arms and heart, but I even felt privileged. Thus, I could get rid of some of my ghosts related to the colonial past. I was heard and I got answers. Certainly, a few SLA partici-pants later confided in me that they were full of prejudices when they first met me, for they “did not like the French”. Yet, they were able to look above my nationality and see me. It definitely changed something, they said. Among the messages they wrote to me, one in particular healed my soul: “When I am with you, I feel at home”.

Leaving Algeria and its people was heart-breaking. One day In-shallah I will return.

I would like to express my profound gratitude to Nassima for invi-ting me to contribute to the SLA and opening me the doors of her beautiful country.

ISABELLE GUIBERT (ST‘12, WT‘13, ST‘13) is living in Austria, where she teaches French and Spanish at Innsbruck University and MCI. She researches on Trauma, Amnesia, Memory and Resilience in relation to the Argentine dictatorship (1976-83). Contact: [email protected]

web: http://social-leadership-algeria.com/facebook: Interbridge

Elicitive Peace Worker - 27

THE SOCIAL INNOVATION ACADEMY IS ELICITING POTENTIALS IN UGANDA

BY EMINA BRIGA

Our very own Etienne Salborn from Berlin, generation of Winter and Summer Terms 2012-2013, is the founder of the So-cial Innovation Academy (SINA) in Mpigi Town, Uganda. SINA is a place where the impossible becomes possible, where dreams come true, and worldviews change. SINA is the first innovation centre of its kind in Eastern Africa and a unique learning space that could become a model for project-based learning around the globe. The philosophy is that everybody has potential and creativity, which can be unleashed in a curious way. At SINA scholars have the space to explore their own talents beyond conventional ways. The focus areas in this academy are empo-werment, transformation, sustainability, innovation, (self-)lea-dership, and change of perspectives.

During the planning phase of the establishment of the Academy, Etienne was highly inspired by the experience and knowledge he gained within the field of Peace Studies. More specifically, he used the idea of a practice-oriented approach. The elicitive approach

F A C I L I T A T I N G L E A R N I N G

ETIENNESALBORN


is also central at SINA as empowerment emerges from processes that promote participation in discovering appropriate responses to identified needs and challenges among the scholars of the aca-demy. Regarding the education system in Uganda, Etienne intro-duced ideas, based on Freire‘s education philosophy, which he de-veloped during his semester in the Peace Education Department of the University for Peace (UPeace) in Costa Rica, one of our partner universities. This journey inspired and helped Etienne to embrace his own potential in order to make his vision come true.

Etienne has an extensive working experience in Uganda, whe-re he first served his civil service as a volunteer in an orphanage. By the end of his service in 2007, Uganda had made such an im-pact on him that he decided to continue his work with the or-phans. The orphanage could, at this time, only provide primary education. Then, the children would be left on their own at the

age of twelve or thirteen. In 2009, Etienne managed to establish Jangu, an NGO that could allow these children to pursue their education at secondary school level. Jangu means “come [here]” in the Luganda language. It started as a small initiative, with ten children, and has since expanded into a bigger project involving international donors.

In Uganda the youth unemployment rate is 83% and young people can hardly find any work without higher education. There are possibilities to find occasional, physically hard work, but this is something students could do without any education as well. Due to this reality, the school dropout rate is high. Even after finishing secondary school, it remains difficult to experience social mobility. Etienne decided to do something about that, which is the reason why SINA was established. The aim of the academy is to reduce school dropout rates, develop alternatives to the colonial educa-tional system and at the same time create new working places by empowering youth to discover their potentials and abilities.

SINA handles these structural challenges through facilitation and self-led employment. Scholars and facilitators work, live and learn together while discovering their potentials and developing their ideas into social enterprises. Although Etienne is the founder of the academy, he has no higher rank than the other facilitators and scholars. The academy started operating in May 2014, with fifteen scholars and fifteen facilitators. Eight of the scholars are from Jangu and seven from the communities around the capital, Kampala.

While introducing this new approach to the scholars, the first phase was all about changing mind-sets. As the scholars were ac-customed to hierarchies, structures and orders, it was necessary to focus on values such as equality, creativity, awareness and self-leadership. Different tools such as Non Violent Communication, Theme Centred Interaction and Active Listening were introduced

“EDUCATION CAN EITHER EMPOWER YOUTH TO TRANSFORM THE WORLD, OR IT CAN SOCIALIZE THE YOUNGER GENERATION TO

FIT AND FOLLOW THE RULES AND STRUCTURES OF THE OLDER GENERATION.”

PAULO FREIRE

Etienne Salborn and President Museveni

with the aim of integrating alternative mindsets. During the pre-paration process, the scholars were also trained to take initiative and responsibility. The first steps of project-based learning were facilitated by two of Etienne‘s colleagues from UPeace, Ted Cue-vas and Mansi Panjwani.

The innovative learning experience started as soon as the pro-ject was launched, because until then there were no facilities to work in. Since the facilities of the learning spaces had to be con-structed and to really embody the concept of sustainable project-based learning and innovation, the SINA team decided to build their facilities from start to finish together. The learning spaces are made of bottle bricks, following the concept of ‘upcycling’, a process which entails creating new products from waste materials. Thousands of bottles, which otherwise would have been burnt, have been collected. In a next step, the bottles were filled with soil. This method is efficient in multiple ways, because the bricks are free of costs and they are environmentally friendly as the waste is reduced and the raw material is used to create something of hig-her value. The construction itself is part of the curriculum of the academy. So far, they have managed to build two learning spaces, the objective being to construct fifteen.

This fosters empowerment, creativity, innovative skills and sen-se of ownership amongst the scholars. It also enhances confidence and understanding that by working together and using their own ideas they can transform their challenges into a better future and environment. This is a great example of how scholars can use the potential that lies within their challenges and conflicts, by apply-ing creative means to transform and create a dignified and content life.

The scholars at SINA are free to design their own projects in small groups. They are holistically mentored until the realization of their innovative projects. These projects range anywhere from social, technical, agricultural and artistic, to mention just a few. In this open learning space, they are the essence of the academy‘s curriculum. The scholars are rather encouraged to find helpful in-formation that is useful for their projects and then decide autono-mously how to employ it in a constructive way. The only condition is that it should be beneficial for society, the environment and the group.

The academy is run in a sustainable way. In addition to their projects, all the scholars have to take part in different responsi-bility groups. These groups have to cooperate and stay synchro-nised, in order to fulfil tasks from fundraising to checking that everything at the academy is done in a sustainable manner, but also to learn how an organization can function. Learning by doing all the way through is central to SINA’s philosophy. Moreover, a fundamental idea is that the academy will be self-sufficient and eventually run by its own scholars.

SINA‘s vision is to develop by collaborating with local partners. Their goal is to be entirely democratically governed and led by Ugandans themselves so that there will be no need for the current facilitators at the academy. Etienne and his team of scholars and facilitators have certainly created a place where education can be used as a place to empower youth to transform their world.

If you wish to know more about Etienne‘s work in SINA you can read his thesis: “Prototyping a Freesponsible Solution for Uganda‘s Educational Challenges“, which is based on this project.

EMINA BRIGA (WT‘12, ST‘12, UPeace‘12/13, WT‘13) is currently based in Norway, researching Identity and Belonging among Bosnians in Norway through the lens of Active Citizenship. Contact: [email protected]

web: http://www.socialinnovationacademy.org http://www.jangu.orgfacebook: Social Innovation Academy - SINAemail: [email protected]


In my thesis I used personal experiences and I focued on the in-teraction between individuals and teams. The research investiga-tes aspects of interdependent interaction within a team and how the process of self-actualization as well as conflict transformation of individuals and teams can be fostered. By assuming that the misconception between the self and others impedes the progress of the individual and the collective process of self-actualization, it deals with attitudes and methods of how the plurality of selves can be integrated on the individual interpersonal as well as intra-personal level. Concepts of humanistic psychology add views and values to create a new understanding of roles the individual plays in the interaction within a team and how these attitudes influence the team and its processes. Biographical reflections illustrate my personal experiences within team dynamics and are used to illu-minate the destructive potential of certain patterns within human behaviour for the individual and the team.

Ten months and 185 pages later… It took some time to finish my thesis and when someone asked me how it was going, I would have loved to start crying and complaining for being complete-ly lost in the process of writing. Looking back now I can see the uniqueness of this time and actually it seems so easy to just go through it. Writing and contemplating about topics and personal disturbances triggered my curiosity and encouraged me throug-hout those times.

DISCOVERING HIDDEN DYNAMICS: SELF-REALIZATION AND TEAM BUILDING FOR PEACE AND CONFLICT WORKERS THROUGH ELICITIVE CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION

ANDREAS ACHATZ became an International Civi-lian Peacekeeper after finishing his thesis in March 2014. He lived and worked with the International Organization Nonviolent Peaceforce in the conflic-ting area of the Philippines in Mindanao. While wri-ting his thesis he was accompanied and supervised by Wolfgang Dietrich. Contact: [email protected]

N E W M A S T E R S O F P E A C E

My thesis searches for words where words seem inadequate in expressing the dynamic truths of an experienced conflict. I explo-re how a metaphoric understanding of the Middle East as an open space full of resonating sound bodies can be applied to the Midd-le East Conflict (MEC). Through inquiring into the experienced truths of large scale political violence, I suggest that music carries a potential for speaking such ‘unspeakable’ truths. This thesis ex-plores hidden layers and narratives by applying the transrational approach to Peace Studies and proposes a non-territorial under-standing of the MEC. It proposes that security and justice discour-ses make up the dominant primary themes in the context of the MEC. Support for this claim is provided in the second part of the thesis, in which the Israeli-Palestinian group, The Jerusalem Youth Chorus, and the Egyptian band Eskenderella are examined as case studies. I seek to uncover where their truths meet within and bey-ond the restrictions of formalized language. Vernacular music, in this case is found to carry the highest potential for elicitive conflict transformation and suggests that in moments, when singers and audience alike are guided by the energy of the moment, they are speaking a truth that is an expression of a deep resonance. This resonance can penetrate all layers of a persona, connecting the personal self to everything in one’s social space. I conclude that in such moments, there is the largest potential for fundamental, revolutionary change in the dynamics of a rigid conflict.

My thesis research has been a challenging but certainly equally rewarding process. Instead of one semester I took an entire extra year, which for me was needed as it has helped me integrating many of the things that were triggered during my time as a stu-dent in Innsbruck. My inquiry into the complexities of the MEC through a transrational lens implied turning my attention always also towards my inner faculties as a perceiving subject and that has taken me to new and unknown territories.

SPEAKING THE UNSPEAKABLE: SOUNDS OF THE MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT

ADHAM HAMED is one of the editors of the Many Peaces Magazine and the Coordinator of the Innsbruck Academic Festival of Many Peaces. He has been working as an Academic Trainer at various Native Challenge Field Training Exercises. In this framework he has developed and facilita-ted seminars about the role of culture in armed conflicts, preparing Austrian soldiers for their in-theatre training inputs for peace students. He is currently working on refugee and migration issues as a Research Fellow at the Austrian Red Cross. Contact: [email protected], Blog: adham-hamed.wordpress.com

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Research - 31


Growing up and living in Tanzania, I have come to appreciate the relative safety in my surroundings; this ranges from present political opposition that seems to erupt in small doses- to people’s struggle against poverty especially at the grassroots level whe-re the majority of the population strive for basics like food and shelter. People in the neighboring states, however, have had a fair share of conflict and violence.

My research is a presentation of the conflict in eastern DRC (North Kivu) where insecurity is posed in form of violent conflict, tension among the people, and natural hazards. I focus on the cha-otic pattern that the process of peace and violence has taken over the past two decades hence my relation to chaos theory. What I note in this study is how human security has been affected, that is, presence and quality of human life starting with an individual’s denial of safety and dignity over choices regarding one’s life.

There were moments when I was so absorbed in the writing and reading, my mother and friends complained about how silent I had become, nowhere close to my usual self. In my defense, rea-ding on the situation in the Congo and corresponding with per-sons on the ground made my real life seem unreal. Then there where days when I felt I had run low on energy and inspiration to go on, I quickly reached out to my usual self- travel, friends, food until I felt my thesis calling me back; I would get ideas, someone would offer to connect me to someone on the ground and I knew this is my next cue.

PERSISTING HUMAN IN-SECURITY: THE CASE OF NORTH KIVU

ALBERTINA N. MWAIKUKA is a relatively peace-ful soul based in Tanzania currently working with Rift Valley Children Fund in Arusha. She achieved this study under the guidance of Dr. Annette Weber, a visiting lecturer from SWP (German Institute for International and Security Affairs). Contact: [email protected]

My thesis examines the intrapersonal dimension of the ecologi-cal crisis. By also comprehending the social phenomenon of crisis as an inner crisis, climate change becomes my very own change. The far-reaching ecological crisis - exemplified by climate change - thus reveals to be a crises for my social environment.

In order to understand the process as a whole I have to un-derstand my ecological imbalance as part of a transformation. By embracing my inner conflicts as the central stage of the crisis I am able to explore new spaces of opportunity by myself and within me. A deeper understanding of how society uses to cope with cli-mate change helps me to enhance my self-awareness. It helps me to become a creative artist of my inner world. Climate change thus emerges as a fertile climate for my personal change.

After breaking five ribs while being in Croatia for a 5 Rhythms workshop, I made my decision: I started the five chapters of my thesis when I was still recovering, following the rhythms. Now that I am graduating I see that this wave has carried me through different stages of introspection.

In the same way I was thrown on the ground in Croatia I have thrown „My Climate Change“ on paper. Often my thesis was wri-ting (and riding) me. I am relieved to have left this wave behind and I am ready to catch the next one.

(Thesis is written in German)

MY CLIMATE CHANGE

PAUL LAUER is based in Vienna and works for an environmental NGO. He has been working as an Academic Trainer at various Native Challenge Field Training Exercises. His research interests are mainly based in conflict transformation within the field of ecology. His thesis was supervised by Dr. Norbert Koppensteiner. Contact: [email protected]

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The success of the Eurosceptic and right-wing populists parties during the European Parliament Elections of 2014 took many by surprise. In my opinion however, it revealed a sense of resonance these parties had struck within the populace. Observably, they argued that they represented the ´people´ which existing politi-cal foundations had failed to do. In the same line, they strongly used different mechanisms to underline who did and who did not belong to the ´people´, making immigration highly politicized. Interacting with the campaign material from three parties the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), the aim of my research was to examine how the arguments about the ‘other’ were built. Having observed that security and fear were key categories in mobilization, I came to the conclusion that to a lar-ge extent, these parties capitalized on a ‘politics of fear’. Arguing that ‘othering’ is a form of structural violence against the outer groups, I examined how this discourse endangered the rights of the minorities.

I experienced my thesis writing process as a beautiful and chal-lenging journey. It was complicated to find the right lens at the beginning. Living, as an immigrant in Europe, I had been in a process of negotiating my sense of belonging and many painful memories were triggered at first. Having acquired the necessary distance however, I loved diving into my research material and the available scholarly works.

THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE `OTHER´ BY EURO-SCEPTIC AND WING POPULIST PARTIES: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE 2014 EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTION CAMPAIGNS

MARY OPIO was born in Uganda and moved to Germany in 2002. Having specialized in immig-ration during her undergraduate degree, she has worked in two different schools for young refugees in Munich where she also lives today. Her thesis was supervised by Dr. Annette Weber. Contact: [email protected]

My thesis explores aspects of two major Hindu epics, the Rama-yana and the Mahabharata, and the effect they have on the preva-lence and propagation of rape and rape culture in Indian society. I attempted to analyse the deep-rooted connection between my-thology, cultural traditions and the acceptance of rape as a normal phenomenon within my own society. My analysis included both aspects of mythology that contribute on the one hand to victim blaming and a lack of justice for rape victims and could be used on the other hand to deter rape and create a more inclusive and gender friendly society. This analysis included not only the nega-tive treatment of women, but also a distrust and victimisation of the ‘feminine’.

Writing this thesis has been an extremely meaningful experience for me. I grew up being told that, as a woman, I was responsible for my own safety and that, if anything were to happen to me, I would be the one to blame for not taking appropriate precautions. This attitude has always angered and distressed me and I hoped to touch briefly upon the ways in which they could be transformed in my own society. The thesis has been for me a way to examine my own inner conflicts around religion, Hindu mythology, Indian culture and my own personal belief systems. I hope that this thesis will encourage all individuals to examine rape culture within their own cultures and address what I believe is a global problem not unique to my society.

“DE-MYTHIFYING RAPE”: AN ANALYSIS OF GENDER-BASED SEXUAL VIOLENCE

IN THE RAMAYANA AND THE MAHABHARATA

SHIBANI PANDYA was born and brought up in Mumbai, India and is currently working at UN Women, Singapore Committee on public educa-tion initiatives related to violence against women, trafficking, financial and political empowerment for women and gender equality in the work force. Her thesis supervisor was Annette Weber, who fuelled her passion for gender related issues. Contact: [email protected]


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Research - 33

A 83% youth unemployment rate together with one of the high-est population growth rates in the world is a combination leading to social problems in Uganda. Ideas and innovations tackling the challenges exist but the educational system rarely allows for social innovations to happen. Uganda became a world leader in youth unemployment through its rigid educational system. Only few young people are able to take the step, and the risks involved for prototyping new solutions to social challenges. The educational system is preparing youth for something that does not exist any-more for everyone in Uganda: employment; and the system is fai-ling to adapt to change.

Through writing the thesis, I went deep into the subject matter and was shocked with the findings and results I was coming ac-ross. I found out, that through educational sponsorships of youth in Uganda through my NGO “Jangu e.V.”, I was actively promoting the broken school system myself. The research led me to look for answers and to start the Social Innovation Academy (SINA). A place where no teachers exist and no single answer is correct. I am grateful of having had the opportunity to write the master’s thesis because it put me on track for creating SINA. The dream and vision started through the academic writing and hopefully ends in the empowerment of thousands of young people and the badly needed drastic changes within education in Uganda and all around the world.

PROTOTYPING A FREESPONSIBLE SOLUTION FOR UGANDA’S EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES

ETIENNE SALBORN was born in Germany and lives in Uganda, where he started the NGO Jangu e.V. and is currently establishing and living in the Social Innovation Academy (SINA). His thesis supervisor was Daniela Ingruber, whom he got to know better also during his exchange semester in „Peace Education“ at the United Nations man-dated University for Peace (UPEACE). Contact: [email protected]


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M A N Y P E A C E S P U B L I C A T I O N S

Wolfgang Dietrich

VARIATIONEN ÜBER DIE VIELEN FRIEDEN

Band 3: Elicitive Conflict Mapping

Der dritte Band der Variationen über die vielen Frieden von Wolfgang Dietrich vervollständigt die Trilogie über den friedens- und konflikttheoretischen Ansatz des Innsbrucker UNESCO Chairs for Peace Studies. Aufbauend auf die philosophischen Grundlagen das Band 1 und die methodisch-didaktischen Über-legungen des Band 2 präsentiert Band 3 Elicitive Conflict Map-ping als praktisches Werkzeug angewandter Konfliktarbeit.

Die Methode wird im ersten Teil hergeleitet, begründet und beschrieben, um ihre Anwendung vom intrapersonalen Konflikt, über persönliche zwischenmenschliche Konflikte bis zum gro-ßen politischen Feld in allen Zusammenhängen nachvollziehbar zu machen. Im zweiten Teil wird die Methode anhand konkre-ter Lernbeispiele getestet. Der Autor greift auf weithin bekannte Film- und Literaturbeispiele, an denen sich das Publikum selbst mit der Methode versuchen kann. Anschließend wendet er die Methode auf seine persönlichen Erfahrungen an.

Der Band belehrt nicht. Er lädt zum gemeinsamen Lernen, Re-flektieren und Üben in elicitiver Konflikttransformation.

Adham Hamed (Ed.)

REVOLUTION AS A PROCESS: THE CASE OF THE EGYPTIAN UPRISING

As Egyptian society stands at a point of extreme polarization, this book about the Egyptian Revolution makes an important con-tribution to current debates about the Arab uprisings by bringing together theoretical and practitioner’s perspectives. The clear aim of this edited volume of the series Contemporary Studies on the MENA Region is not to construct a singular narrative about the revolution but rather to highlight the multiplicity and complexi-ty of perspectives and theoretical lenses. Consequently, this book brings together authors from diverse academic and cultural back-grounds, from the Middle East and the Global North, to raise their voices. This publication addresses scholars of the social sciences, peace and conflict research as well as anyone interested in deve-loping a better understanding of the political situation in Egypt.

“It is rather easy to say no to a dictator, a ruler or a political system, but it is exhausting to build a new society. This requires the cons-tant effort of dedicated generations. This book embraces not a mas-ter plan for a better future but it reflects from where this splendid young generation has to start anyway, the thorny challenges that are waiting for them on their path, the uncertainty of social or political reward.” – Wolfgang Dietrich, UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies, University of Innsbruck, Austria

This book explores the principles of authentic leadership and how it can be developed among urban Ethiopian women to af-fect social change. Set within a context that is not conducive to women‘s accelerated climb up the positional ladder, it argues that transformative spaces are powerful platforms enabling women to challenge cultural factors that impede their leadership potential. Through a personal story of self-transformation weaved in with accounts of other Ethiopian women‘s experiences with one such trans formative space - AWiB - Billene proposes that such spaces are important in initiating self-transformation.

Billene Seyoum Woldeyes

TRANSFORMATIVE SPACESEnabling Authentic Female Leadership through

Self Transformation. The Case of AWiB

Masters of Peace: Volume 10

Research - 35

JOURNAL OF CONFLICTOLOGY

Vo 5, No 2 (2014)

Florencia Benítez-Schaefer

Law as Transformative Conflict Work - A Transrational Approach

This paper addresses the question of how law and legal work can be envisaged from a perspective of transrational peaces and within an approach of elicitive conflict transformation. The narrative of law is connected here to the perspectives of energetic, moral, modern and postmodern peaces as elaborated by Wolfgang Dietrich, and addresses particularly the shortcomings of a fragmented approach to law when it comes to respond to complex social conflicts. The author presents how a transrational approach can foster the neces-sary awareness and transformation of crucial aspects of human re-lations within the work in the field of law. To illustrate this, the text provides some examples from different fields of legal praxis, which show that multiple perspectives on law are currently interacting in order to address social conflict. Most importantly, these examples demonstrate that a transrational and transformational approach to law is not only possible, but rather that it is already taking place.

Wolfgang Dietrich

A Brief Introduction into Transrational Peace Research and Elicitive Conflict Transformation

This article is a summary of the author’s `Many Peaces´ trilogy, which comprises in its original version more than 1200 pages. It has been published by Palgrave Macmillan in London 2012, 2013 with the third volume still to be issued.

It presents a broad range of peace interpretations in history and culture, which are divided into the so called five peace families – the energetic, the moral, the modern, the post-modern and the transrational perceptions and understandings of peace(s).

It further elaborates the transrational peace philosophy and derives from John Paul Lederach’s famous pyramid of conflict (work) a broader systemic understanding of conflict as relational phenomenon. It offers a tool for analysis of these complex pro-cesses that happen at human “contact boundaries at work” – the enlarged pyramid-model of themes, levels and layers.

Finally, it introduces resonance, correspondence and homeos-tasis as principles of elicitiv conflict mapping, the methodological toolkit for applied conflict work.

Josefina Echavarría Alvarez

Elicitive Conflict Mapping: A Practical Tool for Peacework

This article presents the tool of elicitive conflict mapping (ECM), developed by Wolfgang Dietrich (2011, 2013, unpublished) at the Innsbruck UNESCO Chair and MA Program in Peace Studies, which seeks to operationalize the philosophy of transrational peace and the art of elicitive conflict work. The art of elicitive con-flict work is based on the guiding principle that elicitive transfor-mation does not develop or offer a content solution for the conflict episode, but it provides a safe space for the parties, in which they can work on changes in their relationships along the horizons of their own intelligibility. In this context, the practical relevance of ECM is not the creation of prescriptive methods or recipes, be-cause transrationality and elicitive work exclude such instruments, but to support conflicting parties in finding orientation and reco-gnizing new and concrete courses of action in their own contexts. Read in conjunction with Dietrich’s article in this very same issue and methodologically inspired by mind mapping, this contributi-on surveys practical ways in which elicitive conflict workers can find a point of entry into conflict analysis and seek guidance in the complex reality of themes, layers and levels. The aim is to shed light on the steps that elicitive workers and facilitation teams can take in order to create possibilities and courses of action that enable the recovery of the dynamic equilibrium of the conflictive system.

Andreas Oberprantacher

Holey Union: Contested European Frontier Zones

Especially since the creation of the Schengen Area (1985; 1995; 2005), the establishment of the European agency Frontex in Octo-ber 2004 and the successive implementation of integrated border patrol missions, the European Union and allied states manifests itself to irregular migrants as a maneuverable body of relatively loosely interrelated, treacherous, frontier zones. In considerati-on of the current trend to diffuse two major elements of the li-beral rule-of-law, that is, jurisdiction and accountability, also as a result of the European Union’s Integrated Border Management, this article sets out to explore a variety of options to make such zones of post-Westphalian governmentality public, and to en-gage with the passion for democracy other than in a managerial sense. More specifically, this article outlines prevalent elements of Europe’s governmental operations in frontier zones and then looks at the question: what acts of dissent are becoming visible that not only cut through former national borders, but also traver-se and subvert frontier zones while exposing chances for political association and responsiveness that are not those legitimated by the liberal democratic state? In order to exemplify such acts of dissent, this article refers to the contemporary Refugee Protest Camp Vienna movement, to the Forensic Architecture research project, and also to the Hotel Gelem artistic project. The purpo-se of this paper is to illustrate and argue in favor of the different possibilities of challenging the increasing institution of Euro-pean frontier zones by waging acts of dissent that are elicitive.


PAUL LAUER (WT‘11/12, ST‘12, WT‘12/13, Upeace‘13) is based in Vienna and works for an environmental NGO. He has been working as an Academic Trainer at various Native Challenge Field Training Exercises. His research interests are mainly based in conflict transformation within the field of ecology. Contact: [email protected]

ISABELLE GUIBERT (ST‘12, WT‘13, ST‘13) is living in Austria, where she teaches French and Spanish at Innsbruck University and MCI. She researches on Trauma, Amnesia, Memory and Resilience in relation to the Argentine dictatorship (1976-83). Contact: [email protected]

MAYME LEFURGEY (ST‘12, Upeace‘11) is living in Canada where she is a Ph.D. Candidate in Women’s Studies and Feminist Research at Wes-tern University, pursuing a Collaborative Program in Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconst-ruction. Contact: [email protected]

T H E E D I T O R I A L T E A M

ADHAM HAMED (WT‘11/12, ST‘12, Upeace‘12, WT‘12/13) is the Coordinator of the Innsbruck Academic Festival of Many Peaces. He has been working as an Academic Trainer at various Native Challenge Field Training Exercises. In this frame-work he has developed and facilitated seminars about the role of culture in armed conflicts, preparing Austrian soldiers for their in-theatre training inputs for peace students. He is currently working on refugee and migration issues as a Re-search Fellow at the Austrian Red Cross. Contact: [email protected], Blog: adhamhamed.wordpress.com

Appendix - 37

Volume 1 - 2015 - 01


Many Peaces Magazine - Volume 1 - 2015 - 01

Published by AA RESPECT Grillhofweg 100, 6080 Vill, Austria

Editorial: Isabelle Guibert, Adham Hamed, Paul Lauer, Mayme Lefurgey

Pictures: AA RESPECT 2015, all rights reserved

Many Peaces Magazine #1

Documents

Transcript of Many Peaces Magazine #1