by Mohammed Eid Wars and conflicts break up among nations. It is a complex social phenomenon of mankind. We may not approve it, but we cannot ignore it. For that reason, almost every nation [...]
Fri. & Sat., April 13 – 14, 2017, 9am-5pm Description: Non-state actors can focus entirely on finding pathways to end violence and build peace rather than advancing narrow national interests or government policies. Official negotiations [...]
Sat., March 24, 2018, 9am-5pm Description: Have you ever wondered what impact your work will have? Setting clear goals and outcomes for your project and identifying the right indicators to measure your progress will [...]
Sat., March 3, 2018, 9am-5pm Description: Have you ever been told you need to integrate "gender considerations" into your work, nodded and wondered what the heck that meant? Or, perhaps you've heard that women [...]
Date: TBA Description: This one-day training will explore the concept of resilience as something a person does, rather than something a person is. The training will elaborate and describe (in a practical way) the [...]
Thurs. & Fri., February 22 - 23, 2018, 9am-5pm Description: Over two days of interactive workshop activities, participants will explore the major ideas, trends, processes, and unique qualities animating the design and launch of [...]
Thurs. & Fri., February 8-9, 2018, 9am-5pm Description: To effectively prevent and counter violent extremist propaganda, individuals and organizations that work on the PVE/CVE space must be equipped to engage violent extremists, influencers and potential [...]
Fri., February 2, 2018, 9am-5pm Description: Drawing on current best practices in the field, this course teaches practical skills that enable armed and unarmed actors in violent conflicts to prevent and mitigate abuses toward civilians. The course [...]
Sat., January 27, 2018, 9am-5pm Description: This course introduces the notion that formal governments exert authority only within broader governance systems in which individuals and groups representing diverse interests also exert authority. The course explores [...]
Fri & Sat, January 19-20, 2018 Description: This course provides an overview of and a practitioner framework for conflict landscapes where Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) is mandated in CVE settings. Since 1989, over 60 [...]
Thurs. & Fri., January 11 – 12, 2018, 9am-5pm Description: This 2-day intensive training enables participants to learn and utilize frameworks and other tools to carry-out electoral security operations in consolidating democracies. It offers approaches [...]
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By Pablo Carvajal The experience of taking part in the inaugural Sarajevo Symposium on Post-Conflict Transitions has left me with numerous lessons. Firstly, receiving daily stories of the local people and other participants in [...]
by Daniel Mesa Gómez Conflicts all around the world are composed of complex contexts and different actors. Solutions to such conflicts also need to be complex—involving series of negotiations and multiple implementation stages—and ideally lead [...]
By Philippa Meikle Preface: Participants of the inaugural Sarajevo Symposium were asked to participate in a day-long capstone simulation. All participants were presented with a fictional scenario of Bosnia and Herzegovina, five years in the [...]
By Milica Njegovan It is a rare skill to make people laugh and gasp with amusement when speaking about post conflict transition. Hind Kabawat, founder of the Syria Center for Dialogue, Peace and Reconciliation and [...]
By Daniel Mesa Gómez The Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) processes are strategies used in United Nations peacebuilding and peacekeeping operations, although they have begun to be used independently by states and other institutions involved [...]
by Milicia Njegovan On Monday, July 17th I saw the opening of the International Peace and Security Institute’s (IPSI) inaugural Symposium in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Hercegovina (BiH). This is the first IPSI symposium to [...]
By: Karen Fancher The film screening of “Pretty Village” was a profound glimpse into the dynamics of reentering a community after suffering mass atrocities at the hands of one’s neighbors. I was impressed by [...]
By Daniel Mesa Gómez Audra Dykman explored a framework to holistic transitions by looking at the Central Sahel region as a case study to reflect on what has to be done in situations where a [...]
By Elliot Short Today’s studies at the 2017 Sarajevo Symposium on Post-Conflict traditions began with a lecture from William Stuebner (Bill) on Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR). We looked at two case studies in [...]
By Phillipa Meikle On the last day of the first week of our Symposium, we enjoyed a presentation regarding Memory and Reconciliation from Dr. Sabina Čehajić-Clancy, who is an Associate Professor of Political Psychology, Department [...]
By Alexandria Farris While listening to the speakers today a thought that kept coming to mind was how often one person's idea of what's best for someone else isn't actually what's best for that person. [...]
By Adnan Al-Hammody Today’s lectures at the Sarajevo Symposium were among the densest yet most interesting ones I have ever had in my life! The amount of information I learned was just colossal. Not [...]
By Philippa Meikle On the morning of the second day of the Symposium, all 31 participants and staff members engaged in an exercise run by Deborah Mancini which aimed at broadening our perspectives of governance and [...]
By Alexandria Farris The first day of the Sarajevo symposium introduced the complexity of post-conflict societies. At first glance, a post-conflict transition may appear as a somewhat generalizable idea that all post-conflict transitions can [...]
by Ibrahim Safiriyu Growing up in Nigeria, I was raised to imbibe the principle of Omoluabi – an all-encompassing philosophy that teaches respect for the rights of others and defines individual attitude and behaviour [...]
by Luis Pedro Fernández Smith One hundred and twelve years ago in Chicago, a lawyer named Paul Harris decided with three of his friends, Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele and Hiram Shorey, to create a club to forge community [...]
by Dianne Williams I was honored to not only have had an opportunity to introduce Dr. Neu, but I also had an opportunity to have dinner with her and a few other participants/facilitators. Dr. [...]
by Luis Pedro Fernández Through the mystical streets and arcades of Bologna, I had the opportunity to share a Student-Speaker dinner with Dr. Terrence Hoppman while enjoying a great antipasti and Aperol Spritz. One of [...]
by Micaela Segal de la Garza As I returned to my birthplace of Reggio Emilia, I found myself trying to soak up as much of the societal culture and history as possible. On our first [...]
by Elissa Al Roumi, Lebanon “What is forgiveness? Can you reconcile without forgiving?” this was the opening question of our last session after a four weeks Symposium. Robi Damelin stood there listening to our “scientific” [...]
Alpana Modi (Australia) Tuesday’s session on “Negotiating in an International Context” was an eye opening experience for me. I learned the intricacies of international negotiating, and that “silence is worth more than a thousand [...]
Kendal Jones (US) Although scholars and practitioners in the field of post-conflict transitions tend to view reconciliation as an “obvious objective” and perhaps even the main challenge to rebuilding communities after conflict, the victims [...]
by Rachel Naguib, Egypt How can we forget violent conflicts that left us psychologically devastated and our feelings full of apprehension, relief, anger and lethargy? Memory is not only a product of the past, but [...]
by Rose Julia Wanjiru, Kenya The speaker of the day was Hon. Gareth Evans, an expert in state diplomacy from his experience as an Australian Foreign Minister and President and CEO of the International [...]
by Pierre Ahoure, Côte d’Ivoire/Australia On Wednesday 15, and Thursday 16, July 2015, trainers Michael Shipler and Rajendra Mulmi coached the Peacemakers at the 2015 Bologna Symposium, to search for common ground during conflict prevention, [...]
Kate Kranz Jordan (USA - Allied Joint Force Command, Naples/US Naval Forces Europe/Africa, ISAF, United States Naval Academy) At the end of the second week of the symposium, we set out to resolve a number of the [...]
by Alice Dean, Canada Dr. Joyce Neu, the Founder and Senior Associate of Facilitating Peace and a former Team Leader of United Nations’ Standby Team of Mediation experts, continued her lecture with us on Tuesday, [...]
Jennifer MacNeill (US) It is one thing to sit in a classroom for weeks, months - years even, and learn about concepts such as “restorative and retributive justice”, “frameworks”, and “alternatives to state building”…It [...]
Ojo Osaigbovo (Nigeria/Australia) The debate regarding the efficacy of punitive versus restorative justice has been an increasingly central one in global political discourse. As a proponent of a punitive form of post-war transitional justice [...]
by Alejandra Pineda, Colombia We had the privilege of starting the third week of the IPSI 2015 Bologna Symposium with a two-day training session on conflict resolution and women´s inclusion in peace processes with Dr. [...]
(Sarah Littisha Jansen, Canada) To hear David Crane, former founding Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, tell it, one would understand that the greatest insult he ever received was when Thabo Mbeki [...]
Alpana Modi (Australia) The last 24 hours on the ICTY have been highly educational – dining with an interpreter of the ICTY, attending the hearing of Ratko Mladić at the ICTY and having a question [...]
by Leenat Jilani, Canada Yesterday our class had the great privilege of hearing from Joyce Neu, a conflict resolution specialist and the first team leader of United Nations’ Standby Team of Mediation Experts. However, it was [...]
Benita Sumita (India) International justice is a powerful and powerless word simultaneously. It means all and nothing as I have come to see and understand it in the last couple of days of learning about [...]
Daniel Holmes (Canada) Forget everything you thought you knew about statebuilding. The esteemed Dr. Robert Lamb challenged the class with the most difficult and frustrating lesson to date. As the day started, Dr. Lamb led [...]
Elfrid Pati (Albania) It is three days since the 20th Anniversary of the Srebrenica Massacre, and as I sit in a boat-turned-outdoors seating for a restaurant I’ve recently grown fond of on one of The [...]
by Giovanna Maselli, Guatemala "Most of what we commonly call women’s history is actually the history of women’s roles in the development of nonviolent action.” –Pam Mcallister Dr. Mary E. King opened today’s session [...]
by Carol Grojean, United States In 1982 the danger of nuclear annihilation seemed to have been eased but there were many other challenges going on in the world: Geopolitical corruption Religious Ideology Spheres of influence [...]
by Maria Winters DiMarco, United States This week we have had the privilege of being trained in negotiation tactics by Wilbur Perlot, director of the Clingendael Academy. As a communications professional, I am fascinated with [...]
Auriane Botte (France) Day 4 was entirely dedicated to the International Criminal Court (ICC). As I am passionate about the ICC and International Criminal Justice, this day promised to be full of exciting discoveries [...]
by Assya Bouali, Morocco Today’s session of the IPSI Bologna Symposium held and directed by Mr. Wilbur Perlot, the Deputy Director of the Clingendael Institute of International Relations, was much more oriented towards hands-on activities [...]
Elysa Hogg (Canada) The theme of today’s classes was ‘Mapping the Fields of Restorative and Retributive Justice.’ Within the first five minutes of the morning Dr. Tom Zwart distributed several international court scenarios for us [...]
Laura Steele (Australia) After diving headfirst into fixing the post-conflict situation in Libya, guided and inspired by the highly accomplished and somewhat hard-core transition specialist and practitioner Audra Dykman, the scene was set early on [...]
Benita Sumita (India) “A man who wants to move a mountain does so by carrying away small stones at a time,” Confucius There is no doubt that the 2015 Hague Symposium is about the big [...]
by Janine Bressmer, Germany/Canada In today’s session of the IPSI Bologna Symposium we had the pleasure of meeting and learning from Wilbur Perlot, the Deputy Director of the Clingendael Institute, a Dutch Institute of International [...]
Nathan Williams JP (Australia) The International Peace and Security Institute’s 10th Hague Symposium began with a dinner at the Rootz Restaurant attended by esteemed guest speaker Justice Richard Goldstone. Justice Goldstone was the first Chief Prosecutor [...]
by Carol Grojean, United States Crossing the chasm of paradigm shifts can be tough for leaders. In conflict management, how can we help leaders move away from the model of aggression-to-violence-to-win or lose at the [...]
Leo Lou, China/United States How does one quantify peace? What credible databases concerning conflicts, safety, military, or crime statistics should one throw into the mix to construct the “formula for peace”? How do countries get compared [...]
by Shagufta Hayat, Pakistan Participants coming from diverse backgrounds, origins and cultures widen the message of coming together for a cause, to understand and respect each other’s norms, values and traditions. In a larger perspective [...]
by Ben Collard, Australia Today we heard from the Bologna Symposium's keynote speaker, Lieutenant-General (retd.) Roméo Dallaire. The General is a former Artillery officer, a position that encompasses a variety of roles, the primary one [...]
by George A. Stairs, Canada With that, The Honourable Lt-Gen. (Rtd.) Roméo Dallaire launched into his description of the “New World Disorder,” the state of affairs existing in the post-Cold War world where the previous [...]
Zunaira Malik, United States of America Take thirty six individuals: lawyers, students, and practitioners, train them in transitional justice and pragmatic peacebuilding, and then put them to the test. This has been our life for [...]
by Raghda Abu-Shala, Palestine When we first arrived at the 2014 IPSI Bologna Symposium each participant was asked to choose one training day to write a blog post reflecting our thoughts on what we [...]
by Mojdeh Abtahi, Iran We concluded the second week of the 2014 Bologna Symposium with Clingendael Institute Deputy Director Wilbur Perlot as well as Alvaro de Soto, a career diplomat who has held senior positions [...]
by Punya Bagga, India/Canada As we moved into our third week of the symposium, we were introduced to a form of conflict resolution, or more appropriately, a different way of waging conflict: nonviolent action. Hailing [...]
by Amy Guest, USA When I started graduate school nearly a year ago, I was positive that I wanted to get involved in international relations and diplomacy. My end goal was to work for the [...]
by Claire Connellan, Austrailia On Thursday, as our third week at the Bologna Symposium neared its end, we began the first of two days of presentations by Jack Duvall, Dr. Maciej Bartkowski and Dr. [...]
by Marta d'Agosto, Italy When Dept. Secretary General Jan Eliasson gave the keynote speech at the 2014 Bologna IPSI Symposium, the students asked him, “What shall we take into account when working in the humanitarian [...]
Kevin Coffey, Ireland In anticipation of the intensive three-day simulation geared towards achieving peace in the fictionalized war-torn Beladusham, IPSI participants had the pleasure of being trained in negotiation by Mr. Wilbur Perlot; the deputy-director [...]
Makhotso Lengane, South Africa As week three of The Hague Symposium drew to a close, so grew the feeling of sadness that comes with a goodbye that is imminent. It is hard to believe that [...]
Emily Fountain, United States of America Steven Biko once wrote, “In time, we shall be in a position to bestow on South Africa the greatest possible gift - a more human face.” I remember reading [...]
Matthew Dato, United States of America Here at the International Peace and Security Institute’s summer symposium in The Hague, I have had the extraordinary opportunity to listen to thought-provoking speakers, to be instructed and guided [...]
Vivien Wong, Australia There are two sides to every story. At the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, these two sides are marked by the courtroom. There’s nothing like a visit to the ICTY [...]
Jennifer Kerner, United States of America How does the world make sense of unimaginable atrocities and establish some semblance of justice for those affected by these events? On Wednesday, Former Special Advisor to the Prosecutor [...]
William Bejan, United States of America As an International Peace and Security Institute participant who had the pleasure of attending last year’s Bologna Symposium on Conflict Resolution, I am grateful for the new insights I [...]
Adriana Roque Romero, Colombia It has been almost a week since we arrived to The Hague, and we have been learning about various issues concerning the elements involved in post-conflict transitions, mainly through the scope [...]
by Nastasha Tara Hibbard, South Africa How can reconciliation be achieved when the memory of a conflict and the need for justice weighs heavy on one's soul? This is a question that many people, including myself, have [...]
by Elinah Nciizah, Zimbabwe We are in our last week at the IPSI 2014 Bologna Symposium yet every day is a first-hand discovery of shared thoughts, ideas, knowledge and practice. Certainly, learning at the 2014 [...]
by Thea Price, United States This week at the 2014 IPSI Bologna Symposium we were so fortunate to have the opportunity to hear from an incredible mediator and peace builder with over twenty years’ experience, [...]
Felix Papineau, Canada It is sometimes stated that the 20th century, which brought us the First and Second World Wars as well as the Cold War, was the century of conflicts, while the 21st century will [...]
Sophia Carrillo, United States of America One of the highlights of The Hague Symposium is the immense breadth of experience the speakers divulge during topic lectures, translating to an incredible opportunity to glean best practices [...]
by Oscar Sánchez Piñeiro As we have seen from the 2014 IPSI Bologna Symposium speakers who have presented their work in the last few weeks, there exists a proliferation of NGOs and private entities involved [...]
Adriana Abu Abara, Australia July 24 began with a site visit to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. It began like any other introduction to a tribunal: the logistics, the courtroom, and the cases before the [...]
by Stephen Wilson, Australia The year was 1992. Senior Political Advisor, Álvaro de Soto was accompanying recently-appointed United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali on a long-haul flight. With the recently achieved El Salvadorean Chapultepec Peace Accords [...]
by Shirin Khosropour, USA/Iran The rain came down fast and we welcomed this change in the weather. On this Monday of our third week, some braved the rain to walk the 20-minutes to the John’s [...]
by Mara Goldberg, United States I first interacted with Dr. Joyce Neu in March. I had recently completed my undergraduate degree and was searching for organizations that could provide me with career advice in conflict [...]
Catarina Inverso, Brazil How, and from where, do systems of governance emerge in a post-war context?Is a top-down or a bottom-up approach better equipped to establish a new government? What about hybrid approaches of [...]
Victoria Barker, United States of America As I biked to the Clingendael Institute of International Relations this morning, the city seemed eerie — I hardly passed anyone else on the usually bustling bike path. The whole [...]
by Trust Mamombe, Zimbabwe Enter Wilbur Perlot, the Deputy Director of the Clingendael Academy and a ‘Specialist in Difficult Negotiations’ (SDN, my creative acronym). Here is a man with a non-negotiably long CV. That being [...]
by Melissa Gregg, United Kingdom As we come to the end of this week, it’s hard to believe that the 2014 Bologna Symposium is at its halfway point. As a graduate of the 2013 Hague [...]
by Zachary Laranang, United States 2014 IPSI Bologna participants Zach Laranang and Marta D'Agosto on panel during negotiations The second week in Bologna was even better than the first! It was all about [...]
Nancy Waterstraat, Germany Is reconciliation always feasible and necessary? The first part- feasibility- might be a quite obvious maybe or even no. One of the most striking realizations personally, however, was that maybe the [...]
by Robert Heyn, Germany Last Wednesday was a very special day for me. I was very much looking forward to Wilbur Perlot's class on international negotiation. Whenever negotiation was on the schedule during my undergraduate [...]
Concepcion Torres, United States of America As a Christian, an International Affairs graduate, and aspiring international criminal lawyer, stepping into the International Criminal Court (ICC) was a dream come true. Having had the opportunity to [...]
Santiago Alberto Vargas Nino, Colombia July 17 marked the celebration of the Day of International Criminal Justice. On this very special occasion, participants at The Hague Symposium on Post-Conflict Transitions and International Justice organized [...]
by Stephen Di Lorenzo, Australia Over the last few years my adventures in the world of peacebuilding and conflict management have been rather limited, yet my enthusiasm for the field has grown. My foray into [...]
