ASU - INDONESIAN INSTITUTIONS EXCHANGE PROGRAM ON
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
INTRODUCTION
This proposed project for 2003-2006 is inspired by and built on a university
linkage program between Arizona State University (ASU) and Bogor Agricultural
University (BAU) (US Department of State IA-ASPS-G9190315 - DOS College and
University Affiliation Program). The team of the linkage project successfully
carried out its project activities and established a mediation center at BAU
with a focus on agriculture and finance. This project will expand the basic
mediation techniques gleaned from the previous project to provide expertise
and experience in mediation to interested Indonesian religious and ethnically
diverse institutions. This is important because many serious conflicts in
Indonesia have been related to cultural, ethnic and religious issues. Specifically,
we will improve the training and conflict resolution activities at BAU and
create Programs at the State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) in Semarang
(Central Java), Bandar Lampung (Southern Sumatra), in Lombok (West Nusa Tenggara),
and Satya Wacana Christian University in Salatiga (Central Java).
Expanding on the five years of ASU experience in implementing mediation practices,
our skilled team will 1) generate, promote, and implement ideas and strategies
for peaceful conflict resolution in Indonesia; 2) assist the Indonesian institutions
to develop a comprehensive mediation training manual; 3) provide training
on conflict resolution and leadership skills in mediation in Indonesia and
bring Indonesian participants to Arizona for practical experience and training;
4) aid the Indonesian institutions in establishing sustainable mediation centers.
We firmly believe that this project will have a profound and critical impact
on the communities of the participating Indonesian institutions as well as
on our understanding of this intriguing multi-religious and multi-ethnic society.