ASU - INDONESIAN INSTITUTIONS EXCHANGE PROGRAM ON
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
ACTIVITIES
The project objectives will be achieved in three years (July
2003-June 2006). Each year, the US participants will work with the 4 Indonesian
institutions, and there will be a different group of 4 Indonesian participants
from those institutions undergoing training at ASU. For the sake of efficiency,
whenever possible, some activities will be held in one centrally located institution
in Central Java. Although there are some annually recurring activities, such
as the interactive evaluation on inter-cultural and inter-religious conflicts
to generate resolution strategies, the programs have a different focus each
year. The following is a detailed description of the calendar of activities.
I. Year One: July 2003 - June 2004
The focus of Year One is to introduce the Indonesian participants to alternative
resolutions to conflicts related to inter-cultural and inter-religious issues,
and to develop leadership in mediation through a training session. The project
participants will generate conflict resolution strategies and plan the content
and design of a training manual. For this purpose, four US participants will
work in Indonesia and four Indonesian participants will undergo practical
experience and training in the US.
Dr. Peter Suwarno will meet with all leaders of the Indonesian institutions
to strengthen the cooperation between the US and Indonesian institutions and
describe the detailed plan, organization and operation of all project activities,
including the preparation for the training sessions. He will also evaluate
various conflicts, mediation, and other possible alternative resolutions with
participants in each institution. In addition to discussing conflict resolution
principles and strategies Dr. Suwarno will help improve the mediation skills
by conducting a conflict resolution training. This will also be a time for
planning the design for writing a training manual and the steps for establishing
mediation centers.
Dr. Mark Woodward will interactively evaluate inter-cultural and inter-religious
issues that have become the sources of conflicts in Indonesia and in the world
at large as well as the role of religion in conflicts and their resolutions.
At this time, participants from the four institutions will gather at IAIN
Walisongo, Semarang and/or at UKSW, Salatiga.
Four selected Indonesian participants from the participating institutions
will come to ASU for practical experience in mediation and training in conflict
resolution. Our team will continually consult the US Embassy in Jakarta in
the selection process of participants planning to go to ASU. Their activities
will include:
a) participating in the model mediation programs in the Phoenix area
b) receiving training on mediation principles and techniques
c) discussing inter-cultural and inter-religious issues and their relation
to conflicts and conflict resolution in Indonesia and in the US.
d) gathering the needed materials on conflict resolution to write the Indonesian
mediation training manual and to establish mediation centers. Drs. Stiles,
Thor, and Suwarno will actively assist and guide the participants in these
activities.
Dr. Eric Thor and/or Dr. Philip Stiles will provide leadership programs and
principles of mediation that may be applicable to Indonesia. They will gather
information on Indonesian conflicts and the implemented solutions and share
their experiences in mediation and provide suggestions of specific useful
conflict resolution techniques
II. Year Two: July 2004 to June 2005
The exchange project activities of Year Two will follow a similar calendar
of Year One. All US and Indonesian participants will continue to evaluate
various conflicts and resolution strategies in Indonesia and leadership skills
in mediation. Year Two will focus on:
a) training Indonesian participants regarding conflict resolutions principles
and techniques that are applicable to multi-religious communities such as
Indonesia
b) training the Indonesian participants on mediation processes
c) assisting the Indonesian participants to write a mediation training manual.
Dr. Cady will critically assess issues on state and religion, inter-religious
relationship and conflicts in the US and Indonesia. Drs. Suwarno and Thor,
together with the Indonesian participants, will concentrate on project evaluation
and improvement as well as writing the manual and conducting training sessions.
The activities of the Indonesian participants in the US during the second
year will be similar to the first year. However, they will focus more on sharing
their direct experience in conflict resolution as well as evaluating and revising
the training manual. They will gather more information and materials to expedite
the completion of the manual and the planning for successful mediation centers.
III. Year Three: July 2005-June 2006
The focus of Year Three is on a) finishing and printing the training manual;
b) completing the leadership mediation skills of participants through training
sessions; and c) establishing mediation centers.
1) Training Manual
By the middle of Year Three, the participants will have completed the comprehensive
Indonesian training manual. The manual will contain materials and methods
that equip potential mediators with important mediation skills. These skills
will include communication and mediation skills such as: data gathering, identifying
and understanding the conflicting parties, active listening, interviewing,
self expression, venting and dealing with emotion, identifying hidden interests,
and brainstorming for alternative solutions. Other principles that local leaders
will teach include different kinds of conflict resolution styles, steps in
mediations, the tasks of mediators, neutrality of mediators, and empowerment
of the weaker conflicting parties. The manual will also contain methods of
mediation trainings such as the use of games, role-plays and simulation. This
training manual and any other materials developed for this project will always
acknowledge US government funding for the program.
2) Training Sessions
During Year Three, the training sessions will utilize the completed Indonesian
manual. This year's trainings will involve the experienced and skilled Indonesian
participants, who have been trained both in Indonesia and in the US, as the
trainers. These leaders will have been successful in conducting local conflict
resolutions and capable of passing on the mediation skills to future leaders.
The training sessions will be open to other communities outside the participating
institutions, such as members of local NGOs and local government officials.
3) Mediation Center
In planning the establishment of mediation centers, we will resolve any potential
problems including legal and organizational issues as well as the identification
of personnel, facilities, volunteers and financial resources. The participants
will organize the center activities and recruit trainees to help resolve conflicts
in their own communities. By the middle of Year Three, each participating
institution will have established a mediation center. The mediation centers
will be immediately advertised and engage in mediation activities.
PROJECT EVALUATION
The project evaluator will be Dr. Ari Pradanawati, a senior
faculty member of the University of Diponegoro, the largest and most prominent
state university in Central Java. She has extensive experience and leadership
skills in conflict resolution and is a certified and trained mediator. She
frequently evaluated various university projects, and has been nominated for
the membership of the national election committee that oversees the general
election process in Indonesia.
She will look at the quantity and quality of planned activities that are being
carried out and that have been accomplished. Based on her experience, she
will assess whether or not the objectives are being or have been met. She
will also assess the sustainability of the accomplished project goals, especially
those of the mediation centers and their activities.
Since Dr. Pradanawati resides and works in the area, it is convenient for
her to evaluate the project in an ongoing and evolving basis throughout the
duration of the project. She will conduct the evaluation both formally, using
standard evaluation instruments and procedures currently used at Diponegoro
University as well as informal evaluation through interview and discussions.
She will conduct the evaluation quarterly and annually, as well provide as
a final report of her evaluation at the end of the project.
In addition to project evaluation in Indonesia, the Indonesian participants
will evaluate the project activities in the US. This will be accomplished
in two ways: first, project director will interview each Indonesian participant
concerning their opinion about this project and how the project activities
can be improved. Second, the participants will anonymously fill a form expressing
their opinion of the projects.
FOLLOW-ON ACTIVITIES
The follow-on activities emphasize continuous interaction between
participants from both countries in order to exchange knowledge and experience
in conflict resolutions. This will be done through the following:
1) Consultation on mediation and the activities of the mediation centers will
continue through email exchange.
2) Indonesian participants will support each other in obtaining travel grants
to assist mediation centers in improving their activities.
3) Setting up Internet group discussions on mediation.
4) Interested members from participating institutions will conduct joint projects
on mediation and conflict resolution in Indonesia.