This session will be a discussion about what we know and don’t know, the next steps towards strengthening evidence-based peacebuilding, and where gaps remain. As a community of practice, how can we more effectively share what we are learning? At a minimum, evidence-based peacebuilding must result from meaningful input from, and collaboration with, practitioners and organizations in conflict-affected societies. How can scholars and researchers contribute to that? Search for Common Ground has developed a Global Impact Framework, in consultation with organizations and practitioners in the field, intended to bring together the lived experience of those living and working in conflict and to align measures that help people understand where they are most influential in transforming conflict. In doing so, Search for Common Ground and the Better Evidence Project, through its forthcoming Resource Center, are reframing the conversation about evidence related to peace and conflict in a way that can foster cross-fertilization and inform better learning and decision-making at all levels, while also incorporating local actors and needs as well as bridging theory and practice. 

Facilitator: Jeffrey Helsing, Executive Director, Better Evidence Project, Carter School, George Mason University 

Speakers:  

• Marin O'Brien Belhoussein, Senior Manager, Institutional Learning Team, Strategy Alignment Department Search for Common Ground  

• Jack Farrell, Manager, Partnerships & Strategic Innovation and Project Lead of DME for Peace, Search for Common Ground Member of Learning, Evaluation and Research team, United States Institute of Peace--to be determined  

• Ziad Al Achkar, PhD Candidate, Carter School; Research Affiliate, Better Evidence Project  

• Sandra Tombe, Research Program Officer, Learning, Evaluation and Research United States Institute of Peace 

The Carceral Societies Peace Week event focuses contrarily on transformation and redemption through education, proposing an alternative theoretical and practical value system – learning, expanding the self through critical reflection, engaging in deep dialogue with class members, more fully understanding the self. This can open a social, emotional, and cognitive space in which to create, metaphorically and practically, a world in the face of violent onslaught (Nordstrom). The process of transformation weaves together with frames of personal redemption. These threads support learning to acknowledge and forgive the self, others, and to realize and accept the importance of an alternative set of meanings. Upon those meanings, can rest a profound potential for action. 

Facilitator: Dr. Patricia Maulden, Carter School, George Mason University  

Speakers:  

• Shawnta Montgomery, Bard Prison Initiative Alumna 

• Leo Hylton, 2nd year Carter School graduate student, Visiting Instructor at Colby College, and monthly columnist for the publication Mainer, wherein he seeks to raise consciousness around existence and power of humanity in carceral spaces 

• Catherine Lowe Besteman is an anthropologist and holds the position of Francis F. Bartlett and Ruth K. Bartlett Professor of Anthropology at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. 

A roundtable of experts working in and with RJ initiatives will discuss trends in RJ evaluation and related research, including efforts to evaluate the extent to which RJ initiatives repair harm, empower those harmed, increase healing, restore relationships, and foster community connection. The conversation will explore current controversies in evaluating RJ initiatives (e.g., the nature of “success”) and the topics such as: the potential value of community-sourced RJ indicators, the emphasis on measuring recidivism and victim satisfaction, the ethical dilemmas of RJ research (e.g., confidentiality), and related topics. More broadly, speakers will be asked to comment on how we might assess whether RJ initiatives achieve aims related to increasing justice, promoting equity, and building peace. In break-out groups, speakers will collaborate with attendees to define the next steps in designing and evaluating RJ initiatives and other interventions. 

Moderator: Dr. Susan F. Hirsch, Carter School, George Mason University

Panelists:

• Andrew Martinez (PhD), Principal Research Associate, Center for Court Innovation (New York)
• Cymone Fuller (MPA), Co-Director, Restorative Justice Project, Impact Justice (Washington, DC)
• Erica Washington (J.D.), Senior Program Associate, Restorative Justice Project, Impact Justice (Washington, DC)
• Arthur Romano (PhD), Assistant Professor, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Peace and Conflict Resolution (Virginia)
• Rochelle Almengor Arms (PhD), Assistant Professor, Peace and Social Justice Studies, Berea College (Kentucky)

Three cases will be highlighted: a South Kivu dialogue process that was organized and facilitated by Carter School faculty member Charles Davidson and local partners in the DRC; local mediation practice in Bangassou in the Central African Republic supported by UN Senior Mediation Advisor and Better Evidence Project Advisory Board member Emmanuel Bombande; and a successful network of women mediators (HAWENKA) who have strengthened the ongoing peace process among warring Somali diaspora groups in Northern Kenya. The Carter School’s Better Evidence Project provided a grant to HAWENKA that developed lessons from the mediation with an eye to developing evidence of the effectiveness of locally facilitated peacemaking efforts. There will also be a facilitated discussion about how local peacemaking initiatives are becoming more prevalent and more successful in areas where international efforts have usually failed. 

Moderator: Jeffrey Helsing, Executive Director, Better Evidence Project, Carter School 

Speakers:  

• Charles Davidson, PhD. Director, Carter School Political Leadership Academy  

• Amina Hassan Ahmed, Director, HAWENKA  

• Kenya Samwel Oando, Senior Advisor, HAWENKA, Kenya; and National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago, New Zealand  

• Emmanuel Habuka Bombande, Senior Mediation Adviser, United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs

Richard Rubenstein will critique the new methodology from the perspective of history and structural conflict analysis, Karina Korostelina from psychology, Daniel Rothbart from philosophy and ethics, Susan Allen from collaboration and conflict resolution practice, and other senior professors may join also. This session will honor innovation and continuity in the field of conflict analysis and resolution at the Carter School. 

Facilitator: Marc Gopin 

Speakers:  

• Professor Marc Gopin, Carter School, George Mason University 

• Professor Richard Rubenstein, Carter School, George Mason University 

• Professor Karina Korostelina, Carter School, George Mason University 

• Professor Daniel Rothbart, Carter School, George Mason University 

• Professor Susan Allen, Carter School, George Mason University 

The “Historic Peace Churches” designation has been attributed to the Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and Religious Society of Friends/Quakers since post WWI. In this panel we will hear about the peace practices of these groups, rooted in their unique history, theology, and ritual, as well as the current and future peacebuilding work of various organizations and peacebuilding leaders tied to the Historic Peace Churches. 

Facilitators: 

• Charles O. Kwuelum, PhD student, Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution
• Naomi J. Kraenbring, PhD student, Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution 

Panelists:

• Gloria Rhodes, PhD, Associate Professor of Conflict Studies and Peacebuilding, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, Eastern Mennonite University 

• Alain Epp Weaver, Director of Strategic Planning, Planning, Learning, Disaster Response, Department (PLDR), Mennonite Central Committee 

• Jes Stoltzfus Buller, Peace Education Coordinator, National Peace and Justice Ministries, Mennonite Central Committee U.S. 

• Nathan Hosler, PhD, Director, Office of Peacebuilding and Policy, Church of the Brethren, Pastor, Minister for Advocacy and Stewardship, Washington City Church of the Brethren 

• Rebecca Dali, Executive Director, Centre for Caring, Empowerment, and Peace Initiatives (CCEPI), Founder of Strategic Action for Community Development, Nigeria, 2017 recipient of the Sergio Vieira de Mello United Nations Humanitarian Award 

• Matt Guynn, Director of Church and Community Organizing, On Earth Peace 

• Sarah Clarke, UN Representative and Director, Quaker United Nations Office, New York 

• Regina Shands Stoltzfus, Professor of Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies, Goshen College

Taking action for peace, justice, and rights often involves grappling with wicked problems, where there is no ethically clear or morally pure solution to be found. What happens when “do no harm” does a lot of harm? What happens when peacebuilding requires one group to compromise with injustice? And who decides who must do the compromising? Whose interests do we serve when we try to do good? What does it mean to be an ally? Whose idea of good counts as good? We’ll talk about these questions, and more, and leave time for an open conversation with the audience.  

Speakers: 

• Reina Neufeldt, Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, The University of Waterloo 

• Agnieszka Paczyńska, Associate Professor, George Mason University 

• Susan Hirsch, Vernon M. and Minnie I. Lynch Chair and Full Professor, George Mason University 

• Douglas Irvin-Erickson, Assistant Professor, George Mason University 

• Austin Choi Fitzpatrick, University Professor, University of San Diego 

• Ernesto Verdeja, Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame 

• Ashley Bohrer, Assistant Professor, University of Notre Dame

Facilitator: Susan H. Allen, Director, Center for Peacemaking Practice, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University  

Speakers:  

• Susan H. Allen, Director, Center for Peacemaking Practice, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University  

• Landon E. Hancock, Professor, School of Peace and Conflict Studies, Kent State University 

• Christopher Mitchell, Emeritus Professor, Center for Peacemaking Practice, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University 

• Cécile Mouly, Research Professor, FLACSO Ecuador 

Dr. Adams will introduce his innovative frameworks and composite models (field tested in Bosnia) for measuring structural and relationship elements within operationalized negative and positive peace parameters, along his War to Sustainable Positive Peace Continuum. The book is also a cautionary tale for increasingly conflicted societies. Political polarization, caustic commentary, and societal discord in America and elsewhere remind the author, an informed eyewitness, of dangerous conflict patterns and consequences that he has seen before in various conflict zones. He links the consequences of political polarization, extremism, and trends towards fascism with similar patterns that he has witnessed in conflict zones elsewhere. Audience members and participants will be encouraged to discuss theoretical and practical implications for scholar practitioners, professionals, and citizens. Dr. James Adams, a Vietnam veteran and professional field officer, has extensive on-the-ground experience in peace and stabilization operation roles with the United Nations and other international organizations in Africa, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. In pursuit of a better understanding of conflict and peacebuilding, he acquired an MS and PhD at the Carter School specializing in Peace and Stabilization Operations. He has presented resulting observations, and innovative frameworks and models to civilian and military audiences in Kosovo and at the U.S. National Defense University. His dissertation field research was carried out in Bosnia -- "Assessing Interventions Stalled in Negative Peace: A Model for Peace and Stability Operations.” 

Speakers:  

• Dr. Christopher Mitchell, Emeritus Professor, Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University 

• Dr. Jeffrey Helsing, Executive Director of the Better Evidence Project, and Research Associate Professor, Carter School, George Mason University 

Location: 3434 Washington Blvd, Arlington, VA 22301 | 5th Floor; Room 5183 

This Peace Week event will showcase the students’ research process that utilized SenseMaker technology in an interactive sensemaking workshop format. At the beginning of the workshop, you will be asked to share your perspective with SenseMaker: peaceengineeringlab.com/ukraine

Then students will lead an activity to examine patterns in the story data with participants, and then pose the question: What can the Carter School do to meet the emerging needs of people affected by conflict in Ukraine? This event is an exploration of possible futures and the official launch of the Sensemaking in Ukraine project as the first effort of the Peace Engineering Lab to establish complexity-informed conflict resolution methods.

Facilitator: Keil Eggers   

Speakers:  

• Keil Eggers, Peace Engineering Lab Manager Students- CONF 695: Peace Engineering and Participatory Methods 

• Sam Frazier Hediger, Student - CONF 695: Peace Engineering and Participatory Methods 

• Oakley Thomas Hill, Student - CONF 695: Peace Engineering and Participatory Methods 

• Padideh Jalali-shirazi, Student - CONF 695: Peace Engineering and Participatory Methods 

• Kaylyn S Matis, Student - CONF 695: Peace Engineering and Participatory Methods 

• Haley D Nelson, Student - CONF 695: Peace Engineering and Participatory Methods 

• Ashton Rene Rohmer, Student - CONF 695: Peace Engineering and Participatory Methods 

• Solon Simmons, Associate Professor, Carter School, George Mason University 

Location: 3434 Washington Blvd, Arlington, VA 22301 | 5th Floor; Room 5183

This panel also concentrates on the production of the meaning of justice in the aftermath of war and mass violence. While the majority of research concentrated on the production of the meaning of justice based on the experiences of war, conflict and violence, our study demonstrated that the respondents saw the advancement of justice as returning to the peaceful time rather than a response to the war. This tendency for meaning of justice to be connected to the collective memories of peace has potential implications for the design and implementation of justice program that tend to focus on the experiences of war and conflict rather than the visions of peace.  

Facilitator: Dr. Karina Korostelina and Dr. Daniel Rothbart 

Speakers:  

• Dr. Karina Korostelina, Professor, Carter School, George Mason University 

• Dr. Daniel Rothbart, Professor, Cater School, George Mason University 

• Beltina Gjeloshi, Ph.D. student, Carter School, George Mason University   

• Filmawit Kiros, Programmes and Grants Manager, Gisa Group, Nairobi, Kenya   

• Sudan Moneim Adam, Sudanese Archive Project Manager, Gisa Group, Nairobi, Kenya  

• Megan Greeley, Conflict Mitigation Consultant, DT Global   

The roundtable identifies and describes the repertoire of peacebuilding practices that address the structure of conflict and enhance the community capacities, reflecting the dynamics of identity and power in urban disadvantaged neighborhoods. The concentration on community-based practices addresses macro-level critiques of neo-liberalism in critical resilience studies and encourages rethinking the ways community-based indicators might operate in combination with existing macro indicators of resilience. The bottom-up indicators provide more specific details and essential localized experiences for improving resilience policies at the national level.

Facilitator: Dr. Karina Korostelina  

This event will raise these and related questions through breakout discussions using Circle Process. The event will begin with a brief introduction of Basic Circle Process, which is an approach to discussion that guarantees everyone a turn to speak, if they so choose. The main portion of the event will give the attendees an opportunity to participate in facilitated, breakout room circles. Participants are encouraged to stay for the entire event to experience the circle process and to learn what others discussed during a brief share out and Q&A. Finally, attendees will collaborate in creating next steps for the field as it comes to terms with the role of justice. 

Facilitator: Sarah Atif  

Since the Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation’s (MHCR) founding in fall of 2019, a core value of our research and practice programs is the unwavering support for insider reconcilers (InRec), individuals who exemplify Lederach’s and Wehr’s theory, within a specific context of reconciliation practice. Over the past two years, MHCR has given financial, institutional, and programmatic support to three “Insider Reconciler Fellows”, hailing from Somalia, Kenya, and South Sudan. 

Over the course of working with and learning from these Fellows, our staff has conceptualized and is currently implementing a pilot study seeking to understand the unique experiences of insider reconcilers, specifically seeking to understand the guiding theory of facilitating post-conflict intergroup reconciliation, strategies used during reconciliation processes, and the impact of reconciliation work on insider reconcilers’ mental health and wellbeing. The purposes of this panel are fourfold: (1) present the history and programmatic efforts of MHCR within the Carter School, (2) explore MHCR’s current research concerning Insider Reconcilers, (3) offer testimony from the field from an Insider Reconciler currently engaged in facilitating reconciliation processes, and (4) facilitate a discussion on the binds of theory and practice within a context of insider/outsider peacebuilders. 

Facilitator: Nicholas R. Sherwood, Ph.D. Candidate & Associate Director, Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation (MHCR) 

 Speakers:  

• Nicholas R. Sherwood, Ph.D. Candidate & Associate Director, Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation (MHCR) 

• Hannah J. Adamson, B.A./M.S. Student & Programs Officer, MHCR  

• Cameron Cassar, M.A./M.S. Student & Communications Officer, MHCR  

• Oakley Thomas Hill, Ph.D. Student & Lab Manager, MHCR  

• Beltina Gjeloshi, Ph.D. Candidate & Research Officer, MHCR  

• Merisa K. Mattix, B.A./M.S. Student & Development & Administrative Coordinator, MHCR  

• Tecla Namachanja Wanjala, Ph.D., Founder, Shalom Centre for Counseling and Development (SCCODE)  

• Rowda A. Olad, LPC, Founder, Mandeeq Mental Health Without Borders 

• Carl Stauffer, Ph.D., Senior Expert, Reconciliation, United States Institute of Peace (USIP)  

• Antti Y. Pentikäinen, M.Th., Research Professor & Director, MHCR