CICR Events

Events at the Center for International Conflict Resolution, SIPA, Columbia University

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

SHIFTS IN GLOBAL PEACEMAKING: A CONVERSATION BETWEEN SIPA STUDENTS
AND SENATOR GEORGE MITCHELL

Senator George J. Mitchell
Senior Fellow, Center for International Conflict Resolution

Wednesday, October 15, 2003
12:45-2:00 p.m.
Dag Hammarskjold Lounge, 6th Floor,
International Affairs Building
Columbia University
420 West 118th Street
New York, NY 10027

A panel of SIPA students will engage Senator Mitchell in a dialogue on global peacemaking, exploring issues raised through personal experience in the field. The panel will also consider the broader political implications of grassroots peacemaking. In addition to the panel, the audience will have an opportunity to interact with Senator Mitchell.

Please contact Katie Nutt at kmn2005@columbia.edu with any questions about this event.

Senator George Mitchell, Senior Fellow of the Center for International Conflict Resolution, was appointed to the United States Senate in 1980 to complete the unexpired term of Senator Edmund S. Muskie, who resigned to become Secretary of State. He was elected to a full term in the Senate in 1982. While in the Senate, Senator Mitchell served on the Finance, Veterans Affairs, and Environment and Public Works Committees. More recently, Senator Mitchell served as Chairman of the Peace Negotiations in Northern Ireland. Under his leadership a historic accord, ending decades of conflict, was agreed to by the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom and the political parties of Northern Ireland. In May 1998, the agreement was overwhelmingly endorsed by the voters of Ireland, North and South, in a referendum. At the request of President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, Senator Mitchell
served as Chairman of an International Fact-Finding Committee on violence in the Middle East. The committee’s recommendation, widely known as the Mitchell Report, was endorsed by the Bush Administration, the European Union and by many other governments. Senator Mitchell was appointed Senior Fellow of CICR July 1, 2002.

.: posted by Katie

Thursday, September 25, 2003

RECONSTRUCTING AFGHANISTAN: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

A conference hosted by Senator George J. Mitchell
Senior Fellow, Center for International Conflict Resolution

Thursday, September 25, 2003
International Affairs Building
Columbia University
420 West 118th Street
New York, NY 10027

Co-sponsored by Piper Rudnick LLP

1:00 PM KEYNOTE ADDRESS, Altschul Auditorium, 4th Floor
President Hamid Karzai, Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan

2:30 PM-4:00 PM Responding to Challenges: Afghanistan in Perspective
A discussion of the political economy of international reconstruction assistance in Afghanistan

Dr. Barnett R. Rubin, Director of Studies and Senior Fellow, Center on International Cooperation, New York University
Sadako Ogata, Chair, Tokyo Conference on Afghan Reconstruction and former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Yahya Maroofi (invited), Advisor Minister for International Affairs, Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan
Ambassador William B. Taylor, Afghanistan Coordinator, U.S. Department of State

Moderator and Discussant Senator George Mitchell

4:00 PM-4:30 PM SLIDE PRESENTATION ON AFGHAN RECONSTRUCTION
Dr. Frederic Levrat, Professor of Architecture, Columbia University

4:30 PM-6:00 PM Capturing Opportunities: Afghanistan in Transition
A discussion of the emerging Afghan state and its place in South and Central Asia
Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan
Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, United Nations Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanisan
Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan
Ambassador Peter Tomsen, Former U.S. Special Envoy to the Mujahideen

Moderator and Discussant Senator George Mitchell

6:00 PM RECEPTION

Seating is limited. To RSVP, please contact afghanistan@columbia.edu or (212) 854-0351 by Monday, September 22. Credentialed New York press must register IN ADVANCE with Katherine Moore at kam2106@columbia.edu or (212) 854-5573.

.: posted by Syma

Tuesday, April 14, 2003

GLOBAL MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE IRAQ WAR:

Implications for Current and Future Conflicts

Paul Dolan, ABC News
Joshua Friedman, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

Tuesday, April 15, 2003
Room 1302 IAB
12:00-2:00 p.m.

Mr. Dolan works with ABC News and its international partners to help coordinate news exchanges with the BBC (UK), German outlets ARD and RTL, NHK (Japan), Al-Jazeera (Abu-Dhabi), Al Arabiya (Israel) and others.

Professor Friedman was winner of the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting in 1985. He has worked for Newsday, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the New York Post and currently serves as director of the International Division of the Graduate School of Journalism.

Sponsored by the Conflict Resolution Working Group and the Center for International Conflict Resolution. For more information, please contact Katie Nutt at kmn2005@columbia.edu.

.: posted by Syma

Wednesday, March 12, 2003

Conflict Resolution in Northern Ireland and the Middle East

SENATOR GEORGE J. MITCHELL

Wednesday, March 12, 2003
1:00-2:00 pm
Roone Arledge Cinema, Lerner Hall

Senator Mitchell, who served in the U.S. Senate for 14 years, was chairman of the peace negotiations in Northern Ireland. Under his leadership, the Good Friday Agreement was agreed to by governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom as well as the political parties in Northern Ireland. Voters in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic endorsed the agreement in May 1998. In 2001, the Bush administration adopted as its policy in the Middle East the recommendations put forth by an international committee Sen. Mitchell chaired for ending the violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Sen. Mitchell is a Senior Fellow at Columbia University's Center for International Conflict Resolution.

Presented by Columbia Political Union, Model Congress, and the College Democrats, in collaboration with the Center for International Conflict Resolution

CUID Only - Seating is Limited

.: posted by Syma

Wednesday, February 26

Pakistan and India Under the Nuclear Shadow

Discussion afterwards led by Smitu Kothari and Zia Mian
Join us for a film screening and discussion about nuclearization in Pakistan and India with two scholars and activists from the South Asian peace movement

This video documentary, from the Eqbal Ahmad Foundation, was written by Zia Mian and produced and directed by Pervez Hoodbhoy. It takes a critical look at the period following May 1998, when India and Pakistan announced their status as holders of nuclear weapons. The film, made in Pakistan, includes commentary from senior Indian and Pakistani military leaders, heads of Islamic religious organizations and militant groups, leading peace activists, academics, and journalists. Through interviews, graphics, and archival footage, the documentary spells out in stark and urgent terms the nuclear danger that the people of this region now face.

Wednesday, February 26, 7:30 pm
614 Schermerhorn Hall
Columbia University

Smitu Kothari is based at Lokayan in Delhi, where he coordinates research
and campaigns on political, cultural and ecological issues, and co-edits the
Lokayan Bulletin. He is a member of the Indian Coalition for Nuclear
Disarmament and Peace, president of the International Group for Grassroots
Initiatives and has been a visiting professor at Cornell and Princeton
universities.

Zia Mian is a physicist and writer from Pakistan at Princeton University's
Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, and a visiting fellow at the
Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad. He has written
extensively on nuclear weapons issues, and is active in the South Asian
peace movement and global anti-nuclear organising. He has also taught at
Yale University and Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad.

Sponsored by
Center for International Conflict Resolution
Southern Asian Institute
Barnard Human Rights Program
Teachers College Peace Education Center

Please contact Syma Mirza at sm2044@columbia.edu with questions.

.: posted by Syma

Tuesday, February 11, 2003

Owning the Process: Public Participation in Peacmaking

Catherine Barnes, Celia McKeon and Ed Garcia, Conciliation Resources, London, UK

This event will explore the question of public participation in peacemaking, addressing its importance for negotiation process design, democratization and peacebuilding. Practical examples will highlight how negotiations can be opened up to public involvement and assess what impact this can have on the agreements reached and their subsequent implementation. The forum will discuss the important role that international actors and local civic organizations can play in strengthening participation in the negotiation and implementation of agreements.

· What are the advantages of public participation in peace processes and what dilemmas does it represent to existing practice?
· How can public participation be operationalized in peacemaking?
· What are the potential principles that can be used to guide policy?
· What practical measures can be deployed by different actors (especially local civic organizations and international agencies) to support public participation at the various stages of a peace process?

Tuesday, February 11, 2003, 12:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1302

Sponsored by the Center for International Conflict Resolution. Please contact Zachary Metz at zm34@columbia.edu with 854-5623 with questions.

.: posted by Syma

Wednesday, December 4

For the past 20 years, Sri Lanka has been troubled by violent ethnic conflict. The government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who have advocated for a separate Tamil homeland in the north and east of the island, are in the midst of multi-round peace negotiations. However, confronting the past in Sri Lanka is as complicated as it is painful. Saroja offers a plea for tolerance and social harmony by exploring how differences of language, race and religion might be bridges to friendship rather than barriers of hatred.

SAROJA

A film by Somarattne Dissanayake

Wednesday, December 4, 7:30 pm
304 Barnard Hall, Barnard College

Discussion afterwards led by
Vasuki Nesiah, Ahilan Kadirgamar & S. Nanthikesan
Co-Editors of LINES Magazine
www.lines-magazine.org

Sundaram is a Tamil who was forced to join the Tiger soldiers. During a battle he is badly injured, but manages to escape into the jungle with his seven-year-old daughter Saroja. When her father can walk no further, Saroja appears on the outskirts of a Sinhalese village and is discovered by eight-year-old Varuni, daughter of the local schoolteacher. Varuni secretly brings food and water to Saroja and her father, and begs her parents to bring them to the house. Her mother takes an extremist approach and advocates handing them over to the army. But Varuni's father, as a humanist, believes that the Tamils have an equal right to live on the island and that not all Tamils are Tigers. He conceals the Tamil family in his house, and he hopes to hide this secret from the village.

Awards: Audience Award, Best Asian Film, Dhaka International Film Festival; Best Director, Best Actress, Isfahan Children's Film Festival; Liv Ullman Peace Prize, Chicago International Children's Film Festival; Bronze Award, Worldfest Houston

Sponsored by
Center for International Conflict Resolution (SIPA)
LINES Magazine (www.lines-magazine.org)
Barnard Human Rights Studies Program
Southern Asian Institute
Conflict Resolution Working Group (SIPA)

Refreshments will be served!

Please contact Syma Mirza (sm2044@columbia.edu) or Romesh Silva (rs2032@columbia.edu) with questions.

.: posted by Syma

Friday, November 8

One-Day Peace and Conflict Film Festival

Featuring three documentaries by award-winning director Anand Patwardhan

Friday, November 8
11:00-7:30 pm
Teachers College, Columbia Univeristy
Milbank Chapel, 525 West 120th Street

"Father, Son, and Holy War"
11:00 am-1:00 pm

An essay on the role of machismo in ethnic and religious trife. Using South Asian material from the last two decades, the film is also a portrait of the peaceful struggle against gender violence.

"In the Name of God"
2:00 pm-4:00 pm

Finished in 1992, the film documents the recent rise of religious fanaticism and ethnic conflict in India. The filim focuses on the history and violence surrounding the clash between Hindus and Muslims over a holy site in Ayodhya claimed by both groups.

"War and Peace"
5:00 pm-7:30 pm

Filmed over three tumultuous years in India, Pakistan, Japan and the United States after the 1998 nuclear tests in South Asia, the documentary explores the relationship between non-violent anti-colonialism and nuclear nationalism in South Asia as well as the constitution of an "enemy country."

Sponsored by Peace Education Center (TC), International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (TC), Center for International Conflict Resolution (SIPA), and The Coexistence Initiative. Contact jkl26@columbia.edu with questions.

.: posted by Syma

Monday, October 28

“My Gun Was As Tall As Me:” Child Soldiers in Burma

Jo Becker, Advocacy Director, Children's Rights Division, Human Rights Watch

Of the estimated 300,000 child soldiers around the world, nearly one-quarter are in the Burmese army. As a country that has not yet accepted the international protocol banning the use of child combatants, Burma stands out as the world’s worst violator. Children often as young as twelve are forcibly recruited from markets, train stations, and off the streets; treated brutally during training; and sent into combat. Come hear Jo Becker deliver her findings from a three-week mission interviewing current and former child soldiers along the Thai-Burma border.

Monday, October 28th, 7:30 PM
Altschul Auditorium, 4th Floor International Affairs Building, Columbia University

Requested Donation: $5
RSVP to Liba Beyer: beyerl@hrw.org or 212-216-1805

Sponsored by Human Rights Watch New York Young Advocates Program, the Center for International Conflict Resolution, and the East Asian Institute.

Description of the Young Advocates:
The New York Young Advocates are a group of more than 500 young professionals in the New York metropolitan area who work with Human Rights Watch staff to provide a vital public outreach function. The group’s purpose is to increase awareness of human rights issues and to expand the protection of human rights through education and advocacy both locally and globally. The Young Advocates organize monthly public education briefings featuring HRW staff and other experts on various human rights topics. These briefings form the basis of a variety of advocacy campaigns aimed at improving human rights protections around the world through targeted petitions, letter writing campaigns and direct assistance with human rights monitoring in the United States.

.: posted by Syma

Thursday, October 17

War, Peace, and Internal Dynamics in Iraqi Kurdistan

Dr. Andrea Bartoli, Director, Center for International Conflict Resolution

12:00-1:30 pm
1118 International Affairs Building

Sponsored by the Middle East Institute and the Center for International Conflict Resolution

.: posted by Syma

Wednesday, October 2

Human Rights Speaker Series: From Inspiration to Impact

George Mitchell, Former U.S. Senator and Senior Fellow, Center for International Conflict Resolution, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs

12:15-1:00 pm
Room 101, Jerome Greene Hall
Columbia Law School

.: posted by Syma

Tuesday, October 1

"Re-Writing Afghan Law:
Prospects and Problems for Women's Rights in Afghanistan's Constitution-Building Process"

Nasrine Gross, Kabul University

12:30 - 2:00 p.m.
Room 1118A, IAB

NASRINE GROSS, a major advocate for the rights of women in Afghanistan, currently teaches sociology and history at Kabul University. She has written two important full-length works in Dari: Qassarikh-e Malalay (Memories of the First Girls’ High School in Afghanistan), published in 1998, a social history of Afghanistan’s first girls’ high school of which she is an alumnus and Qadam-ha-ye Awshti (Steps of Peace and Our Responsibility as Afghans), published in 2000, the first (and to-date only) book on conflict resolution in the Afghan context. Before returning to Afghanistan, Ms. Gross served as the Washington representative for NEGAR-Support of Women of Afghanistan, a Paris-based Afghan women’s rights organization. Together with other NEGAR members, Ms. Gross helped to convene and organize a delegation of 300 Afghan women in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in June 2000 where participants drafted the Declaration of Essential Rights of Afghan Women. Ms. Gross has been instrumental in publicizing the Declaration and with NEGAR aims to incorporate articles of the Declaration into the next constitution of Afghanistan.

Refreshments will be served. Co-sponsored by The Middle East Institute and the Center for International Conflict Resolution. For additional information, please contact Jessica Gingerich at j_gingerich@yahoo.com.

.: posted by Syma

Applied Conflict Resolution Workshop Student Presentations

Summer fieldwork presentations by students of the Applied Conflict Resolution Workshop. Projects from Burma, Lebanon, Rwanda, Cyprus, Vietnam, and more.

Monday, September 23
12-2 pm, Room 1118, IAB

"Interethnic Dialogue and Training Program for Burma’s Ethnic Nationalities: Impact Assessment and Gender Analysis"

Aurora Deuss and Syma Mirza

Tuesday, September 24
12-2 pm, Room 1118, IAB

"Building Bridges among Conflict Resolution Actors in Lebanon"

Nora Esnaola and Ajay Kohli

Wednesday, September 25
12-2 pm, Room 1118

"Tapping the 'Next Generation's' Peace-Building Potential: Perceptions of Rwandan Youth toward the Gacaca Jurisdictions"

Hakima Abbas and Genevieve Sangudi

"Early Childhood Development in Vietnam: Evaluation of an NGO Project"

Tak Miyazaki

Friday, September 27
12-2 pm, Room 1118

"Cyprus on the Verge of EU Accession: Ongoing Negotiation Talks and Women's Participation in the Peace Processes"

Marie-Julie Beraud and Francesco Mancini

Sponsored by the Center for International Conflict Resolution, Conflict Resolution Working Group, and Conflict Resolution Journal.

.: posted by Syma

Monday, September 23

"Conflict Resolution Open House/Wine and Cheese"
Join students and faculty to kick off Conflict Resolution Week at SIPA! Meet others interested in peace and conflict studies, learn more about courses and student initiatives including the launch of the Conflict Resolution Journal.

Monday, September 23, 5:00-7:00 pm
Room 1118, International Affairs Building

Sponsored by the Center for International Conflict Resolution, Conflict Resolution Working Group, and Conflict Resolution Journal.

.: posted by Syma

"What is our role? A Facilitated Dialogue on the Palestinian – Israeli Conflict"
The Center for International Conflict Resolution
This will be an opportunity for members of the SIPA community to:
· --open channels of communication
· --make connections
· --express feelings
· --explore our own role in meeting the challenges of conflict

Friday, May 10, 1-4pm
Lindsay Rogers Room (700 IAB)

.: posted by tedperl

"Workshop on Coexistence: Definition and Measurement"
Columbia University-Conflict Resolution Network (CU-CRN) and The Coexistence Initiative
The purpose of this meeting is to explore the challenges associated with creating a coexistence index, with a specific focus on the process of drafting a measurable definition of coexistence. This discussion will provide not only substantive suggestions for proceeding with the development of a coexistence index, but also will offer a case study for the larger methodological problem of measuring intangible concepts--such as peace and resentment--as they relate to the field of conflict resolution.

Friday, April 12, 12-2 pm
1401 IAB

.: posted by Syma

" The Implications of a U.S.-led Invasion: Inside Iraqi Kurdistan"
Jeffrey Goldberg
Jeffrey Goldberg recently returned from an assignment in the Kurdish-controlled region of Iraq, where he reported in-depth on the plight of the Kurdish people and their delicate position with respect to the U.S.-led war on terrorism and the peace process in the Middle East.

Mr. Goldberg is The New Yorker's Middle East correspondent

Wednesday, April 10, 2002, 4:30 - 6 p.m.
1101 IAB

.: posted by Thomas

"Peace building from the ground up:
The Basque Country and Northern Ireland"
Jonan Fernandez, Founder of Basque peacemaking NGO Elkarri, Gorka Espiau, Director of Elkarri, and Father Alec Reid, Catholic priest from the Falls Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Elkarri was founded more than a decade ago and has emerged as one of the leading grass roots organizations in Spain dedicated to promoting peace, dialogue and reconciliation among all sectors of Basque society. This visit to New York is Elkarri’s first official visit to the United States since launching their peace initiative in 2001. Father Reid played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process.

Thursday, April 4, 12:30pm
Room 1134, International Affairs Building

.: posted by tedperl

"From Journey to Dream: Photographs and Stories by Karen Refugee Teenagers"
Dwayne Dixon

This exhibit is part of the Cener for International Conflict Resolution's Interethnic Dialogue and Conflict Resolution Program for Burma;s Ethnic Nationalities, established in 1999 to work directly with ethnic groups from Burma in an effort to support them in their search for avenues of peaceful coexistence. This exhibit ran from March 14-April 10, 2002.

Dwayne Dixon works on the Literacy Through Photography Project at Duke University

Tuesday, April 2, 2002, 5 - 7 pm
Fourth Floor corridor IAB

.: posted by Thomas

" Cyprus: Prospects for Change and the Role of Rapprochement "
Dr. Maria Hadjipavlou
Department of Social and Political Sciences
University of Cyprus

Dr. Hadjipavlou, founding member of "Hands Across the Divide," the first Cypriot women's international NGO, will give an overview of the latest official talks between the leaders of the two Cypriot communities under the auspices of the UN Special Representative in Cyprus, Mr. Alvaro De Soto. She will also analyze the ideology of rapprochement and the role of civil society in bringing about social and political change in conflict-torn societies.

Monday, March 4, 12-2 pm
1118 IAB (Middle East Institute)

.: posted by Syma

"Conflict and Cooperation in U.S.-Syrian Relations"
Dr. Murhaf Jouejati

Dr. Jouetjati addressed issues of historical and present significance in the complex and highly significant relationship betwen the United States and Syria.

Dr. Joejati is a resident scholar with the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.

Wednesday, December 12, 2001, 4 - 6 pm
Room 1118 IAB

.: posted by Thomas

" The Key to My Neighbor's House: Seeking Justice in Bosnia and Rwanda"
Elizabeth Neuffer
This is the story of two parallel journeys toward justice -- that of international war crimes tribunals and the people left behind. Ms. Neuffer also spoke about how her work ties into current events both in the Middle East and at The Hague.

Ms. Neuffer is author of "The Key to My Neighbor's House: Seeking Justoce in Bosnia and Rwanda."

Monday, November 19, 2001, 6 pm
Room 1302 IAB

.: posted by Thomas

"Status and Prospects for Kurdish Self-Rule in Iraq"
Dr. Barham Salih

Dr. Salih discussed different aspects of the 10-year democratic experiment in Iraqi Kurdistan, and prospects for continuing the Kurds' de facto autonomy in a future, federal Iraq.

Dr. Salih is Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Sulaimani, Iraqi Kurdistan

Wednesday, October 17, 2001, 3:30-5 pm
Room 1512 IAB