Bringing people closer together in community inevitably involves encountering our differences - different political views, educational backgrounds, communication styles, cultural assumptions, and so on. Our communities are healthy to the extent that they can allow these differences and integrate them in a higher creative synthesis. Easier said than done! Many of us have painful associations with conflict and tend to avoid it where possible. Others of us may tend to jump right in but later wish we didn't. Furthermore, many of us have had disheartening experiences of our current legal and political approaches to resolving conflict, which, because of their adversarial frameworks, often exacerbate the tensions between the people involved, involve a huge amount of time and money, and leave lasting rips in the fabric of community. Yet with the right kind of 'container' (and plenty of courage and commitment), sitting in the fire of conflict can bring communities much closer together and unleash tremendous creative energy. Many innovative approaches have been developed that offer intelligent frameworks for dealing with conflict and differences within communities. Below we list the ones we like the best.

 

Working with Diversity

While conflicts of any kind can be challenging, particular mindfulness is called for when working with differences in social rank and power, such as differences in sex, race, class, sexual orientation, and so on. Individuals who are members of groups that historically have been systematically mistreated by society at large often face special challenges in finding their voice in a group and having their contributions respected. Working with these issues can be challenging, since it usually involves bringing to the surface very painful feelings and deeply ingrained habits of thought. Since many of us have only ever experienced these issues being dealt with in highly-charged conversations or public forums mainly characterized by blame, rage, guilt, and defensiveness, many communities tend to minimize or avoid these issues. Yet it is possible to create a space in which all group members can intelligently participate in freeing themselves from these limiting patterns of thought and behavior. Neither the role of victim nor oppressor serves our best interests as human beings. It can be profoundly liberating to participate in encounters that heal, in a small yet significant way, some of the ancient divisions and wounds that have split humanity. As Martin Luther King Jr taught, we all have a stake in building "the beloved community."

 

Organizations and Resource Centers

 

National Coalition Building Institute (www.ncbi.org)

The National Coalition Building Institute is a non-profit leadership training organization based in Washington D.C that works towards eliminating prejudice and 'intergroup' conflict in communities throughout the world. The NCBI runs regular training programs to teach effective skills at combating inter-group conflicts.

 

Satyana Institute: Gender Reconciliation work (www.satyana.org)

The Satyana Institute offers unique programs in "Gender Reconciliation" that synthesizes wisdom from world's spiritual traditions to foster new dimensions of healing and reconciliation between women and men. From the website: "Both women and men are afflicted by gender injustice, and each needs the other for a true and complete healing. The process of gender reconciliation builds upon the important advances of the women's and men's movements, yet goes beyond them both in recognizing gender injustice as a collective spiritual crisis. The premise of this work is that transforming relations between feminine and masculine dimensions of human society is fundamental to creating lasting, positive social change."

 

Global Process Institute (www.globalprocessinstitute.org)

The Global Process Institute is a global research and learning community with a special focus on conflict work and community building, inspired by Arnold Mindell's WorldWork method. They sponsor seven to ten day experiential training seminars in the WorldWork approach to community building. Also see www.worldwork.org.

 

Spirit in Action: Circles of Change (www.spiritinaction.net)

Linda Stout's Spirit in Action is one of the few leading social change networks that use a circle format, integrate a spirit perspective, and prioritize working with diversity issues. Their 2005 "Circles of Change Report" (http://spiritinaction.net/ezpublish/index.php/spirit/circles_report) includes their findings on what they learned about healing divisions to build diverse community through their Circles of Change program.

 

Commonway Institute (www.commonway.org)

This is Sharif Abdullah's site that spells out his vision of a spiritual path to a new society. Here you can find information about Sharif's Inclusivity Trainings, "Commons Café" experiments in public dialogue, and Sri Lankan Peace Work.

 

Social and Cultural Anthropology Program, California Institute of Integral Studies. (www.ciis.edu/academics/sca.html)

The SCA program at CIIS offers Masters and PhD level educational programs that emphasize issues of social and ecological justice. The program is especially renowned for exploring the intersection of thought and action, scholarship and community activism.

National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (www.thataway.org)

Check out their resources on "Working with Diverse Groups." (www.thataway.org/resources/practice/guides.html#working)

 

 

Books

 

Sitting in the Fire: Large group transformation using conflict and diversity. Arnold Mindell. 1995. Lao Tse Press.

Arnie Mindell brings a brilliant psychologist's insight into working with diversity issues (what he calls issues of rank and power) in groups and communities. With many examples from his "WorldWork" workshops with large groups and communities around the world, Mindell shows how 'sitting in the fire' of conflict generated by differences in social rank and power can help build truly sustainable communities.

 

Creating a World that Works for All. Sharif Abdullah. 1999. Berrett- Koehler Publishers.

Sharif Abdullah outlines a vision of a "revolution to inclusivity" achieved through seeing through our cultural 'stories' that keep us disconnected from each other and the Earth and through engaging in practices that build community with others and restore balance to the Earth. Building on his experience with the profoundly successful Sarvodaya Movement in Sri Lanka, Abdullah brings a practical, down-to-earth approach to how we may participate in this much-needed shift toward an inclusive consciousness and culture.

 

Healing into Action: A Leadership Guide to Creating Diverse Communities. Cherie Brown & George Mazza. 1997.

This guide contains exercises and principles developed by the National Coalition Building Institute for building diverse and inclusive communities.

 

Nonviolent Communication

Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication (NVC) offers a simple but profound approach to resolving differences peacefully. NVC is an interpersonal practice that can help us to develop non-judgmental consciousness through bringing awareness (and providing alternatives) to our habitually judgmental ways of thinking, embedded in our language. The basic NVC process to resolving conflicts is to express:

the concrete actions we are observing that are affecting our well-being;

how we feel in relation to what we are observing;

the needs, values, desires, etc that are creating our feelings; and

the concrete actions we request in order to enrich our lives.

In our experience, the capacity to work through differences consciously through NVC or similar approaches has been the single most important factor in eliciting a group's collective wisdom.

 

Leading organizations and resource centers

 

Center for Nonviolent Communication (www.cnvc.org)

The Center for Nonviolent Communication is a global organization helping people connect compassionately with themselves and one another through Nonviolent Communication language, as created by Marshall Rosenberg. The website provides the latest information on NVC training opportunities and a comprehensive collection of articles and books about NVC.

 

PuddleDancer Press (www.nonviolentcommunication.com)

The premier publisher of Nonviolent Communication related works.

 

Books

 

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life (2^nd edition). Marshall Rosenberg. 2005. Puddledancer.

This is the classic guide to the NVC method, explained in uncomplicated prose by Rosenberg.

 

Nonviolent Communication: Companion Workbook. Lucy Leu. 2003. Puddledancer.

This is a user-friendly workbook that serves as a study guide for applying the NVC method to your life.

 

Speak Peace in a World of Conflict. Marshall Rosenberg. 2005. Puddledancer.

Speak Peace is filled with inspiring stories, lessons and ideas drawn from Rosenberg's experience of over 40 years of mediating conflicts and healing relationships in some of the most war torn, impoverished, and violent corners of the world.

 

Community mediation

Community mediation involves the use of trained community volunteers to provide mediation services as an alternative to the judicial system. Community mediation offers many advantages over traditional legal approaches to conflict resolution, such as:

·       it provides a forum for dispute resolution at the earliest stage of the conflict;

·       it uses mediators who reflect the diversity of the communities served; and

·       it is committed to providing services to clients regardless of their ability to pay.

 

According to the National Association for Community Mediation, a typical community mediation program has 1.5 equivalent full-time staff, 30 active mediators, and a $40,000/annum budget. Many community mediation centers have well-established programs for schools that help to create a culture of nonviolent conflict resolution among the children and teachers.

 

Organizations and resource centers

 

National Association for Community Mediation (www.nafcm.org)

The NAFCM is the leading US national body for supporting the growth of community-based mediation programs. The website gives information about articles, books, trainings, and grant opportunities related to community mediation.

 

Community Boards, San Francisco (www.communityboards.org)

Established in 1976, Community Boards continues to be recognized as a grassroots, community-based leader and innovator in alternative dispute resolution theory and practice, nationally and internationally. It provides mostly free dispute resolution services for San Francisco residents.

 

Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center (www.pcrcweb.org)

A good example of a well-organized community mediation service. This one serves residents in San Mateo County, California.

 

Articles

 

History of Community Mediation in the US. (no author or date listed) (www.mnnc.org/pg15.cfm)

Overview of Community Mediation (no author or date listed) (www.nafcm.org/pg5.cfm).

Check out the bottom of this article for a good list of resources about community mediation.

 

Books

 

The Possibility of Popular Justice: A Case Study of Community Mediation in the US. Neal Milner, Sally Engle Merry.1995. University of Michigan Press.

This book is essential reading for scholars and practitioners of community mediation. The book takes several academic perspectives on the San Francisco Community Boards programs' diverse history, impact, and implications for "popular justice."

 

Peace Skills: Manual for Community Mediators. Ronald Kraybill, Robert Evans. 2001. Jossey-Bass.

A very practical guide to building mediation and peacemaking skills based on the author's experiences in post-apartheid South Africa.

 

Restorative justice

Restorative Justice is an umbrella term for community-based approaches to criminal matters that emphasize repairing the harm caused by the crime. In a restorative justice circle, victims and offenders meet face to face, along with key members of their communities and a skilled facilitator, to address what happened in the crime. Victims are thus given an opportunity to express their pain, and to feel heard and understood. Offenders are given the chance to realize the full impact of their crime and to make amends. Both victims and offenders tend to rate this process a "highly satisfactory" way to deal with crime. Since 1989, New Zealand has made restorative justice processes the hub of its juvenile justice system.

 

Organizations and resource centers

 

Restorative Justice Online (www.restorativejustice.org)

A clearing house of information about restorative justice, including research tools, bibliographies, training, tutorials and expert articles.

 

Centre for Restorative Justice (www.sfu.ca/crj)

Canada has long been at the forefront of the Restorative Justice Movement. This Center is an initiative of the Simon Fraser University of Criminology, British Columbia. The Center provides education, innovative program models, training, evaluation and research through a resource centre and meeting place that facilitates outreach, promotion, dialogue and advocacy.

 

Books

 

The Spiritual Roots of Restorative Justice. Michael Hadley (ed.). 2001. SUNY

This book explores what major religious traditions have to say about criminal justice in general and restorative justice in particular. The contributors clarify how these principles might be applied in a pluralistic, multicultural society.

 

The Little Book of Restorative Justice. Howard Zehr. 2002. Good Books.

An accessible overview of the general concepts of restorative justice.