USIP has launched the first phase of its two-year project to foster cooperation among Iraq's ethnic and religious groups by training Iraqi facilitators to conduct results-oriented dialogues among government and civil society leaders.
USIP has launched the first phase of its two-year project to foster cooperation among Iraq's ethnic and religious groups by training Iraqi facilitators to conduct results-oriented dialogues among government and civil society leaders.
The Institute's Professional Training Program invited forty-five participants from the governorates of Ninewa, Tamim (Kirkuk), Diyala, Salah ad Din, Al Anbar, and Baghdad to take part in a May 16-20 workshop at the Baghdad Convention Center.
The workshop was conducted by Professional Training Program Officer Anne Henderson, Peace and Stability Operations Director Dan Serwer, and Sloan Mann, a program officer in the Office of Peace and Stabililty Operations. Iraqi participants came from diverse government and civil society backgrounds, but all shared a commitment to peaceful inter-group conflict management.
Participants included provincial and municipal council members, heads of NGOs, tribal sheikhs, media editors and journalists, lawyers, economists, engineers, and academics.
The May 16-20 workshop focused on training in conflict management skills, including negotiation, mediation, and problem-solving. Participants engaged in all workshop activities with great energy and dedication, and they found the interactive simulations and exercises to be particularly rewarding.
