Workshop: Conflict Resolution in Intercultural Communities

The intercultural diversity in our society is growing with all the connected chances and difficulties. The perception of the living together with people of different origin is often seen as a problem and possible reason of conflicts. Schools, youth and other social institutions, police and policy in the communities are in many cases overextended, especially by mediation and resolution of intercultural conflicts. In the same time the potentials of the people with migration background are not realized as possibility to play an important role as mediators in the diverse communities today. In the process of integration in the schools and in the communities their participation and contribution is more and more important.
The two and a half day long Training Workshop will present concrete approaches and training modules of conflict resolution in communities.

The Workshop will present three different approaches of conflict resolution in intercultural communities.

• Institute for applied cultural research (IFAK) in Göttingen has trained people with migration background to became cultural interpreter. They are now working as mediators between cultures in different communal institutions, like in kindergartens and in schools to support pupils and teachers in their conflicts, to mediate in parents conversation with teachers or in parents meetings in schools if asked for. It is planned to develop a grounding Integration Concept to deploy the cultural interpreters for work also in social institutions and in health care.

• Therapie Sociale is a concept, developed in the French suburbs, in the Banlieus. The aim of Thérapie Sociale is to make the peaceful living together of people with different values and norms and with different cultural backgrounds possible and productive. In Germany this approach has been successfully implemented in a pilot project in Germersheim.

• The third approach will be presented by Partners for Demo­cratic Change Slovakia (PDCS). It is a project of Collaborative planning and Conflict Transformation in the Slovak communities of Kezmarok, Presov and Rimavska Sobota. These regions have a majority of Roma people so that the Slovak population find themselves as minority. PDCS facilitates here a process of conflict transformation with collaborative regional development and the constitution of Conciliation commissions.

All three approaches offer a theoretical input and report on best practices. Exercises related to the context give a deeper understanding and give the possibility to gain a better picture of the practical work. Testing of some methods, experiencing of the impact and sharing of the experiences with practitioners of the communities are the focus of the training workshop. At the end we will have space to discussion and reflection of the reach and possibilities of implementation in the own work of the participants.

The workshop is organized by Federation for Social Defence, Minden, the Institute for Applied Cultural Research, Göttingen and Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia in cooperation with the Protestant Academy in Rhineland

Venue of the Workshops: Protestant Academy im Rhineland, Haus der Begegnung, Mandelbaumweg 2, 53177 Bonn-Bad Godesberg

Language: Parts of the workshop will be in German other in English. Respective interpretation will be available.

Registration: Please contact outi.arajarvi.de or kunter@soziale-verteidigung.de

Direct contact to the academy: barbara.vellrath@akademie.ekir.de