From January
12th – April 1, INCORE hosted 20 visitors from
five south Asian countries – Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal
and Sri Lanka on a three-month training programme for South Asian
professionals active in peace and conflict work. The group comprised
a mixture of MP’s, academics, civil servants, journalists,
NGO workers and members of civil society.
The programme involved
a mixture of seminars, workshops, roleplay situations and guest lectures
by prominent policymakers, practitioners and academics active in
peace and conflict issues internationally. Comparative and shared
learning was a core component of the methodology employed. Among
those who spoke with the group were Prof. John Hume, 1998 Nobel Laureate
and former Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader; Fine
Gael MEP John Cushnahan; Lord Alderdice, member of the International
Monitoring Commission and until recently Speaker of the NI Assembly;
and Councillor Eoin Ó’Broin of Sinn Féin.
Members of the
group conducted field visits to Belfast and Dublin, where they met
with political leaders, government officials, prominent NGO’s and the media. Each participant completed a two week work
placement. This involved linkages with a number of organizations, including
the NI Human Rights Commission, the Committee on the Administration
of Justice, Women’s Aid Foundation, Peace and Reconciliation
Group, the Junction, the NI Equality Commission, the Special E.U. Programmes
Body, the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, the Irish
Times (NI bureau), BBC Radio Foyle, FOSEC, the Centre for the Advancement
of Women in Politics, Mediation Northern Ireland, the Conflict Trauma
Resource Centre, Corrymeela, NI 
Council for Ethnic Minorities, and
INCORE itself.
The
programme was funded under the British Council’s
Chevening Scholarship scheme. It aimed at exposing professionals
working in a variety of contexts to the Northern Ireland peace
process and to best practice in conflict resolution.
According to Programme
Co-ordinators Steve & Sue
Williams:
‘This programme has confirmed the importance of working regionally,
since conflicts nowadays are not confined to individual countries. It
has also demonstrated the usefulness of Northern Ireland as a laboratory,
where visitors can learn from the experience of local people as well
as academic expertise’.
A special reception
hosted by University Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Gerry
McKenna concluded the 3-month programme. After presenting each delegate
with a certificate marking the completion of the course, Professor
McKenna said,
‘We
have been privileged to host such a dedicated and professional
group and hope that the shared learning experience you have
gained here in Northern Ireland will have a positive impact
on conflict resolution in South Asia’.
All participants in the course affirmed these sentiments. According
to one,
‘I had to come all this way, not only to learn about Northern
Ireland, but to get to know people from my own region whose governments
are at odds with my own’.
