Network & Capacity Building

Sustainable Peace And Development Organization (SPADO) in partnership with The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is implementing a long-term training program designed to develop a network of Pakistani facilitators/mediators who have the capacity to train others in non- violent dispute resolution theory and techniques, as well as mediate potentially violent conflicts in their communities. USIP is one of the leading conflict resolution institutes in the United States which provide in depth training in subjects such as: conflict analysis, communication, dialogue, negotiation, mediation, reconciliation and problem solving.

The goal is to develop a self-expanding network of local people trained in conflict management who are solving local problems peacefully and helping to transform the country from violence to peace and stability.
The new Pakistan program will in the initial phase develop a network of facilitators from the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) and the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA). We selected 35 participants all of whom are working on issues of development and peace in their communities. The first workshop was held August 10-12, 2009 in Islamabad. During this workshop the participants were trained on our conflict management portfolio of conflict analysis, dialogue, negotiation, mediation, communication skills, and problem solving. We also conducted a session in how to facilitate and teach in these subjects. The workshop was mix of lecture and interactive role-playing exercises. Our training philosophy is that you learn by doing; therefore the training was highly interactive. At the end of the session, participants were given assignments to be completed by the second workshop. The second workshop will be tentatively held in November 2009.
As homework, the participants were broken up into groups. Each group will be responsible for putting together a training module on one of the topics taught in the August workshop. For example, one group will be responsible for putting together a training module on negotiation; one will be responsible for putting together a training module on mediation and so forth. We encourage participants to adapt the USIP frameworks taught during the August workshop for the local Pakistani context. The USIP frameworks are a guide and will need to be adapted by the participants in order for the concepts to apply to Pakistan – and particularly to the NWFP and FATA region. At the November workshop each group will present their training modules to one another – essentially training each other in the concepts on non-violent dispute resolution tailored to the Pakistani context.

The third and fourth training workshops can be discussed in conjunction with the participants in the future as we will seek input from participants as to what is needed from a training perspective. We will work with all our participants to ensure that this long-term program is a collaborative project – meeting their needs in the best way possible.

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