Building Bridges: From Conflict to Cooperation

What if a conflict seems unsolvable? How can dialogue and creativity transform conflict into peace? To find out, EUSTORY Summit-participants dared to leave their comfort zone…

Contrary opinions belong to our everyday lives: In relationships with others, within communities, and also on the international political scale. Different perceptions of the past and clashing views on the present can create the basis for conflict – and even war.

14 participants from 13 countries of the EUSTORY Summit-workshop “Building Bridges: From Conflict to Cooperation” discovered the complexity of any type of (armed or frozen, but even interpersonal) conflict beyond the political, social and historical aspects coming along with implications and involved players on the local, national or even international level. Taking a closer look at the personal dimension of conflicts by reflecting on their own experiences, participants asked themselves: “How do I manage conflict in my daily life?”, “Do I have a predominant strategy for addressing conflicts, and is it effective?”, “Am I capable of putting myself in the other’s shoes to reduce divisions and broaden my perspective?”.

Am I capable of putting myself in the other’s shoes to reduce divisions and broaden my perspective?

The thread during the three-day workshop facilitated by staff from the Italian NGO Rondine: Stepping out of the personal comfort zone by confronting with existing conflicts and own behaviour while using various methodologies and experiencing creative hands-on activities such as role plays, personal reflections, as well as group exchanges on opinions and emotions.

Workshop Insights

What the workshop participants leraned: Conflict cannot always be avoided nor eliminated. But it can be managed and transformed. With the willingness to do so and some skills how to overcome divisions, promote dialogue and transform conflicts, mediation between hardened fronts is possible. And so is a peaceful future.