Kathy Matsui and Loreta Castro

The course seeks to introduce the participants to the fundamental knowledge base, skills and value orientations of peace education. It is intended for educators and trainers working in the formal, nonformal and informal sectors. The course will use a holistic framework aimed at cultivating peaceable mindsets, attitudes and behaviors. It will also engage the participants in a learning process that is consistent with the principles of peace to demonstrate that content and pedagogy should form one integral whole. This course will also take a comprehensive view of addressing conflict. Various conflict phases and processes will be explored with an emphasis on constructive approaches. Both the course content and process can be easily adaptable to the local contexts of participants.

Jujin Chung and Wendy Kroeker

This course will introduce the definition and contextual interpretations of conflict & peace.  The focus is to enhance participants’ understandings of conflict & peace issues in the local and regional context through dialogues and discussions with other participants from different countries. Opportunities and tools will be provided to analyze the dynamics of different local and regional conflicts. Participants will explore possibilities for creative and collaborative ways of conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Participants will be expected to engage in large and small group discussions, creative exercises and case analyses.

Jae Young Lee, Carl Stauffer and Howard Zehr

Restorative justice is a new paradigm on crime and justice in which the voice of victims, offenders and communities are of primary concern.  Throughout the world its concept and practice are growing in the justice system and beyond.  This course aims to provide an understanding and application of restorative justice.  It is an introductory course for those who are not familiar with the framework of restorative justice, as well as for those who have some level of understanding.  As a resource person for this course, Howard Zehr, one of the pioneers of restorative justice, will help to explain the history and background of restorative justice in the first two days of the course.  The course also presents various practicing models around the world in the legal system, school and community levels, including from Northeast Asian countries.  The possibility of applying a restorative justice framework to issues of historical justice in Northeast Asia will also be explored, through studying the experience of South Africa from Carl Stauffer, who worked with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 

Hiro Katano and Kyoko Okumoto

This course will be focus on the historical and cultural aspects of peacebuilding in northeast Asia by exploring the artistic approaches to conflict transformation. The course will explore the role of narratives, storytelling and other art forms to transform conflicts and creat the culture of peace. The course contents include understanding the concept of conflict transformation, how narrative functions in conflict and peace work, and the role od the arts to encourage imagination and creativity. In addition to exercises for practical skills, there will be inputs from speakers and other resources, and the participants are encouraged to examine their own sories in there daily settings, such as family, school, organization, and society. This course is open to anyone who is willing to become an art-minded peace worker, who lives with conflict by artfully transforming narrative of trauma and violence into that of healing and reconiliation.

Jungki Seo and Al Fuertes

This course is designed to provide participants with a thorough overview of trauma, healing, and trauma response. Questions that the course will address include: What is trauma? How does trauma affect individuals and communities? What helps people survive trauma? What response does a community need in order to transform the negative energies of trauma into something constructive?
Participants will explore the social-psychological-physical-spiritual processes of responding to deep personal loss, pain, and suffering in settings of protracted, traumatic events, including conflict. In addition the course will examine recently developed healing approaches of individuals and communities moving from violence to trauma healing and transformation. Participants are expected to be able to come up with a re-entry plan that would integrate a trauma healing program to their work and community.

Jae Young Lee and Wendy Kroeker

This course will explore various approaches of peacebuilding skills which participants can use in their daily settings, such as family, school, organization, community, and society. The goal of this course is to provide an introduction to different peacebuilding skills, including dialogue, negotiation, and mediation. The course contents include facilitation of dialogue, basic principles of negotiation, mediation techniques, multi-party conflicts from a number of different aspects, conflict analysis skills, and exploration of the uses and challenges of mediation. For skill development, the focus will be on mediation training. There will be opportunities for role plays, class discussion, small group work and specific skill learning activities. Through this course, participants will come to recognize the value of their own traditional problem solving mechanisms through in-depth discussion and presentations. This course is designed for participants who have had some level of mediation, to enhance their skills, and for those who have no previous experience in mediation, to gain knowledge and skills in mediation.