Beladusham: The Multilateral Simulation

Friends:

This week, we have been submerged into a multilateral simulation surrounding the current state of affairs in Syria. We were given our roles at the close of the day on Monday. I accepted my role as the Foreign Minister to the Islamic Republic of Iran and began to read my top-secret documents and agendas to gain a sense of an initial plan of action for the following morning. That night, everyone familiarized themselves with the details of their role and the situation on the ground.

That was Monday night, the calm before the storm.

We are now two days into the simulation and situations have arisen...
due to failed diplomacy,
the aggressive opposition trying to unite through the formation of a coalition (and thus fallout from complications due to ideological impracticalities),
ecological disasters emerging from anonymous attacks on the country's main source of drinking water,
cries from the Red Cross to the international community falling on deaf ears (humanitarian crisis--- where?),
whisperings of coup attempts to overthrow the Beladushami regime,
underhanded agreements with the arms dealer after pledging loyalty on the surface to certain parties,
seizing of war planes in sabotage efforts,
accusations of chemical warfare,
mistakes made in policy due to confusion of the limits/responsibilities of peoples' roles,
and the assassination of regime president Alkier and his brother, Major General Fadi by the Rashidun Front (essentially Al-Qaeda) backed by prominent Beladusham business man Mohammad Fayd, cousin to now-deceased President Alkier...

Suffice it to say that we have some issues to work out. But further, we have the makings of a very complicated, intricate process... a process that comes with a heavy burden-- pull a string, and the tapestry unravels a bit more. Pull another string and the artwork becomes less masterful, more chaotic. Keep tugging and you soon have threads.

Understanding the weight of the simplest decision becomes critical in simulations like this-- and also, in thinking about how things were to "play out" as it were in reality. The Beladusham regime is supposed to be enough of a departure from the current situation in Syria so as to create a perception that our maneuvers, power struggles, and aims are hypothetical to the game itself. Yet, this simulation speaks volume about the current futility of the situation in Syria and the lack of a "mutually hurting stalemate" (the academic jargon is catchy, no?) which breaks my heart. The internal actors struggle to be heard above the thundering din of their international cohorts, each armed with a personal agenda for the country, future relations with the country, religious factions within the country maintaining credibility in regime change, etcetera etcetera ad nauseum.

Hezbollah, the Beladushami Representative to the UN, Professor Zartman, and a non-violent protestor look on as the co-Foreign Ministers of Iran declare their statement against supporting a regime that aligns itself with the Rashidun Front.

What proves to be a foundational truth time and again in witnessing the inherent power of these simulations is that there is a de-emphasis on the humanism needed to understand the weight of loss-- or suffering-- of yanking a nation's people around due to fear of losing your own credibility as a nation. This distancing is in part, I argue, why perceptions of victory and defeat come to play and why wars become spirals of chaotic "give and take." (Everyone should read Sun Tzu's The Art of War) I lament for the civilians in Syria yet it is not sufficient to use that word-- lament. No word is sufficient.

I have learned much from my personal role as the Foreign Co-Minister of Iran, and further learned lessons from making decisions that align with my understanding of the concept of 'conditional good'. I have gained further insight and wisdom into reactions of my peers, especially under duress (or when presented with unexpected conditions) and am interested to see where our simulation will "end up" tomorrow, during our last day to try and patch relations, build trust, and establish outcomes.

Exhausted but excited!

Everyone:

As I predicated, it is difficult to keep posting on a daily basis. Time keeps slipping by and each day is so packed with activity and intrigue that sometimes it is hard to keep up!

I will spend a little bit of time detailing today's focus however. Today, we had four key speakers-- Jack Duvall, Dr. Erica Chenoweth, Maciej Bartkoswki, and Dr. Mary King-- speaking with us specifically about methods of nonviolent resistance, strategies for nonviolence, the success or failures of historical nonviolent methods when compared with violent methods, and personal anecdotes recalling critical work with the U.S. Civil Rights movement of the 60's and the momentum made towards peace by the efforts of the Palestinian intifada in the 70's-80's.

A civilian places a flower inside the barrel of the soldier's gun.

A couple of the speakers alluded to the work of Gene Sharp, who wrote the book "From Dictatorship to Democracy." Sharp scrupulously worked to highlight the methods in which individuals, groups, or movements could act nonviolently and came up with 187 of them, some of which are listed below:

Each speaker brought a passion and history to their mentoring that moved me--I promise to spend some time writing about each speaker (in full) and their work, catching you all up on the learning experiences I have had over the past week, and chronicling my upcoming trip to the Cinque Terre this weekend... but until then Arrivederci! I'm off to make the most of my learning!

Ciao for now!

The Hype (Part 1): Conflict Resolution & Media

Over the course of the various training we have received in the past week, my mentors and peers have introduced elements of media into our education. Some of the media sources are much more humorous than others and attempt to unpack complicated issues through innovation and wit. Others are completely sobering and difficult to watch, but completely realistic in scope and purpose.

I will be posting some of the major impacting videos from the trip so far, including a small bit of information detailing the context in which they were shown to us. I hope you get a chance to watch some of the videos and share them with others, or start a discussion about what you see.

This first video is the Coca Cola ad for their "Small World Machines" concept, entitled Bringing India & Pakistan Together. It's lighthearted demeanor and catchy melodies capture a sense of optimism in facing the challenge of ethnic exclusion and division. While one can argue the effectiveness of the campaign, the message sent (regardless) is one to cherish.

The next clip is a 39 minute documentary about an unlikely relationship formed between an Imam and a Pastor in Nigeria, and how their former hatred as enemies transformed into a beautiful mutual mission for the common thread of human rights for their respective communities-- they traveled together preaching religious tolerance of Muslims and Christians, and sought to change others' perspectives on what it means to co-exist in this way.

The video above comes from a Daily Show clip that was shown to us when we began to debate whether the Cordoba Mosque should be built within the two blocks surrounding the 911 attack radius. Our aim was to discern what the true underlying issues were at that time (in 2010) in our country. Enjoy the outlandishly poignant clip! I could not find the hilarious clip with Wyatt Cenac, but will try to locate that still...

This next clip is called "Determined to Save Succeeding Generations from the Scourge of War" and was screened at the United Nations June 6th, 2013. The title comes from the introduction of the UN's charter, which states that "We the people of the United Nations are determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war..." and aired at the briefing and panel focusing on the role that war has played in recent human history, focusing on the progress in the reduction of war in human history.

Please comment on the videos and start discussions of your own-- I am happy to post more media sources if you are interested at all! 

Official IPSI Post

Hey everyone:

It has been quite a whirlwind of a weekend, between organizing a trip to Venice and going on an epic hike/walk today to a Basilica overlooking the entire area surrounding Bologna.

I wanted to first share an important part of my previous academic week by posting what I wrote for the official IPSI blog. Each of us is asked to write a blog post throughout our tenure here to note what stood out for us during our lessons. I decided to write about our Facilitation Training through two brilliant members of Search for Common Ground-- Micahel Shipler and Rajendra Mulmi.

Here is the post for your proper enjoyment!
http://ipsinstitute.org/category/bologna-2013/

Facilitation Training: The Art of Perception

By Lauren Hershey, USA, 6/21/2013

Any avowed art aficionado has, at some point, viewed the famous perceptual illusion of the “Young Girl-Old Woman” and has more naturally seen one image over the other. Personally, it doesn’t matter how many times I view the illusion; on every occasion, I immediately see the old woman and need someone near me to specifically point out where the young girl comes into the picture.

   This was the manner in which our mentors from Search for Common Ground, Michael Shipler and Rajendra Mulmi, began our facilitation training this past Wednesday. Despite introducing this image early in the morning when some of us were still bleary-eyed from a lack of proper caffeination, Michael and Rajendra immediately acquired the rapt attention of the room. We were all somewhat entertained and perplexed at the illusion before us, wanting to make sense of the oddity.

Another question of perception was introduced, as Rajendra took a sheets of paper with a number on it, placed it on the floor and asked candidly, “Is it a 6 or a 9? Which is right?”

Due to my spot on the back-right side of the room, my mind immediately stated, “9. It is a 9...” before any other mental gears began turning. Numerous peers of mine shouted out “6...” and some eagerly “9...” but then the room became silent for a moment as the visual illusion began to sink in.

Rajendra cracked a half-smile and explained that depending on where you stand, this number-- this glyph-- could be either and both 6&9. “But,” he continued, “what’s important is how you bring the two together to merge understanding from both sides.”

These visual illusions transformed into a poignant metaphor for the process of facilitating and detailed the diverse perceptions that occur within facilitated dialogue.

Michael & Rajendra introduced the concept of knowing the facilitated ‘self’ and the facilitated ‘other’, which led to the questions:

- How does one reconcile and remove themselves from their personal biases, triggers, and core opinions in order to more objectively listen to the full concerns of the parties they are helping?

- Is it possible to reach a place of pure objectivity, of becoming dispassionate or removed from a deep issue in order to best draw out the interests of the parties or group at hand?

- What role do you play as facilitator? Do you question consistently and play ‘devil’s advocate’ or listen attentively and comment only when you notice an extreme behavior begin to emerge within the dynamic?

- What is the best way to approach and frame the issues at hand?

- How will the ‘other’ view you-- what will their perceptions (no matter how illusory) be of you as a facilitator? Are you credible, compelling, and trustworthy?

Like the images shown to us upon arriving that morning, perception proved to be the key factor is answering any of these vital questions. In facilitation, your self-perception and the keen awareness of how others perceive you becomes essential to initiating the facilitative process, to getting to know the parties in conflict, and in building trust between them and the facilitator.

Rajendra & Michael demonstrated this intricate lesson through another social exercise. “Close your eyes. We are coming around to put a colored sticker on your forehead.” After getting a round sticker stuck onto the middle of my forehead, I opened my eyes and saw that my peers had one of three stickers--yellow, green, or red-- placed on their own foreheads. Our mentors handed out a small slip of paper detailing the instructions of the exercise and told everyone not to share what the paper said with anyone else.

Mine read, “Seek out the yellows and try to speak to them for as long as possible, say hi to the greens, and do not approach the reds. If they speak to you, ignore them.”

We were given five minutes and walked around, interacting with everyone... well, mostly everyone. I felt terrible ignoring those of my peers with red dots on their heads, so I gave an awkward wave and smile as an acknowledgment but did not verbally say hello and proceeded to locate as many yellows as possible.

At the end of the exercise, Michael and Rajendra asked us to reflect on what we witnessed occur. They passed the microphone to members of each sticker color and asked them what color they perceived themselves to be and why. Some people were spot on with their colors, saying things like “I thought I was red because when I would approach people to say hello, they would physically turn their backs to me or would avert my gaze. I kept trying but eventually felt really sad and isolated and just sat down.”Some others thought they were in a different category than they actually were (which elicited some giggling from the group).

The yellows said that they felt really strange just talking to other people with yellow dots on their forehead, but they were happy to belong to a group, to at least experience a sense of closeness to some others. The greens felt like wallflowers, like “that kid who is invited to the party but then isn’t talked to by anyone there.” They received ambiguous messages that prevented them from really forming any conversations-- and consequently-- relationships with others.

We all discussed this perception strata that happened in the room, a fake construct that emerged from a single slip of paper-- and then applied it to societal relations. The exercise provided clarity on social interactions within societal bounds, the kinds of subtle discrimination and biases we carry out in our day to day interactions with others. How many times do we turn away from the ‘red dot’ people and subconsciously place them in an out-group?

As effective facilitators, it proves paramount to recall these lessons of the ‘facilitated other and self’ and remember to be as impartial and objective as possible with others-- to try and see the young girl and the old woman, to visualize merging the 6 and the 9. Our perceptions very much shape the contents of our reality, especially when we try to truly understand the essence of others. 

                                                                      ************

International Conflict Prevention 101 & First Simulation

Hello everyone!

Like I predicted, it is much harder to maintain a blog during the week when I am slammed with a busy (and extremely exciting) schedule! I have barely had any downtime in the past two days, let alone enough free time to recount my experiences.

We dived into the substantive academic foundation of our program yesterday as Professor P. Terrence Hopmann gave an extended lecture on the primary drivers of conflict. While some of my peers probably felt that the material Hopmann covered was repetitive due to the nature of their studies (either Masters or PHD), I greatly appreciated starting from the basics and gaining the correct terminology and theory for the practice of conflict resolution.

Professor Hopmann lectures on the layers/levels of a conflict

At the end of the day yesterday, we were randomly assigned roles for us to play today for a 7 hour long simulation regarding resolving the crisis in the region that was formerly Yugoslavia (our simulation picked up with the events in 1993). I represented the United Kingdom! My peers and I returned to campus after a few of us split off post-lesson yesterday and grabbed an incredible (and affordable) dinner last night; once getting back to campus, a flurry of activity began as we all scrambled to amass as much information as we could on our respective roles and the interplay of primary actors in the conflict, as well as the agendas of the nations involved in the issues.

The simulation took place today from 9am-3pm with brief remiss for lunch and coffee breaks (thank god!). I became totally engaged and thrilled by the process of the negotiations and the separate caucus discussions that provided the impetus for changes in regional stance and policy. Upon reconvening for an open debate and first drafting of a collective proposition, such terms as ceasefire of the Bosnian Serbs and withdrawal of all troops in Sarajevo and surrounding regions, recognition of the sovereignty of the Bosnian state, the issue of amnesty for alleged war criminals, and many more made it to the table.

Our first simulation: Peace Conference on the former Yugoslavia - 1993

I think it is utterly fascinating to witness how everyone's personalities and role-playing within the bounds of their nation's agendas either proves advantageous or becomes a direct obstacle for adopting active stances on a tough matter. I could go on for a (long) while about all the details of the day-- the triumphs, challenges, and breakthroughs of the group discussions and debates. But, I confess that I am in desperate need of a good night's sleep since for the past two nights Italian students have been watching loud soccer matches a floor directly underneath our room... until 4am.

Tomorrow brings the topic of facilitation training and I am very excited! I also hope to visit the city of Venice with some friends this weekend, so it will be great getting to blog about the floating city!

Buona notte, amici! (Good night, friends!)

A siesta day!

Ciao everyone!

Today was a perfect day for a siesta! It's a shame I didn't get to take one because we were SO busy!

This morning, I woke up and grabbed a nice breakfast and took my time to prepare for my day. We were told to wear business casual clothes and bring along sneakers or a change of clothes for a scavenger hunt (no other information was disclosed to us until right before the hunt). There are two things I have learned from personal experience in the past couple of days regarding my ability to navigate the streets of Bologna:

1) It's much harder than I initially thought it would be to remember key landmarks and names of streets. I know that Via is street in Italian, but beyond that it is difficult to remember which streets are which and where important landmarks are. Instead, I have been remembering locations by referencing gelaterias and restaurants we have passed!

2) The other lesson-- wearing any other shoe but sneakers or padded shoes around the city HURTS. The walk to the center of the city from our Camplus location takes a good 20-25 minutes and I am estimating that we walked about 3-4 miles today in total! It is vital to wear comfortable shoes-- my blisters on the tops of my feet keep echoing that sentiment!

Our squad of 47 plus staff walked down the La Piazza Maggiore in the center of the city and took a three hour tour of the entirety of Bologna. The information gleaned about the city's history and culture was fascinating, but by the second hour, some of my peers and I were feeling the wear from the hot, humid (90 degree) weather and our professional clothes were soaked with sweat.

La Piazza Maggiore with the Neptune Fountain!

 We received an official welcome speech and address from the Bologna location of John Hopkins' SAIS graduate school and toured their campus. As well, the staff for our Symposium went over in detail the structure of our program, our schedule, expectations, and opportunities for learning and personal growth. I find that each member of my peer group, as well as the staff, bring a unique feel to the culture of our culminated group and enrich it as such! It was so refreshing and interesting today hearing about my fellow colleagues and their dreams, as well as their accomplishments.

After learning about the logistical aspects of our program (we get into the thick of it tomorrow) and being given our assigned readings, we all had the chance to partner up with someone we didn't know very well and introduce that person. I thought that icebreaker was a very interactive, fun way of getting to know about everyone's interests and personality quirks and I can't wait to learn more and get to know these incredible individuals!

We were split up into six groups of around 6-7 people after the icebreaker and were told that there were 19 things we needed to photograph around Bologna and we had an hour and a half to do it! Our group, Group 3, set off quickly to find such things as the "belly button of Venus" and the oldest Osteria in Bologna!

                                                          Tortellini, aka "the belly-button of Venus"

 After the scavenger hunt ended, we all filed back to Camplus utterly drained from the sun and drenched from running around the city all day. I ended up going out with three new friends-- Rebecca, Jocelyn & Sybil (from South Africa, California, and the Dominican Republic respectively)-- for dinner and we had a blast ordering food at a delicious Italian restaurant about 10 minutes from campus.

All in all, the day was long and somewhat arduous but filled with much information and entertainment. I am very excited to start the academic portion of our program tomorrow and to become closer to the people I am sharing this diverse experience with!

Buona serra!

Settling In

Day 1

 

Buon giorno da Bologna!

 (Good morning from Bologna!)

After two grueling flights where I got an hour of sleep in total, yesterday I arrived safely in Bologna! My first experience in BLQ airport was one of frustration as I waited for my checked luggage to come through the conveyor belt. Everyone from my flight received their bags and happily walked off and I waited for any sign that my bag was going to come through. Then, the conveyor belt turned off completely and I accepted the inevitability that my bag was going to be coming on the next flight. I went to the customer service desk and handed over my bag claim ticket to the man, who began to call the airlines of the respective individuals who were asking for assistance. 

Then, a woman began to shout "It's back on!" and I went back to the bag claim area to see my large red bag coming through the flap and making its way around the carousel! That is when I knew my day was going to be a good one. All thoughts of my exhaustion went out the window as I collected my things and proceeded to meet the IPSI representatives (who recognized me first and flagged me down with a sign).

I was taken to the area where four members of the Symposium were already congregating and waiting for a shuttle to Camplus Bononia, where we were to check in to our rooms. I began to talk with Fiona, Daniel, Emirza, and Helena (respectively from Kenya, Germany, Indonesia, and Finland) and had a really lovely time starting to get to know them. We all clambered into a large van with our luggage and took a ride to campus, pictured below:

What a double room looks like!

Once there, IPSI staff members had a desk set up to check us in and we received an official program guide, our name-tags, the key to our rooms, and one of the most valuable assets: the Wifi username and password! I collected my things (which seemed to be the theme of the day) and went to my room. The feeling of finally getting to settle into the place you will be living, your own little sanctuary after being submerged in the travel world, is such a feeling of bliss. My immediate instinct was to flop down on the bed, but instead I unpacked all my belongings and put them away and then took a look at our official program schedule. 

I then began to explore the building and quickly got lost! My room is on the R floor, which is above the 0 floor. It was pretty confusing at the beginning (and the elevator doors open both to the front and to the side) but I began to get more of a handle of navigating the corridors. Emir and I bumped into each other in the La Nord (the North) ward, where we both took a look at la sala fitness (the gym).

 

Then, I made my way back to my room and took the BEST hour nap ever. I'm definitely going to enjoy the siesta culture here!

 

Daniel, Helena, Fiona, and I met up around 5pm and trekked away from campus, referencing a map given to us by the lobby desk. Oddly enough, we all scoured the map for local cross streets but couldn't find where we were! So, I tried my hand at basic Italian by stopping at a Gelateria to ask an older gentleman, "Dove la Piazza Maggiore?" ("Where is the Maggiore Piazza?" - The Piazza Maggiore is the center of the city). He began to speak quite quickly in Italian, at which point I timidly asked "Parli inglesse?" and he chuckled and said no so I brought Daniel over and they talked in fluent Italian. We learned that in order to get to the center of Bologna, we needed to take a 20 minute walk by foot (venti minuti il piede). 

We passed a couple of local markets and kept going all the way to la Due Torri (the Two Towers) in the center of the city.

 

 After briefly exploring the area around the towers, we decided to head back to campus since we were having an informal meet and greet with pizza and wine around 7pm! Before getting back to campus, we all grabbed a couple items at the market (I bought some Activia yogurt, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and little crackers) and discovered once again that my Italian needs lots of improvement!

The rest of the night was great and I've never had pizza that good in my life (you were right, Andres!)

Today, we have lots of time to continue settling in and getting adjusted-- our first scheduled activity is a walking tour of the city at 1pm. Here's to resting!