The world is full of suffering, misunderstanding and conflict. It seems to get easier these days - even instinctive - for different ethic groups to react to disagreements with violence or war. The cycle of retaliation is then repeated ad nauseam. On the other hand, peace is more difficult to sustain and it takes a great deal of energy to preserve. The trick is to resolve conflicts by choosing a righteous path that includes compassion, forgiveness and communication.

Luckily, the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies program at Chulalongkorn University is working toward that very goal by offering an intensive three-month certificate course twice a year. The lessons focus on acquiring a state of peace in turbulent areas of unresolved conflict. In the process, the program has also developed some constructive teaching methods that are applicable to everyday classrooms as well.

The class

The Rotary Center for Peace and Conflict Studies was created in 2005 as a pilot project by Bhichai Rattakul, a former president of Rotary International. The goal was to equip professionals with the tools needed to resolve conflict and build peace in troubled communities. These peacemakers were to be trained in mediation skills, negotiation techniques and strategies for reconciliation.

As the project evolved at Chulalongkorn University, while housed in the Faculty of Political Science and directed by the former dean, Dr Amara Pongsapich, two sessions were offered annually to a limited number of students, not exceeding thirty per class. The first session is held from July to September, and the second from January to April. The program is open for anyone with a BA degree, a proficient level of English, a professional background in a related field and five year's work experience.

Jennifer Hutchinson, from Jamaica, left, and Pam Broussard, from the US, right, work with children at Cambodia Children's Fund.

The program approaches the topic from multiple angles. In the beginning, students are provided with theories about conflict resolution in a classroom envi-ronment and trained to develop their mediation skills as a group. This learning is combined with a large amount of fieldwork in places with a conflict or crisis. Classes have traveled to insurrection zones in Pattani, relief centers for HIV patients in Rayong, Burmese refugee camps along the Thai border and parts of Cambodia that suffered genocide during the reign of the Khmer Rouge.

This fieldwork includes engaging local communities in dialogue. The students learn how reconciliation can take place in war zones and how to bring each side together to talk about why the conflict happened. And from this initial communication the steps can be made toward peace.

The students

There are many ongoing conflicts throughout the world, and even peaceful countries can get dragged into reluctant involvement. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that these students are eager to make personal contributions toward peace. It is surprising, however, how remarkably diverse their backgrounds are. The most recent session included citizens of Cambodia, Sri Lanka, India, Nigeria, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Tajikistan, Jamaica, Bulgaria, the United States, the United Kingdom and Thailand. Despite their different ethnicities, they have all unified toward the common goal of peace.

One recent graduate is Naganan Edirisinghe, who has worked on a number of community development projects in Sri Lanka, including resettlement programs and assistance for tsunami victims. He points out that his class learned a lot of theories related to conflict resolution, such as conflict mapping, negotiation, mediation and reconciliation.

Simon Milward, left, and other participants at Mae Tao Clinic

The UK citizen, Simon Milward, who works on international development projects for the World Bank in New York, says that this education course included lessons on how to analyze conflict, gave an appreciation of gender issues and developed communication and negotiation skills.

The methods

The Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies program might not be accessible to the average teacher in Thailand, but many of its teaching methods can be very useful. This pedagogy can be used in different regions of Thailand and transcends ethnic group boundaries as well. Some of these techniques can also be applied to younger age groups. The heart of this teaching style is based on drawing out each individual's personal experiences and combining it with practical activity.

Classroom bonding activity

Milward refers to this teaching style as the ``elicited method.'' The class is designed to bring out each student's experiences, to get individuals to use their own knowledge and to encourage sharing with activities.

One example that he gave was a type of role-play exercise. Students were assigned specific behaviors to act out during conflict situations. During the simulation, other class members practiced solving hostilities by mediation. Afterward, the class regrouped for discussion based on their actual experiences with conflict and determined specific ways that the hostility could have been reduced by getting conflicting parties to talk.

Tucker McCravy, deputy director of Rotary Center for Peace and Conflict Studies

Tucker McCravy, the deputy director of the program, adds that one of the techniques used is called ``mind map-ping.'' This exercise allows participants to reflect upon what they have seen in the field, to share these experiences visually with their colleagues, and to discuss the implications for peace building and conflict resolution.

At the root of all these teaching methods is the idea that everybody has knowledge that others can learn from and that it should be evoked so that others may benefit. Simply put, each student occasionally fulfilled the role of a teacher.

No single instructor was in charge of the course. Instead, revolving guest lecturers made presentations according to their expertise in a particular field. Students were exposed to a large number of professionals who are actively involved in varied branches of community development and conflict resolution.

More importantly, these classroom activities would have been absorbed less successfully without active hands-on learning.

The teaching methods fused academic theories about conflict resolution with actual fieldwork. As mentioned earlier, students were taken to trouble zones to speak with the survivors in the community about conflict and reconciliation. The lion's share of the course took place outside of Bangkok. Students consistently moved around the region so that they could make comparative studies. But every step of the way involved interacting with local communities.

Getting along

Since this program is comprised of students from countries that were sometimes at diplomatic odds with each other, it raises the question if personal conflicts occurred among students themselves.

After all, participants lived in close proximity for an extended period of time. The intensity of this program could ignite potential conflicts from within.

However, Milward experienced the opposite effect. He felt that ``the diversity was more of a boon than a hindrance because we learned a lot from each other.'' He also pointed out that the program held a special session on understanding cultural diversity.

Edirisinghe observed that students were attracted to each other in a positive way because they had found common ground.

They shared a solid international background and had been exposed to different cultures already. Nearly all of them had a mutual bond due to their experiences with community development projects or non-government organizations (NGOs).

Whenever tensions built up it was quickly defused by more group work, discussion and the exchange of wisdom.

Education is a resource for peace

Sharing wisdom during a mind mapping session.

It is clear that the Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies program brought students together from across the globe. It is also evident that the teaching methods cohesively unified the participants with better communication skills and a deeper understanding of each other, as well as themselves.

However, some cynics may ask, ``how can a three-month course solve the world's problems when there is a plethora of unsolved conflicts out there?'' The quick answer is that education is one step in a long process. It takes a lot of hard work for peace to be sustained. Reconciliation takes time and energy. It takes compassionate people, such as these students, to walk a path that leads to forgiveness and peace.

``Education plays a fundamental role in societies around the world _ both in creating and healing conflict''

McCravy explains, ``[formal education systems] have an incredibly important role of laying the foundation for pluralism, democracy, and a hybrid of cultures to flourish in any one given society.''

Edirisinghe, who works in war-torn Sri Lanka, perhaps sums it up best: ``To transform peace into a reality,'' he says, ``you start at the school level and lift up society.''

On September 13, the Rotary Center for Peace and Conflict Studies graduated this third class of peace fellows. The keynote speech was delivered by James F Entwistle, the American Ambassador's representative, and the Chulalongkorn University president, Prof Dr Khunying Suchada Kiranandana, distributed the course certificates.

Most of the graduates went back to careers in development projects and conflict resolution programs. For them, peace is a lifetime commitment.

The Rotary Centers for International Studies also offer one-to-two-year master's degrees in Peace Studies, Conflict Resolution, and related fields. Rotary centers are available in Thailand, the USA, England, Argentina, France, Japan and Australia. For program information, contact Warangkana Keerati-urai at 02- 652-5088, or email Warangkana@rotarychula.org . The website is at www.rotarychula.org .