Community Conflict

The Plowshares Model
Community Conflict Transformation (CCT) training helps communities and parties bogged down in what often seem to be irresolvable conflicts to build skills, achieve new levels of respect and empowerment, and develop mutually beneficial agreements.  Based on years of experience in South Africa equipping leaders for a post-apartheid reality, Plowshares developed the Peace Skills curriculum to train community, government, and religious leaders to transform the energy of conflict into cooperation and to develop mutually beneficial and sustainable solutions and relationships. Believing that local leaders have the capacity to resolve community conflicts, the curriculum uses case studies and role-plays to prepare participants to bridge barriers and help conflicting parties reach just and sustainable resolutions.

• Mediation skills

• Paraphrasing and Listening Skills

• How to distinguish parties’ positions from their underlying needs and interests

• Strategies for breaking an impasse

• Tactics for addressing conflict proactively

• Insights for understanding the nature of conflict

• How to use conflict as a tool to heal communities

• Practical skills for initiating dialogue with conflicting parties

• Methods for identifying potential problems

Logistics
Plowshares adapts our experience and curriculum to best fit the needs of the training group.  Past adaptations have included:

• A day workshop for the staff of a community health center

• A two-day workshop for a state-wide religious organization to equip church leaders to deal with divisive issues including responses to war and homosexuality

• Extended programs in 10 US cities to train leaders from government, community groups, minority coalitions, and police to resolve current conflict and build relationships to address future differences.

• Workshops of various lengths in Indonesia with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights

• Week-long workshops in Uganda and South Africa with church and civic leaders on writing case studies of  local conflicts to be used in national training events

To learn how our inside-out approach to community conflict resolution is working in other communities and how Plowshares can respond to emerging needs in your community or congregation please Contact Plowshares today.