Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation
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The Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation (Imagine Center) is an independent, non-political organization and is dedicated to positively transforming relations and laying foundations for lasting and sustainable peace in conflict-torn societies.
Goals of Imagine Center
- Transform negative attitudes of conflict-torn societies towards the conflict and each other and promote cooperative and mutually beneficial view of the conflict
- Generate joint learning, analysis and ideas that take needs, concerns and hopes of all sides into consideration and that can be used in the peace process
- Create and sustain networks of professionals across conflict lines committed to peace building process
Imagine Center's Activities
- Creating opportunity for constructive dialogue among various groups in conflict torn societies and positively transforming attitudes through innovative dialogue program
- Engaging young leaders and professionals in conflict transformation work by providing skills and building networks
- Encouraging and enabling collaborative work in studying and analyzing conflict between researchers and civil society leaders from countries in conflict.
Symposium: Reasessing the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict in the Aftermath of Russia-Georgia War
On September 26, 2009 symposium titled “Reassessing the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict in the Aftermath of Russia-Georgia War” was held at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University in the United States. The symposium was co-sponsored by the Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation. The goal of the symposium was to provide a forum for Armenian and Azerbaijani scholars and diplomats to reassess the Nagorno Karabakh conflict in light of the changing situation in the region following the Russian-Georgian war and discuss approaches to its resolution.
The Symposium was attended by a number of analysts, independent researchers and other experts from Azerbaijan and Armenia. The opening panel of the symposium was attended by Elin Suleymanov, Consul General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles and Varuzhan Nersessian, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Armenia in Washington, DC. Other panelists included among others Fariz Ismayilzadeh from the Azerbaijani Diplomatic Academy, Gulshan Pashayeva from the Center for Strategic Studies in Baku and others. Panelists from Armenia included Gayane Novikova from the Center for Strategic Analysis in Yerevan, Rouben Shugaryan, professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, as well as Jale Sultanli and Phil Gamaghelyan from the Imagine Center.
During the symposium, four panels convened with two participants from Azerbaijan and two from Armenia presenting a range of issues. Discussion covered such topics as the challenges and prospects for peace and cooperation in the South Caucasus region in the aftermath of Russia-Georgia war, developments and difficulties in the Nagorno Karabakh peace process, the role of history, identity and ethnicity in the conflict and mechanisms for addressing those elements, as well as various approaches to the resolution of the conflict.
