Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation

Mission and Goals

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.

History

Imagine was started by Philip Gamaghelyan and Jale Sultanli in an effort to address the absence of communication between the people of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Determined to bring together the representatives of two countries for an open dialogue about needs, concerns, fears and hopes of two sides, the founders put together a retreat and dialogue program.

First Imagine took place in May of 2007 with support from the United States Department of State six young professionals from Azerbaijan and six from Armenia participated in a 10-day dialogue and retreat program in Maine, U.S. During the program, the participants explored their understanding and thoughts about the conflict and each other and discussed the opportunities and challenges presented by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Since then, the Imagine Program has come a long way. The one time dialogue project has been transformed into a network of young Azerbaijanis and Armenians committed to working across borders towards creating linkages and improving understanding of their societies. The Imagine network has grown to be a uniting platform for joint work and is always expanding its reach into other areas of conflict and initiatives such as conferences and educational projects.

'Imagine' is a non-political organization and has no particular position or preference in regard to the final settlement of the Armenian - Azerbaijani conflict.

The Team

Philip Gamaghelyan

phil@imaginedialogue.com

Philip Gamaghelyan has been with Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation since 2007. Philip lectured at Tufts University Experimental College and worked as a trainer and conflict group facilitator with Armenian-Azerbaijani, Turkish-Armenian, Arab-Israeli, Indian-Pakistani and Afghan groups.

He is the author of the articles "Intractability of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: a myth or a reality?' published in Peace and Conflict Monitor in 2005 and 'Beyond Politics: rethinking the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict', upcoming in the International Negotiations Journal in 2009. Philip's research is focused on the role of memory and history in identity-based conflicts. He has a MA degree in Inter-communal Coexistence from Brandeis University and a BA in Political Science from Yerevan State Linguistic University (Brusov).

Arzu Geybullayeva

arzu.geybullayeva@gmail.com

Arzu Geybullayeva has been with Imagine Center since 2010 when she joined Caucasus Edition: Journal for Conflict Transformation- Imagine's online publication as Associate Editor. She was also one of the trainers and co- facilitators at the Imagine Retreat and Dialogue in 2010. Currently she is also Managing Editor of Neutral Zone: Blog of Caucasus Edition. Arzu's main areas of expertise include social media and the use of online tools in conflict resolution. Over the last few years, she has been involved in a number of cross- border projects building dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Arzu holds a Master's Degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Chris Littlefield

chris@imaginedialogue.com

Chris has been with Imagine Center since the first dialogue project in 2007. Chris has varied and broad experience in designing and leading programs that create understanding and trust between youth and adults from cultures in conflict. Working for Seeds of Peace and Friends Forever Peace programs Chris has direct experience in the development and implementation of conflict resolution programs between Israelis and Palestinians, Indians-Pakistanis, Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and Catholics and Protestants from Northern Ireland.

Chris is also a skilled trainer. He spent the last two years leading anti-bias and harassment trainings for the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence in Portland, Maine. He has received research and service awards for his work with the Seeds of Peace Program, the Caroline Briggs Award for contributions to diversity from UNCA. Chris received his BA in "Global Interactions" from University of North Carolina Asheville.