If you are an Armenian or Azerbaijani student currently studying in the U.S. interested in engaging in a constructive dialogue with each other, please consider participating in the second Azerbaijani-Armenian Student Retreat and Dialogue program to be held in the United States from June 3-11, 2008 (specific location will be announced soon). Located in a serene natural setting the retreat employs a unique methodology that combines analytical dialogue and conflict resolution trainings with outdoor teambuilding and living together in a remote area.

The first Imagine Dialogue and Retreat program for Armenian and Azerbaijani students took place in May of 2007 with support from the US Department of State. The program brought together 12 young professionals from Azerbaijan and Armenia for a successful 8-day dialogue and retreat during which the participants explored their thoughts about the conflict and each other, as well as discussed the challenges Nagorno-Karabakh conflict poses for two societies. For more information on the program please visit Imagine website at www.imaginedialogue.com.

The aim of the Imagine Retreat and Dialogue is to lay a foundation for open communication by empowering Armenians and Azerbaijanis with conflict resolution skills. Though this experientially based retreat and dialogue focuses upon the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict, it will do so in a non-political manner that promotes no political agenda or particular position. The workshop will be led by a three-person team of co-facilitators (one American, one Armenian, and one Azerbaijani) with significant academic and practical experience in conflict resolution. The program will also include periodic follow-up activities during the 2008-2009 academic year.

Twelve scholarships are currently available for this year: Six for Azerbaijani students, and six for Armenian students. All winners will receive meals, round-trip travel support, and accommodations for the weeklong workshop.

Students interested in applying please fill out the enclosed program application and send it together with your CV to facilitators@imaginedialogue.com by the closing date of Monday, March 30, 2008.

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Imagine 07

Theoretical background
In conflict resolution four intervention strategies can be distinguished: conflict prevention, conflict management, conflict resolution and conflict transformation. Conflict prevention, as obvious from the term is focused on addressing the problems before the conflict escalates and turns violent. Conflict management usually refers to crisis intervention and mitigating an already violent conflict. Conflict resolution addresses the deep-rooted causes of the conflict and hostility. Conflict transformation is a long-term measure and implies a deep transformation in the societies and their relationship to one another and to the conflict. It lays a foundation for a lasting peace and co-existence after the conflict is resolved. This program was an integral part of a long-term conflict transformation effort called to improve the relationship between the Azerbaijani and the Armenian societies.

Imagine 07 Azerbaijani-Armenian Retreat and Dialogue

The main part of the program took place in Long Island, a small island off the coast of Maine. The outdoor adventure part of the program (the first two days) took place on a Cow Island, a nearing island and was led by Ripple Effect (www.rippleffect.net). 6 participants attended the program from Armenia and 6 from Azerbaijan (3 males and 3 females in each group). Most of the participants were graduate students on Edmund Muskie Fellowship. The participants were in the age range from 22 to 33 and had diverse professional backgrounds (among the participants were a journalist, a political scientist, a financial analyst, lawyers, historians and an engineer). The participants came from various locations in their countries: some were from Baku and Yerevan, but also other areas of Armenia and Azerbaijan, including Nakhchivan. Two people were immediately affected by the war -- in Azerbaijani group there was an internally displaced person (IDP) from Aghdam and in the Armenian group, a refugee from Baku.

Imagine Program Methodology:

In order to ensure a balanced approach in the program, the facilitation team was composed of two ’insiders’ (Armenian and Azerbaijani) and an ’outsider’ (American) facilitators. In order to achieve maximum productivity in a short time the team of facilitators created a unique methodology that combines a number of conflict resolution theories. The program combined academic dialogue sessions with outdoor teambuilding exercising and joint living in a remote area. This methodology meant to provide the participants with an intense 24/7 experience where they would not only have discussions, trainings and outdoor teambuilding experience but also engage in everyday living activities such as cooking, housekeeping and unorganized leisure time.. The program was implemented in the following way:

1. Outdoor teambuilding exercises (May 25-27, 2007): this component included a two-day adventure trip with the Ripple Effect Company on a Cow Island. The participants slept in tents and participated in kayaking, rope courses, as well as trust building exercises and games outdoors. This part of the program helped the participants to get to know each other, develop personal relationships and build trust and confidence. During this time, the facilitators also led the group through discussions about their expectations for the program and establishing ground rules for dialogue. At the end of this component, the participants applied new kayaking skills and paddled back to their island and landed on the beach close to the program venue.
2. Mediation Training (May 28, 2007): Upon returning to the program venue, the participants joined in a one-day training on mediation held by Jonathan Reithman, a mediator with significant experience in international conflict situations. The training introduced the participants to various conflict resolution theories and specifically on addressing the stereotypes, the benefits of a cooperative approach compared to an adversarial one, as well as specific skills for utilizing these theories. During this training, the participants learned about benefits of going beyond their positions and identifying underlying needs, fears, concerns and hopes.
3. Dialogue Sessions (May 29-31, 2007): During the dialogue sessions that took place on the fifth, sixth and seventh days, led by the facilitators, the participants analyzed the underlying issues of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. The skills acquired during mediation training as well as the trust developed among the participants during the first half of the workshop proved to be very helpful when the conversations became heated. With the help of the facilitators, the participants were encouraged to step back from the traditional adversarial positions and discuss the conflict as a common problem that needs to be solved jointly and in a way that will meet the basic security and identity needs of all the parties involved. During the last day, the participants discussed an action plan for follow-up work.

The borders between the team building phase, the training phase and the analytical discussion phase were not strictly defined and went hand in hand, reinforcing and complementing one another. Team building continued throughout the workshop, while the participants had many structured and unstructured discussions that gradually led to the final effort to address the conflict itself even during the first few days.

It is also important to note that during the meal periods and during the breaks, but mostly in the evenings, the participants had ample time for informal interaction. They used it both to continue their conflict-related conversations, but also to get to know each other personally and to just have fun. Many evenings became memorable for ‘mafia nights’, a psychological game very popular in both Armenia and Azerbaijan, and also for two birthday celebrations that involved dancing.

The program was a successful and positive step in the direction of creating a network of professionals and leaders across the conflict line who can potentially participate in the political and societal processes and contribute to a peaceful and lasting resolution. Twelve talented and successful individuals, some of them well established professionals in their fields, were able to overcome stereotypes, step away from their usual positions in the conflict and gain significant understanding of each other’s needs and concerns. The dialogue session devoted to the follow up activities demonstrated that most participants had creative and specific thoughts about joint projects and were planning to advocate for more joint projects and to share their experience with their communities to contribute to growing network of people across the conflict lines.

What the participants wrote about the program:
-“Participating in Imagine 07 program was really challenging and definitely different experience for me. You get to realize the true situation that we face nowadays and become part of the discussions, activities based on constructive dialogue with participation of representatives from both countries. It really helped me to look and approach the conflict and the current circumstances from a broader perspectives, I can not tell from a completely new-opposite one that I already had before coming to the program, but definitely from a much broader view. I think more dialogues like this between various groups of people from both countries could lead to the best resolution of discrepancies”.
- “it opens your eyes to see the reality”;
- “We cannot solve problems individually but collectively we can do a lot”;
- “It gave me the realization that both nations can live in peace regardless of differing opinions”;
- “The workshop can give something valuable to each individual if they come with an open mind”;
- “this retreat revealed that each side has certain myths about the other side and I think such events are great platform to challenge such myths and build relations with different substance”;
- “this might be a tool to bring the harmony between the societies”.

During the Imagine: Armenian and Azerbaijani Retreat and Dialogue 2007 the participants expressed interest in receiving more training in conflict resolution field so they could more effectively engage in dialogue programs and implement follow up projects to Imagine. With financial support from the US State Department and the International Center for Conciliation (ICfC) as well as volunteer efforts of the Armenian facilitator, several participants attended a conflict resolution workshop organized by ICfC.

Mediating History, Making Peace: Henry Everett workshop for Professionals Working with Issues of Conflict, Peace and Justice program brought Asmar Eyvazova, Ulviyya Nasibova from Azerbaijan and Narine Sarkisyants as participants and Phil Gamaghelyan as a trainer at the workshop on October 19-21, 2007 in Boston, MA.

The training program’s primary focus was using history and collective memory as tools in conciliation processes. Facilitated by trainers from Netherlands, India, Cambodia, Israel, Europe and the USA, with work experience on the issues of history, memory, and ethnic conflicts from around the world, the training program presented these points by answering six questions and focusing on an alternative technique of mediation, addressing conflict and post-conflict reconciliation, especially in identity-based conflicts.

The workshop brought many of these issues live through presentations, discussions, sharing of personal experiences and role-plays of conflicts from around the world. Having the opportunity to present the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as a group project during a ‘clinic’ session, Asmar Eyvazova and Ulviyya Nasibova from Azerbaijan and Phil Gamaghelyan and Narine Sarkisyants from Armenia, along with other group members from the UK, Palestine and Cambodia worked together and presented the nature and the background of the conflict and how the taught tools at the workshop could be beneficial for the peaceful resolution of this conflict. Indeed the joint work evoked interest and understanding among participants and facilitators and proved that representatives of both countries can come together and discuss the issue with mutual tolerance and collaboration.

We have learned more about identity and interest-based conflicts and methods using history and memory as main tools in the resolution process. Moreover, the training increased awareness about the conflict with participation of both sides. The Imagine participants also got the chance to come together during and after the workshop to discuss the future activities of the Imagine program. We hope many others will have the opportunity to participate in Imagine Dialogues and follow-up trainings!

For more information about the training visit www.centerforconciliation.org/everettworkshop2007.html

The focus of the project is to develop a network of trained professionals from opinion-shaping fields (education, media, non-profit sector) in Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan who will jointly work to develop policy recommendations that will support shifts in public attitudes towards the 'other' in each of the countries, thus laying a foundation for political normalization.

For more informationg please visit www.centerforconciliation.org/Eurasia.html