Protracted intergroup conflicts – both between states and within multi-ethnic states – are often difficult to move toward peace with traditional official processes such as negotiation and diplomacy. Alternative, constructive, unofficial interactions can restore hope to stalled peace processes. These so called ‘Track Two’ processes can create spaces for parties to gain mutual understanding on underlying needs and concerns, changing priorities, the importance of symbols and narratives, and constructive forms of communication. They may also allow for parties to re-examine assumptions about their adversaries and themselves and thus open up new pathways to peace.
This workshop considered a method to engage parties in unofficial, constructive intergroup dialogue. A number of students, scholars and practitioners joined the workshop to build skills in facilitation and interactive peace-making.