Opening Up: A Conflict Transformation Podcast Sarah Stroup

Democratic institutions can serve as a powerful mechanism for channeling constructive conflict, which makes a recent wave of democratic decline particularly concerning. In this episode, we hear from Sebnem Gumuscu, associate professor of political science and head of the undergraduate "pillar" of the CT Collaborative at Middlebury. Gumuscu is an expert on Turkey and teaches classes on threats to democracy, politics of the Middle East, and comparative politics. She is also trained as a facilitator in reflective structured dialogue. She is author of two books, most recently Democracy or Authoritarianism: Islamist Governments in Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia (Cambridge University Press) focuses on Islamist parties and their democratic commitments in power.
Learn more about Prof. Gumuscu here: https://www.middlebury.edu/college/people/sebnem-gumuscu 
The audio for this podcast is generously shared with us through the Faculty at Home webinar series, another Middlebury initiative. You can see a video recording of this talk and others in the series here: https://www.middlebury.edu/provost/faculty-home/spring-2024-recorded-series. 

On today’s episode, we are excited to share a story of an experiential learning opportunity for exploring peacebuilding and intercultural competence (ICC). The CT interns lead a conversation with professor Thor Sawin. At the time of recording, Sawin was associate professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and has since taken on the role of Associate Dean of Language Schools for curriculum. Sawin has 20 years of teaching experience at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the United States, Lithuania, South Korea and China, as well as in summer secondary-level programs in Korea, Taiwan and Albania.
Sawin has led several experiential learning trips to the former Yugoslavia to explore national identity, education, language, and culture, and how these and other factors fuel tensions and conflict within each country. This is a longstanding course at MIIS and offers an invaluable opportunity to see and understand post-conflict reconstruction, language and communication, and national identity in process.
·        For a story on the 2022 trip: https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/advancing-your-career/career-guide/field-work-students-share-photos-immersive-peacebuilding-course
·        For information about the most recent trip: https://sites.miis.edu/balkans/
·        About Thor Sawin: https://www.middlebury.edu/announcements/announcements/2023/04/thor-sawin-appointed-associate-dean-language-schools
·        About Thor Sawin:https://www.middleburycampus.com/article/2023/04/thor-sawin-named-new-associate-dean-of-middlebury-language-schools-for-curriculum

As we have started teaching "Conflict Transformation Skills" at Middlebury, we have been fortunate to have a leading global mediator as a guest speaker and teacher.
Francisco Diez is senior mediation advisor at the United Nations (UN). He has contributed to the UN’s efforts to foster dialogue and reconciliation in Bolivia, and provided expert advice on conflict prevention and preventive diplomacy in Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras and Venezuela. From 2014 onwards he worked with the Kroc Institute to set up the Colombia Peace Accord Matrix to monitor and support the implementation of the peace agreement between the Colombian Government and the FARC, and assisted dialogue processes in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Mexico. 
This episode starts with introductions from Julian Portilla, mediator and co-instructor of the CT Skills class, and Caroline Harding, CT Collaborative intern. Diez gave this talk remotely in 2023, and we were lucky to have him back in January 2024 to lead trainings for students. 
For more on Francisco Diez, see: https://franciscodiez.com.ar/
For a video recording of this talk, see our video library: https://www.middlebury.edu/ct-video-collection 

Restorative justice, transnational activism, and communication across cultures are all spaces in which conflict transformation can inform the long work of social change. In this episode, restorative justice leader sujatha baliga and civil society scholar Sarah Stroup discuss the foundations of their work and its connection to the CT Collaborative at Middlebury. The conversation, held at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey in September 2023, was moderated by Netta Avineri, the leader of the Graduate Pillar of the CT Collaborative and a scholar of intercultural communication. 
You can watch a full recording of the talk in our Video Library here: https://www.middlebury.edu/ct-video-collection/restoring-justice-cultivating-hope-scholar-practitioner-conversation 
Learn more about sujatha baliga here: https://www.sujathabaliga.com/ 

This episode features selections from a September 2022 talk at Middlebury by John Paul Lederach, with an introduction from Middlebury president Laurie Patton. 
John Paul Lederach is globally recognized for his pioneering theory and practice in the field of conflict transformation (CT). Lederach is senior fellow at Humanity United and professor emeritus of international peacebuilding at the University of Notre Dame. He is also the co-founder and first director of the Eastern Mennonite University’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.
Our work at Middlebury has been inspired and enriched by Lederach's work and by his personal example of hope and generosity. In September 2022, he was the keynote speaker at the college's Clifford Symposium. He serves on the Middlebury CT Collaborative External Advisory Board.  His 2005 book, The Moral Imagination, identifies risk taking, curiosity, creativity, and a relational focus as key dispositions for constructive engagement in conflict. 
Thanks as always to our team of interns and staff who edit and produce these episodes. Special thanks to Caroline Harding for selecting powerful parts of Lederach's talk!
https://www.middlebury.edu/conflict-transformation/who-we-are#external-advisory-board
 

In this episode, we speak with Elspeth Boynton, the founder and CEO of diiVe, a South Africa-based organization that offers high-impact internships to college students. The in-person and remote global internships integrate leadership development, purpose coaching, data science skills, and cultural immersions. diiVe has brought conflict transformation approaches into their curriculum, with interesting lessons for responding to conflict in the workplace and in cross-cultural experiences.
Boynton spoke with Amy McGlashan, Director of Academic Initiatives and Special Projects in the Center for Careers and Internships, and Sarah Stroup, CT Collaborative director.

Learn more about diiVe at their website: https://www.godiive.com/