OxPeace invites applications for its three-day intensive Training Workshop, Mon 14 – Wed 16 March 2022, on ‘Negotiating and mediating successfully in international and grassroots conflict resolution’, in person, in Oxford.

Course summary:
This workshop will give you an overview of the fundamentals as well as real-life practice of Peace Negotiation and Mediation. It will allow you to immediately apply what you have learned in a series of increasingly complex simulations and to exchange with practitioners about lessons learned from the field.

The first day of the course is devoted to the core principles of negotiating successfully, that is moving beyond the basic concept of claiming value to strategies that create satisfying outcomes for all sides. We will also look at the importance of mindsets and psychological factors in negotiations. Several roleplays and short simulations allow participants to apply and finetune these techniques.

On the second day we will explore fundamental concepts and best practices in conflict mediation on the international, national and grassroots level (tracks I, II and III). Drawing on lessons learned from mediation efforts in recent conflicts, in particular in Africa and the Middle East, we will identify current trends and challenges in the increasingly professionalised field of peace mediation.

The third day of the course will give participants the opportunity to apply the concepts of successful negotiation and mediation previously acquired to a comprehensive capstone exercise. Drawing closely on real-life cases, this multi-party role play simulates international mediation of peace negotiations in a protracted crisis in a fragile state.

This interactive workshop draws heavily on real-life examples from the lecturers’ experience in supporting peace mediations as well as their latest research on political negotiations. Participants are encouraged to contribute lessons learned from their own cases and peer-to-peer learning will be facilitated.

Fees:
This workshop is heavily subsidised by an independent charity, the Oxford Peace Research Trust (OPRT). This allows the fee to be just £50 for students (Note for GGD students: the first 15 GGD Masters students will receive a £30 bursary).

The basic fee for non-students is £100, with the option instead to help subsidise the student fee by paying a supporting fee of £150.

Please note! The fee includes teas, coffees and a sandwich lunch but does NOT include accommodation. The course organisers are not able to help participants to find accommodation, which is expensive in Oxford and needs to be booked well in advance.

The course runs from 9.30am to 5pm each day, possibly with additional optional evening activities.

Applications:
To apply please send a brief statement saying why you would like to participate, and a brief CV (including your current course if you are a student) and contact details (email, phone, and postal address) to the Assistant Organiser, Megan McDowell at Megan.mcdowell@hotmail.co.uk