Grass-Roots Peacebuilding: Neighbourhood Facilitation in Bosnia
15 Pages Posted: 28 Jun 2014
Date Written: June 7, 1998
Abstract
This is a report on field research by the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre in collaboration with Conflict Resolution Catalysts, an NGO working in northwest Bosnia. The inter-personal and inter-communal problems experienced in the wake of war call for a range of personal communication and conflict resolution skills which are often not found in heirarchical international organizations. Core skills include active listening, concensus-building, facilitation, mediation, and community organization. Ten local and four international facilitators with a small support team work in a community drop-in centre and a mobile team. They contribute to civil society and inter-communal reconciliation through discussion/action groups, advocacy, social organization, and mediation in individual cases. Support to population return has been a focus of their work. The project illustrates many dilemmas in peacebuilding: individual or collective targets; the unwanted mediator; advocacy or impartiality, a gap in skills; and the uneasy partnership of local and international actors.
Keywords: NGO, Militay, Ethics, Peacekeeping
JEL Classification: N4, I38, L30
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation