INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE PROJECT: Indonesian Media and Conflict Management Delegation

Ohio University’s Center for International Studies will host a delegation of five conflict management specialists from Indonesia between April 19 and May 10, 2006. The group will be on campus from April 19 to 27 in order to finalize production of a series of videos on peer mediation, inter-religious dialogue, and conflict management themes. Participants are involved in a number of initiatives in Indonesia designed to promote harmony between social groups through various education and media initiatives. Their visit to the U.S. is intended to advance international collaboration on conflict management activities and broaden dialogue on issues affecting social cohesion in various national contexts.

This is the fourth delegation of Indonesian civic and religious leaders to visit Ohio University in the past two years in connection with the Center’s Inter-Religious Dialogue Project. These exchanges, as well as an American delegation visit to Indonesia in 2005, are designed to motivate serious efforts to strengthen inter-group harmony by promoting systematic conflict management efforts in areas affected by sectarian strife. They are also intended to build support for civic education and tolerance promotion activities more generally. A key goal is to facilitate long-term relationships between Indonesian and American participants so that dialogue on how to manage differences among religious groups in a pluralistic civil society can be broadened and sustained.

The project is funded through a grant from the Office of Citizen Exchanges at the U.S. Department of State’ Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. It is being implemented by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies and the Department of Classics and World Religions at Ohio University.

The upcoming Media and Conflict Management delegation will begin in Athens, Ohio on April 19, 2006. Although participants will be busy finalizing their video project, they will also observe peer mediation efforts in Athens County schools and participate in numerous campus activities. The group will then travel to Cincinnati, Ohio on April 27 where participants will meet with community leaders working to bridge racial divides. In particular, they will participate in Peace Village’s Hunger Awareness Night in the city’s impoverished Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. The group will then travel to Washington DC on April 30 where they will meet with U.S. government officials, visit conflict management practitioners working on international efforts, participate in a conference on Islam and democracy, and observe peer mediation programs in the Fairfax County, VA schools. The delegation will then visit Boston from May 7-10 where participants will explore university-public sector collaboration involving Harvard, MIT, private NGOs, and the Massachusetts State Attorney General's office.