ICAR Working Groups: Emerging Applications of Theory and Practice

While the idea of working groups at ICAR is not a new one, the initiatives and outcomes they produce are always dynamic as new groups form around diverse topics and are infused with the energy and input of each incoming cohort. Though their particular emphases vary, each working group shares the same genesis: two or more minds coming together with a desire to know more and to do something with that knowledge. ICAR's working groups are open to all members of the ICAR community including faculty, staff, alumni, and students from each of the four programs. The range of possibilities for new groups is bounded only by the imagination and drive of the collective community. An overview of some of ICAR’s current working groups illustrate their potential:The Africa Working Group (AWG), which has been ongoing for sometime at ICAR, is comprised of a group of practitioners, students, academics, and alumni who seek to foster an in-depth understanding of conflict, peace, justice, and sustainable development in Africa—providing opportunities for learning and action.

Activities this past year include an African Dinner featuring speakers on conflict resolution as well as delicious regional cuisine. Dr. Wallace Warfield was honored at the event for his years of dedication as AWG's sponsor. AWG also co-hosted an event with the Office of Sexual Assault Service addressing sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition, AWG organized a panel discussion on the roots of militant Islam in Somalia, which featured ICAR professors Terrence Lyons, Wallace Warfield, Jamie Price, and AWG co-President Hussein Yusuf. New members were welcomed at AWG's annual retreat at Point of View in September, which featured Steve MacDonald, from the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, as the guest speaker.

The Consultancy Working Group was newly formed this semester to establish Conflict Resolution Consulting, for the purpose of explicitly branding conflict resolution practitioners as consultants and in an effort to help organizations improve their performance, through the analysis of existing conflicts and the development of plans for improvement and resolution. The group’s efforts will be geared toward establishing “best practices” relating to organizational change, management assistance, coaching skills, and strategy development, in order to deliver acceptable outcomes to its clientele. This working group is undertaking a proactive approach at ICAR by offering students, faculty, and alumni an opportunity to rebrand conflict resolution within a profitable business model that merges academic and practical elements into a unified organizational structure and promote credibility for the field.

ICAR's Gender and Conflict Working Group, under the advisement of Dr. Sandra Cheldelin, is comprised of a team of faculty and students interested in the intersection of gender and social conflict. Their passion centers on raising awareness of gendered issues and developing a research portal aimed at educating the public on a variety of issues. Various topic specific committees have been formed within the group, including but not limited to: gender and culture, women and grassroots peacebuilding, gender and empowerment, gender and violence, gender mainstreaming, girls and conflicts, human rights, statistics, gender and sexuality, and globalization—as well as developing an educational training tool on gender-based issues.

As gender underlies worldwide struggles, regional foci will include Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Americas.
The potential for synergism and evolution in ICAR’s working groups initiative is illustrated by the current collaboration between the Gender and Conflict Working Group and the Africa Working Group as they prepare to co-host a Women and Peacebuilding roundtable in early February. Other active working groups at ICAR include Consciousness and Conflict Resolution, Public Policy, Languages, Grant Writing, and Terrorism. Contact information and updates for each of the groups is available at icarcommunity.ning.com. New members are always welcome and new groups are always only an idea away.