"Many Notes, One Symphony": Reflections from the 14th Annual ACR Conference

The Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) is a "professional organization enhancing the practice and public understanding of conflict resolution."  The organization also looks to provide "a voice to the choices for quality conflict resolution."  This year, the ACR annual conference which is in its 14th year, was held in Cincinnati, Ohio from October 8-11, 2014 under the theme “Many Notes, One Symphony: Conflict Engagers in Harmony.”  To emphasize the significance of this theme, ACR President Cheryl Jamison Esq., in her introductory remarks said, “This conference will provide a wonderful time learning together, building long-lasting connections, and collaborating on future opportunities for growth in the conflict resolution community.”

One of the new highlights of this year's conference was the addition of the ‘New Voices-Emerging Professionals’ initiative.  According to Jamison, “this initiative is designed to give new practitioners an opportunity to present their research and story at the conference.” The seven finalists who presented at the conference were Kim Cowgill, whose presentation was titled Intractable Conflicts in Local Sustainable Development Projects;  Asif Majid – Conflict Energy; Dana Caspersen – Choreographic Conversations; Mary Novak – Harnessing the Power of Stoty; Sharon Silbert – Cultivating Mindfulness in the Conflict Resolution Practitioner; Paul Charlton – Changing Hidden Curiculum of Medical Education; and Kerri Schmitt – Restorative Dialogue: Healing the Heart of Conflict. More information on their presentations can be found at: http://www.acrannualconference.org/new-voices---emerging-professionals.html

The keynote speaker at this year's conference was Tim Wise, a prominent anti-racism writer and educator in the United States. Some of the books he has written are Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority and White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son. Utne Reader also recently named Wise as “one of the 25 visionaries who are changing your world.” In his keynote address, he spoke about about how class, race, sexuality, and gender are all shaped by power dynamics that create systems that are very difficult to navigate.  According to Wise, "when one is a member of a dominant social group, with disproportionate power in any given social setting, the ability to empathize and to even understand not the other persons lens, but to acknowledge ones own lens and to understand that it is somehow mis-shaping ones understanding of a conflict is hard to come by." To conclude his address,  he asked that all those who advocate on behalf of groups on issues such as gender, race, and class among others, should start to build bridges and work together rather than work on separate  projects. "It is only through cooperation that real and lasting change can happen."
 
This year, the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution was represented at the conference by faculty members Sara Cobb and Mara Schoeny, adjunct faculty David Smith, and PhD candidates Allison Castel and Sarah Federman. Sara Cobb, Sarah Federman, and Allison Castel conducted a panel titled “ Narrative Practices for Conflict Resolution – Externalization and Circular Questioning. Their session focused on inviting participants of the conference "to experience narrative as a conflict resolution practice.” David Smith and Mara Schoeny hosted a panel titled Full Immersion Simulation as a Means to Buildng Career Ready Skills in International Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding.  This session focused on the creation of a full immersion training exercise called "Atlantic Hope "and the lessons learned from the exercise.

The conference also marked a change in the leadership of ACR, as Cheryl Jamison handed over her presidency to Nancy Flatters, a non-sitting Calgary Family and Youth Court Judge. Next year, the ACR conference will be held at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, Nevada from October 7 through 10, 2015 under the theme “Thinking about our thinking: from emerging research to practical application.” Proposals for the conference can be submitted up to December 15, 2014 at www.surveymonkey.com/s/ACR2015_CallForProposals.

 

### Photo courtesy of Flickr user Kabir Bakir (Downtown Cincinnati where the 14th Annual ACR conference was held).