Teaching Conflict Resolution and Peace in Iran

On August 19, 2013, the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution (CRDC), an affiliate of S-CAR, started its second semester of its Iranian online School for Conflict Resolution and Peace. The first semester had over 70 students, and CRDC was pleased to welcome to the second semester over 130 new students.

The current students hail from every corner of Iran including Kurds, Turks, Arabs and Persians; an unprecedented achievement for online work in Iran. This accomplishment is partly due to the extraordinary and tireless efforts of CRDC’s Iran team, and of course, the commitment of a renown faculty team: Professors Michael Nagler from UC, Berkeley, Marc Gopin from S-CAR, Ramin Jahanbegloo from Canadian York University, Mubarak Awad from American University, Hadi Semati from University of Tehran, and Nayereh Tohidi from CSU, Northridge. More importantly, the active and continuous commitment of the students themselves is key to the success of the program.

The Iranian Online School is an initiative of the CRDC and is designed to teach stu­dents in Iran from diverse backgrounds how to approach ongoing disputes that can cause conflict and how to resolve them through the practical application of nonvi­olent methods. Students are admitted based on their educa­tional level, their background in social and civil activities, and their work experience and interests in social change. Upon finishing their final project, students receive a cer­tificate from the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution.

The theme of this years pro­gram is “Conflict Resolution and Minority Rights” and its main goals include empower­ing minority groups, improving public knowledge of minority and majority rights, advancing con­flict resolution skills, stimulating new ways of preventing racial, ethnic, gender or religious dis­crimination, and building lasting peace between social groups in an integrated society. The Basic level of this program was successfully offered during the spring of 2013 and the advanced level has begun for the Fall semester. The distinguishing characteristic of this program is that the courses are offered in the students’ native languages. In addition to receiving program materials in Farsi and English, students of Turkish/Azari, Kurdish, and Arab descent will have the opportunity to read selected material, attend classes and con­duct course activities in workshops, all using their mother tongues. Our Farsi and non-Farsi speaking professors are internationally renowned in their respective fields. In order for students to communicate and learn more effectively, live lectures delivered in English will be simultaneously translated into Farsi. The professors even hold office hours. Students also have the opportunity to ask questions in their native language. Their questions are then translated and sent to the professor. Responses are then translated and sent back, as well as being uploaded in the forum, so other students with similar questions can study them. A syllabus has been devised for each of the two semesters, and students follow a constructive regimen of read­ing and preparing for class. The course literature is housed in the online School Library, an unprecedented resource for peacebuilding in five languages; English, Farsi, Kurdish, Arabic, and Turkish/Azari.

Coupled with that, more than 500 pages in the field of con­flict resolution, peacebuilding, and nonviolence have been carefully selected under supervision of some S-CAR faculty. The selected material consists of excerpts from 22 books and over 30 articles. All these materials have been translated into Farsi, Kurdish, Azari/Turkish and Arabic and made available online through the school’s portal.

The school’s operating theory is that empowering minority groups, as well as cooperation and collaboration between the majority and the minorities, is key to resolving internal tensions and preventing destructive conflict. The educational and intellectual empowerment of our students through this program is meant to instill in the student’s a sense of their ability to make a difference, and a way to participate in change at the level of the social, political and cultural structures of minorities. While leading toward this goal of empowerment through peace education, the pro­gram makes sure that the message is treated carefully in a way that does not entail paternalism nor lead to a new form of social control over minorities by majorities or external actors. Learning how to manage crises and resolving them peacefully are all achieved through public participation and cooperation between the majority and the minorities in a joint educational process of learning the skills of conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Peace education is based on the assumption that not only peace and nonviolence, but also empowerment can be learned. More information about this program is available at www.iranonlineschool.com