HISTORY OF THE PROJECT

It was initiated in 1996 in connection with H.H. the Dalai Lama's visit in Copenhagen. As a result Danish Centre for Conflict Resolution set up a study group to work for two years with Tibetan issues under the supervision of Lakha Rinpoche. After two facts finding missions to Dharamsala and interviews with a number of key persons from the Tibetan community in exile the purpose was stated.

The project is a partnership project between the Tibetan community in exile and Danish Centre for Conflict Resolution. It is funded by Danish Centre for Conflict Resolution and DANIDA under the Danish Foreign Ministry.

THE PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT

The purpose was created in close collaboration between the partners: To sharpen the tools of democratic processes, co-operation and conflict management, in order to strengthen the Tibetan exile community and its unity. An important part of the purpose was that the Tibetan community &endash; if it wishes so &endash; takes over and develops it's own type of conflict management with Tibetan trainers and a Tibetan manual.

FIRST PHASE OF THE PROJECT

The first phase of the project included six workshops from April 1999 to February 2000:

- Two workshops with CTA officials,

- One workshop with leaders of various NGOs

- One workshop with nuns from various Tibetan nunneries in India

- Two workshops in Darjeeling and Bangalore with settlement leaders

EVALUATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PARTICIPANTS

The participants of the first six workshops expressed great satisfaction with the programmes and found them useful for their everyday and their tasks in the community. They also found that education in conflict resolution would benefit the Tibetan community as a whole, as expressed in these statements:

- To better personal lives, community harmony and disputes with neighbouring countries.

- Conflict resolution would definitely benefit the Tibetan exile community as a practitioner of nonviolence

- This workshop was very helpful and interesting too. This sort of workshop is very necessary in

Tibetan society."

At the same time many participants expressed a wish to integrate our methods firmly with their Buddhist philosophy and have them transferred to Tibetan language and with Tibetan trainers. As two participants of the NGO workshop put it:

- You quoted Mahatma Gandhi for saying that conflicts should neither explode into violence nor be neglected, but be transformed into energy &endash; that is very similar to Buddhist thinking. I think our approaches are able to meet.

- I think that on individual level Buddhist teachings are helpful for reducing conflict. Yet on the level of society &endash; and not all people follow Buddhist philosophy &endash; I think it is more practical to integrate Buddhist approach and Western scientific approach

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PROJECT LEADERS

The project leaders found that the participants have a very good background for studying and practising constructive conflict resolution due to their Buddhist life understanding and the nonviolent values of their society. At the same time Tibetans could benefit from integrating this background with modern methods of conflict resolution, mediation, negotiation, decision-making and clear communication. These thoughts are elaborated in the report on the first workshop, April &endash; May 1999.

The project leaders also found that for conflict management to have a sustainable impact and be really useful for the community in exile, it has to be integrated with Tibetan culture and language. This can be done if a number of Tibetan trainers are educated in the theory and tools of conflict management, at the same time as they and Tibetan scholars develop a manual that integrates the classic contents of conflict management with Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy.

Finally the project leaders recommended that a NGO, a Tibetan Centre for Conflict Resolution, be established for several reasons.

- To implement the methods of conflict resolution within broad spectres of the Tibetan community in

Exile, develop curricula etc.

- To become part of the international network of centres for conflict resolution and obtain the

professional and material support, that close international relations will imply, and eventually to

get economic income by giving seminars and workshops abroad.

- To prepare a future repatriation with the obvious conflicts this situation will include.

They also recommended that this NGO get professional supervision from us during the first year of their function. And that the NGO is financially supported by Denmark for a pilot period of two years.

PLANNING PHASE 2 AND 3 WITH THE CTA

These suggestions were discussed at length with Tibetan authorities, first of all with the Minister of Education Kalon Mrs. Rinchen Khando, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Kalon T.C.Tethong, Secretary for the Department of Home Mr. Ngodup Tsering and Kashag Secretary Tenpa C. Samkhar. These and other officials had examined the outcome of the first four workshops. They found it important to continue the project in such a way that conflict resolution as a distinct competence penetrates the whole Tibetan community. This would be in line with the principle of nonviolence inscribed in "The charter of the Tibetans in-Exile".

It was decided that the Department of Home is our administrative partners during phase 2 and 3 of the project.

PHASE 2 OF THE DHARAMSALA PROJECT

TRAINERS' TRAINING

DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES, CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND MEDIATION

November 2000 &endash; May 2001

- training 18 Tibetan trainers and mediators

- the group gets minimum 400 lessons of training

- creating a Tibetan manual

- preparing Tibetan training programs

This phase will be conducted by Danish Centre for Conflict Resolution.

After the trainers' training there will be a group of 18 educated trainers and mediators, a Tibetan manual and detailed plans for educating a wide range of Tibetan children and grown ups in conflict resolution.

The next step is implementation, which will be the responsibility of the Tibetan Centre for Conflict Resolution and the Tibetan community in exile, more precisely the Home Department:

PHASE 3 OF THE DHARAMSALA PROJECT

COMPREHENSIVE TRAINING IN TIBETAN EXILE COMMUNITY

FROM YEAR 2001

- Establishing a new NGO, Tibetan Centre for Conflict Resolution

- Organising and conducting broad training programs in the community with Tibetan trainers

- Offering mediation squads to various sectors of the community

FUTURE CO-OPERATION WITH THE TIBETAN COMMUNITY IN-EXILE

The Tibetan partners are developing plans for initiating an NGO: Tibetan Centre for Conflict Resolution, of which the core will be the first educated trainers, representing various sectors of Tibetan community in exile. The NGO will have full professional and operational autonomy and will be supported by the CTA, Home Department.

Danish Centre for Conflict Resolution will support phase 3 by offering supervision and advice during the first years of implementing, being present in Dharamsala in October 2001 and in April 2002. Furthermore: During the two first years of the NGO the project budget includes salaries for two Tibetan co-ordinations of the new NGO, + the expenses for establishing and running the office and implementing training programmes.

After two years the NGO will report on its activities and eventually seek further funding at the Embassy of Denmark, New Delhi, India.

After Tibetan Centre for Conflict Resolution is established, Danish Centre for Conflict Resolution will regard as its sister organisation, with all the co-operation, professional opportunities and support this will imply. The same will be the case for the worldwide network of centres for conflict resolution to which we will introduce the Tibetan NGO.

November 2000

Else Hammerich and Bjarne Vestergaard

Project leaders

© TFF & the authors 2001  

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