Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia
NoBorderSpace
Peace Dialogue and Facilitation Platform
Follow-up events
As a follow-up of the NoBorderSpace Peace Dialogues events we conceived a series of online meetings. The working language is English (Russian as a second language is also possible).
Meetings last approximately two hours. Online presentations are available to all who wish to attend. Register below to participate. We will send you the zoom-link. It can be shared with friends, but please do not publish it.
Introduction
Nationalism. Ideological groups. Religions and denominations. Each of these result in conflict when they lead people to categorize each other into "us" and them," with loyalty given to the ingroup and hostility directed to the outgroup. When groups clash with each other, this can lead to cycles of polarization, dehumanization and sometimes eventually to violence and repression. In this lecture, we'll be talking about the psychological basis of ingroups and outgroups and why/how they lead to polarization, conflict and violence. There will be time for discussion with participants about the contexts they find themselves in, as well as strategies to work against toxic ingroup/outgroup dynamics online, in life and at work.
December, 13 2024 | 16:00 CET
How Group Dynamics and Polarization Create and Intensify Conflict
Josh Nadeau
Dialogue and peacebuilding researcher and practitioner
Register to participate
Dr. Vadim Romashov
University of Eastern Finland
Started in 2023, the project NoBorderSpace provides a platform to discuss complex and relevant issues such as the history of the relationships, intercultural contacts, imperial and colonial legacies, memory and the politics of history, nationalism, and contemporary conflicts. It also explores methods, approaches, and prospects for their peaceful transformation. Participants from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia and Belarus joined a series of dialogues held in Baku, Yerevan, Batumi, Tbilisi, as well as the autumn school “International Dialogue for Understanding and Cultural Exchange” in Telavi.
Project overview
Requirements to apply
Applicant's occupation
Social researchers and historians, activists and social workers, journalists and bloggers, publicists and artists etc.
Citizenship
Applicants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus and Russia, including those living/residing in the South Caucasus or EU countries
Experience
Experience in dialogue or facilitation is considered as an advantage but not required. We welcome all those who are motivated to use dialogic and facilitation skills in their professional or volunteer work.
Application deadline
By 12 August 23:59
Started in 2023, the project NoBorderSpace provides a platform to discuss complex and relevant issues such as the history of the relationships, intercultural contacts, imperial and colonial legacies, memory and the politics of history, nationalism, and contemporary conflicts. It also explores methods, approaches, and prospects for their peaceful transformation. Participants from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia and Belarus joined a series of dialogues held in Baku, Yerevan, Batumi, Tbilisi, as well as the autumn school “International Dialogue for Understanding and Cultural Exchange” in Telavi.
The Goals of Autumn School
We are inviting scholars, journalists, artists and activists with experience working on peace and conflict. Participants will learn how to facilitate dialogues about traumatic pasts, popular ethno-historical myths, and taboo topics; how to create a space for an open exchange of opinions on complex conflict issues; and how to discuss challenging issues of relations within and between societies.
The School will contribute to forming a sustainable transnational and cross-border network of professionals willing to collaborate on a variety of challenging contemporary topics.
The main objective is to give participants an understanding of peace and conflict transformation dialogues and how they can be organized. Our team and invited experts will present different approaches and methods for facilitating these dialogues.
Project team
Dr. Sevil Huseynova
Sergey Rumyansev
Approach
The autumn school will consist of a series of interactive workshops and lectures designed to develop skills in facilitating dialogues that address the complex issues of the impact of armed conflicts on affected communities.
The School will combine different formats of collaborative learning, such as dialogues, group discussions, lectures, and workshops. This implies the peer-to-peer exchange of experience, methods, and practices.
November, 21 2024 | 16:00 CET
“We remember and honour the monuments of the fallen”: Memory, History and Politics after the Latest Catastrophe — Presentation and Discussion with Sergey Rumyantsev
Introduction
Сontemporary memory studies are based on the event of the Holocaust and World War II, in the context of which the policy of extermination of the Jews was implemented. It was the largest act of violence in the 20th century, that became the turning point. Commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust is a very broad phenomenon. But three countries can be singled out for which this commemoration is special - Israel, the United States and Germany.
The events that took place in Germany, where the Holocaust was initiated, the German practices of rethinking the past, working with the past in the post-war period - this is a very important experience. Actually, in the case of Germany, it is a search for answers to the question of how to make sure that there was no more war, that there was no more mass violence and crimes against humanity.
We will talk about the German experience; discuss a number of key concepts and theoretical approaches; talk about how the past/history is politicized, used by politicians, used in conflicts. And together we will reflect on the questions:
— What has been preserved from the Soviet memorial heritage and integrated into post-Soviet commemorative practices?
— How profoundly have urban memorial landscapes changed? Is the complete desovietisation of urban memorial landscapes possible? Is there a need for that?
— What are the specifics of commemorating enduring conflicts?
— What place does the memory of contemporary conflicts occupy in the cities (hierarchy of memory spaces)?
Sergey Rumyansev
Sociologist, CISR e.V.Berlin
December, 3 2024 | 17:00 CET
Agonistic Dialogue from Theory to Practice? — Presentation and discussion with Peace Researcher Dr.Vadim Romashov, University of Eastern Finland
Introduction
The concept of agonistic dialogue emphasizes the importance of conflict and disagreement as essential components of democratic and pluralistic politics. This webinar will discuss the theoretical foundations of agonistic dialogue, drawing primarily on the work of Chantal Mouffe, who argues that true democracy thrives on the presence of diverse, often conflicting perspectives. Moving beyond adversarial or consensus-driven models, agonistic dialogue embraces disagreement as an inherent and productive aspect of human interaction. The webinar will address practical questions such as How can agonistic dialogue be implemented to address complex social issues and promote constructive engagement with tension, conflict, and ideological diversity? How can we create spaces where radically different perspectives can coexist without descending into hostility? Participants will be encouraged to share their insights into the practical challenges and benefits of adopting an agonistic approach to dialogue and facilitating discussions that embrace rather than suppress conflict. The lecturer will also bring his own insights based on his ethnographic research on Armenian-Azerbaijani communities in Georgia and his experience in building peace communities in different contexts. His critical argument may also go beyond the traditional theses of agonistic politics.