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Running a religion and conflict conference

29 November, 2007 - 16:38

(Also see Running an interfaith dialogue day.)

This conference aims to get young people talking about:

  • their own beliefs and values
  • the role of religion in conflict and also in peace building.

Some of the issues raised are sensitive and facilitators need to be aware of the impact that this may have on some participants. Setting ground rules and careful planning will help minimise the risk to participants. You might also like to look at the activities in Working in divided communities and the conflict resolution organisations listed in our directory. Feel free to mix and match to find the most suitable activities for the young people you are working with.

This event would be most suitable for a relatively small group of around 30-50 participants. For much of the day, participants are split into groups.

Detailed instructions for all of the activities in this agenda can be downloaded from the bottom of this page.

Agenda

9:00am

Welcome and introductions
Introduce the aims and agenda for the day and address any housekeeping issues. It is also a good idea to establish ground rules.

9:30am

Outside speaker: Personal experiences of conflict
Invite a guest speaker to talk to the group about their personal experiences of living or working in a conflict situation, either overseas or within the UK.

10:00am

Warm up activities: Introducing peace and conflict
These activities introduce the idea of peace and conflict in a safe/non-threatening way which is conducive to people getting to know each other.

10:45am

BREAK

11:00am

Group activities: What is conflict?
These group activities help participants think about definitions of conflict and peace, and understand that these are difficult concepts that mean different things to different people.

11:45pm

Small group discussion: Talking about local conflict
These activities encourage participants to think about conflicts close to home and to understand that conflicts have many underlying causes.

12:45pm

LUNCH

1:45pm

Group discussion: Talking about local and global conflict
This discussion should help young people think about the knock on effects that global conflicts have on local community relations.

2:25pm

Energiser: 4 up

2:35pm

Learning to act for peace
These activities close the day on a positive note with participants recognising their role as peacemakers.

3:30pm

FINISH

Running an interfaith dialogue day >>

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religion_and_conflict_agenda.pdf156.99 KB
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