Reconciliation in Practice

March 17, 2015

Finding the strategies needed to overcome the enormous obstacles on the path of reconciliation will require concerted, coordinated efforts by individuals, non-governmental organizations, and governments to critically assess efforts aimed at mending the social fabric of war-torn societies. However, before looking for the next steps, it is important to assess what work is currently being done, how reconciliation is being conceptualized, and, where possible, how organizations are measuring the impact of their work.

To fill this critical knowledge gap, the Center for Applied Research on Conflict (ARC) at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is spearheading a project mapping initiative to provide a snapshot of the work being done on reconciliation around the world and to offer guidance on the direction of the next steps to bridging theory with practice. Research questions include: How are organizations conceptualizing “reconciliation”? What strategies are organizations using to promote reconciliation? What are the theories of change underpinning the different program intervention strategies? How are organizations measuring their success?

The AGI Society, Culture & Politics Program, the USIP Center for Applied Research, and the George Washington Sigur Center’s Memory and Reconciliation in the Asia Pacific Program hosted a seminar discussion on this project, what it aims to achieve, its methodology, and preliminary findings. The panelists were Lili Cole, Senior Program Officer and Director of the Reconciliation Research Strand at the US Institute of Peace’s Center for Applied Research on Conflict and Kelly McKone, Research Consultant of the Reconciliation Research Strand at the US Institute of Peace’s Center for Applied Research on Conflict. The event was moderated by Dr. Lily Gardner Feldman, Director of the AGI Society, Culture & Politics Program.

Please contact Ms. Kimberly Frank with any questions at kfrank@aicgs.org.

DATE: Tuesday, February 17, 2015
TIME: 9:30 – 11:00am
LOCATION: AGI, R.G. Livingston Conference Room, 1755 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036