Education and Training Center/International

Professional Training Workshops in Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills in the Philippines

October 30- November 5, 2006

Building on their six training workshops with Armed Forces of the Philippines officers earlier this year, USIP trainers Ted Feifer and Jacki Wilson just completed two workshops in conflict management and negotiation skills for multi-sector participants from the conflict areas of Mindanao and Sulu. The workshops were conducted with Gene Martin of USIP’s Philippines Facilitation Project.

The first workshop (held October 30-November 1, 2005 in Davao) included 30 ceasefire monitors, women and youth groups, tribal, community and local government leaders from across Mindanao. The second workshop (held November 3-5, 2006 in Zamboanga) brought together 38 traditional leaders, local government officials, police, military officers, civil society, and activists of the Moro National Liberation Front from Sulu. Our partner for the first workshop was the Davao-based Initiatives for International Dialogue NGO, and the Philippines Government Office of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process for the second workshop.

The workshops focused on building and strengthening the skills of participants to deal with the continuing tensions and violence in their areas. Participants worked on communication, analytical and negotiation skills used in conflict management and resolution. They played the roles of third parties in a series of Philippines-relevant exercises. They also engaged in practical problem solving exercises using situations they submitted based on their own experiences in the field.

Participants found the interactive and practical skills workshop highly useful. According to one: “The workshop is very applicable to our present work on negotiating and engaging with the main players on conflict in Mindanao.” A participant from the other workshop similarly emphasized its relevance and applicability in Sulu, which has been suffering from continued conflicts and other challenges.