The Olive Tree Initiative:

Experiential Learning and Teaching

About Intractable Conflict

Daniel Wehrenfennig, PH.D., Executive Director, Olive Tree Initiative &

Program in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, University of California, Irvine

Personal Research

- Comparative study of the Israeli-Palestinian and

Northern Ireland conflict and peace process

- Important role of citizen dialogue/discourse

- Key role of diaspora universities to provide the space to bring people/groups together and encouragenarrative appreciation/exchange

Campus Climate

- Tensions on campuses around Israeli-Palestinian

issues in the University of California system and especially at UC Irvine

- Lack of classes or educational opportunities to study the issues

- Interest of student leaders to engage the issues more educational

Travel Study Interest

- Growing academic interest in study abroad and

experiential learning (out of the class-room learning)

- Realization by some in the administration that “just” defending freedom of speech is not enough and to support student initiatives

- Community support to help with financial means and contacts

Olive Tree Initiative- Founded in 2007 at UC Irvine, now at 12 chapters nationally and internationally (U.K.)

- Institutionalized through academic programs at participating campuses

- Over 600 program alumni and very active alumni networking

- Operating programs in the Middle East, South Caucasus, Kashmir and other region ( Northern Ireland, Colombia) plus in the U.S. (race-relations)

OTI’s 3 Part Educational Model

Dialogue/Discourse Skills

Narrative Appreciation combined with Study Abroad

Leadership Development

Conflict as a Space for Learning

Dialogue Skills

Contact Theory

Diverse students working towards common goal [from operational to personal dialogue]

Active listening

Mediation techniques

Engaged discussion

Critical self-introspection

Dialogue/Discourse TheoryField Author(s) Concept/Theory

Communication Sherif&Sherif 1953, Allport 1954Habermas 1998Risse 2000

Contact Hypothesis

Communicative Action Better Argument

Neo-Colonialism Talal Asad, Tzvetan Todorov, Edward Said

Creation and Recreation of “Otherness”

Social Psychology

Rothman 1997,Carstarphen 2003

Psychological Shifts

Regime and Network Studies

Wapner 1996Adler and Barnett 1998Keck and Sikkink 1998

Global Civil Society Security Communities Transnational Advocacy

Technology Studies

Barabasi 2003, Bollier 2003

Linkages

Conflict Resolution

Zartman and Rubin 2000 Fisher 1997 Galtung 2004

Negotiation TheoryInteractive Conflict Resolution, Transcend

Narrative Appreciation

Multi-medium classroom learning History, biography, documentaries, film, fiction,

policy documents, current events

Short-term travel to region Meeting with speakers from all parts of spectrum Sensorial engagement with conflict Emotional and intellectual engagement with people living the conflict

Narrative Appreciation Theory

Public Peace Process (Saunders 1999, 2005)- sustainable dialogue and citizen participation

Multi-Track Diplomacy (Diamond & McDonald 1996)- strategic use of different interest to dialogue

Peace Infrastructure (Lederach 1997, 2008)- importance of networking and leadership

Crisis Communication/Citizen Dialogue (Broome & Jakobsson Hatay 2006)

- learning through difficult conversations

Leadership Development

Mentoring

Recruitment + teaching next cohort

Community engagement

Honing transferable skills set

Applying skills in alternative contexts

Alumni engagement and network

Leadership Development Theory

and Application

Workforce Readiness- Conflict resolution as key skill for employers

Civic Engagement - Importance of dialogue skills for active

citizenship and political maturity

Leadership Experience- Mobilization through experience

What have we learned in 11

years of OTI

- Importance of personal experience in effective

connection with text-book learning

- Changes in campus climate and student engagement levels regarding the areas we study

- Importance of our model and the need for spaces to have difficult conversation (“conflict fitness”)

- Transferability of model to other regions (South Caucasus, Kashmir) and issues (U.S. race-relations)

Time for Questions

“There comes a point in our lives when we realize the issues we study don’t exist in the abstract but they have a reality associated with them, and that really begins when we begin our career and we have to start acting on the challenges that we’ve been studying for years. I think the first moment when you switch from abstraction to reality is a very powerful one. For a lot of students, OTI is that moment.”

Megan Braun, OTI 2011, Rhodes Scholar, Law Student, Yale University

For more information please visit: www.olivetreeinitiative.org