Tibetans Learn Skills in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
Monday, 23 June 2008, 12:59 p.m.
Dharamshala: Some twenty-three
Tibetans, including staff members from the various departments of the
Central Tibetan Administration and members of some Tibetan
non-governmental organisations are being given basic skills in conflict
resolution and negotiation.
A five-day workshop on ‘Conflict Resolution and Diplomacy Training’
conducted by the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy (IMTD) in
coordination with the Department of Information and International
Relations (DIIR), kicked off this morning at the Surya Hotel near here.
IMTD provided their first training program for 20 officials of
the Central Tibetan Administration in November 1993 in Dharamshala.
The highlight of the workshop will be a session on
understanding the Chinese in negotiations and friendship and obligation
in Chinese style negotiations.
Dr Ngawang Rabgyal, the additional secretary of the DIIR
welcomed Ambassador Mc John W Donald, the Chairman of the Institute of
Multi-Track Diplomacy and Dr Eileen Borris. In his introductory
address, Dr Rabgyal expressed his appreciation of the efforts of IMTD
in conducting such workshops, which he noted have greatly benefited
Tibetans.
Ambassador Mcdonald and Dr Boris are the two resource persons
who will be interacting with the participants of the workshop, which
ends on 27 June.
Ambassador McDonald is a lawyer, diplomat, former international
civil servant, development expert and peace-builder, concerned about
world social, economic and ethnic problems. He spent twenty years of
his career in Western Europe and the Middle East and worked for sixteen
years on United Nations economic and social affairs. He is currently
Chairman and co-founder of the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy, in
Washington D.C., which focuses on national and inter-national ethnic
conflicts. In February 1992, he was named Distinguished Visiting
Professor at George Mason University’s Institute for Conflict Analysis
and Resolution, in Fairfax, Virginia. McDonald retired from the
American foreign service in 1987.
Dr. Borris is a licensed clinical psychologist, political
psychologist and educator/trainer who is committed to the work of
peace-building, conflict resolution and reconciliation especially in
emerging democracies. Her focus is on working with ethnic and regional
groups in conflict, working in the framework of multi-track diplomacy.
A special interest area is in incorporating forgiveness and
reconciliation processes within the broader context of conflict
resolution. Dr. Borris has worked extensively in this field for over 20
years.
Established in 1992 and based in Arlington, Virginia, the
mission of the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy is to promote a
systems approach to peace building and to facilitate the transformation
of deep-rooted social conflict. The Institute is chaired by Ambassador
McDonald. It has 1237 members in 31 countries.