Learning how to deal with clashes in the classroom was just one of the aspects of the 2011 Arizona State Summit on Conflict Management Resolution that took place Friday at the Phoenix Convention Center.
The summit focused on contemporary approaches to conflict management resolution, including intercultural conflict and cyber bullying prevention.
The goal of the summit was to facilitate information exchange and encourage collaboration between important stakeholders in the management of conflict at various levels of society.
The Conflict Transformation Project of the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication and the Lodestar Dispute Resolution Program of ASU’s law school, along with the graduate student government, sponsored the event.
The summit brought together practitioners and academics to discuss conflict management in the workplace, school and community. Scholars, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, professors, lawyers and judges, among others, attended.
ASU scholars and community leaders led breakout sessions covering topics including facilitating a civil dialogue, effective conflict strategies and tactics, collaborative law practice and cyber bullying.
Steven Dinkin, director of the National Conflict Resolution Center, gave the keynote speech on “The Exchange: A New Path Forward,” a strategy he believes will help people achieve better results in handling disagreements and differences. Dinkin issued a call to action — a call to begin changing the climate in which people communicate with one another. He has a vision of a more civil society in which conflict is handled respectfully with better results.
President’s Professor of human communication Jess Alberts was “so impressed” by the objectives of The Exchange, she’s included aspects of it in her communication courses. Alberts, co-director of the Conflict Transformation Project, teaches courses on human communication, conflict and negotiation, relational communication and work and life balance.
“My goal is to inspire individuals,” Dinkin said. “It starts with each and every one of us; we each play an important role in conflict resolution.”
The summit stressed the importance of dialogue in conflict management.
“Conflict is becoming a greater problem in our lives. We are in need of a conflict transformation, and this is our call-to-action,” Dinkin said.
Breakout sessions at the summit portrayed this transformation. In the “Understanding Bullying in the Classroom and the Workplace” breakout session, leaders incorporated popular culture representations of workplace bullying along with real workplace examples of addressing this conflict.
Bullying in adolescent, high school and college-aged populations, specifically cyber bullying, have become prominent today. Presenters summarized their latest findings with an emphasis on approaches to prevention and interventions.
Role-playing, drawing and trivia are some of the methods leaders used in their interactive sessions.
“The Exchange provides concrete tools, and is a great opportunity toward conflict transformation,” Dinkin said.
Summits similar to this are held periodically at ASU for scholars to share ideas and methods from their research. The goal of the summits is to reach out to the community through dialogue, Alberts said.
The Conflict Transformation Project serves as a center for research, education and service to the greater community.
“Conflict practitioners are needed now more than ever, and we have a lot to contribute in terms of knowledge and practice,” Alberts said.
Reach the reporter at kvanklom@asu.edu
