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Conflict management groups linked to Harvard form special Kashmir group

NEW DELHI: Two prominent American organisations linked to Harvard University have jointly formed a group on Kashmir that offers a range of negotiation and leadership skills training and consulting services.

The Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (CHRCR) at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and Conflict Management Group (CMG), have set up Kashmir Peace Partners Initiative (KPPI) “in recognition of the ongoing conflict in Kashmir, and regional loss and suffering it entails, with the advice and assistance of distinguished experts both in and outside the region”.

The KPPI, according to sources, has developed a “social capital focus” based on adult education, negotiation skills and practical problem-solving methods. The organisers hope that these skills will help the Kashmiri people on their way to peace and social and economic development.The KPPI has access to a broad spectrum of world-class education and training professionals. The initial programme focuses on adult education through leadership skills training in and outside the region. Over the next three years, the project will aim to enable a wide spectrum of civil society leaders in Kashmir.

“Participants will work with the KPPI to set up a toolkit of globally accepted practices in problem-solving, management, negotiation, institutional development and conflict resolution,” sources said, “the aim will be to offer a knowledge base for addressing the challenges confronting their society.”

The long-term objectives of the KPPI are to identify, prepare and equip emerging civil society leaders in Kashmir to support the renewal of a healthy civil society that will make it “easier for Kashmiris to find the voice” they need for the creation of a stable settlement in Kashmir.

Both CMG and CHRCR are linked to Harvard University through their faculty members on its board of directors. The CMG also draws expertise from the Harvard Negotiation Project, the Program on Negotiation, the Alliance for International Conflict Resolution (AICR) and from internationally selected associates and fellows. Meanwhile, experts from KPPI have concluded their recent visit to the valley during which they conducted a training workshop exclusively for the activists of Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). iftikhar gilani

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