News from Doug Johnson - International Center for Religion and Diplomacy | November 13, 2008

Update #69

November 13, 2008
Partnering with Pepperdine

Last week, I met with Ken Starr, Dean of the Pepperdine University School of Law, to formalize a partnership agreement between ICRD and Pepperdine's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution (the top-ranked dispute resolution program in the country for the last four-years running, according to U.S. News and World Report). Under this agreement, the two organizations will work together to build upon ICRD's current interventions in Kashmir, the Israel/Palestine dispute, and the Middle East more generally by involving Straus faculty and students in each of these initiatives for the purpose of (1) intervening as appropriate to improve the conflict situation being addressed, (2) training indigenous religious and political leaders in faith-based reconciliation, (3) developing a university-level educational program in faith-based diplomacy at Pepperdine that is informed by practical hands-on experience, and (4) training and equipping a cadre of next-generation, faith-based diplomats from Pepperdine. This is our second formal partnership to date and one that brings balance to our existing arrangement with the International Institute of Islamic Thought.

photos by Ron Hall, Pepperdine
Standing behind Dean Starr and me are (L to R) the Rev. Canon Brian Cox of ICRD and Pepperdine Professors Tim Pownall and Michael Zacharia, who formulated the partnership and who will jointly lead it in the future as the Pacis Project.

Persevering in Kashmir

This past month, ICRD Sr. Vice President Brian Cox, who directs the three projects mentioned above and who initiated the partnership with Straus, conducted a ten day advanced faith-based reconciliation training workshop in Santa Barbara, California for nine Kashmiri leaders from the Indian and Pakistani sides of the Line of Control. These leaders constitute ICRD's indigenous core leadership team for promoting "peace from within" in Kashmir. Collectively they are committed to changing the prevailing paradigm from one of militancy to that of faith-based reconciliation. Involved in Kashmir since 2001, ICRD has made significant strides in establishing a cooperative spirit between next-generation leaders from the Hindu, Muslim, and Buddhist regions of that troubled state. With notable influence in these regions and with this advanced training under their belts, the Core Group (with help from ICRD and Straus) will now take this effort to the next level in promoting social change that will support a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Toward this end, one ingredient in their long-term game plan will involve convening 10,000 university students in 2015 to exert the kind of "pressure from below" that will inspire political leaders to follow.

Doug Johnston

President
International Center for Religion & Diplomacy
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Posted by admin at November 13, 2008 02:39 PM