This consultation, convened by CEIA and the Alliance for Peacebuilding, will take place on 6 June 2016 in Washington DC.
The consultation will explore the role of empathy in peace-building. More specifically the consultation will consider what empathizing involves, how it relates to other skills and approaches, and how, if at all, empathy can help to resolve conflict, reduce violence and cruelty, and promote mutual understanding.
The consultation will consider the role and practical uses that empathy serves in peace-building, including in local peace work, social change, inter-group and cross-cultural dialogue, reconciliation and transitional justice, education and mediation. The discussion will address the challenges, limits and risks of empathy. Finally, it will consider ways to promote empathy in peacebuilding, and to enhance the empathic skills of decision-makers and practitioners.