The 25th annual International Association for Conflict Management (IACM) conference will be hosted on African soil for the first time by the University of Stellenbosch Business School’s (USB) Africa Centre for Dispute Settlement (ACDS).
Taking place at the Spier Wine Estate in Stellenbosch from 11 to 14 July, this prestigious event will be opened by Leymah Gbowee of Liberia, co-recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize and one of the leaders in the peace process in that country.
South Africahas much to offer when it comes to building conflict management negotiation and mediation skills but can also learn a great deal from other parts of the world. For this reason the country needs to continually exchange information and cooperate with global experts to face the challenges that exist in our society.
Global networking
According to Professor Barney Jordaan, head of the ACDS, the conference will provide academics as well as practitioners in the field of conflict management, peace-making, negotiation and mediation with the opportunity to rub shoulders with international researchers and practitioners in the area of negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution. He says that the university is very proud to be hosting the largest conference of its kind globally.
“Experts will be given the chance to explore the most innovative and meaningful ways of addressing the different forms of conflict that all too often bedevil communities, organisations and countries. We aim to achieve this by developing and disseminating theory, research and experience that is useful for understanding and improving conflict management in family, organisational, societal and international settings,” says Jordaan.
The theme of the conference is “From fear to a common future: 25 Years of Conflict Management.” Apart from a special and dedicated mediation track, 132 papers and 50 posters have been accepted. These cover the entire spectrum of conflict-related topics.
For more information on the ACDS conference view this link.