What is YADIP?

• YADIP is the Galtung-Institut’s trainee-program for students and stands for “Young Academics for Diplomacy and International Peacebuilding”.

• Students who wish to pursue an international career generally lack experience when entering their field. YADIP was designed as a transdisciplinary program open to students from all disciplines to prepare them for such careers in the 21st century. YADIP enables students to systematically train as “Conflict Transformation Specialists” in line with the UNDP’s “Peaceful Conflict Transformation Manual” produced by Prof. Johan Galtung at the turn of the century.
• Trainees in this program acquire scientific insights of solution-indicative conflict analysis in ways that can be applied to patterns of interaction in general and more specifically to economics, politics and cultural professions.
• Designed for students currently enrolled, YADIP combines (a) online and (b) on-site courses to impart competences in professional conflict analysis and trauma-sensitive mediation; two sine qua non dimensions of conflict literacy and peace practice normally taught to UNDP crisis resolution staff.

In a nutshell

• YADIP is a career furthering trainee-program offered by the G-I, designed to prepare students for high-end international professions, particularly in domains where diplomacy, peace literacy, development cooperation and intercultural understanding are implicitly or explicitly expected skills. At the most basic level, the skills acquired will enable participants to better coordinate and managing staff for demanding Projects in their professional engagements.
• In a combination of online and on-site courses, students analyze various types of conflict situations in individual and group simulations. The conflict transformation skills imparted to trainees prepare them for work within international contexts.
• Depending on reciprocal interests, after the nine to twelve-week trainee program at the Galtung-Institut, participants may be invited to participate in ongoing research-projects at the G-I or to the G-I Alumni body. Successful participants are awarded certificates confirming their insights into techniques & skills in peacebuilding normally only accessible to international experts.

Course Description*:

This course deals with interpersonal conflicts, causes, coping strategies and conflict resolution from a social psychological point of view.*

The objectives of this course are:

1. Acquiring insights into the potential causes of interpersonal conflicts.
2. Acquiring insights in conflicts in organizations and assessing the contributing factors.
3. Analyzing conflicts and being able to present possible solutions.

Content part one

The first part of the course will deal with potential causes of interpersonal conflicts, explore the effects of attraction and analyze relationship-dynamics with a view to the development of social attachments. Attitude formation and behavior will be studied in order to better understand the influence of group membership as well as processes of social influence: Conformity, Compliance and Obedience. Furthermore, hostile intergroup behavior such as Prejudice, Stereotypes, Discrimination and Aggression will be examined together with the common thread of Humanity and Altruism and other forms of Prosocial behavior. Concepts of Morality and Competition, Justice and Cooperation will also be explored.

Content part two

The second part of the course will pay attention to interpersonal conflicts directly, looking at potential causes, coping strategies and perspectives on conflict resolution in organizations. Relationships and conflicts at work and organizational power will be discussed in in view of politics and gender factors. Culture conflicts in a cross-cultural perspective will also be discussed alongside conceptions of fairness and reconciliation.

Particpants will start by describing an ‘own’ either biographical, professional or other example of a conflict they have experience with, which during the first part of the course shall be used to test the insights which they’ll acquire during this course. Didactically, the course is designed to be interactive and dialogical.

LITERATURE

• Larsen, K.S., Ommundsen, R. & Veer, C.G. van der (2015). Being human: Relationships and you. A social psychological analysis. Rozenberg Series Vol. 1, Bremen (Germany), EHV Academic Press.
• Larsen, K.S., Veer, C.G. van der, Ommundsen, R. & Krumov, K. (2011). Organizational Behavior in a Discontinuous World: Managerial and Workers Perspectives. Amsterdam: Rozenberg Publishers.
• Galtung, J. (2010). The TRANSCEND Method in Conflict Mediation Across Levels Conflict Literacy and Competence as an Approach to Peace, European Psychologist 2010; Vol. 15(2):82–90 DOI: 10.1027/1016-9040/a000046 ( this text will be available on this website for those attending the course. That may be a week before the course starts.)

*This version of the course description is subject to changes as the course continues to be adapted and developed further.