CONFERENCE REPORT

Women's Peace Circle
Empathic Conversations: Models from Kenya and the U.S.

Women's Peace Circle is a group of women who are using their friendship as a supportive model for creating change through grassroots organization.  In this session, they discussed their collaboration with the Rural Women's Peace Link (RWPL), a group seeking to bring peace to areas affected by armed conflict in Kenya. RWPL came together to address a local conflict made more violent by globalization (guns, environmental changes, and increased violence against women).  The women involved worked tirelessly to understand the needs of both sides, devise solutions that would honor all needs and concerns, and establish patterns and practices that continue to foster dialogue. This session presented the work of the Rural Women's Peace Link in Kenya as a visual model and focal point, to explore the process and uses of dialogue, and to make connections with the experiences of the Peace Circle Women.  Time was also allowed for an exercise in empathy and a discussion of how this model might be applied in future work as this group works to formulate its next steps.

Below are one participant's notes on this workshop:

Virginia:

  • Being present is crucial to empathetic conversation
  • Listen to one another and suspend judgment
  • Five criteria for empathic conversation
  • Create a shared story. Comes from Kenya experience.

Prue:

  • Organization started 5 years ago trying to stop war in Iraq
  • Continued to work for peace.
  • Learned how to create more dialogue as a circle of peace women
  • Significant life transitions-such as retirement, relocation, etc. while maintaining commitment to one another and to shared goals.
  • Women in Kenya working on a more communal level

Sally:

  • Group of women in rural Kenya wanted to bring a stop to tribal fighting
  • Head of Kenya women is Selline Korir; she had to get permission of the husbands
  • One of the men said "These are our leaders."
  • Power of drama in dialogue
  • Take note how Kenyans incorporated the 5 points
  • What do you think of these people?

Video:

  • Turkana versus Pokot—fighting over grazing land & water for their cattle.
  • The Turkana & Pokot women used drama/skits to educate

Virginia (with an exercise for participant action on starting a dialogue despite disagreements):

  • We sometimes forget context
  • Networking/Connecting-so many relationships electronically
  • Can get away from problem
  • Commonalities provide opening for dialogue.
  • Engage issue-not politics of issues
  • Avoid old traps- think of what you share with an "opponent"
  • Be specific
  • Initiative
  • Initiate action of common interest