Kazak NGO Works to Prevent Conflict, Promote Tolerance

by Elena Sadovskaya

Nongovernmental organizations play a great role in promoting democracy, tolerance, and conflict prevention in our country. This is precisely the mission of the Center for Conflict Management, established in Almaty in July 1995. The Center works on both research and practical activities, uniting scholars, university professors, students and others interested in conflict issues. The Center works for the prevention of social and ethnic conflicts in Kazakstan and the creation of an atmosphere of stability and predictability during the transition to a free market economy and democratic civil society.

The philosophy of the Center is based on early warning and conflict prevention. While the world community spends large amounts of money for conflict resolution and peacekeeping, prevention of conflicts is largely ignored, although it can save millions of dollars and, more importantly, human lives. Kazakstan is an ideal candidate for conflict prevention programs. The country is in a very difficult socioeconomic and ethnopolitical situation, but it has many opportunities to overcome the crisis and prevent conflicts.

In order to achieve these goals we work both on building the body of conflict resolution theory and on teaching and public education to spread our ideas. This includes using the mass media to promote the ideas of conflict management and prevention, delivering lectures at universities and other institutions of higher education, introducing conflict resolution and human rights courses at schools, and organizing and participating in symposia and training programs on conflict management and peace-building.

Over the last several years, the Center for Conflict Management has implemented several projects. A joint Kazakstani-American peace-building workshop for school teachers and university professors was held in September 1995, facilitated by Dr. E. Kaufman from the Center for International Development and Conflict Management of the University of Maryland. During the workshop the participants learned innovative techniques of conflict resolution. The problems of cultural and religious pluralism, diversity and tolerance were discussed. Participants evaluated the conference highly and shared plans to use the knowledge in their work.

The Center has established ties with local offices of international organizations such as UNICEF, UNESCO, and UNHCR. This has led to a number of activities, including participating in "Monitoring for Early Prevention of Conflicts in the CIS," a program initiated by UNHCR's Research and Documentation Center.

In January 1997, the Center for Conflict Management conducted a seminar on Democracy, Tolerance and Conflict Management Education in cooperation with UNICEF. The seminar was held in Ust-Kamenogorsk, a city in Eastern Kazakstan. This region was chosen due to the severity of its socioeconomic, ecological, and demographic situation, which the organizers felt might be helped by conflict prevention measures, such as educational programs on tolerance, peace and democracy.

There were 45 participants in the four-day seminar, including primary and secondary school teachers from different ethnic and religious groups from all districts in the region. The main goal was to improve mutual understanding among representatives of different ethnic groups and to cement peace-building activities by presenting theoretical materials and organizing a series of practical trainings on pluralism, human rights, tolerance and nonviolence. Sets of books and other teaching materials on civic and human rights education were disseminated to all the participants.

Together with the Moscow School of Human Rights and the Center of Human Rights at the University of Essex, England, we are planning a program on human rights education for secondary school teachers in Russia and Kazakstan. In the future, the Center plans to add consulting services to its activities, as well as establishing international ties and becoming involved in international networks of conflict resolution centers.

Elena Sadovskaya is president of the Center for Conflict Management. Greenwomen Ecological News Agency, Microregion Koktem-2, House 2, Apartment 73, Almaty 480070, Kazakstan; phone: (3272) 47-45-37; e-mail: root@greenwomen.almaty.kz