Global Curriculum

The Problem

From Mumbai to Jerusalem. From Zimbabwe to New York. Our world is awash in violent conflict stemming from passionately held beliefs and commitments. These identity-based disputes threaten the lives and livelihoods of untold millions of people, as longstanding grievances fuel suicide bombings, ethnic cleansing, and all-out war. The rational nation-based dispute resolution strategies of the Cold War era are simply not sufficient in the 21st century. If we are to meet today’s challenges, we must develop and disseminate a new holistic model for dispute resolution—one that speaks to the heart as well as to the head.

The Project

The world’s first Global Curriculum on Conflict Management provides a common framework and tool set for current and future leaders, with the goal of fostering a sustainable peace at all levels of society. The curriculum combines firsthand accounts of regional and global peacemakers with training in innovative strategies for negotiating differences. It will be offered to senior decision makers from government, business, and civil society and adapted for use by youth and young adults.

Based at the Harvard International Negotiation Program (INP), the Global Curriculum Project is building partnerships with a small number of international strategic entities to design and implement the curriculum. Current partners include the World Economic Forum, specifically its Global Agenda Council on Conflict Prevention, a multi-stakeholder group of former heads of state and global security experts, and the Young Global Leaders Taskforce, also affiliated with the Forum.

The Panel of Experts

The following individuals have served as members of the Council on Conflict Prevention and have contributed to the Curriculum’s evolution:

Daniel Shapiro (Chair, 2008-2011; Director of Harvard International Negotiation Program)
Bertie Ahern (former Prime Minister of Ireland)
Kwesi Aning (Head, Conflict Prevention, Management, and Resolution Department, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center)
Louise Arbour (President and CEO, International Crisis Group)
Betty Bigombe (Senior Fellow, United States Institute of Peace)
Tony Blair (UN Middle East Quartet and Representative)
Kvell Bondevik (former President of Norway; President of Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights)
Lakhdar Brahimi (Special Advisor to the UN Secretary  General)
Andrew Cohen (Managing Director, JP Morgan)
Chester Crocker (Professor, Georgetown University)
Raghida Dergham (Senior Diplomatic Correspondent and Columnist, Al Hayat)
Bineta Diop (Founder and Executive Director, Femmes Africa Solidarité)
James Gilligan (Professor, New York University)
David Harland (Executive Director, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue)
Shamil Idriss (Deputy Director, Office of the Alliance of Civilizations, United Nations)
Martin Indyk (Vice-President and Director, Foreign Policy Studies, Brookings Institution)
Steve Killelea (Founder, Global Peace Index)
Geir Lundestad (Director, Norwegian Nobel Institute)
Jessica Matthews (President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)
Amre Moussa (Secretary General, League of Arab States)
Jehan Perera (Executive Director, National Peace Council of Sri Lanka)
Jonathan Powell (former Chief of Staff to Tony Blair; Senior Managing Director, Morgan Stanley)
Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland; President, Realizing Rights)
Herbert Salber (Director, Conflict Prevention Center, OSCE)
Jiro Tamura (Professor of Law, Keio University)
Yan Xuetong (Dean, Institute of International Studies, Tsinghua University Science Park)