Tag Archives: The Arbinger Institute

by | March 11, 2013 · 2:39 pm

Bringing Sport into Conflict Resolution Education

This year's CRE conference focuses on the question: How can we best teach peace?

This year’s CRE conference focuses on the question: How can we best teach peace?

PeacePlayers International is proud to be participating in the 6th International Conference on Conflict Resolution Education (CRE), hosted by the Global Issues Resource Center at Cuyahoga Community College. The conference brings together thought leaders in conflict resolution education, from international practitioners in the field to K-12 teachers here in the United States, all focused on the question: how can we best teach peace?

We’ll be sharing our work using sports as a peace education tool, including the development of our peace education curriculum in partnership with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and The Arbinger Institute. We’re excited to look for new partnerships, new approaches and new ways to help children play together and live together.

In this video, the PPI – NI team uses some of our peace education activities on the court.

PPI is proud to be joining global leaders in conflict resolution education for this year's conference

PPI is proud to be joining global leaders in conflict resolution education for this year’s conference

About the Conference

Global Issues Resource Center at Cuyahoga Community College is hosting the 6th International Conference on Conflict Resolution Education (CRE), Bridging Cultures: Education for Global Citizenship and Civic Engagement in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, June 12 – 17, 2013 in collaboration with  the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, Ohio Campus Compact, the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, the American Red Cross, and the International School Psychology Association.

During the conference there are 4 keynotes, 32 workshops, 7 pre-conference intensive trainings, and many other events with presenters from 16 countries including: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Ghana, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Montenegro, Philippines, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and the United States. Presentations focus on innovations in the fields that are making broad impacts in local, state, national, and international communities.

Pre-Conference trainings cover topics including: Integrating Core Theories of Conflict Resolution Across Disciplines; Sustained Dialogue Campus Network; Collaborative Negotiation; Teaching International Humanitarian Law in the Humanities; Integrating Service Learning and Civic Engagement into Courses; Child Rights; and Methods for Teaching about Nonviolent Struggle. On-site events include a networking meeting of Colleges and Universities developing peace and conflict studies programs, March 15th, 6:30PM – 9:30PM and a capacity building seminar for U.S. Community Colleges developing peace and conflict studies programs on June 16 and 17, 2013. The 2013 conference builds upon prior conferences and meetings in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 which brought together representatives from around the globe.  The annual audience includes college/university educators and students, K-12 educators, prevention specialists, and state, local, national, and international policy makers.  For more information or to register, please visit: http://creducation.org/cre/goto/6th

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by | September 6, 2012 · 7:34 pm

Drills and Dance-offs: The 2012 Professional Development Retreat

Chad, Nissreen and Vito help sum up the weekend after an intense session of Anatomy of Peace Drills

We are in retreat season here at PeacePlayers International – Middle East. Two weekends ago, we were in Eilat with the Jerusalem All-Stars. This past weekend we were at our more regular hang-out, Kibbutz Sdot Yam, for the annual Professional Development Retreat, which brought together 43 Palestinian and Israeli basketball coaches and members of the Leadership Development Program (LDP) (stay tuned next week when we bring you the Peace Education Retreat for kids, which is taking place this coming weekend).

Nissreen leads a conflict resolution seminar for coaches and LDP participants

Coaches at the Professional Development Retreat came from the communities of East and West Jerusalem, Tamra, Kiryat Anavim, Ein Rafah and Holon. They were joined by members of the LDP, who are coaches-in-training in the Twinned Basketball Program. This might have been the most intense Professional Development Retreat we’ve had yet, with coaches running from gym to classroom and from classroom to gym once again.

PPI friend and board member Chad Ford (professor of conflict resolution at BYU Hawaii) was on hand to share some inspiring stories about how seeing people as people can improve a player’s game on the basketball court, as well as his or her life outside of the gym. Chad also offered support to Nissreen and Renana, PPI – ME’s new curriculum facilitators, who led a four-hour Arbinger session. Other special visitors included new PPI Organizational Learning Specialist Gunnar Hagstrom (who until recently was a fellow at PPI – Cyprus), who spent time getting to know how PPI – ME implements the Anatomy of Peace Curriculum. Also on board was Chad’s fellow BYU Hawaii faculty member Rand Blimes, as well as BYU Hawaii students Adhna Martin and David Whippy. Adhna and David added some extra flavor to the weekend with a team building battle of the sexes dance-off. Men learned an aboriginal dance from New Zealand, while Adhna, whose mother is from Tahiti, taught women a traditional Tahitian dance.

Adhna and David say goodbye to the LDP girls.

Oh, yes. And there was basketball, too, of course. PPI – ME Basketball Operations Manager Vito Gilic’ demonstrated (with the help of the LDP) the Anatomy of Peace basketball drills, which take the principles of the Arbinger Institute’s Anatomy of Peace conflict resolution model, and applies them to basketball drills. Each drill was followed by a discussion led in both Hebrew and Arabic by facilitators Renana and Nissreen. By the end of the weekend, coaches were bushed, but now they’re ready to enter the coming program years with the tools they need to use basketball to bridge divides, and that’s what we’re all about!

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by | July 10, 2012 · 1:37 pm

PPI-SA says YES to Laureus Pilot Programme

12 youth leaders from around South Africa were selected to participate in the Laureus YES programme, including 2 from PPI-SA.

From June 25 to July 6, PPI-SA staff played a big role in a new pilot project run by partner Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. The Laureus Youth Empowerment through Sport (YES) programme is a 6-month pilot project aimed at empowering young people to use sport as a tool to promote positive change in their lives and communities. The first phase of the program was held just outside of Durban, at the beautiful Shongweni Dam.

Youth leaders from all over South Africa applied and 12 were selected to take part in the program. PPI-SA staff members Nasiphi Khafu(area coordinator) and Andile Msomi (city coach) were two of the 12 selected participants and spent two weeks at Shongweni,

Participants took part in a wide array of accredited trainings during their two weeks in Shongweni.

where they took part in accredited trainings such as  IT assessment and introduction, mentorship, facilitation, entrepreneurship, sports project management and finance, and crime prevention through sport (including community cohesion).

“The YES programme was 1000 steps towards the progression of my personal development,” Andile beamed.

In phase two of the program, participants will take what they have learned and put it into practice, planning and executing a minimum of four two-hour activities in their communities and keeping an online blog about their experience. The final phase of the program includes a trip to Gansbaai, Cape Town.

In addition to Nasiphi and and Andile’s participation, PPI-SA was asked to administer two workshops for all participants,  which were prepared, implemented, and taught by PPI-SA life-skills coordinators Ntobeko Ngcamu and Thobani Khumalo. The first was a facilitation workshop focused on the skills needed to effectively facilitate any type of lesson to a group of people. Participants later got a chance to practice what they learned by teaming with the Indigo Youth Movement to facilitate life-skills sessions in the Valley of 1000 Hillls.

“I loved watching the [participants] implement what they had learned into successful facilitation sessions,” Ntobeko said. “We received lots of positive feedback.”

The second workshop dealt with conflict resolution and was based on the Arbinger Institute’s The Anatomy of Peace.

(From L to R) PPI-SA staff members Nasiphi Khafu, Thobani Khumalo, Ntobeko Ngcamu, and Andile Msomi at a PPI-led workshop during the YES programme.

“I loved presenting the conflict resolution piece because people were really able to relate and respond to the presentation with examples from their own lives,” Thobani expressed. “You could feel a real connection being made which solidified the content being taught.”

The workshops were not only valuable to the participants, but to the presenters as well.

“I’ve never dealt with a group of people from so many different backgrounds,” said Thobani. “It was a great opportunity for me to work with such a diverse group, and it was motivating to meet people from other areas who preach the same gospel that we do.”

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by | November 7, 2011 · 2:31 pm

PPI in London and Chicago

Today’s post comes from PPI’s Technical Assistance Program Director, Brian Cognato.

For the past few months, PeacePlayers International (PPI) has been developing a new technical assistance and training program, designed to share what the organization has learned over a decade of bridging divides, developing leaders and changing perceptions with other organizations all over the world interested in using sport to improve their communities.

Joanne Fitzpatrick explains The Anatomy of Peace to Laureus Ambassadors and delegates alike in London.

We’ve been working on this mostly behind the scenes so far, conscious that a useful training program requires more than a good resume and a seminar here and there. Training and technical assistance is a different animal than running your own programs, and we’ve taken that challenge seriously, learning all we can about the field and best practices before launching.

With two events in the past week, however, we’re proud to move our technical assistance services from behind the curtain and into the public eye. Not that we’re finished learning – quite to the contrary, we’re learning more every day – but now we’re eager to share what we can do with the rest of the world.

The Peace Day Tournament in Cyprus is only one event made possible by Laureus' support at PPI.

This past week’s first event was the Laureus Sports for Good Foundation Global Summit, held from Oct. 30th to Nov. 2nd in London. The Laureus Sports for Good Foundation has been one of PPI’s longest standing partners, providing our very first institutional grant in 2002. The Foundation supports organizations all over the world using  sport to improve communities, and – for the first time ever this year – it brought them all together to share knowledge and experiences. We were lucky enough to be able to facilitate two sessions at the Summit, one working alongside Cindy Coltman of Women Win on “Breaking Barriers through Sport” and one with a PPI all-star team including Joanne Fitzpatrick and Rory O’Neil from PPI – Northern Ireland and Sbo Vilakazi from PPI – South Africa.

This last session spotlighted PPI’s unique approach to peace education, combining a curriculum developed in partnership with an American consulting firm called The Arbinger Institute with participatory basketball activities. PPI believes this curriculum is crucial to its approach to peacebuilding – allowing it to illustrate to young people the dynamics that cause conflict in the first place, so that our programs go beyond simple “contact” – and the Laureus attendees who sampled the curriculum seemed to agree, including Academy Members like Mick Doohan and Dawn Frazier, who participated in some of the activities.

Chad Ford presents The Anatomy of Peace to seminar attendees.

The week’s second event focused even more on this approach to peacebuilding, as Joanne Fitzpatrick made the trek from London to join PPI’s long-time friend and go-to peacebuilding guru Chad Ford in Chicago. Ford is both a writer for ESPN.com and a professor of conflict resolution at Brigham Young University Hawaii. (For the record, that’s a combined 8,204 miles of travel between them.) PPI partnered with Beyond the Ball, which uses basketball to engage young people in Little Village, to offer an introductory clinic in its approach to peacebuilding through sport to organizations through the city using basketball for youth development, including the South Chicago Neighborhood House, Enlace Chicago, The Crece Foundation, the Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation, Positive Coaching Alliance – Chicago, Claretian Associates, CLOCC and World Sport Chicago.

In an on-court session, Rob Castaneda of Beyond the Ball explains what he thinks about PPI's approach.

Over the next few months, PPI is going to help Beyond the Ball add a new element to their already robust curriculum, aimed at giving young people a specific way to understand conflict and their role as influencers in their community. The lessons learned in that project will then be shared with other organizations as they too try to give young people in Chicago a new tool to overcome conflict.

Watch PPI’s website and this space for more about these events – both of which are only the first stages in multistage collaborations – and PPI’s technical assistance program in general. If you’re interested in PPI’s technical assistance and training services, contact Brian Cognato at bcognato@peaceplayersintl.org.

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by | May 24, 2011 · 12:07 pm

PPI-SA Staff Receives “Anatomy of Peace” Training

Within the next year, our 1,000 participants will be impacted by Arbinger's "Anatomy of Peace" principles.

This past week, 14 PPI-SA staff had the amazing opportunity to go through a 2-day Arbinger Institute “Anatomy of Peace” Training, facilitated by PPI-SA Managing Director S’bongiseni Vilakazi. Over the past 10 months, S’bo has had the opportunity to be trained by PPI Friend and Arbinger Consultant, Chad Ford, in Cyprus and Hawaii. The training curriculum is based off of The Arbinger Institute’s best-selling novel, “The Anatomy of Peace”.

Arbinger's best selling novel, "The Anatomy of Peace," which was the basis for last week's training.

The process of training PPI-SA office staff is the first step in implementing Arbinger principles into the PPI-SA program. Next steps include a site visit by Chad Ford in October, where Chad will assist PPI-SA with implementing Arbinger into its Life Skills Curriculum, and developing a collaborative income generating service offering with Arbinger – South Africa, to deliver to South African organizations.

The atmosphere during last week’s training was extremely positive. PPI-SA staff shared deep and personal stories with one another, in order to illustrate Arbinger’s “Way of Being”, explaining the times that we have been “in the box” with another person, and how we have gotten ourselves “out of the box.” In fact, since the training, PPI-SA staff are constantly using the “Arbinger vocabulary” with one another in regular conversation, and after sharing such intimate personal stories with one another, our “PPI-SA Family,” feels like a family now more than ever.

PPI-SA looks forward to expanding its use of Arbinger’s methedologies in the coming months. We believe that teaching these important principles will have a significant positive impact on our 1,000 participants, and ultimately, make the communities that we serve a better place to live!

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by | February 10, 2011 · 3:17 pm

Chad Ford Visits PPI – Middle East

Chad and PPI - ME staff in an Anatomy of Peace session.

Other than the winter that has finally arrived in the Middle East, last week was a normal week for PPI – ME. Practices were held from Jaffa to Jerusalem, the All-Stars teams played and the LDP had its peacebuilding training sessions. It was a perfect week for PPI’s old friend Chad Ford to see how much the program has advanced since he was last here.

Chad is a professor of conflict resolution at Brigham Young University – Hawaii and a senior trainer at the Arbinger Institute, though he may be best known for his work as an NBA Draft “Insider” at ESPN.com. He helped integrate the Arbinger Institute’s “Anatomy of Peace” program into PPI’s work on the basketball court by creating interactive basketball drills that help teach “the Arbinger way” to children from communities in conflict.

Watch the video below to learn more about The Arbinger Institute and PPI in the Middle East.


Anatomy of Peace workshop at the America House

This time, Chad was visiting to lead conflict resolution workshops for PPI staff and Leadership Development Program participants. His visit was made possible thanks to a generous grant from the United States Consulate in Jerusalem, who is supporting the “America House Life Skills Event Series.”

Chad also brought with him two of his students in conflict resolution from Hawaii. This was their first visit to a region in conflict. As one of them put it, for the first time they were able to see firsthand what a conflict looks like, how people in the midst of it act and how the conflict resolution techniques they learned in the classroom can help.

Chad visited all parts of the country, catching up on old acquaintances and seeing how the PPI – ME program has developed. He also had a one-day session with PPI – ME’s staff. This session was a deeper look into the Anatomy of Peace curriculum, with which the staff was already familiar. Chad also led two Anatomy of Peace workshops for the Leadership Development Program participants at the America House in East Jerusalem.

Chad visited the All Stars in practice and jumped in to play with them.

On Wednesday evening, Chad and his students came to the Hand in Hand Bilingual School in Jerusalem to watch the younger integrated All-Stars team play against its main rival for the division championship, Modi’in. Chad already knew the girls on the team from previous visits, but he had yet to see them play at this elite level. The game delivered on its promise as a match between the best teams in the division, and was one of the closest and most nerve-wracking games of the year. The stands were filled with loud supporters of the home team All Stars, along with several parents of the visiting players. After a thrilling fourth quarter, the All Stars beat Modi’in 51-49.

Chad and his students from Hawaii.

After the game, Chad Ford walked on the floor with a big smile on his face, giving high-fives all around. Clearly, he was excited. For him – even though he’s seen nearly everything one could see after a long career analyzing and studying basketball professionally – this win offered something more than your average basketball win. This was a win that was achieved not only by skill but also by heart, by teamwork and by peace. This win was the best lesson Chad’s students could have on the positive force of peacemaking.

Interested in learning more about PPI’s collaboration with the Arbinger Institute? Check out our Ning group here and join the conversation!

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by | December 15, 2010 · 2:27 pm

PPI-NI concludes another successful round of the LDP!

The Fall 2010 LDP in matching PPI-NI hoodies!

This past weekend, PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland (PPI-NI) completed its autumn session of the Leadership Development Program (LDP). This semester’s LDP took place over two weekends: the first was held in Belfast at the end of November, and the final session took place last weekend in Derry/Londonderry. Seventeen participants were eager to start the weekend and complete their Open College Network (OCN) qualification in a course titled Promoting Diversity through Sport.

Darryl, with the ball, explains some of the Arbinger Institute's theories.

Upon arrival at our destination, St. Columb’s Park House, the participants settled in for a review of prior work and a look ahead at the session’s goals, facilitated by PPI-NI staff members Joanne Fitzpatrick and Darryl Petticrew. On Day One of the residential, the group explored stereotypes and diversity in-depth, reflecting on their own feelings around differences and how sport can be a useful tool in promoting diversity as a positive concept.

The second half of the day was more active, as the group learned about the Arbinger Institute’s theories of being “in the box” and “out of the box”. The group discussed how these theories could be applied to sports as a means of understanding them. The atmosphere of the group was further energized with the introduction of basketball, giving the participants an opportunity to explore Arbinger in a more interactive setting.

Watch this video for an overview of how PPI teaches the Arbinger Institute’s theory of change via basketball:

LDP participants act out what it's like to "be in the box".

Day Two of the residential saw the group discussing the Arbinger theory in more detail, illustrating how we can recognize conflict and what steps we can take to achieve reconciliation. This semester’s LDP ended with each participant writing an encouraging and positive message to each other as a memento of their experience to look back on. We are excited to review the OCN worksheets and award qualifications to all participants that have completed their work, and we look forward to meeting a new batch of participants for next semester’s Leadership Development Program!

For more on PPI-NI’s Leadership Development Program, watch this short profile of Darryl, the program’s coordinator:

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by | September 13, 2010 · 12:12 pm

PPI in the Middle East: Seeing People as People

Earlier this year, a representative of The Arbinger Institute, PPI’s partner for curriculum development, traveled to Israel to see first-hand how our organizations are using basketball to bridge divides. He caught some on-the-court action, spoke to several participants, and learned how PPI and The Arbinger Institute are teaming up to help the region’s Arab and Jewisg youth alike “see people as people.”

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by | August 6, 2010 · 6:50 pm

Teambuilding and Cross-Cultural Bonding at the Anatomy of Peace

The Anatomy of Peace Training attendees pose for a photo on the Limassol beach.

It has already been a full week since we wrapped up the 2010 PeacePlayers – Cyprus Anatomy of Peace Training, but our heads are still spinning with all of the great work done. “The training was a great success,” said Marina Vasilara, Managing Director of PeacePlayers International – Cyprus, “We were able to teach a group of coaches and teachers from across Europe and the Mediterranean a new way of teaching kids about peace and understanding. With these new tools for peace, this network of Euro-Mediterranean organizations can continue to work to together to positively effect the lives thousands of children.”

Training participants huddle together underneath a giant parachute in an activity led by PPI - CY coach Bahar Mevlit (center, in the green stripe) to help break the ice on the first day of the training.

Although most time spent learning the concepts behind the Anatomy of Peace in the classroom, we also made time for some fun cultural activities that allowed the training participants to learn, play and get to know each other a little better. Thanks to some fantastic photography by some of the participants, we were able to capture a lot of these moments in great detail. Below are some pictures of the lighter side of the Anatomy of Peace Training. We hope you enjoy.

Time to get groovy! PPI Director of Operations Tal Alter shows off his dancing moves at a traditional meze dinner for all attendees, where they learned that dance can be nearly as effective as sport at bridging cultural divides.

Training participants playing a game of "snake tag," which can be used to illustrate to children the contrasting ways that outside parties can function in conflict.

Attendees posing in front of a ruin at the ancient city of Curium.

PPI-CY coach Antonis drives to the hole in a friendly pick-up game between activities.

PPI-CY Coordinator Orhun Mevlit leaps from an ancient column at Curium

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by | July 23, 2010 · 12:37 pm

PPI – Cyprus Preps for the Anatomy of Peace Training

Chad Ford of the Arbinger Institute and ESPN.com, pictured here leading a PPI training event in the Middle East, will also attend next week's event in Cyprus.

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity at PeacePlayers International – Cyprus as we gear up for our Anatomy of Peace Training. Over 40 people from 7 different countries will gather in Cyprus to discuss how to incorporate peacebuilding, tolerance and conflict resolution skills into sports training and youth work. In addition to PeacePlayers International, members from three other non-profits will be attending: the Moroccan Association of Sister Cities International, the Primary School of Saints Cyril and Methodius (in Bulgaria), and Insaka–Ireland (Sport Against Racism).

We’ll have updates throughout the training next week, but first, take a minute to learn about our partners.

Moroccan Association of Sister Cities International


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Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between U.S. and international communities. Their goal is to build global cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development.

The Moroccan Association of Sister Cities International was created to develop cultural, economic and social exchanges and strengthen bilateral and multilateral relationships between cities in Morocco and the United States through the exchange of people and ideas. These exchanges provide each community with a stake in the construction of a modern and open society.

The members attending the Anatomy of Peace Training all come from Neighborhoods Association IDMAJ, a partner of Sister Cities. Neighborhoods Association IDMAJ – IDMAJ meaning integration in Arabic – is a non-profit association created by and run by youth from marginalized neighborhoods in Casablanca, Morocco. Their main mission is to integrate youth from these marginalized and poor neighborhoods into society through life skills education, job training, sports, art, music, theater and citizenship education. They work throughout Casablanca, and over 150 children take part in their daily programs and trainings.

The Primary School of Saints Cyril and Methodius


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The Primary School of Saints Cyril and Methodius is a multicultural school in a diverse area of Bulgaria. The school consists of 860 students from 1st to 12th grade. The school is unique in its region because its students have additional classes in sports, arts, music, choreography and foreign languages, even Greek.

Being a diverse school, the teachers frequently utilize conflict resolution techniques in the classroom as well as on the court. Attending the training is a group of teachers and coaches, along with the school’s Managing Director. Several teachers also participated in Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE), a group fighting against all forms of discrimination in football: in the stadium, on the pitch, in the changing room, at the training ground, in the office and classroom; by fans, players, managers, coaches, administrators or educators. Today FARE has active partners in more than 37 countries and is working across the game with fans, players, migrant and ethnic minority organizations, and governing bodies, including UEFA and FIFA.

Insaka–Ireland (Sport Against Racism)


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SARI, Sport Against Racism Ireland, supports and promotes social inclusion and positive integration through sport. SARI is a not for profit organization set up in July 1997 as a direct response to the growth of racist attacks from a small but vocal section of people in Ireland. Their goals are to present sporting and cultural events that bring together people from different cultures and backgrounds, create opportunities for young people to participate in social integration projects, promote intercultural dialogue and celebrate cultural diversity, and to encourage government agencies and national sports bodies to adopt anti – racism measures. Attending the Anatomy of Peace Training will be 5 members of Insaka-Ireland, including the Director of Sport along with several basketball coaches.

Of course, this event would not be possible without the support of our generous sponsors, the Anna Lindh Foundation and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, and the assistance of our partner in peacebuilding, The Arbinger Institute.

Last year, PPI – Northern Ireland joined with Sports Against Racism Ireland to raise awareness for sport’s power to bridge divides. Look out Darryl, in the green shirt, in this video:

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