A conference held on November 5-7, 2003 at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (UWM) provided a rare opportunity for practitioners from diverse fields to share lessons learned, make connections, and exchange ideas on how to work more effectively in situations of conflict. Conference participants came from humanitarian assistance, conflict resolution, human rights, development, environment, and peace studies. They came from public sector and private sector organizations. They came from official actors such as the US military and the State Department. "The conference provided a space for a very diverse group of practitioners to reach out past professional boundaries and discuss how they can be more effective in situations of conflict," said Robert Ricigliano of the Peace Studies Program at UWM, a main conference organizer. "If the conference showed anything, it is that such a cross-sectoral dialogue needs to be the norm, not the exception -- the dialogue has just begun," continued Ricigliano.

The conference started with a keynote address from Richard McCall, Creative Associates International, who laid out five fundamental principles for the rebuilding of post-conflict societies. According to McCall, the "creation and maintenance of institutions that reflect broad societal ownership is the major challenge in post-conflict societies." Mary Anderson, Collaborative for Development Action, began the first full day of the conference by presenting the concept of "Peace Writ Large" (PWL) and other learnings from the Reflecting on Peace Practice project. Participants then wrestled with the concept of PWL. While there were issues of finding appropriate terminology that fit different professional disciplines, there was a consensus for the need to think of how one's individual efforts contributed to change at a systemic, society-wide level. Along with a presentation from Mary Anderson, William Stuebner, Alliance for International Conflict Prevention and Resolution, delivered an evening keynote address that explored the role of international justice in the peacebuilding process.

Most of the conference was devoted to smaller group discussions that took place in "learning labs." These sessions started with a short presentation as a catalyst for group discussion. Learning labs addressed a wide range of topics including "Conflict and Peacebuilding Networks," "Cooperation Among Multiple Peacebuilding Initiatives," "Mainstreaming Conflict Sensitive Approaches," "Track 1/Track 2 Cooperation," and "Integrating Peacebuilding, Civil Society, and Development in Conflict-Affected Environments." Several themes came out of the small group and plenary discussions.

A strong consensus emerged on the necessity of cross-sectoral collaboration to make real, systemic change in situations of conflict. While numerous barriers to such collaboration were raised, there was a common belief that organizational change must be driven by changes in individual attitudes toward cross-sectoral collaboration. Such collaboration needs to be seen as a necessity, not a luxury. Further, cross-sectoral dialogue will be qualitatively better if the discussion includes a broad range of organizations from diverse fields (e.g. military, track one, development, human rights, environment, private sector, conflict resolution, humanitarian assistance, etc.).

There was a strong commitment among the conference participants to work creatively to foster greater cross-sectoral collaboration. Consistent with this commitment, the conference served as a catalyst for groups of participants to launch new initiatives, including:

• Peace Gaming Initiative. An initiative was spawned to adapt the practice of war gaming to simulate a post-conflict/reconstruction situation. The simulation would involve actors from diverse fields (such as those represented at the conference) and be used to better understand the barriers to, and opportunities for cross-sectoral collaboration in post-settlement reconstruction.
• Inter-field Roundtable Collaboration Initiative: A Conference Series to Build Cooperation Among Agencies Working for Peace and Security. An initiative that is working to hold a series of six workshops, each focused on a specific conflict area that would bring together 50 - 70 diverse stakeholders to build relationships and identify concrete collaborative actions that could have a positive impact on the conflict. Out of the six conferences, guidelines and proposed actions for greater cross-sectoral collaboration will be produced.
• Working Group on Community-Driven Development. A plan was developed to create a network of practitioners to discuss using community-driven development approaches in situations of conflict and evaluating the impact of these approaches.
• Working Group on Conflict-Sensitive Approaches to Development. A group formed to explore the challenges of mainstreaming conflict-sensitive approaches to development, such as terminology, institutionalization, integrating development with peacebuilding, and learning from experience.
• Working Group on Interaction Between Conflict Resolution and Humanitarian Assistance/Development Cooperation. A group was formed to better develop the linkages across the fields of conflict resolution and development.
• Cross-Sectoral Collaboration in the DRC. An initiative was launched to bring together a cross-sectoral group with activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and explore ways to link existing programs as well as develop new collaborative activities.

If you are interested in learning more about or getting involved with any of these follow-up initiatives, please send an email to peacestudies@uwm.edu.