Getting certificates at the end of an AVP workshop Photo: Rosemary Hartill
Transforming conflict
Conflict resolution is coming of age. Judy Kirby discovered a movement blossoming in the north
What settles disputes, deflates violence, erases ill-feeling and promotes understanding? Quakers have been pursuing this for generations. But a quiet revolution has been happening right under their noses – from foundations they laid. In the north of England, conflict resolution is beginning to look like a movement in transition – from early isolated and underfunded local efforts to a confident collaboration of many voices working for the same goal. Transforming conflict: Northern experiences brought these voices together, and they made an impressive sound. The Newcastle Conflict Resolution Network (NCRN), which is funded by Newcastle Quakers and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, felt that after three years of hard work it had a story to tell of the region’s successes in actively promoting good community relations. It staged a day-long event in Newcastle Friends’ spacious new Meeting house in Gosforth.
