Conflict resolution, prevention, and transformation: Search for Common Ground

Since 1999, the Conflict Prevention and Resolution Forum (CPRF) has excelled as a platform for highlighting innovative and constructive methods of conflict resolution in the international arena. This forum contributes to the policy discourse by: (1) informing the public about differing perspectives; (2) finding viable solutions to complex conflicts; and (3) providing a secure venue for stakeholders from various disciplines to engage in cross-sector, or multi-track problem-solving. The CPRF is co-sponsored by some of the field’s most distinguished foreign policy institutions and think-tanks. With their support, the forum monitors events and trends in conflict regions, helps sustain a policy focus on conflict prevention and resolution, and increases collaboration amongst practitioners who work to resolve violent conflict.

Olympic Diplomacy

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
9:00-10:30 am

Kenney Auditorium, Nitze Building
School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
Johns Hopkins University
1740 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

Please note that there is no parking at SAIS, and the nearest Metro stop is Dupont Circle

Please RSVP (acceptances only) by May 12th, 2007
to cprfnewsletter@sfcg.org

Summary
While the Olympic Games reflect an explicitly apolitical activity, they have historically been highly politicized—boycotted and exploited for a long list of political objectives and grievances. In the context of the controversial Beijing 2008 Olympics, this forum will examine the use and vision of the Olympic Games as a kind of international diplomacy, discussing how they can and cannot be leveraged as a means of preventing conflict and building more robust international cooperation.

This forum follows the Chatham House Rule

Steven McCarthy is Chairman and Chief Executive officer of Além International Management, and has been involved in the event management, hospitality and development industry for over 30 years. He has personally been involved with every Olympic Games and Torch Relay since 1996, including being the Director of the Relays for Atlanta 1996, Salt Lake City 2002, and Athens 2004 (the first ever around-the-world Olympic Torch Relay). Além also produced the Torch Relay and other elements of the Pan American Games 2007 in Rio de Janeiro. McCarthy has an extensive field operations and analysis background, and an intimate knowledge of international relations and diplomacy, providing him with discreet and unique expertise and activation for clients and partners around the globe. Steven has worked internationally for more than 28 years, specializing in global geopolitical and social risk analysis for emerging market re-branding and development.

Richard H. Solomon has been president of the United States Institute of Peace since 1993. Prior to this assignment, Solomon was assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 1989 to 1992. He negotiated the Cambodia peace treaty, the first United Nations "Permanent Five" peacemaking agreement; had a leading role in the dialogue on nuclear issues between the United States and South and North Korea; helped establish the Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation initiative; and led US negotiations with Japan, Mongolia, and Vietnam on important bilateral matters. In 1992–93, Solomon served as US ambassador to the Philippines. He coordinated the closure of the US naval bases and developed a new framework for bilateral and regional security cooperation. In 1995, Solomon was awarded the State Department's Foreign Affairs Award for Public Service, and he has received awards for policy initiatives from the governments of Korea and Thailand. Solomon also served as the US State Department escort in the 1971 Ping Pong Diplomacy exchange with China.

Harry Harding
Professor of International Affairs, George Washington University

Harry Harding is University Professor of International Affairs at The George Washington University. He is the author, among other works, of China’s Second Revolution: Reform After Mao, and A Fragile Relationship: The US and China Since 1972. Dr. Harding served as Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at GW from 1995 to 2005. He was a member of the Stanford faculty (1971-1983), directed the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (1979-80), and was a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution (1983-94). In 2005-07, he served as Director of Research and Analysis at Eurasia Group, a political risk research and consulting firm headquartered in New York. He remains a Counselor to Eurasia Group and Chair of its China Task Force, and also holds an appointment as a Senior Fellow in the Center on US-China Relations at the Asia Society.

Chic Dambach is President and CEO of the Alliance for Peacebuilding, a network of private and public organizations dedicated to building sustainable peace and security worldwide. The organization facilitates collaboration and coordination among conflict prevention and resolution professionals, civil society, international organizations, and government agencies. In 1998, Mr. Dambach helped form and lead a team of returned Peace Corps Volunteers to work informally with the leaders of Eritrea and Ethiopia to help end their border war. The team has also facilitated joint meetings with the leaders of the combatants in the Congo civil war—leading to the formation of a coalition government and plans for elections. In addition, he served as an official in the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games, in the 1991 Pan-American Games in Havana, and the 1987 World University Games in Zagreb, Former Yugoslavia.