Summer Training

The Summer 2024 training's theme was Technology and Conflict: Anticipating Change for Better and for Worse.  It featured panel discussions on the implications of technological development on the conflict landscape in the areas of AI, Biotechnology, Disinformation, International Humanitarian Law, Ethics and the Environment.  Videos of the panels and fireside chats can be seen here.

Last year's simulation and case study complemented the theme of technology and conflict, taking the form of a Peace Summit asking participants to come together as political, military, business, and civil society stakeholders to address a persistent conflict between two countries at differing levels of technological sophistication. The crisis was triggered by disinformation and cyber-attacks related to a migration pattern which threatens to upend the ethnic balance in both countries.

The Summer 2023 training centered around an in-depth simulation and a case study, which were augmented by high-level panels featuring senior officials from governments and international organizations, CEOs of major corporations, and leaders of prominent NGOs. As a distinctive feature of the training, the simulation will bring to the world of diplomacy some of the methods used in business schools. The simulation and case study centered around the training's overarching theme of Expanding Avenues of Conflict. The simulation took form as a Peace Summit in Geneva, asking participants to come together as political, military, business, and civil society stakeholders to address a persisting civil war, while the case study asked participants to address the destabilization of a multi-ethic country, recently recovered from a long civil war, caused by a wave of migration from a neighboring country with a similar ethnic composition suffering through a civil war of its own.

The five-day Kent Conflict Resolution Summer Training took place in person in New York between June 13th to 17th, 2022 and combined experiential skills building and expert panel discussions. This intensive course familiarized a select group of mid-career diplomats with the emerging dynamics of 21st century conflict and the tools, knowledge, and negotiating techniques necessary to address these dynamics. Specifically, participants engaged with the opportunities provided by “The Golden Triangle,” a reference to the synergistic potential for cooperation between stakeholders in government, civil society, and the private sector.

The training centered around two in-depth simulations: one focused on negotiating an agreement to end an intractable civil war, and the second focused on post-conflict peacebuilding and reconstruction in an urban environment. Throughout each simulation, participants had access to experienced peacemaking practitioners, who acted as consultants and facilitators and brought to the world of diplomacy some of the methods used in business schools. Simulations were augmented by high-level panels featuring former ministers, national security advisors, senior officials from governments and international organizations, CEOs of major corporations, and leaders of prominent NGOs. Jean-Marie Guéhenno, former Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping between 2000 and 2008 and current Director of the Kent Program at Columbia University, facilitated these sessions and provided insight from his experiences throughout the five-day training. Panel recordings from the 2022 summer training can be viewed below.

2022 Summer Training Brochure »

Watch the Recordings

Day 1
Panel 1: Mapping the Landscape of 21st-Century Conflict »
Panel 2: The Golden Triangle: Transforming Conflict through Cooperation »

Day 2
Panel 3: Revisiting the Peacemaker’s Toolkit »
Panel 4: Negotiating Peace »

Day 3
Panel 5: Conflict in Changing Urban Environments »
Panel 6: The Political Economy of State-building »

Day 4
Panel 7: Regional Dynamics of Conflict and Prevention »
Panel 8: Mitigating the Global Impact of Conflict »

Day 5
Kent Program Summer Training Conversation with Peacemakers »

Over the course of five days, ten different panels addressed the ongoing transformation of conflict and discussed how public institutions, civil society and business can better work together. Highlights from each session can be viewed below.

Read the Summer 2021 Training Program Final Report »

Watch the Recordings

The first day was devoted to the changing geopolitical context and the responsibilities of business and civil society, with the participation of American, Chinese, and European experts and practitioners.

The Changing Nature of Conflict »

The “Golden Triangle” of Government, Business, and Civil Society »

 

On the second day, panels delved deeper into the respective roles of public institutions, engaging with the former head of the Inter-American Development Bank in the morning and with civil society and business leaders in the afternoon.

The Role of the Private Sector in Conflict Prevention »

CSR, PPP, and Social Impact Investing »

The third day introduced the first case study, Colombia, with a conversation between the negotiators of the peace agreement, followed by a discussion on the implementation of the agreement.

Lessons from the Colombian Peace Process »

The Challenges of Implementation »

 

The fourth day explored the second case study, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a panel on the management of mining resources and another on conflict and land management.

Natural Resources — Conflict Drivers or Development Assets? »

Land Ownership, Agriculture, and Business »

 

The fifth and final day began with a panel in which business leaders and a human rights advocate discussed the responsibilities of business and concluded with a conversation with President Santos, in which he reflected on his experience as a peacemaker.

The Future of Diplomacy and Private Sector Engagement »

A Conversation with Juan Manuel Santos »