Peacebuilding 101

I am here in Spiez, Switzerland. The participants have arrived for the peacebuilding course!

Their first task was to break into four groups of 6. Each team was given a radio and a map. Our local military guru from the Swiss military, Ralf Lünsmann, manned the radios and communicated with each team on locations. The teams needed to find their way from the start to 3 different check points. At each stop, participants had to complete a group task. First, they walked on a plank together as a team and rode a pink Barbie bike with a skiddish wheel. At check point 2, where I was located, the teams had to start a fire with one match, boil water, put up a tent and get all teammates inside. The fastest team did this in 5 minutes. Can you imagine? Finally, the groups had to work together with planks and rocks to cross a "crocodile infested" river. It was great fun and a wonderful icebreaker.

Today, they have been learning conflict mediation. This is very similar to the training that I had as a resident assistant in Maple Hall. Yesterday, they began to lay out the fictious conflict "Mikeland," a project I have been editing and working on all summer long. It is great to see the end results!

On a different note, I have been able to reflect on this summer as I prepare a paper for class back home. It is very fruitful to see all that I have learned in the three months that I have been in Geneva. From learning about health care with my family of doctors, to learning about the United Nations during my courses and history during my travels, this definitely is an experience I will not forget!