Lee H. Hamilton, director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC and the director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University, has been awarded the Association for Conflict Resolution’s (ACR) Peacemaker Award. The Peacemaker Award acknowledges the significant and sustained contributions by an individual or organization to the cause of peace. The award recognizes efforts to bring peace through various conflict resolution approaches to ethnic, religious, and civil conflicts that have raged domestically and outside the United States. Hamilton received the award at ACR’s 8th Annual Conference in Austin, TX on September 25, 2008.
Hamilton represented Indiana’s 9th congressional district for 34 years. He served as chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, among many other committees. Hamilton served as co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, a forward looking, bi-partisan assessment of the situation in Iraq, created at the urging of Congress. He served as vice-chair of the 9/11 Commission and co-chaired the 9/11 Public Discourse Project established to monitor implementation of the Commission’s recommendations.
Hamilton presented the keynote address at ACR’s conference, sharing with the almost 900 attendees what he termed the 10 commandments of conflict resolution which he said are based on lessons he learned from the 9/11 Commission. He spoke about: the importance of bringing the right mental attitude to the conflict resolution table, being fully committed to the task at hand, focusing clearly on facts, being collegial with the parties involved, communicating with internal and external groups, focusing on fairness and justice, compromising when necessary, building consensus, practicing inclusivity, and understanding that implementing an agreement is the true end point in the process.
“Faces always talk too much. One line and all their plans are revealed.” — Floriano Martins Martins, a Brazilian poet, is not the only commentator who believes we can read a person’s...
By Laurie IsraelBusiness Conflict Blog by Peter Phillips Anecdote One: The Bach St. Matthew Passion begins with a piece of music that is scored for two orchestras and two choirs, who ask...
By F. Peter PhillipsPrevious Article hereExploders make up the second category of difficult people; but they are totally opposite from the Snipers we looked at before. Unlike the Sniper, who hides in the...
By Pete Desrochers