Plowshares has responded to calls for assistance on a range of conflicts from small community organizations to international truth
commissions. Examples of our mediation, facilitation and consulting work are listed below. In many cases, local leaders were
subsequently equipped to mediate further conflicts on their own.
Click on the headers to learn more about each topic:
1972-Present: Transition to a democratic South Africa
Collaboration with leaders such as Archbishop Tutu to promote nonviolent resistance to apartheid and smooth the transition
to a new democratic South Africa. This included supporting local leaders to mediate conflicts concerning:
Police brutality towards anti-apartheid activists;
Tensions among ethnic groups in townships;
Redistribution of land between white landowners and black workers;
Educational access in the transition from a segregated to an integrated education system.
1982-2007: Work with the U.S. and Indonesian Militaries
Consulted with, mediated with and/or trained senior military officers in the United States and Indonesia
on concerns such as:
The effect of long deployments on U.S. officers and their families;
Consultation on the development of the peace curricula for the U.S. Navy and
Air Force War Colleges.
The relationship between GAM (Free Aceh Movement) and the Indonesian military in Aceh
Province following the MOU on the Peace Accord;
Conflict and police training in Papua province
1994-Present:Civic Affairs in Hong Kong
Partner with Christine Loh, CEO of Civic Exchange in Hong Kong to consult, mediate and facilitate dialogue with
government officials and their constituents on issues such as:
Constitutional revisions to support universal suffrage
Air pollution from trucks and taxis
Protection of fish stocks by local fishermen
Fares and availability of the transportation system
1998-2009: U.S. Cities program
Worked with local government and community leaders in ten US cities to equip multi-racial teams to mediate disputes based on access to
jobs, education and housing, and the underlying racial and economic tensions that fueled those
disputes. Volunteer community mediation centers were subsequently established in several of these
cities to handle new and ongoing conflicts.
1999, 2006-2008: Independence for Timor Leste
1999: Equipped human rights advocates, UN personnel and religious leaders in Timor Leste
to facilitate the reintegration of pro-Indonesia militia members and their families into communities resistant
to their return following the violent reaction to the vote for independence.
2006 – 2008: Served as two of the three International Advisers to the Commission of
Truth and Friendship between Indonesia and Timor Leste, the first truth commission between two sovereign nations.
2007-Present: Environmental Justice
Consultation, planning and facilitation of workshops for the Tällberg Forum,
Sweden, on issues of environmental justice, forestry and climate change.
