PEACE UNLEASHED, INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY TRAINING PROGRAM

Abstract

In countries affected by fragility and conflict, pursuing the goal of creating more peaceful societies is a challenging task to accomplish because individuals’ quality of life is affected by unequal access to health care, minimal social services, and lack of employment. The Global Goals were assumed by all United Nations member states in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. Member states of the United Nations have reported that it is difficult to implement due to conflict between the government and community. Diplomats often do not understand the impact of trauma to help bring peace between nations and make more significant progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, as identified in the SDG Progress Report (2019). This study used the conceptual framework of community-based participatory research, informed by several theoretical concepts including Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, to understand how the diplomatic community can overcome barriers to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and improve quality of life of marginalized communities globally. Prior research has shown the need for inclusive dialogue and reconciliation between the government and the people. The proposed innovation, Peace Unleashed, is a global diplomacy training program for diplomats and heads of state to teach them how to meet the needs of the community, utilize their internal resources, value civil society and community members by amplifying their strengths to work together toward solving problems, and ultimately, move closer toward successfully reaching the current Sustainable Development Goals. Peace Unleashed will be delivered in two phases. Phase I will be a 2-week training, consisting of 6 days total, 3 days per week. Phase II will be a 6-month coaching program that will help diplomats and government officials implement what they learned in the training by properly engaging stakeholders in the community by building trust though their newly found skills in trauma-informed conflict resolution and neuroscience techniques. This research involved creating a thorough evaluation plan to identify the effectiveness of the training and support future dissemination efforts. The learning outcomes of Peace Unleashed focus on improving quality of life for all citizens, especially those from marginalized communities. Furthermore, these results can inform further research and the development of programs that address multifaceted issues related to life satisfaction, such as marginalization, severe poverty discrimination, oppression, and poor access to health care.