osloforum

Oslo forum 07 - Annual Mediators' Retreat

Dialogue in a divided world: power, potential and pitfalls

26-29 June 2007, Oslo

The fifth annual event of its kind, the Oslo forum 2007’s agenda followed the arc of a peace process, covering vision, dialogue as the pre-eminent methodology, craftsmanship, power and interests, and finally implementation.

Drawing on this structure, the sessions were dedicated to a range of topical issues, including mediator-led situation reports from Darfur, Kosovo, Lebanon, Nepal and Sri Lanka; the potential and challenges for dialogue in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iran; the challenges of transformation from armed group pariahs into politicians with perspectives from Nepal and Northern Ireland; the use of psychological approaches in mediation; the potential for public opinion polling as a peace process management tool and identifying pragmatic strategies to address the ongoing lack of women and their perspectives at formal peace tables.