Moakley Chair sponsors Forum for Cities in Transition April 14 to 16, 2009
The Underlying, Unifying Principles
Cities that are in transition in countries divided by conflict are in the best position to help other cities in transition in other such countries. They have common problems ranging from policing, garbage collection, housing, road construction, the provision of health and welfare services, to identifying flashpoints and interfaces that trigger violence and having in place mechanisms to control and contain such outbreaks. Each city is at a different stage of transition.
Nevertheless, through the process of sharing their narratives they can learn from each other and create a dynamic that becomes a catalyst for change. Each city, in turn, will host the others and the experiences of “on the ground” engagements will expose participants to ways of dealing with similar, although different, problems, thus creating an expanding pool of knowledge and support from which all can draw.
A Pilot Project to Create a Forum
The Moakley Chair for Peace and Reconciliation at the University of Massachusetts Boston hosted a conference from April 14 to 16, 2009, at which participants from the invited cities discussed the feasibility of establishing a Forum for Cities in Transition (FCT), what form it might take, the range of its remit, how it might work, and its terms of reference. The Forum would meet annually on a rotating basis in one of the member cities.
Participants included the mayors and senior city delegations from: Derry/Londonderry (Northern Ireland); Kirkuk (Iraq); Mitrovica North (Albanian majority), Mitrovica South (Serbian majority); representatives of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, Nicosia; and government officials from Belfast (Northern Ireland). NGOs from these cities also attended.
See the full conference packet
See press release
The Forum for Cities in Transition from conflict maintains a web site that allows the cities interact with each other on both a formal and informal basis. The site is also open to the public, who are invited to visit and participate. http://citiesintransition.net
The Forum for Cities in Transition concluded with a panel discussion "Divided Cities: Common & Uncommon." April 16, 2009.
PARTNER
SPONSORS
Robert and Jo Ann Bendetson
Connors Family Fund
Doubletree Hotel Bayside
Insitute for Global Leadership, Tufts University
John Joseph Moakley Archives and Institute at Suffolk University
William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences
University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts Boston
University of Massachusetts Lowell
William Monroe Trotter Insitute