Adaptability: The Role of Conflict Managers in Crises
Disciplines
Emergency and Disaster Management | Peace and Conflict Studies | Public Administration | Social Policy | Social Welfare
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Whether as the result of war, poverty, or natural disaster, people are being forced to flee their native lands at an alarmingly high rate worldwide. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that there are currently over 65 million persons globally who have been forcibly displaced from their homes, and of that number, 22.5 million are refugees. With those numbers steadily increasing, a need exists for programs that educate and prepare professionals whose intent is to work with refugee groups and the local populations that receive them, and one of the key concepts of such programs is adaptability, the ability to adjust to new and changing conditions. One such program, a class that places students and alumni in various roles during a refugee community crisis, is available at Kennesaw State University. Through participant observation and interviews with simulation participants, this qualitative study seeks to examine the role of adaptability in said simulation and to understand how the use of programs like this are of benefit to conflict practitioners.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - Conflict Management, Peacebuilding and Development
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Darina Lepadatu
Adaptability: The Role of Conflict Managers in Crises
Whether as the result of war, poverty, or natural disaster, people are being forced to flee their native lands at an alarmingly high rate worldwide. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that there are currently over 65 million persons globally who have been forcibly displaced from their homes, and of that number, 22.5 million are refugees. With those numbers steadily increasing, a need exists for programs that educate and prepare professionals whose intent is to work with refugee groups and the local populations that receive them, and one of the key concepts of such programs is adaptability, the ability to adjust to new and changing conditions. One such program, a class that places students and alumni in various roles during a refugee community crisis, is available at Kennesaw State University. Through participant observation and interviews with simulation participants, this qualitative study seeks to examine the role of adaptability in said simulation and to understand how the use of programs like this are of benefit to conflict practitioners.