BeyondIntractability.org   BeyondIntractability.org
Beyond Intractability: A Free Knowledge Base on More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict
   


Introduction: Helen Chauncey likens their work in acheiving an appreciation of diversity and coexistence to the work of early human rights activists.


This rough transcript provides a text alternative to audio. We apologize for occasional errors and unintelligible sections (which are marked with ???).

Coexistence and Human Rights
Helen Chauncey
The Coexistence Initiative
Interviewed by
Julian Portilla
2003

Let's talk a little about tools, or more specifically about processes and arenas of activity if you are interested in coexistence. Where do you work? With whom do you work? To my knowledge no one yet has one single simple tool kit. As in, here are the four things you should do and if you do them we absolutely guarantee you that coexistence will be a positive experience for everybody. Everyone will be free from fear about loss of identity and so on. It isn't out there yet. In some ways there is a good parallel here to the human rights movement.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was written in 1948. If you read that document thinking of yourself as being in the late 1940's, the document basically spelled out a set of goals that no one could possibly achieve in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years or 50 years if you take that declaration as the base line for the human rights movement. They have done what in some ways we are going to try to do also because by now human rights really has become something of an embedded value. People do not only hope for that but call for that. Given that, where do the arenas in which someone interested in making coexistence a positive experience, making the world not only safe for diversity, but having people want to reach out and embrace diversity go to? With whom do you work? How do you go about doing that work? This is one of those goals that requires that you work at a number of different levels.

 
For it isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it. -- Eleanor Roosevelt

Featured Links
Organizations Making Noteworthy Contributions to Efforts to Promote More Constructive Conflict
Tabula Rasa Institute
Tabula Rasa Institute


Other Resources from
Beyond Intractability
A User's Guide for Third Siders
A User's Guide for Third Siders

The Third Side concept was developed by William Ury. Third Siders are people who try to see both sides of a conflict and encourage cooperative solutions, fair fights, and decision making that advocates solutions which meet everyone's interests and needs as much as possible.

Nobel Peace Prize Winners

Rigoberta Menchu Tum
Rigoberta Menchu Tum

Prominent civil rights activist in Guatemala, and 1992 Nobel Peace Laureate

Beyond Intractability Version IV
Copyright © 2003-2007 The Beyond Intractability Project
Beyond Intractability is a Registered Trademark of the University of Colorado
Project Acknowledgements

The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project
Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess, Co-Directors and Editors
c/o Conflict Information Consortium (Formerly Conflict Research Consortium), University of Colorado
Campus Box 580, Boulder, CO 80309
Phone: (303) 492-1635; Fax: (303) 492-2154; Contact
University of Colorado at Boulder