“Bridging Communities” is a groundbreaking Virtual Reality Project designed to immerse participants in the heart of housing conflicts between host communities and refugees. This experience offers a unique mediation role to users, inviting them to first identify the Positions, Interests and Needs of each avatar and then to create win-win-solutions for the fictitious municipality.
The avatars are Alex Miller, the steadfast representative of the host community, and Sarah Patel, a resilient advocate for refugee rights. These avatars serve as your guides through the complexities of integration and allow you to explore the intricacies of conflict resolution through the lens of empathy and understanding.
Developed with the aim of fostering a deeper, more nuanced understanding of conflict dynamics, 'Bridging Communities' employs the PIN-Method (aka Onion-Model) as a core tool for local conflict transformation. This approach not only aids in discerning the underlying factors of conflicts but also empowers users to envision and implement effective, lasting solutions.
Our goal is to equip participants with the skills and insights necessary to drive positive change in their communities, promoting a culture of tolerance, empathy, and cooperation.
Project Goals
Understanding Conflict Dynamics
Develop participants' ability to discern and analyse the primary factors contributing to conflicts between host communities and refugees, fostering a comprehensive understanding of conflict dynamics and enabling evaluation of conflict escalation or de-escalation, identifying pivotal moments that trigger shifts for more informed conflict resolution approaches.
Application of Peacebuilding Tools: PIN Method
Equip participants with the skills to differentiate between positions, interests, and needs within conflicts, enabling more effective conflict resolution strategies and empowering interpretation and leverage of interests and needs to explore potential resolutions or compromises within conflict scenarios, fostering creative problem-solving.
Personal Growth & Reflection
Stimulate personal growth by prompting self-reflection and extraction of insights, encouraging participants to apply learnings to their professional or voluntary roles and fostering exploration of alternative conflict resolution approaches or strategies during the simulation, inspiring innovative thinking and adaptable problem-solving skills.
Target Group(s)
Professionals working in conflict resolution on local level, mediators, professionals and volunteers working with refugees, Local Authorities and Local Administration, as well as others (students, NGOs, etc.) who want to understand better the challenges of and dive deeper into innovative solutions for housing conflicts occurring in regard with refugees.
Planned Outcomes/ Achievements
- Enable participants to envisage practical applications of the PIN method in real-life conflict situations involving host communities and refugees, facilitating its implementation in diverse contexts.
- Encourage participants to translate insights derived from the simulation into actionable steps or initiatives within their communities or organisations, driving real-world impact and positive change.
- Encourage participants to challenge and reevaluate preconceived notions or biases about conflicts, promoting a more open and unbiased approach to conflict analysis.
