Learning the art of diplomacy can be daunting, but putting those skills into practice can be even more so. Recently, fifty seventh grader students at Horner Junior High School in Fremont were up to the challenge when they had the unique opportunity to participate in an all-day workshop.

Courtesy of Tri-City Voice

Carl Hobert’s students carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, and they appear to have a great time doing it.
Lively apprentices of what Hobert, a visiting scholar and School of Education lecturer, calls preventive diplomacy, they are combining a rigorous, nuanced understanding of current events with the guiding principles of conflict resolution.

Courtesy of Boston University Today

On Tuesday, January 25 Axis of Hope founder Carl Hobert led nearly 70 Wilbraham & Monson Academy sophomores through his six-hour mediation workshop. Hobert used the fate of Jerusalem as the focus for the daylong exercise.

The students are currently studying the Middle East in Global Studies 2, the second of two introductory courses taught as part of the Academy’s Center for Entrepreneurial & Global Studies curriculum to all grade 9 and 10 students at the Academy.

Courtesy of Wilbraham & Monson Academy

I recently attended a New England Association of Schools and Colleges conference. The luncheon keynote speaker was a man named Carl Hobert, who is the founder and director of an organization called Axis of Hope. I was riveted by Mr. Hobert's address, in which he discussed how Axis of Hope works with adolescents to help them develop an understanding of alternative, nonviolent approaches to resolving complex conflicts locally, nationally, and internationally.

Courtersy of Scholastic Teachers

Keith Gaiter, a sophomore at Chicago Academy High School on the Northwest Side, knows the face of violence and has witnessed its repercussions.
"In my neighborhood, the blacks and the Hispanics don't like each other. If you walk into the wrong neighborhood with your hat on the wrong way, you can get killed," said Gaiter, 16. But after recently participating in the Axis of Hope Conflict Resolution Workshop at the school, Gaiter understands that what happens in his own backyard often mirrors the bloodshed that occurs on the other side of the world. And he is learning that there is a better way.

Courtesy of Chicago Tribune

On February 3rd and 4th, seventh and eighth grade students at Soundview School participated in a two-day peace negotiation workshop, “ Workable Peace, One Village, Six People: Living in Rwanda After Genocide.” The workshop is taught by Carl Hobert, founder of Boston-based Axis of Hope (axisofhope.org). Students learned to negotiate rather than argue and how even things like body language and word choice can impact negotiation.

Courtesy of Soundview School

Today at Earcos Teachers’ Conference 2011, I attended an excellent pre-conference workshop hosted by Prof. Carl Hobart, founder of the non-profit organisation Axis of Hope. This organisation actively encourages young people to develop conflict negotiation skills through relevant and carefully managed role-play exercises. The ultimate aim is to equip students with the skills and motivation to prevent conflict through the local to global scale, both now and later in life.

Courtesy of Bangkok Patana School

On Tuesday, September 27, Prof. Carl Hobert hosted more than 50 students in Centennial to participate in hands-on negotiation role-play exercises. The students explored the many sides of a conflict through the use of case studies and participated in open, honest discussions about complicated world issues. They learned essential conflict analysis, management and prevention skills that will last a lifetime.

Courtesy of Salisbury School