Encounter group-project

Spearheaded and coordinated by Women and Media Collective (WMC), the proposed encounter group is a way of creating a space for people to address, discuss, confront, and mediate their ideas and experiences of subjective realities (of the conflict) in a genuine, truthful, and respectful manner. Initial discussions were conducted from the month of October to plan out the activities.
 
The encounter group provides people with a safe environment in which people can give a voice to their suppressed realities that are not welcome elsewhere, with the objective of addressing them and moving on to a different reality. Encounter groups have been conducted in several countries around the world dealing with decades of ethnic and/or civil war. It has been proven to be one of the most effective non-violent approaches to conflict mediation.

Twelve women were selected through interviews. The group participated in one workshop of introducing the concept of Encounter Groups and in six 1.5 hour encounter groups in the month of February and March 2008. The group met once every week for six weeks. Participants said they felt quite comfortable and were able to express their views openly unlike at other meetings.