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By Rosemary Westwood
Jerke.
Photo: UVic Photo Services When Megan Jerke saw the power of dispute resolution at work during time spent at a peace and reconciliation facility in Ireland, she was hooked.
Jerke had originally planned to study law, but her time in 2003 at the Glencree Peace and Reconciliation Centre, a facility birthed 30 years ago from the violent conflict in Northern Ireland, changed her mind. Jerke chose UVic’s Masters in Dispute Resolution program to continue her efforts to bridge deep-rooted conflict with non-violent solutions.
At Glencree, she witnessed men who had fought on opposite sides of the Protestant/Loyalist and Catholic/Republican divide sit together in a room and reflect on how they’ve come to see the humanity in one another through workshops that use conversation to create understanding.
“It kind of cemented my interest in this field to be a part of that process,” she says. “The magic of the learning in that room and the building of relationships was really inspiring.”
Not only is UVic’s Master’s in Dispute Resolution one of the few in Canada, the university has a reputation for utilizing research to create change, says Jerke, who also spent time in South Africa learning about conflict resolution.
At UVic, Jerke found “an amazing mentor” in Institute for Dispute Resolution Director Maureen Maloney. She credits Eamon Rafter, education development and training officer at Glencree, for support and encouragement throughout her research.
The program’s flexibility allowed Jerke to write her thesis on Glencree’s approach to conflict resolution and why it is so successful at helping to diffuse conflict rooted in nationalism, ethnicity, religion and identity.
“I knew instinctively that something worked at Glencree and worked really well in addressing really difficult conflict,” says Jerke.
Central to that success, her research found, was Glencree’s stress on building relationships and support networks, and on training program participants to go back into their community and facilitate programs there.
“This is the first time that somebody has tried to capture and articulate Glencree’s approach,” Jerke says.
She hopes her thesis will help provide a framework for conflict resolution practices that others can learn from and even adopt, including Canada.
Thus far, her hopes seem within reach as the Department of Defence, in rewarding Jerke a $10,000 scholarship for her research, requested a copy of the completed thesis.
“It’s actually going on to perhaps influence policy, which I find quite encouraging,” she says.
After convocation, Jerke has her sights set high, with aspirations ranging from working in conflict resolution for the United Nations, to working with Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to continuing her relationship with the Glencree Peace and Reconciliation Centre.
But whatever her next move, Jerke has one basic goal: to continue her path of learning and service.
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