Developing Across Differences: Conflict Transformation
Conflict is everywhere. It can emerge within our inner world, appear in our relationships, and ripple across groups, organisations, and communities. While often seen as something negative or disruptive, conflict carries insight, opportunity, and energy for transformation. This course invites participants to rethink conflict as a generative force and to build the capacity to work constructively with tension at four interconnected levels: inner, interpersonal, inter-group, and community.
Why should you attend?
This course is for you if you want to help yourself or others you work with shift from “conflict avoidance” to “conflict engagement and transformation.” Whether you
● Work with individuals, teams, classrooms, or communities facing tension or disagreement,
● Support others in moments of crisis, misunderstanding, or misalignment,
● Aim to build cultures where conflict is not avoided but engaged with constructively,
● Want to understand your own conflict style and develop a more adaptive, grounded, resilient response, and/or
● Seek tools for navigating difficult conversations, polarised spaces, or group tensions, you will gain tools, concepts, and activities that can be applied in workplaces, NGOs, education settings, civic spaces, project teams, family systems, and community organising.
Practical information
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Dates & location
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7 July 2026 Academy Building (Broerstraat 5) or Harmonie Building (Oude Kijk in Het Jatstraat 26) |
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Level
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PhD/Postdoc/Practitioners May be appropriate for some MA students; contact the organisers for consultation about eligibility |
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Fee |
€ 615 (until early-bird deadline, 14 February 2026) € 650 (after early-bird deadline, 14 February 2026)
The fee includes course and materials, optional evening programming
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Academic coordinators
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Dr. Maja Nenadović |
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Contact
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ic rug.nl or info iddifferences.org
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Requirements
Level requirements
The DAD is for multipliers who help individuals, organizations and societies better recognize, appreciate and use differences as a way of better communicating, working and thriving together.
These are (in-house and external) trainers, educators, consultants, coaches, researchers, scholars, facilitators, HR staff, advanced-level (MA+) students, and professional development specialists with 5+ years of experience/study in the greater Differences field. Contact the organisers at ic rug.nl or info iddifferences.org for consultation about appropriateness and eligibility.
It is expected that the participants have a sufficient command of the English language to actively participate in the discussions and to present their own work in English.
Participant profile
This course is for you if are a:
● Manager, team leader, HR practitioner, and workplace mediator.
● Educator, trainer, facilitator, or youth-worker.
● Civil society practitioner, community organiser, or dialogue convener.
● Individual seeking deeper self-awareness and resilience in challenging situations.
Contact the organisers at ic rug.nl or info iddifferences.org if you have questions about the suitability of this course for your circumstances.
Learning outcomes
In this course, you will learn how to help yourself and those you work with so that you/they can better:
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Identify personal conflict style(s), triggers, patterns, and default responses using validated self-assessment tools.
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Reframe conflict as an opportunity for learning, insight, improved relationships, and innovation.
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Apply practical techniques for transforming conflict in one-to-one conversations, including listening, reframing, and de-escalation strategies.
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Analyse conflict systems in groups or communities, noticing patterns such as escalation cycles, alliances, identity triggers, and collective emotions.
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Facilitate constructive intervention at multiple levels (inner, interpersonal, inter-group, and community) using structured tools and exercises.
Workload
6 hours of in-class learning and active participation using experiential methods.
Upon successful completion of the programme, the Summer School offers a Certificate of Attendance that mentions the workload of 6 hours (28 hours corresponds to 1 ECTS). Students can apply for recognition of these credits to the relevant authorities in their home institutions, therefore the final decision on awarding credits is at the discretion of their home institutions. We will be happy to provide any necessary information that might be requested in addition to the certificate of attendance.
Course schedule
Sunday, 6 July
15.00-18.00 Optional networking event
Monday, 7 July - Tuesday, 8 July
09.00-17.30
Learning approach
This course will blend cognitive and affective discussions about key concepts, dynamics, and cognitive biases with experiential, behavior-oriented opportunities for self-reflection, skill-building activities, and how to pass along these insights to others.
You will practice applying the tools and strategies and consider how you might share them as a part of your client work.
We will explore some difficult and, at times, uncomfortable conversations during this course. When analyzing the causes behind polarization, conflict, and the heightened emotions that occur during disagreements, we will necessarily shy away from “political correctness” that may hamper our ability to authentically and clearly address the issues. This said, complex topics will be approached sensitively and with warnings provided.
Introduction to lecturer
Maja Nenadovic, PhD
Political education and human rights trainer Maja Nenadović, PhD, is a Monitoring-Evaluation-Learning and program design consultant, formal debate coach, lecturer and facilitator who has worked in 40+ countries.
Over the past 20 years, she has worked with both those who use discriminatory and hate speech rhetoric and those who are targeted by it, to create “Across Divides: Training Workshops for Depolarizing Communication,” a field-tested methodology for defusing and redirecting inflammatory encounters.
Holding a PhD from the University of Amsterdam, Maja’s research explores democracy promotion, post-conflict democratization processes, and dysfunctions in democracy. She is the co-founder of Reflectory, a boutique consultancy in the field of conflict transformation, civic engagement, and social cohesion. She lectures and trains internationally.
Faculty statement: “My work is inspired in part by this George Bernard Shaw quote, ‘The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.’”
Application procedure
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Deadline for application
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Early bird registration closes on 14 February 2026. |
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Date of selection
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Within 72 hours following registration, you will be contacted directly by the organisers about your application.
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Application
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Participants submit payment and details about their interest at the link below (click the "Apply now!" button). They will be contacted directly by the organisers about their experience and the suitability of the course. |
Please note that as all courses are subject to meeting minimum enrolments, the DAD team will confirm on or before 19 May 2026 that your course is taking place. We strongly advise you not to book non-refundable travel until you have received this confirmation. In all cases, refunds for courses are not available except in the case of course cancellation by the DAD organisers. In the case that your preferred course is cancelled, you are welcomed to enroll in an alternative course or request a refund. You will be notified on or before 19 May 2026 if the DAD course is cancelled. This policy is different from that of other University of Groningen Summer School and Language Centre courses. Full details are available on the Developing Across Differences (DAD) Learning Lab & Community Week Terms and Conditions page.
