PeaceWorks
facilitation Dialogue Training PeacebuildingDr. Michael O’Loughlin
Mick is a founding member and co-director of the independent, not for profit action-think tank Evolveris which focuses on supporting sustainability regional ‘communities’ and fostering web based community storytelling learning and friendship networks across the Pacific-Oceania region
Industry Background: includes developing and leading constructive conflict-negotiation programs that have successfully helped change previously ‘stuck’ conflicted organisational cultures. This work has included flexible, customised programs supporting new types of collaborative and distributed leadership styles.
Action Research field-testing new collaborative ‘whole of community’ planning approaches at the local-regional scale that help circumvent multi-stakeholder conflicts and enables the different parties to ‘co-design sustainable solutions. This work has included the planning, feasibility and design of cross-regional enterprises that impact agency, community, landholder and Aboriginal organizations and interests. This research has included refining conversational dialogue and conflict system mapping techniques that allow stakeholders to be heard, their perspectives and needs to be validated. This helps develop a shared understanding of conflicts as a dynamic system and how they can be slowly unravelled through new co-creative thinking and joint initiatives.
Focus and Project Interests: 1. facilitating learning communities that re-think current ‘aid-peacemaking’ approaches and help capture the rich learning around what agencies and communities set out to accomplish, what worked, what didn’t, why and alternative ways of operating using systems perspectives.
2. developing innovative collaborative ways of co-designing and evaluating sustainable regional development programs and, in identifying the subtle, qualitative changes in relationships that can further empower communities.
3. using digital community storytelling to enhance cross-cultural understanding and regional friendships – support networks
Qualifications: PhD Ecological Economics, University New England; B.EC (Hons) Sydney University, Dip Adult Education University of Newcastle, a background in industry coaching, Gestalt psychotherapy and fathering a family of 5.
