Common Bond Institute

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7th Annual
International Conference on
Engaging The OTHER
    May 4-5, 2013
     Dearborn, Michigan USA
~ Proposal Form
~ Press Room
~ REGISTRATION
~ PROGRAM

5th Annual
International Conference on
Religion, Conflict, & Peace
Spring, 2013
Dearborn, Michigan USA
~ Proposal Form
~ Press Room
~ REGISTRATION
~ Previous 2012 Program

2nd Annual
International Conference on
Transgenerational Trauma
     Fall, 2013
     Amman, Jordan
~ Proposal Form
~ Press Room
~ REGISTRATION
~ PROGRAM

Social Health Care - SHC
Training & Treatment Program
Trauma Recovery - Jordan

Catastrophic Trauma
Recovery Training - CTR

Bait Al Hayat / House of Life - Children's Treatment Center

Capacity for Peace and Democracy

Multimedia Library

VOICES OF REASON
Topical Articles and Chapters

BECOME INVOLVED
Volunteer and Internship opportunities

Partnership and
Consulting Services

About Us and
Available Speakers

SUPPORTERS
Endorsing and Supporting Organizations

Links
Like-Purposed Efforts

Visit Common Bond Institute's Social Media pages:
Sign up here for our E-mailing List
Voices of Reason: Articles and Chapters on Underlying Concepts
Support CBI

~ UPCOMING CONFERENCES ~

~ Register Now ~
(All pre-registrations are only through CBI website

7th Annual International Conference on
"Engaging The OTHER":
The Power of Compassion

May 4-5, 2013 ~ Dearborn, Michigan USA

* Held in cooperation with Muslim Mental Health Conference

Presentations This Year of
Major Emergency Trauma Recovery Programs
Aiding Refugees in Middle East

Sponsored by:
Common Bond Institute (CBI), People's Peace Fund, Michigan State University, Parashakthi Temple, International Humanistic Psychology Association (IHPA)
Endorsed by:
over 100 professional associations, organizations, & universities internationally
Official Partner of:
Charter For Compassion and Parliament of World's Religions

~ Register Now ~

Social Health Care (SHC)
Training and Treatment Program
Jordan - Lebanon - Turkey

An integrated, interdisciplinary, and sustainable humanitarian training and treatment service for healing the wounds of war and violence, and equipping refugees and members of traumatized and displaced communities in regions of conflict with the skills, resources, and hope needed for restoring mental health, balance, dignity, and self-determination.

5th Annual Conference on
Muslim Mental Health Conference

Training for Imams, Chaplains, and Community Leaders

* Held in cooperation with "Engaging The OTHER" Conference

In collaboration with:
Muslim Mental Health Institute, Common Bond Institute,
Michigan State University Department of Psychiatry, and
Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine

May 3-5, 2013 ~ Dearborn, Michigan

About CBI

Now More Than Ever...

At a time of rising turmoil and polarization - a time that calls for new thinking, new vision, new understanding, and new ways of relating in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world.

Common Bond Institute invites you to join in supporting international efforts advancing the consciousness of peace and healing by raising the capacity of the individual in society to constructively and compassionately transform conflict in their daily lives.

Support Our Efforts:
1) Make a Tax Deductible donation to our subsidy fund through our
partner organization: International Humanistic Psychology Association
2) Buy premium coffee now to support Common Bond Institute
and socially and environmntally responsible producs.

Who We Are and What We Do

Common Bond Institute (CBI) is a U.S. based Non-Governmental Organization that grew out of one of the first Soviet-American non-government human service exchanges initiated in 1982. CBI organizes and sponsors conflict transformation conferences, professional training programs, and relief efforts internationally, and provides needs assessment and resource development, networking and coordination support to assist newly emerging human service and civil society organizations in developing societies.

Our Mission

Cultivating compassion and the fundamental elements of a consciousness of peace, along with local capacity building, are seen as natural, effective antidotes to small group radical extremism and large group despair, as well as to hardship and suffering in the human condition. To this end, enabling each society to effectively resolve and transform conflicts, satisfy core human needs within their communities, and construct effective, holistic mechanisms for self determination, self esteem, and fundamental human dignity and worth to strengthen current and future generations is the purpose of our work.

CBI is grounded in the application of humanistic psychology's principles in it's commitment to capacity building at both the grass roots and social institutional level. It's focus is on increasing skills and services, exploration of human relationship dynamics, and expanding public dialogue and awareness of critical issues.

Our Style and Commitment

By design, our efforts are fundamentally collaborative for a larger impact. CBI works to actively form strategic alliances with organizations, groups, and individuals dedicated to nurturing global relationships as a whole in creating and promoting an authentic world culture of peace. We maintain an expanding global network of partner groups and organizations that cooperate in pulling the requisite pieces together to create and operate programs, while minimizing the drain on individual group resources.

Intentional Community: Essentially all of our efforts, and particularly conferences, are designed to be living laboratories for participating in deep, authentic community as a common ground of reference for exploring core themes and integrating formal learning. Creating an atmosphere of trust where individuals can engage in genuine, compassionate dialogue across stereotypes and fear-based beliefs is meant to promote carrying such a space into daily life to nurture a common wisdom, common sense of belonging, and common bond.

The character of our programs offers a microcosm of the larger, diverse, global community for a first hand experience of moving beyond artificial barriers and blind spots to the reality of what is both possible and practical. This purposeful use of intentional community is a central element of our work. It assumes the basic drive/need for integration through inter-connectedness and belonging that can be nurtured to develop conscious intent toward harmony and peace in our relationships.

Personal empowerment, compassion, and the role of the individual in society at both the local and the global level in addressing the human condition are central to our committment and our work. In acknowledgement of decades of dedication to this CBI and it's founding director, Steve Olweean, are recipients of the 2011 Charlotte and Karl Bühler Award from the American Psychological Association for outstanding and lasting contribution to Humanistic Psychology internationally.

Support of Like-Purposed Organizations

Our committment extends to assisting other organizations and groups in their efforts to build capacity for healing and peace by lending our expertise and gobal network resources in support of their success. This can be in the way of contracted services that save an organization significant precious financial resources, collaboration that shares the energy load, or trainers and speakers.

Please join us for any of our programs by contacting CBI
Visit Common Bond Institute on

Current Annual International Conferences:
Upcoming major events in 2013:

1) 7th Annual Conf. on Engaging The Other                  (May 4-5, 2013)  - Dearborn, Mich., USA
2) 2nd Annual Conf. on Transgenerational Trauma     (Fall, 2013) - Amman, Jordan
3) 5th Annual Conf. on Religion, Conflict, and Peace (2013)  - Dearborn, Mich., USA

~ Register Now ~

Challenge Your Stereotypes

7th Annual International Conference on
"Engaging The OTHER": The Power of Compassion (ETO)
  May 4-5, 2013 ~ Dearborn, Michigan USA
   Sponsored by:
   Common Bond Institute (CBI),  People's Peace Fund, Michigan State University,     Parashakthi Temple, International Humanistic Psychology Association (IHPA)
Partner of: Charter For Compassion & Parliament of World's Religions
When polarization is the true culprit, a multidisciplinary, multicultural conference examining concepts of "The OTHER" from a universal, cross-cultural perspective to promote a wider public dialogue about compassion and images of "Us and Them."

Registration is Open to All
Schedule and Overview    Press Room
Volunteer Application - be part of the effort

A Landmark International Conference

  2nd Annual International Professional Conference on
Transgenerational Trauma: Communal Wounds and Victim Identities
Fall, 2013 ~ Amman, Jordan
Held in conjunction with the establishment of a global, multi-cultural network of professional working groups engaged in the study of inherited unresolved communal truama and the implications for violence and war within and between communities
Previous Years Program   Presenter Bios    Program Overview
Global Network for the Study of Transgenerational Trauma
Press Room (for PR materials)

A focused dialogue and deliberation on the dynamics of inherited, unresolved communal trauma from one generation to the next, including historical understandings, the development and perpetuation of communal victim identitites, implications for present and future relations between communities - particularly war and violence, and the development of new models and methodologies for healing and preventing communal trauma and it's transfer into future generations.

An initiative and invitation by
Common Bond Institute, International Humanistic Psychology Association,
and the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations
In cooperation with
over 100 professional associations, organizations, and universities internationally

~ Watch for 2013 Details ~

5th Annual International Conference on
Religion, Conflict, and Peace:
Walking The Talk To Compassion And Harmony
Spring, 2013
Site: Dearborn, Michigan USA
Call For Proposal: Presenter Proposal Form Dialogue Facilitator Form
Previous 2012 RCP Full Program Previous 2012 Presenter Biographicals
An international forum promoting an inclusive, Inter-religious and Intra-religious dialogue to explore the challenges of Social Paranoia, Intolerance, Negative Stereotyping, Scapegoating, Racism, Islamophobia, and the effect on all communities; and the promise of Reason, Understanding, Compassion, and Cultural Harmony
Sponsored by: CBI, People's Peace Fund, International Humanistic Psychology Association, Parashakthi Temple,
Supported by: Zaman International, American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Council of Islamic Organizations Michigan
Partner and Official Event of: Charter For Compassion and Parliament of World's Religions
Press Room: flyers, publicity information, etc.     Volunteer Application - be part of the effort
Registration Open to All

~ Watch for details on 2013 3rd Annual TC Conference ~

  2nd Annual International Conference on
Transforming Conflict: Sharing Tools for Dialogue and Engagement
June 20-23, 2012 ~ Amman, Jordan
Sponsored by: Common Bond Institute, People's Peace Fund,
                           International Humanistic Psychology Association
Endorsed by: over 100 organizations and universities internationally
Official Partner of: Charter For Compassion & Parliament of World's Religions
A Multi-disciplinary, Multi-cultural Conference providing the individual in society with effective, collaborative skills in dialogue, interpersonal communication, decision making, negotiation, problem solving, mediation, conflict resolution, teamwork, leadership, good governance, and sustainable reconciliation
2012 TC FULL PROGRAM    Press Room

Integrated International Conference Series

In 2004 CBI initiated an experiment to coordinate an integrated series of 5 international conferences in 3 countries that shared a focus on exploring and advancing a consciousness of peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. The intent was to create a means for building on the concentrated focus, energy, and potential generated within the dynamics of conferences, to both increase the potential of each event and promote a more effective channeling of this energy into practical applications beyond the events themselves.

While each was independent, all events in this series were programmatically linked to build on each other for an energetic flow and larger impact. As a result of continuing this cooperation each year, outcomes have emerged and coalesced synergistically, inspiring promising new collaborative projects and partnerships, some of which CBI is directly involved in and others created by participants.

Following the success of this model we have continued the process each year, adding new conferences and inviting other international conferences to join in maximizing the energy and products of each event to promote an expanding network of social activists and healers for greater mutual benefit. Through such collaborations we work to raise the level, depth, and breadth of public awareness and dialogue on vital issues in exploring a consciousness of peace, to empower the individual in society, and to foster proactive networks that create practical strategies for applying results in advancing capacity for a culture of peace, locally and globally.

This model of integrated events continues into 2013.

Current Training Projects

In 1998, CBI established the International Training Program in Conflict Transformation as an extension of the ICR Conference. In addition to it's ongoing purposes, the ICR Conference serves as a major networking and recruiting source for training in this program. Currently two projects are operated:

Social Health Care (SHC)
An integrated, interdisciplinary, and sustsinable humanitarian assistance program aimed at healing the wounds of war and violence, and equipping the members of traumatized and displaced communities in regions of conflict with the skills, resources, and hope needed for restoring mental health, balance, dignity, and self-determination. Program features:
1) A comprehensive, integrated, and permanent health care service providing critically needed trauma recovery.
2) A on-going professional and interdisciplinary trauma treatment training program to buikd local capacity.
4) A long term investment in developing the future human service system of Jordan.
5) An innovative, adaptable, and continually developing treatment and training model that can be replicated in other regions of conflict.

Catastrophic Trauma Recovery Training (CTR)
A humanitarian relief effort established in 1998, designed to provide intensive "training of trainers" in catastrophic trauma recovery skills by expert teams of mental health specialists to local professionals and relief workers in regions of conflict assisting large civilian populations experiencing trauma from war and violence. Some of the regions represented are Russia, the Caucuses, Middle East, and Balkans. The project uses a comprehensive, integrated training/treatment model (CTR) for working with large populations of catastrophic trauma victims that is simple, standardized, repeatable, time sensitive, easily taught, and applicable cross-culturally. Assistance is intended for health professionals and relief workers from anywhere and is also appropriate for treating trauma due to natural catastrophe. CTR training teams are provided by an international consortium of professional training organizations. This humanitarian relief effort is endorsed and supported by NGO coordinating organizations within the regions served.

Find Out How to Help Provide Trauma Treatment to War Victims

Capacity For Peace and Democracy - Palestine
A collaborative project with Palestinian universities to establish Centers for Conflict Resolution and Human Rights and provide a pool of visiting professors and curriculum in Human Services (psychology, social work, health science, education) and Civil Society (democratic studies, conflict resolution/mediation, government, political science, economics/business).

The purpose is to help prepare future leaders in Palestinian society and local professionals skilled in providing critical human services to the population, all to increase capacity for a viable, peaceful Palestinian nation. Another aspect is creating opportunities for NGO's and community based institutions and universities in Palestine and Israel to cooperate on issues that promote understanding, acceptance, reconciliation, and forgiveness.

Current Research Projects

Global Network for the Study of Transgenerational Trauma
A multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural professional network of permanent study groups representing professional associations, universities, and organizations world-wide, engaged in the study of inherited, unresolved communal trauma, and the implications for violence and war within and between communities. The Annual Conference on Transgenerational Trauma provides an annual meeting place for its members, as well as interested participants in general, to come together regularly for a focused 4 day conference, in-person opportunities to network for further collaboration, and on-site space for individual study groups to meet. See details on the Network and Guidelines for Study Groups

Additional Efforts Under Development

To learn more about CBI and IHPA's following projects - some in their early stages of organization and some currently being put into action - please visit our page on Additional Efforts.

"Engaging The Other": a multicultural edited book project on "The Other" in conjunction with the above ETO Conference.

"Engaging The Other" training program geared toward the lay public addressing fear-based belief systems, negative stereotypes, and prejudice.

"Transgenerational Trauma: Communal Wounds and Victim Identities": a multicultural edited book project in conjunction with the above TT Conference.

Children's Trauma Treatment Center A project to create a children's trauma treatment center in the West Bank.

Trauma Training and Treatment Program: Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Palestine, Iraq

Expanding CBI Website as a vehicle for learning, sharing knowledge, networking, dialogue, collaboration, follow-up to training, and virtual community. (Among the features included will be a multimedia resource library, E-Journal of Conflict Transformation, E-newsletter, topical E-dialogues, E-working groups, clinical consultation seminars for trainees, etc).

Cooperative Publishing Vehicle for voices of reason - individuals from around the world with important, cutting edge ideas to stimulate and contribute to the public dialogue.

Establishing and developing locally based Professional Schools and Practical Training Programs In Human Services

Support our Efforts:

1) Make a Tax Deductible donation to our subsidy fund through our
partner organization: International Humanistic Psychology Association
2) Buy premium Coffee now to support Common Bond Institute
and socially and environmentally responsible products.

How You Can Be Involved In Our Efforts
by Volunteering or Interning

We invite you to contact us if you are interested in contributing your time, energy, and talents to assist our international efforts, and in doing so:

Create new possibilities for conflict transformation, prevention and healing in this pivotal time,
Form unique relationships with individuals and organizations throughout the world, and
Gain invaluable professional and personal experiences along the way

More About Becoming Involved with Common Bond Institute

Contact Us

To inquire about the activities and projects of CBI please contact:

Steve Olweean,   Director and Conference Co-Coordinator

E-mail:                  SOlweean@aol.com

Telephone/Fax: 269-665-9393

Postal Address:   12170 South Pine Ayr Drive
                             Climax, Michigan 49034



Visit Us On Facebook
Find videos, photos, samples of our conferences, etc. on Facebook
at: tinyurl.com/CBIonFB

* (We invite you to sign the Charter Affirmation

Common Bond Institute
Steve Olweean, Director, SOlweean@aol.com
12170 S. Pine Ayr Drive • Climax, Michigan •49034 USA
1-269-665-9393 (Phone and Fax)
Website: http://www.cbiworld.org
CONTACT US!