King’s University College students will spend May learning the art of de-escalating conflicts and forging unlikely cross-cultural unions by witnessing the Nobel Prize-nominated Rondine seminar in Arezzo, Italy.

For the ninth time, students and faculty members of the Catholic postsecondary institution federated with Western University in London, Ont., are heading overseas to partake in this immersive residence program hosted by the Rondine Cittadella della Pace (Rondine City of Peace) Association. The King’s cohort of 33 students is the largest yet, and will be joined by 70 peers from Western and Huron universities.

The students will engage with the over 30 young adults (ages 21-30) being hosted at the Studentato Internazionale – World House, founded 27 years ago in 1998. All World House youth come from countries where armed conflict is currently underway.

It is a revolutionary approach: Israelis lodging with Palestinians Russians residing with Ukrainians and Armenians with Azerbaijanis.

“They are literally all living together, eating together and participating in workshops and courses that encourage the enemies to tell their story together, learn and understand the roots of the conflict,” said Dr. Allyson Larkin, chair of King’s social justice and peace studies department. “(It is) not to subsume or submerge into one another.”

Larkin likened the goal of this program to Pope Francis’ call for a culture of encounter. Just as the late pontiff called for young people to walk with people of different backgrounds to work toward shared goals, Rondine wants students of disparate backgrounds to connect and empathize with each other.

Students from opposing nations ultimately come together before the end of the two-year program to formulate strategies they can take back to their home country to inspire other young people to consider their enemies in a different light.  

Ideally, the visiting Canadians will also venture home with a more nuanced view of nations involved in conflict.

“I think it is an extraordinary opportunity for students here in Canada who may have no context other than what they (experience) in the media to hear what that conflict means to youth from Russia and how they interpret that conflict,” said Larkin. “It's not perfect, but it's very, very human.”

After completing an introductory Italian course, the King’s, Western and Huron students will complete workshops and simulations alongside the World House residents.

“One of the workshops has students putting together a narrative about who they are, their role in the world and what their social responsibilities might be to others who are dealing with conflict or have been marginalized,” said Larkin. “The second part of that would be then learning to tell your story with someone from a group who is other than you.”

An Israeli student and Palestinian student, for example, collaborating on this project would combine their two stories into a single narrative to co-present. These joint presentations are considered an exhibition of how individuals from clashing countries can unite and identify the common humanity in each other.

One of the simulations Larkin has seen in the past is students are provided with a set of conditions and are tasked with assuming the identities of a particular cultural group. Each team would then have to learn to deploy various negotiation and dialogue tactics to peaceably conclude different points of conflict.

Students will also visit other sites in Florence, Bologna and Rome, notably the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, of which Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny is the prefect.

“They are engaging with humanitarian efforts related to migrants and refugees,” said Larkin. “Our students will be right in the heart of Rome during the early days of the conclave, which will be incredible.”

Five days each week during the month-long sojourn is devoted to experimental study, while the weekends belong to the students. They can take trips to Naples, Rome and other nearby tourist destinations if they so choose.

Over $40,000 in various awards, scholarships and bursaries were made available for students to make it possible for them to venture to Arezzo for the Rondine Seminar.