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Conflict arises in every family, team and community; what matters is how we deal with it. This course covers the roots of conflict, conflict-handling styles, nonviolent communication and the steps of mediation, through practical and impartial exercises.
Course page on the learning platform
Course details
| Level | Intermediate |
| Estimated duration | 8 hours of study and practice |
| Prerequisite | None |
| Language of instruction | Farsi-e-Dari (with key English terms) |
| Cost | Free |
| Assessment | A quiz after each section and a final exam; pass mark 70%; certificate issued after approval by the Academy |
After this course you will be able to
- Identify common roots of conflict (interests, values, misunderstandings, resources)
- Recognise the five styles of handling conflict
- Express your feelings and needs using Nonviolent Communication
- Guide a difficult conversation calmly
- Carry out the steps of simple mediation between two people
Course outline
- Constructive and destructive conflict
- Roots
- Early warning signs
- Competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, accommodating
- Choosing the right style
- Observation, feeling, need, request
- Empathic listening
- Preparation
- Managing anger
- Reaching agreement
- The role of an impartial mediator
- Steps
- Repairing the relationship
Week-by-week learning path
With about 30 to 45 minutes of study and practice a day, you will complete this course in 6 weeks:
| Week | Topic | Output of the week |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Understanding conflict | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 2 | Styles | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 3 | Nonviolent Communication | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 4 | Difficult conversations | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 5 | Mediation | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 6 | Final project and final exam | Completed project and a score of 70% or higher |
Final project
An analysis of a real or hypothetical conflict (without naming anyone): its roots, each party’s interests and conflict-handling style, and a written dialogue using Nonviolent Communication that leads to an agreement.
Project assessment criteria:
- Impartial and accurate analysis
- Identification of needs and interests
- Correct use of the four steps of Nonviolent Communication
- A realistic agreement
Key terms in this course
Conflict
Nonviolent Communication
Need
Empathy
Compromise
Collaboration
Mediator
De-escalation
Assessment and certificate
- After each section: a short quiz (70% is recommended before moving on)
- Practical exercises in every lesson are for learning; send your questions via the Questions section.
- End of course: final exam (pass mark 70%) and submission of the final project
- Digital certificate after review and approval by the Academy: Request a certificate
Teaching approach
Each lesson includes learning objectives, explanations with real examples and images, key terms in Farsi-e-Dari and English, common mistakes, a practical exercise, a self-test and a summary. In every lesson you can ask the instructor questions using the Questions button. The courses are impartial, free and open to all young people.
Get ready now
- Write down a recent minor disagreement: what did each side really need?
- For one week, pause for three seconds before responding in discussions
- Also take a look at the “Communication Skills” course
Free, reliable resources
These resources were selected by the Academy team. Most are in English; the Translate option in Google Chrome can help if needed. Large files (books, exercise files, videos) will be placed in the Academy’s official Google Drive folder when the course goes live and linked from this page.
- OpenLearn – The Open University, hundreds of free short courses with a certificate of participation
- Coursera, courses from leading universities worldwide; most can be viewed for free (Audit)
- edX, free courses from universities such as Harvard and MIT
Help and questions
Questions about this course: [email protected] · All courses: Online Learning Centre · Active course: Computer & Internet Basics
Women’s Academy, Afghanistan Youth Parliament · Free and open to all young people