Chapter Understanding the Roots and Impact of Violence and Psychological Recovery as Avenues to Reconciliation after Mass Violence and Intractable Con ict: Applications to National Leaders, Journalists, Community Groups, Public Education through Radio, and Children

This work has been a response to a fundamental question that arises in the aftermath of genocide or intractable, violent con ict: After such violence, how can groups that continue to live together build a better, nonviolent future? This approach conceptualizes reconciliation as a means of preventing violence and healing from previous wounds as an essential aspect of reconciliation. The projects described here focus on education-with the aim to promote not only knowledge but also experiential understanding, which results from the application of information to one’s own experience (Staub et al., 2005) and is more likely to lead to changes in behavior. While the approach we describe here was developed and used primarily in Rwanda, it seems applicable to other places where violent con ict, mass killing, or genocide has taken place.