Spirals over the Lone Star

SDi Level Two Certification and 12th Annual SDi Confab

September 8-11, 2011
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas

Confab event partner: The Memnosyne Foundation

2011 CONFAB THEME
Cracking the Codes of Peace: The Prevention and Resolution of Deep Conflict and its Aftermath

Why is peace and harmony ever so elusive?

Worldwide, we are witnessing new strains of conflict and polarization, poisoned by
dangerous stereotypes and acrimony. In spite of decades of "peacemaking" in the Middle
East, we are no closer to finding the equations, the codes, to transcend the historic divides.
On American shores, certainly in our political life, stridency and strife abound; our two-party
adversarial systems appear to be corrupted by inflammatory language, a media that craves
only emotional sound bites, and a generation of politicians who seem driven to win at any
cost. On global cyber battlegrounds and in the privacy wars, "terrorists" are seen by one
side, while others see only "freedom fighters.”

Everywhere we seem to be split down the middle. Clearly, we need to find new ways of
decision-making about things that matter.

PEACE BY DESIGN

As “Spiralcrats,” we know that lasting, authentic, and sustainable peace cannot come about
as a result of debate, negotiation, or compromise by the elite or even by experts.

This event will introduce our “Peace by Design” initiative – a Spiral 7th Level (Second Tier)
approach to the prevention and resolution of deep conflict and its aftermath. It has emerged
out of our current life conditions which are mired in dangerous fragmentation, stagnation
and gridlock. The initiative is the culmination of almost 40 years of theoretical research,
global field applications, and deeply practical insights.

Peace by Design employs transformational concepts and processes such as
Transpartisanship (how to move beyond partisanship and bipartisanship) and the
Assimilation/Contrast Effect – the world's finest model for dealing with entire spectrums of
differences that are driven today by centrifugal forces that threaten civilization itself.

Through Peace by Design we will introduce new ways of decision-making that can scale at
any level – from, for example, school boards to city councils to community design, and even
geopolitical conflicts. Too often we throw out the baby with the bathwater because we do
not create alternatives to the “Us vs. Them” dynamics.

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS

We will also launch our new approach Functional Analysis, a process in decision-making and
priority setting that is elsewhere known as Value Engineering and/or Value Management.

Functional Analysis is a sophisticated decision-making system, like CAPI (Coalescing
Authority, Power and Influence), that brings together all aspects or points of view, literally
from cleaning staff to CEOs, in a process that identifies the essential functions to achieve
mutually agreed upon objectives.

This is a neutral-space process, as free from bias as possible and without agendas, pre-
determined programs, etc. Critical functions are prioritized using a number of forums and
equations to reflect sequences – to determine which functions need to come early, for
example, for later-appearing functions to work, and which functions have priority in the
current situation. There are several such equations that can be used while others will come
out of the conversations. The third and final step is to assign responsibilities, who will do
what, when, and with what resources, to see to it that the specific function is completed.

Functional Analysis is a powerful, creative process that uncovers previously unknown
knowledge about situations, dealt with in a non-emotional, transpartisan, and non-
competitive space.

AND MUCH MORE!

This event, the 12th annual international Spiral Dynamics Confab, will

• explore and attempt to get to the bottom of the conundrums and flawed thinking  which defeat the usual approaches to peacemaking and conflict-solution
• expose the limitations of views based on political rhetoric, stereotypes, and misattributions in the public domain and most certainly in the media, which merely confound the global Tower of Babel rattling with confusion, distrust, distortions, and even fabrications
• explain and model how to shift conversations from “blame and be blamed” and “live and let live,”  from who owns what, or who was first to occupy which territory, to thrive and help thrive
  
• show how to make decisions in terms of essential capacities, from health care to technology, to economic development, to agriculture, to educational opportunities, etc.
  
• provide a unique perspective on how to depress polarization and defuse radical viewpoints
  
• demonstrate how to avoid becoming trapped in any of the foreseeable  cul-de-sacs intrinsic and pertinent to virtually all conflict situations
  
• demonstrate how to deal with the prevention and resolution of  conflict, and its aftermath, in local issues, ethnic divides, religious conflicts, nation-state confrontations, and geopolitical maneuverings
  
• show and share how to design and construct Peace and Conflict Monitors – the essential Spiral Dynamics technology that provides “side views” – instead of “top-down views” – of cultures and their possible shift dimensions; track the values and cultural transitions and transformation in action; and, through various critical indicators, predict and prevent potential violence about to explode, escalate, and move increasingly into a fatalistic world-wide confrontation between the geopolitical forces; and
  
• present real-world case studies of successful Natural Design solutions which have been applied and field-tested in some of the world’s most conflicted hot spots.

Every human on the planet deserves to understand the currents that impact the so-called mass mind(s) as well as the sub currents that impact his or her personal life conditions and opportunities, and the world at large. This event is your opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the deep geopolitical and vMemetic dynamics lurking underneath the conditions confronted by humanity at this stage of our emergence – and discover how to think about and act in a radically new way concerning peace, deep conflict, and its aftermath.

We warmly invite you to join us for a “peace conference” unlike any other you’ve heard of.

To register now, click here.