Under William P. Fuller's leadership, support of conflict resolution initiatives ranged from traditional village level mechanisms to more formal institutions of conflict resolution. The fellowship reflects the Foundation's long-standing interest in the field and Dr. Fuller's personal concern for furthering the professional development of a cadre of young Asians with leadership potential and a commitment to strengthening scholarship and applied approaches in conflict resolution.
The Foundation's Country Representatives throughout the Asia-Pacific region nominate candidates for review by a Selection Committee of senior staff in San Francisco.
2008 Fellow, Mr. Wiratmadinata
Mr. Wiratmadinata, Secretary General of Forum LSM Aceh, received The Asia Foundation's William P. Fuller Fellowship in Conflict Resolution for 2008. As head of the Forum, a network of 60 local Aceh NGOs, he represents Aceh's civil society in advising the Aceh Peaceful Reintegration Agency (BRA) on implementation of the 2005 Peace Agreement between the Aceh Rebellion Movement and the Indonesian Government. Long an advocate of human rights and the peace process in Aceh, he was the keynote speaker at an International Seminar on "The Future of Aceh," hosted by the Crisis Management Initative (CMI) in Finland.
During Mr. Wiratmadinata's six-month fellowship, he was a Visiting Fellow at the University of Maryland's Center for International Development and Conflict Management. His research there resulted in a paper entitled "An Evolving Model for Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding in Aceh." View the Executive Summary.
Mr. Wiratmadinata concluded his fellowship with presentations on his study in San Francisco, Bangkok, and Mindanao. Interest in his work was such that his talk drew an audience of almost 100 in Southern Philippines, where the populace has long been awaiting a peace agreement.
Previous Fellows
Mr. Deepak Thapa, Director of the Social Science Baha in Nepal and a widely respected authority on the Maoist insurgency in the country, was awarded the first fellowship. He was affiliated with Columbia University's Center for International Conflict Resolution as a Visiting Scholar, and received a number of public speaking invitations, including testimony before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs.
Dr. Lu Lei, Director of the Research Center of Social Issues, Institute of Rural Development in China's Academy of Sciences, was the second fellowship recipient. During his placement as a Visiting Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley's Center for Chinese Studies, he completed a paper on China's "Land Rights and Village Organizations", describing the adverse effect of China's land system on farmers.