PON created the Great Negotiator Award in 2000 to recognize an individual whose lifetime achievements in the field of negotiation and dispute resolution have had a significant and lasting impact. Composed of a network of faculty and scholars dedicated to developing the theory and practice of negotiation and dispute resolution from Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University and other Boston-area schools, PON has recognized a diverse cast of distinguished negotiators from their respective fields: Martti Ahtisaari, James Baker (2012), Nobel Peace Prize recipient and former President of Finland (2010); Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the artists who created "The Gates" in Central Park (2008); Bruce Wasserstein, Chairman and CEO of Lazard, an international financial advisory and asset management firm (2007); Sadako Ogata, former United Nations high commissioner for refugees (2005); Richard Holbrooke, former United States ambassador to the United Nations (2004); Stuart Eizenstat, former U.S. ambassador to the European Union (2003); Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations’ special envoy for Afghanistan (2002); Charlene Barshefsky, U.S. trade representative in the second Clinton administration (2001); and former U.S. Senator George Mitchell for his work in Northern Ireland (2000). Under the leadership of Professor James Sebenius, PON has developed a set of teaching materials relating to the Great Negotiator honorees. These materials include DVDs of events and interviews and case study packages describing actual negotiations. For more information, refer to the PON Clearinghouse. Read More 

Since 2005, PON has been exploring the relationship between negotiation and strategic nonviolent action. These activities focus on negotiation and nonviolent action as tools for resolving conflict and examine how practitioners of both fields can learn from each other. Read More 

The PON Film Series is a forum for discussing negotiation theory and practice through the analysis of conflicts depicted in documentary or feature films. The Film Series also presents and honors filmmakers whose films increase our understanding of negotiation and conflict transformation. Read More 

The Herbert C. Kelman Seminar on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution series is sponsored by the Program on Negotiation, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism, the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy, and the MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program, as well as Boston area members of the Alliance for Peacebuilding. Read More