INTERNATIONAL FOCUS
International Committee News
Frances I. Mossman, Coordinator
An International Focus That Benefits Members
We are looking for members of the Commercial Section who have international interests! Our section is collaborating with ACR’s International Section to expand our involvement with and outreach to businesses and governmental agencies that can benefit from the kind of ADR services our members provide.
Planning is underway for programs, events and publications that will increase the availability of information and promote networking about international commercial ADR. These webpages with an International Focus are an indication of things to come. Read Cindy Alm’s description of Conflict Resolution Day activities planned for October 15, 2009, under International News Highlights, for the range of activities planned.
Co-Chairs of the two sections, Michele Riley and Kurt Dettman for the Commercial Section, and Kathleen Coogan and David Plumb for the International Section, have taken the lead this year toward developing a close working relationship. You will see the results of these initiatives in the coming months. This section will keep you informed on the progress.
We encourage Commercial Section members to also become members of the International Section. And, we warmly welcome International Section members who also become members of the Commercial Section. This International Focus Dual Section membership will strengthen our outreach and effectiveness and enrich our programs.
Finding Members
To make it more convenient for you to locate other ACR members, we have added a link under “Member Networking” that will take you to the ACR Member Directory. You will need your username and password in order to log into this “Members Only” directory.
There are several ways you can find information about members and how to contact them. You can search for a person by name, keywords (e.g., by specialty) and access the complete list of members in each ACR Section. Lists of members by U.S. State (including territories and freely associated states) and by Canadian Provinces are also available. Unfortunately, there is no capability at the present time to sort members by countries. You can, however, find people who speak one of nine foreign languages. These criteria can be combined to further narrow your search.
As a way to improve international networking, we would like to be able to sort members by country. We have asked for this feature and hope it will be added in the near future. In addition, it would be useful to compile a joint listing of those ACR members who belong to both the Commercial and International Sections. You will be informed about additional features to facilitate networking when they become available.
International Committee Planning Programs for 2011 NEW
At its first teleconference meeting held on January 26, 2010, the Section's International Committee discussed plans for 2010-2012 to expand the value and networking opportunities for members. The Committee is taking the lead in developing workshops on international commercial ADR subjects for next year's ACR Annual Conference in San Diego. Members discussed topics for International Focus articles, Commercial Section teleseminars,as well as for Conference panels. Some of the ideas are:
- International mediation institutions
- Uses of technology in providing mediation services
- e-Arbitration
- Dispute Resolution/Review Boards (DRB)
- International development projects
- Use of mediation as a management tool and by governments
- Binding mediation
- Preventing and breaking impasse
- The collaborative vs the distributive models of negotiation
- Foreign investments issues
Members are organizing workshops and seeking appropriate speakers. If you are interested in proposing and organizing a 90-min workshop or in being a speaker, please let us know.
We are considering forming panels on one or more of the following topics. The objective is to summarize activities and issues on the same subject in various countries and/or regions of the world. Each panel would have at least 4 or 5 speakers who can cover their particular areas.
1. “International Commercial Mediation: A Regional Status Report” --covers trends, issues and significant recent events in each of several regions.
2. “Cross-Border Arbitration: Current Hot Issues” --discussion of significant issues being debated and changes taking place relevant to Arbitration of international commercial disputes.
3. “A Survey of Recent Research on International Commercial ADR” -- the speakers will highlight findings and conclusions from research in various disciplines that impact and have useful applications for ADR training and practice.
Your comments and suggestions are welcomed. Send them to Frances Mossman at Hawaii.IDR.group@earthlink.net.
