The World is Looking to Obama — and America
Anna Spain 07/16/2008
Despite all the media coverage of the national election campaign, most Americans probably don't realize how captivated foreigners are by Barack Obama, let alone understand why.

The Four Faces of Face
John Ng 05/15/2008
This paper investigates the relationship between maintaining face and mediation and its effects on parties.

Bond Newsletter
Geoff Sharp 04/07/2008
Bond University's eagerly awaited Dispute Resolution Centre's April Newsletter is just out!Edited by John Wade, the letter always delivers sophisticated content for the experienced mediator.There's a good article on Overconfidence at mediation and in a follow up to my popular post The Secrets of Successful (and Unsuccessful) Mediators - a completed Questionnaire for Advanced Mediators that John gives to experienced mediators in his regular Advanced Mediation Courses about what they see and do...

Eye of the Storm Leadership - Chapter One
Peter Adler 04/01/2008
Peter Adler is pleased to here provide Chapter One of his new book "Eye of the Storm Leadership." This chapter is entitled: Guerilla Bridge Building and includes free access to the accompanying video.

The Ok Tedi Negotiations: Rebalancing the Equation in a Chronic Sustainability Dilemma
Peter Adler 08/29/2007
Between November 2005 and June 2007, a team from The Keystone Center helped organize and implement a multiparty negotiation process aimed at increased redress for people affected by river contamination from the Ok Tedi Mine in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Ok Tedi is often cited as one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in the world. It is also a true sustainability dilemma. The mine produces 20% of PNG’s gross domestic product, but it has also disrupted the traditional food webs and lives of more than 50,000 people by putting 90,000 tons of rock waste and tailings per day into the Fly River system. After 18 months of effort, a major benchmark was accomplished. Delegates of the nine affected regions along the river, the mining company, the government, and others concluded a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that will ultimately give the people in the impacted area about 1.1 billion kina (roughly US$350 million) in funds, projects, and services.

Persuasion in Negotiation and Mediation Article by John Wade
Geoff Sharp 08/20/2007
Prof. John Wade's latest article on Persuasion in Negotiation and Mediation is fresh out today.Typically, it's 30 something pages are brimming with generous take-aways.John provides a framework for common patterns of behaviour and persuasion observed in high conflict negotiations in civil and family disputes, often including legal representatives.The article sets out:• Some introductory boundaries to the topic of “persuasion”• A composite model of a persuasive lawyer...

Aotearoa New Zealand
Geoff Sharp 07/09/2007
I love this country. Some days it takes my breath away.Like yesterday.I was asked to help out a group of Maori in trouble.They wanted to korero (speak) together and had invited me to their hui (gathering) to help.I was manuhiri (a visitor) and when I arrived at the hui I was met by the tangata whenua (home people) and the kaumatua (elders of the tribe) and we proceeded to hongi (sharing of breath and pressing of noses)We started with a mihi or whaikorero (welcome) followed by a karakia...

What Would Gandhi Do?
Eileen Barker 06/10/2007
While the rewards are great, working as a mediator can be very challenging. We are called upon to help people navigate some of life’s most difficult problems. I sometimes think: If I could seek guidance from any wise person, past or present, who would it be? My thoughts sometimes turn to great political leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, Jr., or noble spiritual beings such as Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama. However, I invariably select Mohandas Gandhi, a man who was a master of both the political and spiritual realms, and who inspired each of these other individuals.

Communicating for Peace
Sanjana Hattotuwa 04/30/2007
Growing up in conflict does one of two things – it teaches you the limitations of violence to engender sustainable social change, or it compels you to enter the cycle of violence itself. Violence is often perceived to be an effective way to change the order of things. The internal logic of martyrdom and suicide terrorism may be inexplicable to those outside terrains of hopelessness, but easier to understand when juxtaposed against the backdrop of a perceived lack of alternatives and indoctrination. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), now often touted as a panacea for socio-economic development, fail to make any sense for those enmeshed in violent conflict. This is why I have proposed a deep and meaningful exploration into the way ICT can help engender peace and conflict transformation. I am interested in how (and indeed, if) democracy and peace can be strengthened in countries such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Colombia, Timor Leste using ICT – how they could be made more resilient to the mercurial actions and policies of political leaders and non-state actors that often sow the seeds for more conflict, how they could give voice to the voiceless and marginalised, and how they can strengthen the participation of youth and empower women in reconciliation.

The Alliterative Allure of Prof. John Wade
Geoff Sharp 03/19/2007
I mention Prof. John Wade a lot in this blog for a couple of reasons. First, he is wonderfully knowledgeable about all things mediation, but more than that - he is one of my favorite types of people - he is a list junkie... he has 5 ways to do this, 10 ways to do that... Prof. Wade's lists are adorned with alliterative titles like Dobermans and Diplomats (a list of 17 impasse breaking strategies) or How to respond when eager, expensive, entrenched expert egos escalate enmity (a list of...

The Experience of Training in Macau (China)
Kin I (Deane) Lam 11/28/2005
Recently I delivered several training courses to an adult training center in Macau S.A.R., China. The program was designed to explore the connectivity of the gaming industry and the society of Macau by understanding the theory and practice of conflict management: recognizing how conflicts originate and evolve in the working environment, and learning skills to resolve interpersonal conflicts creatively.

Promoting Australian ADR Abroad
Sandra Purser 05/13/2002
Australian mediators and alternative dispute resolution centres are taking a leading role in encouraging the use of dispute resolution techniques in the Asia-Pacific region. To take a case in point, the Dispute Resolution Centre at Bond University, initially at the invitation of the Australian Government and more recently as a result of its own efforts, has been actively promoting the adaptation of mediation techniques for use in Indonesia.

What’s New in Australia
Shirli Kirschner 04/09/2002
The Australasian section of mediate.com has been developed as a reliable reference source for Australasian mediation practitioners. Shirli Kirschner has accepted the honorary position of editor of this new section. The site contains useful materials written by Australasian practitioners that can easily be accessed by colleagues, both locally and overseas. This is a new not-for-profit initiative to raise the profile of Australasian mediators internationally and explore the potential of on-line services as a tool to disseminate useful information.

Gandhi as Guiding Star: Servant Leadership in Mediation
Jane B. Garzilli 11/17/2003
Servant leadership seems to fit well with mediation. Like Gandhi, we mediators paradoxically lead and follow at the same time. We influence a process for the benefit of the mediating parties, rather than ourselves. We serve as examples, catalysts, and strategists, not as dictators. We offer vision and hope, and empower those we serve. We help disputing parties engage one another and reorder their conflicts voluntarily. We resist the lure towards the unidirectional exercise of power and authority. And when we are inclined towards an approach to leadership at variance with mediation's principles, we check ourselves. For this, Mahatma Gandhi is my guiding star.

Cleaning Up the Schoolyard
Sue Farley 10/13/2003
The classroom isn’t the only place in the school community where tension can mount. Whether it’s in the grounds, the staff room, the board room or even at home, the staff, pupils and management provide a fertile environment for dysfunction to manifest and simmer away in.