Public Policy Section
At the request of Mediate.com, a small group of US-based public policy and large group mediators/mediation trainers met online during the winter/spring of 2021 to consider best practices and ideas to enhance online training and practice. This report summarizes our ideas and recommendations for ourselves, our colleagues and Mediate.com. Since writing my recent short article, Courts Should Make Mediations Good Samaritans Not Frankensteins, I have been thinking about how to maximize the substantial benefits of court-connected mediation while minimizing the risks of coercion. This article illustrates how a combination of common sense and good luck can produce a positive outcome in mediation. This is an interview with Dr. Lesley Cook discussing the importance of understanding your neurodiverse clients in the educational, family, and workplace fields. When we perceive that someone may have a disability, it is common to think about ways to help that person. But assuming that someone needs help is paternalism, and it can be a form of discrimination. I recently came across a 2019 book about poker that has given me new insights into how I can help parties make good decisions in mediation This post provides an overview of some findings from an empirical study on online mediation. Nearly 500 mediators from around the world answered questions about advantages, obstacles, best practices, and settlement rates. The post provides an overview and analysis of English-language responses. An interview with Donna Silverberg and Charles Wiggins about mediation, being married to a mediator, and the future of mediation. Recorded and shared as part of the Mediation 20/20 Conference. In November 2020, Mediate.com approached D.G. Mawn of the National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM) to facilitate a national think tank regarding possible support Mediate.com may wish to consider which would strengthen and broaden the impact of community mediation through on-line access. The exact charge was: Develop best-practice recommendations for Mediate.com regarding their online services so they best support the field of community mediation to embrace and offer online mediation services and utilize and benefit from basic and ongoing online mediation training. It’s generally true in conflict that “it takes two to tango.” In the world of divorce, the fundamental problem with being labelled “high conflict” is how rarely both parties are dancing together. Loneliness is a state of being that has been highlighted over the past year because of COVID-19. What are the dimensions of loneliness and how does it affect the brain? This article will explore these questions and in doing so, provide conflict management specialists with an opportunity to reflect on their current practice and how they can best support a client who is both lonely and experiencing conflict. As the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, every aspect of our pre-pandemic ways of work is under review. Simply returning to our old ways is not the answer. In my 25 years of running marathons, I have learned a few critical lessons: Don’t go out too fast. This article summarizes the Young Minds, Global Voices Conference. This conference was sponsored by Mediate.com in an effort to hear from newer mediators. These 6 sessions comprised up and coming thought leaders from around the globe, forming a brain trust for how to create peace in ourselves, our community and our world.
I’ve always thought of mediation as a process more akin to art than to science. The strategies and practices neutrals pursue to meet the psychological behaviors of people in conflict are central to an understanding of the effectiveness of mediation and various negotiation techniques utilized by mediators in helping parties resolve their dispute. The second Forum of the Online Mediation Training Task Force centered on new and emerging issues of online mediation and the training of mediators online. How do we best support the growth of mediation around the world? This Forum shared the perspectives of panelists from Nigeria, Argentina, Russia and India who compared and contrasted their experiences with online mediation and online training in developing mediation cultures. Guided Mediation is a collection of best practices and tools in actual use that increase mediation efficiency, get earlier settlements, reduce legal and consultants’ fees, and minimize business disruption. This article identifies four approaches to environmental policy-making or problem-solving. Mediate.com is ranked the top mediation website by Alexa in its April 14, 2021 global website rankings. In business since 1996, Mediate.com has over 25,000 searchable mediation articles, blog posts, news items and videos and hosts the most utilized mediator directory in the world. One of the most important things a mediator must do- if not the most important- is to build trust and rapport with the parties. In pre-Covid days, this was a bit easier; the mediator could sit face to face with each party and schmooze. While debriefing immediately after a co-mediation, an interesting question arose: “Does a reflection always have the same function regardless of the context?” 2020 has been a year of too many upsets, too many uncertainties, and too many confusions. In preparation for the next international meeting on climate change in Glasgow in November 2021, it is important to begin thinking together, not only about outcomes, but ways of improving the process of meeting, discussing, and negotiating agreements on climate change.
Public Policy & Environmental Articles
Effective Online Mediation Training For Public Policy And Large Group Mediators
Proposal for Standard Explanation in Mediation
A Lot of Common Sense and a Little Mazel Can Go a Long Way
Lesley Cook Interview - Neurodiversity in Mediation
How to Help Parties With Disabilities Without Discriminating
A Mediator’s Take on: Thinking in Bets, by Annie Duke
Mediators Like Online Mediation And Other Verifiable Facts
Married Mediators: Donna Silverberg and Charles Wiggins
Virtual Interpersonal Community Mediation: NAFCM Think Tank Report
The Problem With the Label "High Conflict Divorce"
Looking Inside the Brain: Loneliness and Conflict
Virtual Hearings and Mediations Are Here to Stay
Reaching the Finish Line: Using a Neutral Facilitator Can Help Lead the Path to Resolution
New Mediators' Guidance from Youth Conference
The Choreography of Mediation
Are They Crazy? No, Just Human
Full Video Now Posted of Forum on Online Mediation Training
Full Video Posted of Forum on the Global Growth of Mediation
Paul M. Lurie on Guided Mediation
Preparing the Next Generation of Professors of Environmental Studies
Mediate is Top Ranked Mediation Website
Trust and Rapport - ODR Style!
Reflection as a Manifestation of Recognition Beyond Relational Weakness and Self-Absorption
The 2020 Tax Conundrum: Questions Facing Couples Whose Divorce is Pending
20 Ways to Improve UNFCCC Meetings and Climate Change Negotiations