Mediation and Society

International Mediation, Mediation and Society, mediation as a career, Mediation Outcomes, Mediation Practice, mediation process, mediation traditions, Mediation Users/Clients, Mediators’ Conduct, Scotland, Uncategorized

(Core Solutions Group)/ /2 Comments

I write this in the aftermath of the really uplifting and wonderfully diverse conference which I had the privilege to host and chair recently in my home city, under the auspices of the International Academy of Mediators. Nearly 120 mediators from over 20 countries attended and shared deep discussions about how we as mediators can…

Developing the Field, General, Mediation and Society, memory, Poetry, Reflective practise

(NZ Centre for ICT Law & School of Law, Auckland University)/ /2 Comments

It may seem odd to suggest that a funeral and a book festival could, in the space of a few days, provide sources for a lot of reflection and – just possibly – mediation-related insight. Recently I flew from Auckland to Wellington to attend, and speak at, the funeral for a friend I’d known for…

ADR, Creativity, Dialogue, Dispute Resolution, Interests, Mediation and Society, mediation process, Negotiation

(Kwok, Ng & Chan, Solicitors & Notaries)/ /Leave a comment

Readers who are experts on the wartime British Prime Minister or have recently watched “The Darkest Hour” may find the above caption familiar. Yes, it has been inspired by Winston Churchill’s famous quote “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” If you like the caption, feel…

Dialogue, Dispute Resolution, Mediation and Society, Mediation Practice

(Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukraine )/ /2 Comments

This post is based on the research of two professional communities – mediators and dialogue facilitators – in Ukraine (see the research article) and poses a few preliminary questions that require deeper thinking and more research. Although the fieldwork for my article was done in Ukraine, I was told that similar developments are also noticeable…

Community Mediation, Developing the Field, Dispute Resolution, Mediation and Society, Mediation Users/Clients, Negotiation, Neuroscience, Promoting Mediation, Public Policy, Reform, Scotland

(Core Solutions Group)/ /3 Comments

So much to blog about this month. We had a really great time in Edinburgh with Ken Cloke recently. Ken kindly agreed to be our first Patron for Collaborative Scotland.  We held an event in the Scottish Parliament for leaders of civic Scotland and a number of members of the Scottish Parliament, many of whom,…

Brexit, Conflict, Creativity, Dispute Resolution, Europe, Mediation and Society, Negotiation

(Core Solutions Group / Scottish Universities Insight Institute)/ /Leave a comment

On the face of it clarity and certainty would always appear to be preferable to ambiguity, in order that people know where they stand and can plan and act accordingly. However, in a recent article Fintan O’Toole reflected on the position of Northern Ireland in the Brexit negotiations and concluded: “…stopping the violence meant creating…

Causes of Conflict, Cross-cultural, Decision making, Dialogue, General, Mediation and Society

(NZ Centre for ICT Law & School of Law, Auckland University)/ /Leave a comment

This is another blog in the spirit of earlier entries along the lines of “what would you do with XXX at your table.” The challenge will emerge in the course of reading. Myth and metaphor, and the etymology of mediation, are amply available to convey the mediator’s task of steering between – or finding a…

Conventional wisdom, cross-border mediation, Cross-cultural, Dialogue, Efficiency, Environmental Mediation, Future of mediation, Growth of the Field (Challenges, New Sectors, etc.), Mediation and Society, Young Mediators

(NZ Centre for ICT Law & School of Law, Auckland University)/ /1 Comment

“An action-oriented citizenship is, first and foremost, engaged with other people in the creation of shared social spaces and in the discourse that such spaces make possible. Through participation and conversation, we reproduce our social meanings through time: that is what culture is. Squares and institutions, walkways and stadiums, these are the places where the…

Appointment of Mediators, Caucus, Cross-cultural, Joint Sessions, Lawyers, Mediation and Society, Mediation Users/Clients

(Bond & Bond Mediation / University of Wildau )/ /2 Comments

This post is in part a roundabout response to Constantin-Adi Gavrila’s recent Kluwer mediation blog, in which he writes about a conversation with a friend who was convinced that all mediators need to be lawyers. The argument goes that to mediate you need to be a qualified lawyer, have legal knowledge of the disputed matter,…