When you study languages, or gain fluency in more than one, at some point you realise that each language has its own terms that are not translatable. It is about the way language thinks for us, and in different languages or cultures this varies. Take the English word “sophisticated.” I am bilingual in English and…
Mediation and ADR classes are becoming more established at universities around the world. Sometimes these are compulsory, sometimes elective, and they are mainly taking place at law schools. They also sometimes have some connection to the mediation competitions that are held (see Rosemary Howell’s latest blog). They are usually very popular among students. As I…
We finished module 2 of our flagship training course last week. One of our participants emailed me the next day: “I was driving up the road yesterday and mulling over one aspect of the mediation exercise we did. I get that we are facilitating adults to make fully informed autonomous decisions and that they need…
Often in the field of mediation we hear complaints about there being too many mediators, too much training and not enough mediation. While I can understand the frustration about the size of the mediation market, I see great benefits in mediation training for people whose aim is not to become mediators and make a living…
I recently attended a fantastic presentation by Gina Warren, entitled “The Power of Empowerment”. Gina is a visionary, servant leader with a career marked by workplace inspiration and empowerment. I really enjoyed her presentation at the Global CEO Summit of UFI in Cannes, France, this past January, and I was delighted to meet her during…
Winning is wonderful. No question. As I write this, I am admiring the winner’s trophy – earned by my team from the University of New South Wales in Australia – at the recently concluded 13th annual International Commercial Mediation Competition in Paris. Two years ago we earned the same trophy and I never imagined we…
While I am watching hailstones the size of peas fall in the West of Ireland, a good number of my colleagues are celebrating the culmination of the ICC’s Mediation Competition in Paris, where in excess of 60 teams of mediators and negotiators compete to resolve disputes through mediation. The relevance of this to today’s blog…
[Writer’s Note: The video in this post was filmed at the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy Symposium “Rethinking Diversity in Conflict” (16-17 October 2017). You will need to turn on your sound. Apologies for the less than perfect sound quality.] December is always a special time of the year for me. Christmas is around the…
I have in previous entries (July 2012, July 2013, November 2015 and August 2016) written about a peer mediation initiative called the Peacemakers Conference. The purpose of the Peacemakers Conference is to teach 13-16 year olds how to resolve conflicts amicably in a workshop cum competition format. This year’s Peacemakers Conference was held from 19…
About twelve months ago, I reluctantly attended a seminar in a classy hotel in London. A friend had encouraged me to go. I turned up rather late, missing the networking breakfast. I got my iPad out and got on with my emails as the speaker launched into his presentation. I was fairly sure I would…
