The "What's Happening?" Blog is a weekly round up of the all the ADR news, jobs, events and more.  Check it out each week and view past news [HERE].

Public Diplomacy's Role at Various Stages of Conflict Resolution

"...Public diplomacy is critical in extending civilian-military power. It combines soft and hard power to make the kind of “smart power” that is necessary to succeed." 
-Tara Sonenshine, U.S. Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs

UConn Appoints First Ombuds

Tom A. Kosakowski- After several years of work and an extended national search, Connecticut's flagship public university has named Jim Wohl as the first University Ombuds.  The new program at UConn (which was the only "Public Ivy" without an Ombuds office) was established with a Charter that follows IOA Standards of Practice. In an introductory letter to the UConn community, University President Susan Herbst said that Wohl will report directly to her.

In this 12th Episode of the Conflict Specialists Show, Dave Hilton interviews Ken Cloke.

Some of the topics in today’s episode:

• Ken's Impact on the Dispute Resolution Field
  
• Mediation as Manipulation
  
• Success of Mediation Training Programs
  
• How People Can Be Addicted to Conflict
  
• Effect of Conflict on the Body
  
• and more

JAMS Foundation Awards $100,000 in Grants

The nonprofit JAMS Foundation approved five new grants to organizations using innovative ways to promote and advance conflict prevention and dispute resolution. The Foundation will distribute the money in the form of three Foundation Grants, which provides financial support up to $50,000 for ADR initiatives with national and international impact, and two Opportunity Grants, which award up to $10,000 for smaller scale and more localized projects.

Jobs, News, & Articles

JOB: Ombuds at Gallaudet University

Transformative Mediation Invades Europe

PICK YOUR BATTLES

Empathy - How Do We Build It?