What's Happening [10.22.13]

"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]

Online Mediation -- Press Delete?

Bruce Friedman- There are two fundamental reasons why cyber mediation cannot work: 1) Decisions are emotionally driven; and 2) email, text, and Twitter posts do not effectively communicate emotion (after all, we resort to emoticons as a means of communicating our feelings in emails and text messages).

So why the renewed interest in cyber mediation? A few factors include cost, convenience (no more LA traffic!), and the ability to engage in the process whenever one has time to do so. These are attractive reasons that appeal to our natural desire (further enhanced by the internet) for the quick and easy. While I love the convenience of making a reservation at my favorite dinner spot via a few quick taps of the keyboard, this lack of interpersonal communication has no place in the mediation of litigated cases.

Read more [HERE]

Trust: An Essential Ingredient in Building Peace, Justice and Security

Colette Rausch, Director, Rule of Law Center of Innovation; USIP

Peace is more than just the absence of conflict. Peace is the presence of mutually respectfulrelationships among individuals and groups. Those relationships enable disputes to be handled with tact, understanding, and a recognition that everyone shares some common interests. At the heart of those relationships is trust. USIP's Colette Rausch reflects on her recent trip to Libya.

“Why are you here? What interest does the United States Institute of Peace have with Libya?”

Full of uncertainty, suspicion, and even a little fear, the questioner spoke for some of the Libyan participants at a workshop in the battle-scarred city of Misurata. It was June 2012, and my colleagues and I had come there from USIP’s headquarters in the heart of Washington, DC, to facilitate a workshop on justice and security. We had just introduced our Libyan hosts to the packed two-day agenda that we had planned for them, and we were all taking a short coffee break before getting down to business.

Read more [HERE]

Trust 101 – How You Can Build Trust and Overcome Distrust

Patricia M Porter- Trust is a key element of our personal and professional relationships. Without it progress grinds to a halt and disagreements become rampant amongst friends, coworkers, and leadership. No matter if you are the newest hire or the CEO; you need to understand what trust is and how it is build and that distrust is not just the absence of trust, but a separate, malignant problem! This program will provide you with specifics on how to build trust and overcome distrust.