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

ODR:  A TIME FOR CELEBRATION AND THE EMBRACE OF PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS

Noam Ebner- When the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) world comes together, you know good things are going to come out of it. Check out the website of the 15th International Forum on ODR, held in May in The Hague. You can see some of the talks and presentations here.

I've been working this year on the topic of governance structures and policy for the ODR field; this topic includes issues of ethics, organizations, certification, training - and procedural justice.

Under that last, I'd like to share one talk given at the Forum by Prof. Nancy Welsh, a leading expert on procedural justice and on its role in ADR, suggesting measures that ODR practitioners, service providers and the field as a whole should take on this front. I'm sharing it here, with a very strong recommendation that if you practice, research or care about ODR, this absolutely got to be on your reading list. [As for me, I'm certainly going to assign it to students in my class on ODR!]

Enjoy!

By Nancy A. Welsh, Professor of Law and William Trickett Faculty Scholar, Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law 

It is an inspiration to attend this conference and listen to your presentations about the latest advances in court-connected ODR.  I must acknowledge that I do not have particular expertise regarding most of the world of ODR.  Indeed, I see ODR pioneers in this room who have been working for years to help the rest of us imagine what is possible.  You remain ahead of people like me!  I want you to know, however, that I am convinced that ODR has “arrived.”  Your work is paying off.  I cannot guarantee that future meetings of the ABA Dispute Resolution Section will do more to incorporate ODR, but I expect that to be the case.  There is no question in my mind that those of us involved in ADR need to be aware of and ready to embrace ODR’s many and varied accomplishments and its potential for further advances.  

Read more [HERE]. 

How can technology improve peacebuilding projects?

By Arik Segal and Béatrice Hasler Lev-Tov

Can international conflicts be truly resolved ? After all, peace agreements can end armed conflicts but not necessarily hate and grievances between nations that accumulated for many years. Ironically, despite being essential to achieve “real peace”, “nation to nation” peace is hardly encouraged or supported by conflicting governments as it is seen soft and irrelevant to national interests. NGO’s, foundations and individual entrepreneurs are usually the ones that actively engage in peacebuilding activities, mainly by creating intergroup dialogue based on “contact theory” developed by G. Allport in the 1950s. “Conflict Theory” claims that bringing together members of opposing groups will reduce...

Read more [HERE].

Internal Report Surveys Ombuds Programs Throughout United Nations S...

Tom A. Kosakowski- The United Nations Joint Inspection Unit, the independent external oversight body for the intergovernmental organization, has published the results of an analysis of Organizational Ombuds programs in 19 different UN-affiliates. The report calls for improved communication with stakeholders, updated terms of reference, professionalizing and standardizing operations, and easier reporting of trends. The full report, published in December 2015, is now available online.

Read more [HERE]. 

The Texas Conflict Coach® Blog Talk Radio program announces our "Summer Series."

Patricia M Porter- The following episodes will air every Tuesday from 5:00-5:30 pm PST/7:00-7:30 pm CST/ 8:00-8:30 pm EST.

During the month of July please enjoy our “Summer Series.”  We are highlighting programs from our library of 287 podcasts.  We will return live on Tuesday, August 2nd.

JOBS

Ombuds Director at UC San Francisco

Ombuds at UC Santa Barbara

Ombudsperson at Dalhousie University