Wednesday, October 28, 2020
8:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Incorporating African Indigenous Values in Preventing Violence, Resolving Conflicts and Sustaining Peace
Stella Sabiiti — International Peace and Security Consultant, Uganda
To access the public open event on Wednesday evening:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83498920091
Webinar ID: 834 9892 0091
Passcode: PEACE
Thursday, October 29, 2020
Welcome and Land Acknowledgement
(8:45 am to 9:00 am)
Rowan Meredith — Delta
Sharon Sutherland — Mediate BC, Vancouver
Keynote Address
(9:00 am to 10:00 am)
Opportunities and Challenges of Peace Building in the Pandemic
Alice Wairimu Nderitu — Educator, Founder, Global Peace Foundation, Kenya
Stream A
10:00 am to 10:50 am
Screening Needs for Zoom/Online Best Practices
Kathleen Bellamano — Ambitus Consulting, Victoria
11:00 am to 11:50 am
Programmatic Responses to Pandemic Driven Conflicts
Using Scotland's COVID-19 Mediation Service and BC's Quarantine Conflict Resolution Service, this session will explore some of the unique challenges and learnings from the rapid creation of Conflict Resolution Programs designed to meet the moment.
This session explores:
- the types of conflicts and conflict dynamics arising from Covid-19
- the elements that allow rapid creation and pivoting within Mediation Programs
- supporting mediators to quickly transition to online and distance
- learnings from managing programs through the evolving Pandemnic situation
May Millward — COVID-19 Mediation Service, Project Officer, Policy & Development Scottish Mediator Network, Edinburgh, Scotland
Amanda Semenoff — Quarantine Conflict Resolution Service (BC), New Westminster
Stream B
10:00 am to 11:50 am
A Tale of 2 Pandemics: Racism and the COVID-19 Season. Using ADR/Mediation and Anti-racism Techniques to Navigate Conflicts in Traumatic Times
Year 2020 has proven to be consumed with unprecedented events. From the deadly disease of COVID-19 to the numerous killings of Black men and women by the Police, ADR is being called upon more than ever as a tool to help mitigate conflicts across the globe. This session will explore areas that are ripe for ADR work and how to incorporate mediation and other forms of ADR into these spaces:
- using ADR in housing conflicts during COVID-19
- using ADR in education/special education
- using ADR in police and community conflicts
- using ADR as a tool to aid large corporations in their corporate strategies during the season of social justice change
Tonya Saheli — Associate Mediation Counsel/Attorney-Mediator, Bar Association of San Francisco, San Leandro, CA
Stream A
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Traditional Practices—Potlatch and Ho-oponopono
The bah'lats is organized around the clan system and is the core economic, political, social, legal, and spiritual institution of Carrier people. The Bah'lats is much more than just government as viewed through a western perspective; it represents a holistic, evolving approach to relationships with the Nation and with other Nations.
Julie Daum — Child Protection Mediator, Fraser Lake
Ray Enos — Hawaii
Joanna T. Roth — Mediation Attorney, Family Transition Center, Seattle
Mary Teegee (Maaxw Gibuu) — Executive Director, Carrier Sekani Child & Family Services, Prince George
Our presenters are artists, healers, and magic women who defy deadlines and timelines and you just need to show up to experience the healing and magic of their words and presence as they present to you the power of Indigenous traditions.
Stream B
1:00 pm to 2:20 pm
Crossing Boundaries: The Importance of Communication in Peacebuilding
Author and National Geographic Explorer, Aziz Abu Sarah focuses on dealing with polarization in our communities and workplaces—examining peacebuilding ideas to tackle communication problems.
Exploring Cross Cultural Communication, Aziz shares real life lessons learned in working in and with other communities like Syria, Afghanistan, and Colombia among others.
"But we all live on this earth together, and what happens in China will affect people living thousands of miles away in Uruguay. Similarly, what happens in the United States impacts the lives of billions of people around the world. We don't live on islands isolated from the rest of the world's political problems, climate policies, economic situations, and threats. The issues facing human society do not recognize the artificial boundaries and borders we've created. We are all connected."
All attendees will receive a complimentary e-book copy of Mr. Sarah's book, Crossing Boundaries: A Traveler's Guide to World Peace.
Aziz Abu Sarah — Entrepreneur, Speaker, Peace Builder and Author, Co-founder/CEO at MEJDI Tours
2:30 pm to 4:00 pm
Handy Tips & Tricks for New Family Law Arbitrators
In this presentation, John-Paul will provide suggestions and practice recommendations for new arbitrators that will also be useful for lawyers taking family law disputes to arbitration:
- taking a creative approach to process design to minimize cost
- procedural alternatives borrowed from parenting coordination
- managing perceptions of the arbitrator's neutrality
- considerations for managing remote arbitration
- arbitrating disputes involving people without lawyers
John-Paul E. Boyd, QC — John-Paul Boyd Arbitration Chambers, Calgary
Stream A
5:00 pm to 5:50 pm
Conflict Transformation in the Prison
A mediator's perspective on how we can use our skills to transform the lives of the incarcerated:
- the Story of Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center and Outreach to the Jails
- stories of conflict transformation in the jail
- lessons I have learned from the incarcerated
Alice Shikina — Shikina Mediation & Arbitration, Oakland, CA
6:00 pm to 7:50 pm
Identifying and Responding to Your Client's Emotional Distress
Distress, anxiety, and depression can manifest in unexpected ways during stressful life events. Clinical psychologists, Drs. Connell and Kilmer, will walk you through how to identify when your clients enter a stress response that can impair their ability to think and respond clearly. Learn how to lead your client through a relaxation exercise designed to help them cope with stress. Additionally, you will learn what psychotherapy can look like today, including the use of games to achieve positive outcomes. Finally, you will learn how to effectively recommend mental health treatment to your clients to support them during the mediation process.
- identify signs of cognitively-impairing stress responses in your clients, including fight, flight, and freeze responses
- understand benefits and goals of modern therapy practices and how to effectively talk to your clients about seeking help and support
- learn a grounding technique to assist clients in regulating strong emotions and stress responses
- increase familiarity with psychological resources such as therapeutically applied games
Dr. Megan Connell, PsyD, ABPP — Licenced Psychologist & Therapeutic Dungeon Master, Charlotte, North Carolina
Dr. Elizabeth D. Kilmer — Director of Education & Training, Game to Grow, Kirkland, WA
Stream B
5:00 pm to 7:50 pm
Implementing the Voice of Youth Experiencing Parental Separation
1. Adverse Childhood Experience research confirms that the formal separation & divorce process can exacerbate parental conflict and anxiety causing trauma in children with significant long term effects.
2. The UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child and the "best interests" test in provincial and federal legislation support the importance of children's views and participation.
3. Yet, from the perspective of the children, there remains a gap between these values and their experience of being listened to, engaged and respected in decisions that effect their future.
4. Being left out of discussions that significantly impact their lives can harm children's well-being; engaging with them about concerns can be healthy and empowering.
This three-hour session will have two parts. The first part is a dialogue between youth and system professionals (family lawyers, mediators, and mental health practitioners). Young people will share powerful stories of their parents' separation and system practitioners will share their experience and approaches to gathering and implementing the voice of youth.
The second part is interactive; you are invited to participate in small groups to develop and refine practice frameworks that incorporate seeking, hearing, and acting on the views of children and child participation.
Rahul Aggarwal — Rahul Aggarwal Law Corporation, Vancouver
Dr. Marilyn R. Beloff — Child Specialist, Divorce Coach, Section 211 Assessor and author of "View of the Child Reports," Vancouver
Kari D. Boyle — BC Family Justice Innovation Lab, North Vancouver
Zoe Stryd — Public Education Coordinator, Mediate BC, Vancouver
Andrea Yeo — Registered Clinical Counsellor, Starfish Counselling Services, North Vancouver
Plus three members of the Youth Voices leadership team. These are young people who experienced parental separation as children and are passionate about making positive change in the justice system. Their names and photos are not being advertised for privacy reasons.
Stream B
9:00 pm to 9:50 pm
Mediation on the Holodeck: Opportunities for ODR Beyond Video-conferencing
Disruptive events like the current Pandemic offer opportunities for conflict resolution professionals to challenge their own assumptions about what works best and why. This session, held via avatar, will explore alternatives to audio- and video conferencing for conflict resolution processes and will consider:
- potential imbalances and disadvantages that may be unexamined in face-to-face meetings
- tech opportunities to address these imbalances
- lessons from ODR for in-person processes
- the potential for client-centred transformation of collaborative decision-making
Sharon Sutherland — Mediate BC, Vancouver
Stream B — VirBela
10:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Meet-up and Avatar Creation/Tours
Ronald G. Friesen — North Vancouver
Stream A
9:00 pm to 10:30 pm
Perspectives on Trauma, Addiction, and Self-Empathy: Surviving and Thriving as Dispute Resolution Professionals
- sharing our professional and personal experiences
- panel discussion: why dispute resolution professionals should and how they can develop a more trauma informed, self-empathetic, and healthy practice
- open question and discussion session
Brook Greenberg — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
Myrna L. McCallum — Miyo-Pimatisiwin Legal Services, North Vancouver
Roger A. Moss — Conflict Resolution Service, Bainbridge Island, WA
10:30 pm to 12:00 am
Virtually There: A Panel Discussion on Pitfalls, Lessons Learned, and Best Practices for Resolving Conflict in a Virtual Space
When the Pandemic hit, dispute resolution professionals had to adapt, whether they were ready or not. More importantly, clients had to adapt to having their mediators, negotiators, judges, and lawyers online. Join a panel of dispute resolution professionals, working in different practice areas, as they share their experiences from the early days of the Pandemic to how they manage their current practices. The panel's takeaways will include various lessons learned and tips, including:
- making connections in a virtual environment
- proactive planning to minimize pitfalls
- dealing with technological challenges
- self-care and protecting oneself from virtual burnout
- advantages to working in a virtual space
- panelists will discuss their experiences with online litigation, negotiation, mediation, and meetings
Simon Boehme — Vice President of Partnerships for Legaler and President of Legaler Aid, San Francisco
Lori Brienesse-Frank — Mediation and Consulting, Victoria
Sasha S. Philip, JD — Mediator & Arbitrator, Philip Mediation, Kenmore, WA
Robin Phillips — JFK Law Corporation, Victoria
C.D. Saint — Respectful Workplace Office, Yukon Public Service Commission, Whitehorse, Yukon
Claire P. Truesdale — JFK Law Corporation, Victoria
Stream B
11:00 pm to 11:30 pm
Ethical Framework as the Foundation for Mediation Success for a Pluralistic Society
This pre-recorded session will provide an introduction to the Aga Khan Conciliation & Arbitration Board ("CAB"). This session will discuss:
- CAB's faith-based volunteer-staff community Board approach based on principles traceable to the origin of Islam
- considerations in serving people from a plurality of national and cultural backgrounds
- CAB's holistic approach premised on urging ethical conduct and based on increasing quality of life by preventing disputes, assisting with resolution, and addressing post-settlement wounds
Interviewee: Nazlin A. Lakhani — Vancouver
Interviewer: Azool Jaffer-Jeraj — Dohm, Jaffer & Jeraj, Vancouver
Friday, October 30, 2020
Stream A
1:00 am to 1:50 am
Youthquake—The Need for a Shakeup in Mediator Diversity
When we look at the makeup of mediators in most jurisdictions and sectors across the world, there is a clear lack of diversity. Much has been said on the need to diversify from a cultural and spiritual perspective and rightfully so but that conversation tends to go quiet around the areas of professional and generational diversity.
When a young person is considering what to do for a living whether it be education, social/community work, law, psychology or otherwise—is mediation something that they consider a viable career pathway? If so, is there sufficient support and guidance in place to allow them to access the profession or are we unknowingly creating more barriers?
We will share our own lived experience and the perspective of others in our journey to become mediators and demonstrate why greater diversity in all respects is necessary for mediation as a profession. Importantly, we will explain why mentoring a younger mediator will be beneficial to your own professional practice—it's time for a shakeup!
Brian Hutchinson — ADR Institute of BC, Vancouver
Anne-Marie Parent — North Shore Restorative Justice Society, North Vancouver
Ashmin Ratnam — Resolution Practitioner, FairWay Resolution Limited, Auckland, New Zealand
Anthony Syder — Principal Practitioner, Evergreen Resolution, Wales
2:00 am to 2:50 am
Improving the Lives of Children by Delivering Family Dispute Resolution into New Zealand Prisons
From a country of 5 million, approximately 20,000 children at any one time will have at least one parent in prison. Statistics tell us that a staggering 70% of these children will end up in prison themselves if there is no intervention. The loss to a child when a parent suddenly drops out of their life is enormous. The hope is that by providing a way for a parent and child to remain connected, that will decrease the likelihood of that child ending up in prison themselves, as well as reduce the rate of reoffending. Although FDR is really just a small cog in a big wheel of ways in which our children can be supported, it is a significant opportunity for children to maintain connection. We share a social responsibility with the knowledge, skills and resources we have to support, empower, love and equip the next generation, especially those whose lives are touched by the cold steel of prison bars.
Keri Morris — Head of Family Services, Senior Resolution Practitioner, Fairway Resolution, Wellington, New Zealand
3:00 am to 4:00 am
The Challenges and Joys of Establishing an Indigenous Dispute Resolution Body to Support Indigenous Practitioners
A milestone in New Zealand history has occurred on Tuesday 21 September 2020 when the Maori Allied Dispute Resolution Organisation (MAADRO) received ADRO accreditation status pursuant to s. 6(1) of the Family Dispute Resolution Act 2013 by the Ministry of Justice. The point of difference for MAADRO will ensure the delivery of FDR services to Maori whanau across the sector will be of the highest quality assurance delivered with competence and confidence.
Christina Tay — Founding Member of Maori Allied Dispute Resolution Organisation (MAADRO), Wellington, New Zealand
Stream A
5:00 am to 5:25 am
A Simple Movement Practice to Release Tension, Energize, and Promote Creativity
No special equipment or expertise required—fitness and flexibility not required! You can do this practice in ordinary clothes, sitting or standing; I teach with a view towards making movement accessible for all bodies and abilities. I will teach a sequence designed to quickly and effectively release the most common kinds of tension produced through our now-ubiquitous engagement with Zoom. I love Zoom for the way it connects us, but I have found its use requires some skilful movement interventions to avoid 'zoom fatigue.' Includes stretching, breathing, and a small bit of creative dance. (Fine to turn off the camera if the word 'dance' makes you want to run for cover.)
Kristen Lewis — Victoria
5:35 am to 6:50 am
Recent Developments in Med/Arb
Carol W. Hickman, QC — Virgin Hickman, Vancouver
Tonya Saheli — Associate Mediation Counsel/Attorney-Mediator, Bar Association of San Francisco, San Leandro, CA
Edna Sussman — Scarsdale, New York
Lorne H. Wolfson — Torkin Manes LLP, Toronto
7:00 am to 8:00 am
Is it fully addressed with a smile?: Infusing an organization with kindness, empathy and compassion without avoiding addressing difficult issues, or delving into uncomfortable spaces
Centering an organization on the tenets of kindness while not avoiding hard hitting conversations which may not have a pretty veneer, and be pleasant or easy:
- holding space for people to be heard
- avoiding tone policing
- not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good
Rachel Miner — Executive Director, Random Acts, Los Angeles
Stream B
7:00 am to 8:00 am
JEDI (Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion) for Community Safety and Peace Officers
This interactive session will explore a new paradigm for policing, building community and fostering mental models for justice equity, diversity and inclusion from a deeply embodied framework:
- exploring current policing paradigm
- envisioning a future of community safety empowerment
- imagining the steps to close the gap and our role/s
Ryan M. Lamberton, MA — Associate Director for Programs, Saint Mary’s College, Moraga, CA
Donald Proby — Director, Office of Mediation, Coaching, Ombuds and Support Services,
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston
Normella Walker — Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Brigham Health, Boston