Whats Happening 08.30.11

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict-Courageous Peace Leaders Wanted

Doug Noll- In the lull after the media frenzy around Irene, it is a good time to reflect on the Israeli-Palestinian situation. In a few weeks, the Palestinians will submit a resolution to the UN General Assembly that asks that Palestine be declared a new nation-state. Regardless of where you might stand on this issue, there are a lot of practical problems with the resolution.

Besides the fact that the US will veto it in the Security Council, it is politically meaningless as long as Hamas and Fatah remain irrconciliably opposed to each other on fundamental issues of economic reform, governance, and recognition of Israel's right to exist. It's pretty hard to organize a nation-state when there are two bitterly opposed parties that cannot agree on what that state will look like.

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Conflict Resolution Symposium 2011 at Georgia State University

Tom Kosakowski- The annual event hosted by GSU's Office of the Ombudsperson is set for Thursday October 27, 2011. Emerging, seasoned and advanced conflict resolution practitioners and students will discuss significant trends, and meet and mentor emerging leaders. Presenters are expected to include:

Shinji Morokuma, Director of the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution
Georgia Geiger, Past President of Georgia Mediators Association and Associate Professor at Reinhardt College,
Marti Kitchens, Commission of the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution
Dirk Duran Smith, Associate Director of the Career Management Center within Georgia State University's Robinson College of Business

Bryan Hanson- It is with great excitement that I am able to announce this year’s Cyberweek. Cyberweek 2011 will take place Monday, October 24th through Friday, October 28th. We are currently in the process of identifying potential learning experience facilitators to provide a Discussion Forum Topic, Webinar, or Simulation. If you would like to propose a learning experience for Cyberweek 2011, please contact me, Bryan Hanson at bryanhanson@creighton.edu, or Noam Ebner atNoamebner@creighton.edu.

In 2010, the Werner Institute had their first opportunity to assist the National Center For Technology and Dispute Resolution in the facilitation of Cyberweek via the website www.ADRHub.com. We had over 500 registered participants across the English and Spanish websites. This initial interest led to an amazing amount of activity. The English site had over 2000 visits and 12000 page views throughout the week. This energy really made the forums and webinars a lively, interactive and educational experience for all involved.

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On Lasik Surgery and Mediation.

Brad Heckman- Five years ago, I saved up enough scratch to get Lasik surgery and said adieu to my coke-bottle lenses forevermore. On the whole, I'm delighted with the results, mainly because I can see better...

I'm reminded of this when I see new mediators furiously scribbling notes as clients speak -- at the expense of all-important eye contact. The mediators are, with the best of intentions, focusing on the details, trying to get the facts right, while sacrificing making an empathic connection, and perhaps losing the gist of the issue.