Conference at Singapore

19-22 November  2003

"Developing a mediation culture"

Most conference papers are now available on this website.

In the 1970s, the United States was swept by a wave of interest in the range of dispute resolution processes collectively referred to as "alternative dispute resolution" or ADR. In a relatively short span of time, these alternative methods of resolving disputes have generated considerable interest, wide application and academic research in various parts of the world including Australia, the United Kingdom as well as Asia.

Modern mediation was introduced to Asia only recently because with an oriental culture where social harmony and consensus predominate, informal mediation has been the normal way of life with the reluctance for people to go to courts to resolve their personal or community conflicts. However, once introduced, mediation has taken a high profile and generated tremendous interest among the community and the legal profession.

The mediation movement in Singapore, for instance, first started with the courts introducing mediation as part of the judiciary process. Commercial, community mediation and peer mediation were subsequently introduced. Within a short period mediation has gradually become part of social and community life in Singapore.

ADR and mediation are here to stay. During the last decade, there has been much progress and development in the use and practice of the various consensual forms of dispute resolution especially mediation. This movement has now spread to various parts of Asia and the Pacific region. A mediation culture is being developed.

This Forum hopes to explore the growth and development of mediation as a culture. We would like to invite you to take part in this Forum by sharing with us your experience in promoting mediation and other forms of dispute resolution. We are interested to hear from you on various aspects of dispute resolution and the applications of these conflict resolution tools. Any topics related to the main theme are most welcome.

Conference venue 

Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel 

392 Havelock Road, 

Singapore 169663 

Tel: 65-6733 0880 Fax: 65 6737 8880 

Email: grandcopthorne@copthorne.com.sg

All conference details so far are included in this announcement. This 9-page document is in RTF format, and can be opened with any modern word processing software.

Further information

if you have any queries, please email dale.bagshaw@unisa.edu.au (about the conference) or dennis.list@unisa.edu.au (about this web site).

The conference information is repeated at http://www.sisv.org.sg/apmf.html

 Related sites: Ausdispute | Centre for Peace, Conflict & Mediation  

Updated 05 March 2007