NEWS RELEASE
November 26 2001
Conference
explores tools of peace
From schoolyard to war zone - what makes a good
peacemaker? Is there room for humor in conflict resolution? What cultural
prejudices do mediators bring to the mediation process? These are just a
few of the questions on the table when the University of South Australia
hosts the inaugural Asia Pacific Mediation Forum from 29 November to 1
December 2001.
The forum draws together a wealth of national and
international experience in the field of conflict management and mediation
and the key note speaker will be winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize,
East Timor’s Jose Ramos Horta.
Forum convener and Director of UniSA’s Conflict
Management Research Group and Program Director of UniSA’s post-graduate
courses in mediation and conflict management, Ms Dale Bagshaw, says
clearly mediation is the way ahead for conflict resolution in the 21st
Century.
“Conflict and discord extract an enormous toll both
economically and socially worldwide, whether in the schoolyard, in
business, at home, or in the global arena,” Ms Bagshaw said.
“Possibly now more than ever this growing area of
international research is of major interest to communities and nations
worldwide.
“Research and development into mediation, as a
platform for reconciliation and conflict resolution, has significantly
increased in recent years. So to has the use of mediation in industry,
workplace, education, domestic, environmental, legal and global forums, as
a preferred conflict resolution option.
“The theme of the forum, Reconciliation:
Conversations Beyond Cultural Boundaries, was chosen to encourage
exploration of assumptions, knowledge and skills underpinning various
intra-cultural conflict management processes, their application to
cross-culture conflicts and to mediation in different cultural
contexts.”
The forum includes presenters and participants from
more than eighteen countries in the region and from diverse professional
backgrounds and fields of practice, including members of the judiciary.
Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue
will deliver the opening address and international speakers include Jan
Jung-Min Sunoo, Commissioner with the Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service, Office of International Dispute Resolution Services,
California; Christina Sickles Merchant, US author of the book
‘Designing Conflict Management Systems’; Professor Kay
Schaffer, Professor in the Department of Social Inquiry at the University
of Adelaide and author of several books and Professor Juan Tausk, Professor
of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the
Psychology Faculty, Buenos Aires University and
Director of Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Courses in Negotiation,
Dispute management, Leadership training and Team building in
Argentine and foreign universities.
There will
be more than 70 presentations addressing conflict resolution theory and
practices related to culture, indigenous peoples, workplaces, children and
families, industry and the environment and exploring various
reconciliation and conflict resolution practices in the Asia Pacific
region.
A major sponsor for this forum is the World
Mediation Forum (WMF) – a not-for-profit global organization
committed to the ideals of continuing education, learning and promotion in
the field of conflict management and dispute resolution. Dale Bagshaw is
currently the Vice-president of the WMF and Professor Juan Tausk is
convening the IV WMF Congress in Buenos Aries in 2002.
Editors and News Directors please note: All media
interviews with Jose Ramos Horta must be prearranged through his media
office. For help with this please contact Thel Krollig or Michele
Nardelli.
The 3-day program and more detailed information on
workshops, speakers and abstracts, can be found on the Asia Pacific
Mediation Forum website at http://www.unisa.edu.au/cmrg/apmf
For more information: Ms
Dale Bagshaw, Conference Convenor – mobile:
040 880 5641 or Ms Ann Braybon, events coordinator (08) 8302 0974,
mobile: 0413 612082
Media
contacts: Thel Krollig 040 7726175 or Michèle Nardelli 041 8823673
