5:1 Kindness Challenge Pledge Be Kind, Small Kine and Bank’um. What separates healthy and happy relationships from miserable ones is a balance of positive to negative interactions. Studies in the field of social psychology1 show that it takes five positive interactions to make up for every one bad encounter you have with someone. It is called the 5:1 Magic Ratio. Think of it as a simple formula for building healthy relationships (at home or at work2). And, consider the impact beyond building relationships. We experience approximately 20,000 individual moments in a waking day each lasting just a few seconds.3 The moments that make an indelible mark on our memory are not the neutral encounters we have with others, but the ones that are either positive or negative. Even though these encounters are only seconds long, they can be life-changing. If you can change someone’s life in just a few seconds, why not make it for the better! Pay someone a compliment. Offer a few encouraging words. Give a two thumbs ups. Smile and gesture a show of appreciation. Make someone laugh. These simple actions can make someone’s day. The good news is that you can bank good actions or encounters. After all, we are human and we all have momentary lapses in judgement, or mindless, rushed moments when we don’t know what we are leaving in our wake. So, while you are consciously making someone’s day with a kind gesture, you are banking positive encounters to balance the scale when your lesser self takes over. We challenge you to the Magic Ratio Kindness Challenge: Be Kind, Small Kine. By signing the Kindness Challenge Pledge you commit to banking five (5) positive encounters each day during the month of October (that is 155 kind acts if you start on October 1,…
Category: News
ACR Hawaii will be answering phones for HPR Pledge Drive on Monday, October 1, 8-10 a.m. Call in to pledge at 808-944-8800 or 877-944-8800 and support another vital community service. Mahalo! #SupportHPR
Sharing webinars offered by Association for Conflict Resolution. Two highly interactive online sessions: Part 1 on September 18 at 9:00 AM MST Part 2 on September 20 at 11:00 AM MST Registration: There is no fee for this webinar and registration is required. Click here to register and once you do, you will receive the connection information. This is a highly interactive training that will be conducted on Adobe Connect. You will need a head-set with microphone in order to participate. Description: Connection Circles are designed to engage at-risk and structurally disadvantaged youth, and the direct care helping professionals who work with them, to increase their conflict resolution skills. Developed originally for a homeless youth shelter in Tucson, Arizona, the project received a two-year grant in 2016 from the JAMS Foundation-ACR Initiative for Students and Youth to expand the application of Connection Circles to other settings throughout the US. This session will provide everything needed to set up and conduct Connection Circles. Included will be the theoretical foundations of circles; role of the facilitator; overview of the curriculum; and the “how to” of setting up a Connection Circle. In addition, the results will be shared from the evaluation component of the grant. Objectives: Participants will have an understanding of the nature and effectiveness of the circle method Participants will identify the three keys to successful implementation of the program About the Presenters: Catherine Tornbom is a mediator and organization consultant with over 30 years of experience. She is currently the Manager for the Center for Community Dialogue & Training, a program of Our Family Services, in Tucson, Arizona. Chris Medvescek is the Community Dialogue Specialist at the Center with over 30 years of mediation experience. The Center’s purpose is to help Southern Arizonans talk about challenging issues in a skilled, civil and respectful way.
By Giuseppe Leone The underlying assumption of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) programs like the one being implemented in Michigan is that going to court for settling high-volume/low-value disputes like small claims or landlord/tenant cases should not be the parties’ first option. Instead, it should be their very last option. Why? Because it would save a lot of money and time – both the parties and the courts handling their case. This is how ODR programs typically work. To begin with, they give parties the opportunity to settle their case by themselves. That is, they can exchange messages using their smart-phone, tablet or computer – 24/7, anytime, anywhere, without taking time off work. If the parties are unable to reach an agreement on their own, no problem. At that point they can (1) seek the assistance of a neutral mediator and (2) indicate how they prefer to participate in mediation: by text, by phone, by video or, when applicable, even face-to-face/in-person. Needless to say, all mediators who participate in an ODR program know already how to mediate face-to-face, when both parties are in his or her office. However, some mediators are not sure how they can apply their skills equally well when the parties communicate by text, by phone or by video. In other words, what should mediators be aware of and do differently when they mediate online? For this reason, Giuseppe Leone, founder of Virtual Mediation Lab: Online Mediation Made Simple, now offers a 30-min training designed only for ODR mediators. Titled “Differences Between Face-to-Face and Online Mediation”, this new training is packed with tips and online mediation techniques, which are based on Leone’s 21-year mediation experience face-to-face and online. For more information send an email virtualmediationlab@gmail.com or call (808) 383-4117. Virtual Mediation Lab: Online Mediation Made Simple https://www.virtualmediationlab.com is a project sponsored by…
Would you be interested in representing a country, its culture and language(s) at a fair? St. Andrew’s Priory’s World Language & Social Science departments were inspired in reviving a successful past event, called the Saint Andrew’s Schools World Culture and Language Fair, as a starting point for our Peace project. The 17 UN sustainable development goals are weaved in the event. We do not specifically ask our volunteers to build their presentation around the UN goals. However, if a volunteer would like to bring an activity related to the UN goals, it would be wonderful! The goals of the fair are: To expose our students to cultures and languages that they are usually NOT expose to in our schools and in their community To increase knowledge, curiosity and empathy Work toward a more understanding, flexible and peaceful world Here are some of the Languages and Cultures previously represented: Russian, Tuvan, Italian, Hawaiian, Tagalog, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Korean, Japanese, Tajiki, Finnish, Hindi, Japanese, Thai, Lao, Uzbek, Danish, Mandarin, German, Azeri, Farsi, etc. This fun and popular event will take place on: St. Andrew’s Priory campus Friday, October 19, 2018 8:00 to 11:15 AM Details regarding the format of the fair, parking, schedule, useful tips for presentations, registration, etc. are available here. Please contact Murielle Sipola at msipola@standrewsschools.org if you are interested!
The Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the Public Policy Center, and the William S. Richardson School of Law will celebrate the International Day of Peace and Constitution Day with a discussion about free speech on campus. What Did You Say And Where Did You Say It Freedom of Expression at a Public University Monday, September 17 at 5:00 PM Richardson School of Law, Classroom 2 Click here for more information.
Webinar 1: Getting Published in the Fields of Conflict Resolution and ADR by Dr. Susan Raines September 6, 2018 @ 2:00 – 3:00 PM (EDT) Description: This webinar is designed to assist anyone seeking to publish, from practitioners to junior faculty or graduate students. Whether you seek to promote your expertise as a mediator or ADR expert or you seek to move up the tenure and promotion ladder, this webinar will examine the strategies involved in choosing a publication outlet, the ingredients in a successful article or book proposal, and discuss the pros and cons of self-publishing versus using an established publishing company. Registration is required. Click here to register and once you do, you will receive the connection information. Presenter Biography: Dr. Susan Raines is the Associate Director of the School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding & Development at Kennesaw State University in Suburban Atlanta. She has been the Editor-in-Chief of Conflict Resolution Quarterly for 10 years and is an accomplished author. She has worked with numerous publishers for publications aimed at practitioners as well as academics. Sponsored By ACR’s Education-Research-Training Section Webinar 2: Ethics for Environment and Public Policy Practitioners: Review of the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators by Kelly Wilder September 13, 2018 @ 3:00 – 4:30 PM (EDT) Description: There is underway an informal review of the Model Rules for Mediators that have been in effect and endorsed by ACR/ABA/AAA for just over a decade. At a meeting during the last ACR conference in Texas, it was suggested that instead of trying to re-write or update the model rules, we open up the rules for comments from the sections so that special circumstances or approaches to the model rules that affect each section somewhat differently could be discussed. The goal of the project is to create a set of section-specific commentaries…
By Thomas DiGrazia The ACR Hawai`i is calling all peacemakers to volunteer to provide peacemaking services on Oahu to government entities and officials in need of assistance to help resolve public policy disputes. Here is a recent example: The facilitation services several of its members provided to the Kailua Neighborhood Board’s Subcommittee on Homelessness At the instigation of Sen. Laura Thielen and invitation of the Kailua Neighborhood Board, an experienced team of professional peacemakers over an eight to nine month period, assisted the two Subcommittee co-chairs and community participants in designing, organizing and implementing a facilitation process to address the Kailua community’s homelessness challenge in an initially contentious atmosphere. At our first meeting, the room seemed to be divided into two camps. One camp wanted the homeless just to leave and the other camp wanted to help the homeless not be homeless. There were some immediate safety concerns that were referred to law enforcement and the mental health providers. What our team provided was a calming down facilitation process in which each side was given the opportunity to listen and be listened to. We worked together using a very light facilitation touch in keeping the meeting very peaceful and positive. The ACRH members supported the diverse stakeholders participating in the Subcommittee’s work to better respect each other’s points of view; find connection on homeless issues and programs; educate themselves through expert advice and information; and begin to find local solutions and remedies to the challenges represented in the Kailua homeless population. Each facilitation team member spent approximately 5-7 hours per month engaged in this project. A testimonial in support of the ACRH members’ contributions to the project by the Subcommittee’s co-chair can be viewed, below. At a time when the need for community members to be heard and channel their energies…
Looking for a career in resolving conflicts and advocating for peaceful conflict resolution? There is an new opening on the Big Island. The West Hawaii Mediation Center is looking for a Conflict Resolution Coordinator! Job description is here.
Let’s celebrate peace at Hiroshima Peace Bell Ceremony on August 6, 2018 in Honolulu! Join us for a special Interfaith Group Choir to lead the singing of “Imagine” at the close of the ceremony. This is a free event. Hiroshima Peace Bell Ceremony Monday August 6, 2018 11:00 am -12:00 Noon Izumo Taishakyo Mission 215 N Kukui St, Honolulu, HI 96817