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.
Category: Programs
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…
The Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution (CADR) is looking for qualified candidates for their Research Analyst position. Exempt Appointment (Non-Civil Service), Full-time, Temporary Location: Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution (CADR), Honolulu, Oahu Salary: $4,968 per month effective July 1, 2018 Duties: This position provides technical assistance on Judiciary alternative dispute resolution programs, with an emphasis on the planning, development, implementation and oversight of the online dispute resolution program. For details and application instruction, visit CADR website.
TO: ACR HAWAII MEMBERS FR: ACR HAWAII BOARD OF DIRECTORS RE: VOLUNTEER ASSISTANCE TO WINDWARD NEIGHBORHOOD BOARDS DATE: MAY 11, 2018 “Come, my friends, ‘tis not too late to seek a newer world.” Dear Friends and Members: The ACR Hawaii Board is considering offering pro bono peacemaking and facilitation services to three Neighborhood Boards on the Windward side of Oahu—Waimanalo, Kaneohe, and Kahaluu. We want to know if you will be a part of this proposed project to assist these Boards in providing a safe and peaceful environment for conducting community-wide facilitations regarding challenging—and often contentious—public policy issues. These public policy issues may include vacation rentals, homelessness, and our island’s ability to host ever-increasing numbers of tourists, just to name a few controversial issues. On an experimental basis, ACR Hawaii members are presently providing pro bono peacemaking and facilitation services to the Kailua Neighborhood Board’s Subcommittee on Homelessness. Although this Kailua project is an ongoing experiment, the feedback from participants and co-chairs of the Subcommittee has been most complimentary. They have praised the vital assistance provided by our ACR volunteers to the community, and assisting Subcommittee participants in having a reasoned, non-conflicted dialogue regarding solutions to homelessness in Kailua. The ACR Board’s thinking is that we peacemakers can be of critical assistance in helping to frame and facilitate difficult community conversations on very important public matters. We are living in political and social times in which conversations among community members are often inefficient and inconclusive at best and tribal and hostile at worst. Such dysfunctional community conversations have contributed to the often-political gridlock and indecisiveness of our public officials on critical issues facing all of us. It is long past the time when we peacemakers need to step up and offer our skills, expertise, and…
Indigenous Conflict Resolution: Practice and Integration Watch on ʻŌlelo: 5/1/2018 10:00AM OLELO49 5/2/2018 1:30 PM OLELO49 5/3/2018 2:00 PM OLELO49 5/4/2018 6:00 PM OLELO49 Indigenous conflict resolution practices, including hoʻoponopono and native peacemaking, have been utilized by both Native Hawaiian and Native American groups to address conflict in families and the greater community. A distinguished panel of legal academics, practitioners, and peacemakers probes the possibilities and implications of integrating indigenous conflict resolution practices in the practice of law and the court system. See the flyer: Indigenous Conflict Resolution – OLELO AIRDATES May 1- 4, 2018
Would you like to make a difference in this world? Or, as Steve Jobs might say: “make your dent in the universe” before your life is done? Join a team of volunteers who are lending their skills by facilitating meetings in Kailua to address homelessness issues. The goal of the meetings is to develop a multi-pronged advisory plan to address, through practical community-wide solutions, the growing number of homeless individuals and families in Kailua. ACR-Hawaiʻi Board Member Tom DiGrazia has been working with the Kailua Neighborhood Board Subcommittee on Homelessness, which had their inaugural meeting on October 7, 2017. Attached are notes summarizing what occurred at the meeting. We hope to create a team of facilitators with different skill and experience levels. We are especially interested on working with younger generations to pass on our collective knowledge. Many younger and less experienced facilitators and peacemakers will improve their peacemaking skill levels and help to further develop the professional peacemaking profession. If you would like to get involved, please contact Tom DiGrazia directly at email: digraziat001@gmail.com, or phone: (808) 262-0770. Mahalo – ACR-Hawaiʻi Summary Oct 7, 2017 mtg
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday October 11-13, 2017 From the Association for Conflict Resolution: We understand that some of you, for various reasons, will not be able to join us in Dallas, TX during this year’s annual conference. While we cannot duplicate everything happening at the conference, we can provide access to various sessions and an “almost like you are there” environment. For the 2nd year, ACR is providing a Virtual Track. Building on the experience from our 1st Virtual Track in 2016, the 2017 Virtual Track is being expanded to include a general session on Wednesday and 2 days of workshops on Thursday and Friday. 10 hours of Continuing education and/or legal credits will be available for those participating. The Track begins on Wednesday, October 11th at 2:00 PM with a general session to discuss discriminatory laws and how should ACR and its members respond. To learn more about this topic, read the home page of this website. This counts as 1 hour of continuing education credit. A panel of Sharon Press, Donzell Robinson and Tom Kosakowski will get us started at 8:00 AM on Thursday, October 12 as we discuss the theme for this year’s conference, Professionalizing Your Passion. The Marvin E. Johnson Diversity and Equity Award and the John Haynes Distinguished Mediator Award will be presented. (1 hour continuing education credit) The planned workshops for the rest of Thursday include the following: 10:15 AM The first 90-minute workshop is The Impact of Technology on ADR Ethics and Practice; the presenters are Daniel Rainey, Leah Wing, Jeffrey Aresty and Susan Exon. (1.5 hours of continuing education credit) 1:45 PM After the lunch break, Pattie Porter will host a special edition of The Texas Conflict Coach radio blog program. The topic for the program is Professionalizing Mediation: Understanding the Impact of Taking…
“Finding Solutions, Growing Peace” FREE BROWN BAG LUNCH SERIES Thursday, May 18, 2017 Held monthly on Third Thursdays from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm at the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney at 655 Kilauea Avenue in Hilo. Each month an invited speaker presents a different topic. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch, enjoy an informal and educational talk-story session, and meet others interested in “Finding Solutions, Growing Peace.” Free and open to the public. For more info, call Jenifer at 935-7844 x 1 or email jenifer@hawaiimediation.org. (Click here to View the Event Flyer) “Tools to Transform Conflict” Training Series HONEST EXPRESSION: TRANSFORMING JUDGMENTS INTO FEELINGS AND NEEDS TO MAKE REQUESTS Saturday, May 20, 2017 Facilitated by Mala’e Erickson, this workshop takes place from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Kea’au Community Center in Kea’au. The 6-hour workshop teaches participants how to manage emotions and judgements in order to honestly express themselves so others will listen. People can avoid misunderstandings, arguments, criticism, and blame by transforming the way they make requests. Learn to make neutral observations, state feelings/needs, and make requests using positive action language. Tuition is $60 (group discounts and partial scholarships available). For more info, call Jenifer at 935-7844 x 1 or email jenifer@hawaiimediation.org. (Click here to View the Event Flyer)
Online Mediation in a Nutshell – 30-min Free Virtual Mediation Lab Webinar and Demo for Mediators and Attorneys – May 9, 2017 Noon Pacific Time If you are a mediator or attorney interested in online mediation, Tuesday, May 9, 2017 you can learn in 30 minutes: What Online Mediation means and how it works The benefits of Online Mediation How mediators can do online everything they are used to do in-person: e.g. Joint and private meetings (caucus) with the parties; “Shuttle Diplomacy” in multi-party disputes; Information (documents, pictures, worksheets, videos) sharing and annotation; Writing up the parties’ “Memorandum of Understanding” or agenda for their next meeting Which cases are suitable for Online Mediation How to blend face-to-face and Online Mediation How to try Online Mediation for FREE How to participate in a 2-hour one-on-one hands-on training in Online Mediation PRESENTER Giuseppe Leone, founder of Virtual Mediation Lab, an online mediation project sponsored by the Association for Conflict Resolution Hawaii Chapter. This 30-min webinar/demo is based on his experience: Mediating commercial and workplace cases since 1997 Mediating online workplace cases for the United States Postal Service Running hundreds of online mediation simulations with mediators from 30 countries Teaching online mediation to mediators and mediation centers around the world WHEN This “Online Mediation in a Nutshell” 30-min free webinar will take place Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at Noon/12:00pm Pacific Time (2:00pm Central Time | 3:00pm Eastern Time). ONLINE REGISTRATION Fill out this Online Registration Form – Please Note: Seating is limited After your registration is approved, you’ll automatically receive information on how to join the webinar with your PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android tablet or smartphone A TRANSFORMATIVE PARENTING MEDIATION MODEL Free Webinar with Wayne Plenert – April 25, 2017 1-Hour Video Recording Presented by the Virtual Mediation Lab, an online mediation…
See this 30-minute free video on Think Tech Hawaii’s website with ACR-Hawai‘i’s Directors Lisa Jacobs and Tom DiGrazia as they discuss the collaborative divorce process.