Are new possibilities for alternative dispute resolution systems and invigorating our local economy being limited by our individual and collective imaginations? Let this video stimulate your thoughts.
Interested in honing your professional skills? The Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine School of Law, offers two Professional Skills Programs in 2016: June 23-25 in Malibu, CA, and October 27-29 in Nashville, TN. The Program in Malibu presently offers these courses: “STAR” – A Systematic Approach to Mediation Strategies Advanced Mediation: Skills and Techniques Family Law Mediation – When Time is Not on Your Side Mediating Complex Construction Disputes Strategic Negotiation Skills Using Practical Tools of Mindful Awareness to Improve the Work and Lives of Lawyers, Mediators, Negotiators, Judges, Arbitrators, and Managers Preventing Bad Settlement Decisions and Impasse: Using Brain Science, Game Theory, Animated Communication, and Micro-Interventions Elder Care Mediation “You’re Fired!” Resolving Workplace Disputes through Mediation and Other ADR Processes Conflict Resolution Consulting: Using Mediation to Improve Organizational Communications, Conflict Coaching, Team Building, Leadership, Change and Systems Design Public Sector Mediation: Skills and Drills The Art of Facilitating Dynamic and Difficult Groups Special course offering this year Acquiring Wealth, Power, and Success, Morally and Ethically The Program in Nashville presently offers these courses: “STAR” – A Systematic Approach to Mediation Strategies “You’re Fired!” Resolving Workplace Disputes through Mediation and Other ADR Processes Strategic Negotiation Skills Congregational Peacemaking: Managing Conflict and Congregational Change Preventing Bad Settlement Decisions and Impasse: Using Brain Science, Game Theory, Animated Communication, and Micro-Interventions Family Law Mediation: When Time is Not on Your Side Practical Mindfulness: Clear and Calm in the Heat of Conflict Advanced Mediation: Skills and Techniques Apology, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation
My name is Hanalei Agamaite and I am 11 years old. I go to Montessori Community School in Makiki. At Montessori, we have done many activities involving peace. One of these activities was donating to Heifer International with the money we raised by selling doggie biscuits. Heifer International is an organization for families in need of an animal that could help them with food and wool. We also do the Peace Table in after school care, where we talk about issues we have at school like bullying and kids talking about each other. We discuss different ways to create a more peaceful school. Another little something we do is P4C, (Philosophy 4 Children). All of the elementary students really love P4C and is something we would like to continue. P4C is about discussing topics that are complex and that have different views. 11 of my peers were selected as an option for a peace poem contest. The judges had to decide which one they liked the most. All of these poems were amazing, but the judges decided on my poem. I’m happy that they recognized all of my peers including me because we all deserved it. I hope my poem has moved people and made their days. Thank You! J
Hanalei Agamaite, a 5th Grader at Montessori Community School on O‘ahu, won the ACR Hawai‘i 2015 Poetry Contest with her poem, “Peace is…”. Congratulations, Hanalei! PEACE IS… Peace is my word, something I’ll do. Maybe help a little one tie her shoe. Peace is support I get from my peers ‘Cause they’re the ones who guide me through fears. Peace is a question, something we don’t know, Like why some people’s lives can go so low. Peace is a dream, an action, or thought, Wondering how Albert Einstein was taught. Peace is the laughter you hear from a child, When you see them running through a field, fast and wild. Peace is the love a husband gives to his wife, It’s an everyday action, because peace is life. by Hanalei Agamaite, 5th Grader at Montessori Community School, O‘ahu
Check out Amrita Mallik’s (ACRH Board Member and a Mediator on the Distinguished Panel of Neutrals at Dispute Prevention and Resolution) latest post: The Modern Era of Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace: What Google’s Project Aristotle Teaches Us About High Functioning Teams Amrita Mallik’s practice includes: Mediations * Facilitations * Workplace Investigations * Coaching * Effective Communication Skills Training * EEO and Diversity and Inclusion Consulting and Training See Amrita Mallik’s profile
The next ACR Hawai‘i Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18, 2016, 11:30 am -1:00 pm. Board meetings are open for attendance by all ACR-Hawai‘i members. Please contact Lisa Jacobs at Lisa@PonoDivorce.com by Wednesday, May 11, 2016 if you are interested in attending the meeting.
The Online Peer Mediation Platform (OPMP) is looking to partner with qualified trainers and/or mediation centers with experience in middle and high school peer mediation training. If you are qualified and interested, you are invited to complete and submit the online application form. If your application is accepted, you may attend an informational webinar on Wednesday, May 4, 2016, 1-2 pm Hawaii Time, when the project will be explained in more detail. The Online Peer Mediation Platform (OPMP) is an innovative 2-year project sponsored by the JAMS Foundation, currently managed by the National Association of Peer Program Professionals and previously managed by the Association for Conflict Resolution Education, Research and Training Section.
The non-profit Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center announced a free talk on April 21 as part of their “Finding Solutions, Growing Peace” Brown Bag Lunch Series. Talks are Third Thursdays from 12 noon to 1 pm in the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney at 655 Kilauea Avenue in Hilo. This month’s speaker is Tracie White on the topic “Personal Accountability: Managing Your Energies, Priorities, and Reputation.” “Managing your energies, priorities, and reputation is the path to fulfilling your life goals,” says White. “This is your life. There is no one more important to be personally accountable to than you. Your complete commitment for yourself is best built on a clear vision of things that truly matter and you have the greatest passion for.” Ku‘ikahi’s Brown Bag Lunch Series is free and open to the public. 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.” This lunch-and-learn series is made possible thanks in part to funding from the Atherton Family Foundation. For more information, contact Ku‘ikahi Program Coordinator Gail Takaki at 935-7844 x 9 or gail@hawaiimediation.org. Or visit www.hawaiimediaiton.org.
Learn Myers-Briggs to Better Understand Yourself and Others The non-profit Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center is pleased to present “Myers-Briggs: To Better Understand Yourself and Others” with Joan Shafer. This community workshop will take place on Friday, April 29 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at the YWCA at 145 Ululani Street in Hilo. “The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is the most widely used personality assessment in the world,” said Shafer. “It reveals why you and others behave as you do and how to communicate and interact more effectively with your family, friends, and co-workers.” Joan Shafer is a management consultant and group facilitator who specializes in the design, delivery, and implementation of personal growth, leadership development, team cohesion, and transformation programs for corporations and senior executives. Tuition for “Myers-Briggs” is $60, which includes MBTI assessment. Register prior to April 25, 2016 to complete required online MBTI assessment prior to the workshop. Group discounts and partial scholarships are available. To register, contact Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center Administrative & Program Assistant Jenifer Aveiro at (808) 935-7844 x 1 or jenifer@hawaiimediation.org.
Hilo, Hawai‘i – April 7, 2016 – First Hawaiian Bank Foundation provided $5,000 to the Peer Mediation Elementary School Pilot Project sponsored by Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center, a Hilo-based non-profit that serves East Hawaiʻi. “We appreciate your commitment to teach children dispute prevention and conflict resolution through peaceful means,” said FHB Foundation President Sharon Shiroma Brown. During the 2015-2016 school year, over 100 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders have been trained as peer mediators at Hawai‘i Academy of Arts & Sciences, Kea‘au, Kapiolani, Keonepoko, Laupahoehoe, and Mountain View elementary schools. “I am proud to be a Peer Mediator because I get to help people,” shared Indeya Ogo-Gilbert, a fifth grader at Keonepoko Elementary School. “I need to think before I speak because I’m setting a good example. I need a win-win solution. You need to be trustworthy and able to keep things private. I became a better listener because of my training.” Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center’s mission is to empower people to come together–to talk and to listen, to explore options, and to find their own best solutions. For more information, contact Julie Mitchell, Executive Director, (808) 935-7844, Ext. 5 or visit their website