Mediators Beyond Borders International

Creating Conflict-Prepared Workforce in a Conflict-Prone World. Member Spotlight: J. David Renfro

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Dave Renfro self-identifies as a peacemaker.  He’s the principal and founding officer of J. David Renfro Conflict Resolution Services, LLC, which has the mission of “Assisting Labor-Management Leaders Become Conflict Prepared in a Conflict Prone World.” As a recently retired 22-year veteran Commissioner of Mediation with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), Dave joined MBBI to remain active in conflict resolution work. He believes in MBBI’s mission and is contributing his expertise, talents, and time as able and requested.

Dave has over 40 years of labor-management experience in collective bargaining and representation within organized work environments and possesses experiential perspectives on advocacy and neutrality. He is currently on the arbitration roster of the FMCS, an independent federal agency with a mission to preserve and promote labor-management peace and collaboration by providing mediation and conflict resolution services to industry, government agencies, and various other communities.

Peacemaking Demands Creativity

Dave began with FMCS in 1996, when he was assigned to the Dallas, Texas field office. His previous experiences as a Vietnam Combat Veteran, Law Enforcement Officer, and public-school teacher helped shaped his motivation to join FMCS.  This past experience causes Dave to appreciate anything that informs people for perspectives in solving conflicts by means other than violence.

In his university classes and labor-management training programs, Dave frequently ran simulations to assess students’ skill levels in dispute resolution, hostage negotiations, foundations of conflict, and mediation courses. The diversity of conflicts and disputants demand creativity from experienced mediators like Dave in teaching dispute resolution skills and providing practical simulations for future mediators to equip them in responding effectively.

The Mathematics of Language in Peacebuilding

A mediator’s best tool, Dave believes, is communication, especially the power of language. Mediators must pay a lot of attention to listening.  We should also be just as sensitive to and cognizant of how we speak.  To effectively communicate, we must connect by hearing where others are at rather than speaking from where we’re at and just assuming they’ll connect with us.

According to Dave, the term “but” is one of the most disconnecting and even violent words in our language because it is insincere, if not outright deceiving. Statements that include the word “but” tend to turn the listener’s ear to the negative, negating the entire positive parts of a statement. Dave used this sentence as an example: “I like your shirt, but wish it was a different color. This means he didn’t really like your shirt and the insincerity of the “but” demonstrates this.” To that end, Dave encourages people to “keep your ‘buts’ out of other people’s faces. Changing how you speak, changes how others listen and make you a better mediator.”

Inspired by The Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC) groundbreaking contribution to communications and mediation, Dave believes finding more targeted and peaceful ways to communicate is, in essence, learning how to use language as math.  “In other words, when adding to what someone else has said, rather than subtracting from it, people want to hear what you have to say.  That’s why saying ‘but’ subtracts value while saying ‘and’ adds value. Changing your vocabulary changes how you communicate and how others respond.  “Shooting for a deadline” implies violence while “agreeing on a deadline” implies collaboration.  This minor change makes speech more interactive, direct and peaceful.

The Center for NVC has influenced Dave’s mediation and teaching careers. He views mediations as an instructional tool and process for people in dispute and helps mediators stronger and more effective.

Dave’s message to fellow MBBI members: “Blessed be the peacemakers.”

Article by Ben Lutz, MBBI Writer

Mediators Beyond Borders International Partners with the Conflict Transformation Fund to build conflict resolution competencies for positive social change.

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Arlington (Mar. 27, 2019) – Conflict is a fundamental part of social change, yet social and political movement and organizations are plagued with their own conflicts, both internal and external.  These conflicts are often managed in negative and socially regressive ways that undermine their aims and values. Mediators Beyond Borders International(MBBI) in partnership with the Conflict Transformation Fund(CTF) offers an alternative.

A new partnership between Mediators Beyond Borders International(MBBI)and the Conflict Transformation Fund(CTF)  aims to enhance the capacity of social and political organizations to engage with conflict creatively and constructively through a new initiative, Democracy, Politics, and Conflict Engagement (DPACE).

As Drs. Wendy Wood and Ken Cloke, co-leaders of this initiative explain “As conflict resolution professionals, we are asked to help find solutions to conflicts within and between political groups — conflicts that can threaten the people and systems our country needs in order to survive and thrive. We believe that by building the skills and capacities of social movements and political organizations and helping them respond to conflict in ways that are creative and constructive, it will be possible for us to engage our differences without harming each other or the planet.  Together, we can create a better understanding of what it means, both individually and collectively, to participate in democracy, and support the creation of a more just and civil society.”

MBBI is an impact organization founded on the principle of people-centered peacebuilding. This new partnership will enable MBBI’s team of expert mediators, facilitators, and trainers to offer alternative approaches to political conflicts and less destructive ways of bringing about social change.

 “We are honored to partner with the Conflict Transformation Fund to enhance our ability to build a ‘peace able’ world by increasing conflict literacy and promoting constructive engagement within all sectors of society,” said Prabha Sankaranarayan, President and CEO of MBBI. “Our goal is to enhance our conflict competency in order to explore our differences without losing touch with our common humanity; to turn our political passions in the direction of social and political problem solving.”

CTF is a short-term philanthropic initiative with a long-term vision. It believes that conflict literacy begins with seeing conflict as an opportunity for growth and positive change. It also involves learning, practicing, and integrating a range of concepts, skills, and tools that enable us to understand and work skillfully with conflict. By strengthening conflict literacy in progressive movements and organizations through funding, research, and philanthropic organizing, CTF plans on supporting a shift to a more just, equitable, and connected society.

“Generating lasting change requires movements that are resilient enough to navigate the inevitable conflicts that arise when diverse people and perspectives come together to take on the daunting work of ushering in a better future.” Said Laura Loescher, Director of CTF. “Building on MBBI’s success globally, DPACE is engaging the wisdom of highly experienced conflict professionals to create urgently needed resources and tools for transforming conflicts within and between social movement organizations in the United States. We are honored to be supporting this work!”

We invite you to learn more about the Conflict Transformation Fund (CTF) and Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI).

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Contacts

MBBI: Dr. Wendy Wood, 703-528-6552, wwood@mediatorsbeyondborders.org

CTF: Laura Loescher, 415-519-1407, laura@conflicttransformationfund.org

Cultivating Seeds of Hope for the Future Generations. Member Spotlight: Catalina Chaux-Echeverri

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A native of Colombia, Catalina Chaux-Echeverri has been an active member of the MBBI network since 2013 and is a Co-Leader of the MBBI-Colombia Project. She is an accredited lawyer, professional coach, and an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) specialist working to end the cycles of violence in communities by focusing on the youth.

Every seed that you plant is huge, never underestimate the power of positive connections to the newer generations. So, embrace your dreams and make them happen!

Catalina is a trilingual mediator bridging the cultural gaps between Latin and Northern America. She now lives in Canada and works with three separate youth-based organizations to impact the lives of children positively from the outset, teaching valuable skills of intercultural understanding, resilience, and conflict management skills. “You can’t bubble wrap conflicts. Instead, find ways to provide growth and learning opportunities. This is so beneficial to long-term development.”

Finding Common Grounds.

From the differences, we can build bridges and be stronger.

These mantras guide her coaching practice, CHECS Consulting Services, where she focuses entirely on resolving conflicts with an emphasis on cultural intelligence. Cultural intelligence is the “awareness of what local communities need and making the finding of local solutions to local problems a priority.” Coming from a unique cultural background herself, she highlights the necessity of understanding the nuances of the community mediators work in.

Catalina Chaux-Echeverri with Andean Region ITI graduates

For example, the phrase “Remove the gloves/the gloves are coming off” in a Northern American context encourages the sides to “go and fight.” Whereas the same phrase in a Latin American context means, “stop fighting and put away the aggressiveness.” This phrase has opposite meanings and so finding the correct types of dialogue is crucial in the mediation settings Catalina works in. Being of this combination of backgrounds has helped her immensely as she is able to focus her conflict management skills on finding the common ground.

This example of the cultural difference is why Catalina has thrived as a coach. She is aware of the cultural dimensions of the conflict and the nuance of each position. Her mediation ability revolves around strong, direct language. “Coaching is a process to give people a moment to reflect on their strengths and choices and think how to gain awareness and to be more effective and successful.” The emphasis on cultural intelligence, languages, nuances, and norms mirrors Catalina’s cultural blend and is how she credits her success as an impactful mediator.

Youth in Mediation

Her mediation, conflict management, and coaching largely focus on youth. She is an active member of three youth-oriented projects in Toronto: LOVE, PACT, and Shift Happens. Leave Out Violence (LOVE) is a community-based program that focuses on art, leadership, and outreach to prevent violence in schools and youth centers. Participation Acknowledgment Commitment Transformation (PACT), Urban Peace Program supports and empowers underserved, marginalized, and at-risk young people as well as youth already in conflict with the law. Shift Happens is a program that aims to ignite and support a sustainable shift in perspective the way youth perceive themselves, make choices, connect with their environment, and lead their lives, using coaching as mail tool

In each of these three organizations, Catalina lends her extensive mediation, ADR and coaching background to provide youth with a positive “GPS for their life through social responsibility coaching.” Specifically, for PACT, she started as a restorative justice practitioner and coach and is now a manager of the coaching program providing tangible skills, learning objectives, and outcomes that are critical to the lifelong success of youth.

Catalina’s biggest driving force is socially-responsible mediation and coaching practices. LOVE, PACT, and Shift Happens, she said, provide her the outlet to continue to give back to her community.

Informal mediations, interventions, facilitation, and coaching can be more powerful and impactful in a young person’s life than formal sessions, and these programs are successful for emphasizing the multitudes of ways to positively impact future generations.

Article by Ben Lutz, MBBI Peace Synergist Writer.

Advocacy, Partnerships, and the United Nations. Member Spotlight: Erik Steinecker

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Since 2010, Erik Steinecker has co-led the United Nations Multilateral Working Group (UNMWG) of Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI). He helps maintain the organization’s Special NGO Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations (UN), which provides MBBI access to ECOSOC and other major UN conferences.  

With both a Master’s degree in International Law and the Settlement Disputes from the UN University of Peace in Costa Rica and a Law Degree from Seattle University, Erik is well versed in conflict resolution and has an interest in grievance mechanisms and dispute systems design. Additionally, Erik has interned with and conducted research for both the UN Department of Political Affairs and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. 

Erik now works for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In this capacity, he was first an equal opportunity specialist, investigating and conciliating over 100 cases of alleged discrimination in housing. Erik now helps in the administration of the Fair Housing Assistance Program, which provides funding and support to state and local governments to aid in their enforcement of fair housing laws.

While living in Seattle, Erik also became a certified mediator through the Volunteers of America Dispute Resolution Center and has mediated community-based disputes as well as workplace disputes for various local and federal government agencies. Erik was first introduced mediation and MBBI after attending a mediation seminar by MBBI co-founder Ken Cloke in early 2008 and instantly fell in love with MBBI’s mission.

Fostering Partnerships with UN Programs

Following participation in MBBI’s Climate Change Policy Project’s COP-15 delegation in Copenhagen in 2009, Erik became inspired and wanted to explore other avenues within the UN umbrella that could benefit from. In 2009, the UN Secretary-General also issued its first ever comprehensive report on mediation, (S/2009/189) on enhancing mediation and its support activities, which specifically called on civil society to help the UN build its mediation capacity as an organization. The UNMWG was subsequently established initiated in 2010 to heed this call. 

Through these strides, Erik realized the importance of an avenue through which MBBI members could interact, discuss, and engage with the MSU and UN policymaking. MBBI received special consultative status with the ECOSOC in 2012, and the UNMWG has since been exploring potential avenues of collaboration as well as advocacy for the use of conflict resolution throughout the UN ecosystem.

As a leader of the UNMWG, he continues to invite members to attend and partake in UN conferences on behalf of MBB. Erik has helped organize MBBI’s delegates to various conferences throughout the years. This year, there will be 35 delegates representing MBBI at the UN annual Conference on the Status of Women (CSW63 ) beginning on March 11-22, 2019.

The UNMWG is also an active participant of the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Through its participation at HLPF, MBBI highlight the importance of SDG 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – as it “aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies and provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.” In July 2019, the UNMWG will again send MBBI members to the UN to engage in discussions around this specific SDG.

For Emerging Peacebuilders

Erik has lived by the mantra all roads lead to Rome explaining that the experiences you gain will eventually lead you to your goals, even if you are not sure where you are going or even starting from. Worrying about the perfect job or the perfect opportunity and how it fits in your life’s tapestry limits your chances for growth. The skills you gain through any experience are immensely transferrable, which is especially true in the dynamic fields of mediation, peacebuilding, negotiation, coaching, and conciliation.

“Appreciate the skills you are developing, not the title you have,” Erik encourages emerging and younger peacebuilders to remember as the journey is more important than the destination.

Article by Ben Lutz, MBBI Peace Synergist Writer.

‘Drawing out solutions from the people.’ Member Spotlight: Maureen Inglis

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Maureen Inglis, a professional mediator from Australia, is also a peace advocate, and a dispute resolution coach. Having specialized in workplace conflict resolutions, she renders requisite skills and know-how in administering workplace’s disagreements which may lead to dysfunctional teams, stress, trauma, harassment or bullying. Through her own established brand, Maureen Inglis Consulting, she provides customized need-based sustainable solutions by the means of mediation, coaching, training, and facilitation of problem-solving processes.  

I believe solutions are within the capacity of individuals and my role is to draw them out from the people.

When we asked about her journey starting from the field of business management and human resource development to mediation, she explained, “mediating disputes was something I have been unconsciously practicing since my childhood.” She fondly remembered her childhood incidents where she used to be the one advocating peace between the people involved in conflicts.

Create Impact Through Dialogue

Her association with MBBI commenced in 2016 when she became a part of MBBI’s Sierra Leone Project. “Through MBBI, I have had the opportunity to meet and work with great mediators and peacebuilders around the world. MBBI supplements my goal to peacefully resolve the conflicts and create an impact through dialogue.” She encourages everyone who wishes to contribute to global peace and dialogue building to join MBBI.

Maureen’s participation in the Sierra Leone Project provided her with a meaningful experience in her career as a peace advocate. The project’s team collaborated with local partners to transform communities through non-violent dialogue and communication skill-building workshops, focusing on ‘Building Unity for Peaceful Elections 2018.’ “We also conducted interviews to develop an ongoing needs’ analysis and consequently with the assistance of a Rotary Global Grant, plans are currently being developed to intensively train women and youth leaders in Sierre Leone.” She is also coaching a local MBBI’s partner in Kenema as he develops strategies to develop and support peacebuilders in the sixteen chiefdoms of the region. Simultaneously, there involves an unmitigated passion and an audacity in consecrating personal time, working hours, family time, and even finances, to such labyrinthine peace processes, she explained.

Maureen Inglis facilitating needs analysis with youth leaders in Magburaka

Maureen’s style as a mediator is more facilitative in nature with a significant focus on pre-mediation assessment and coaching. She believes that such preparatory approach helps in building amicable solutions during disagreements between the parties. While sharing her most cherished aspect of any dialogue process, she expressed her strong interest in the intercultural aspect of mediation. She described it by illustrating, “while Australians tend to have a certain sense of humor in their conversations, it is possible that it may be misunderstood, or offend or even annoy the other party coming from an entirely distinct culture.” She remarked that she has “a natural ability to connect to and work with diverse people in diversified situations.”

Turning Interests into Skills

To turn her interests to skills, she obtained several certifications and accreditations like BRDGES Intercultural Certificate, Resolution Institute’s accreditation, International Mediation Institute’s accreditation, and attended an International Advanced Mediator Course – Italy (The Dispute Resolution Partnership, UK). She strongly suggested that blossoming mediators/peacebuilders shall take up such training and earn accreditation from their respective national institutes.

From several years of prosperous experience as a mediator, she imparted, that active and patient listening, open-mindedness, respecting parties’ cultures, professional demeanor and self-control are the golden rules for every successful peace process. Mediation/peacebuilding provides her both personal and professional contentment allowing her to feel fulfilled at the end of the day. “It brings you to a unique position where you have the ability as well as the opportunity to create a positive impact in the lives of others.”

Article by Divya Sugand, MBBI Writer.