Monday May 11, 2009 “An introduction to mediating our inner dialogues when facilitating” with Ike Lasater

When we facilitate groups we often experience our own reactions to what is said or happening. How do we as facilitators work productively with the critical voice in our head that judges us against an impossible standard of perfection? Learning to work with our inner dialogues can help us to become better facilitators. In this session Ike will give us a taste of the self-empathy practice he has developed for using in a mediation and facilitation context based on the principles of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). NVC is a simple and powerful communication model developed by Marshall B Rosenberg comprising four basic components: observation, feeling, needs and request. (For more information see: www.CNVC.org) The skill of self-empathy can be applied to care for ourselves before, during and after facilitating sessions so that we are able to be more present to what is happening in the room, and able to learn from our experiences.

About Ike Lasater

Based in San Fransisco, Ike Lasater facilitates the resolution of conflicts, coaches people in conflict, and teaches these skills to others.

Ike has facilitated NVC and NVC mediation workshops across the US and in Australia, Hungry, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland and Sri Lanka. He has served as a board member of a number of organisations including: the Center for Nonviolent Communication, the Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern California, the Lawyers' Club of San Francisco, and the California Yoga Teachers Association (founding owner of The Yoga Journal magazine).

Ike engaged in civil trial practice in San Francisco for 20 years and co-founded Banchero & Lasater, a 20-person law firm specialising in complex, multiparty commercial and environmental cases.

Ike is in Australia to conduct a five day mediation intensive in Sydney on 14-19 May (see http://nvcaustralia.com/ ) and will also be conducting a 1 day training through LEADR: ‘Mediator Self Care: Mediating your inner dialogue’ on Wed 13 May 2009: www.leadr.com.au/events/Mediator-self-care-ike-lasater-may09.doc

To learn more about Ike's work go to www.WordsThatWork.us

Monday 20th APRIL, 2009 “Restorative Practices” with Julie Matthews

Monday 20th APRIL, 2009 “Restorative Practices” with Julie Matthews

You are warmly invited to our next meeting of 2009 (a joint meeting with the Games & Simulations Network) on Monday 20th APRIL 2009

Simulations in the context of Restorative Practices
Julie Mathews will lead a session on Restorative Practices to reflect on past, present, future options for use in potentially difficult communication contexts.
The restorative practices concept has its roots in "restorative justice," a new way of looking at criminal justice that focuses on repairing the harm done to people and relationships rather than on punishing offenders (although restorative justice does not preclude incarceration of offenders or other sanctions). Originating in the 1970s as mediation between victims and offenders, in the 1990s restorative justice broadened to include communities of care as well, with victims' and offenders' families and friends participating in collaborative processes called "conferences" and "circles". See http://www.iirp.org/whatisrp.php
This is a collaborative meeting of the Simulations Games Network and the Facilitator’s Network, and Julie will use a number of strategies from simulation-supported learning contexts – including scenarios and the briefing/action/debriefing sequence. The session will model the use of such tools and invite participants to explore how these can be applied to a variety of contexts where improving the quality of communication is a priority.
Julie is passionate about the use of Restorative Practices to assist individuals and groups re-establish equanimity after damaging exchanges, so we can expect a powerful exploration of its principles. The session will provide insights into the values underpinning restorative practices and simulations for learning, a valuable introduction to current and future oriented communication strategies.