Contact: Sharon Pickett, e-mail: sharonp@igc.org

New Association Formed to Represent Broad Array of Conflict Resolution Professionals

Three Groups Merge to Form the Association for Conflict Resolution -- a Professional Organization Dedicated to Enhancing the Practice and Public Understanding of Conflict Resolution

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three leaders in the field of conflict resolution and collaborative decision-making have merged to form the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR). The nonprofit organization represents more than 7,000 members around the world and seeks to promote peaceful, effective conflict resolution. With the events of Sept. 11, it is more important than ever that a major organization has been formed to research, practice and teach how we can better handle conflict in our daily lives and find peaceful ways to resolve our differences.

The term "conflict resolution" covers a wide range of activities and skills that encourage disputing parties to find their own solutions to their problems. The most common form of conflict resolution is mediation, a process in which a neutral third-party facilitator helps people in conflict communicate with each other and negotiate a peaceful and mutually satisfying agreement.

Members of the three former organizations – the Academy of Family Mediators (AFM), the Conflict Resolution Education Network (CREnet), and the Society for Professionals in Dispute Resolution (SPIDR) – worked to promote conflict resolution in a wide range of areas. Members helped couples reach out-of-court divorce and child custody settlements, arbitrated disputes, taught children the skills of peaceful conflict resolution, and provided alternative dispute resolution services for businesses, government agencies, and other groups. ACR will continue to focus on these and other areas of practice, while emphasizing its commitment to educating the public about the field of conflict resolution and supporting members in their professional and educational development.

ACR's diverse membership includes professional and volunteer mediators, government employees, lawyers, arbitrators, environmental public policy specialists, consensus-building facilitators, educators, and others involved in alternative dispute resolution. ACR provides essential tools and information to its members and the public. ACR members will serve as educators and policy advocates in Congress and with local and state legislatures, and work to help the public understand and make better use of conflict resolution skills and services.

"We need to change the mindset that goes into a hostile, battle mode and says there must be a winner and a loser whenever there's a disagreement. That's true whether the conflict is between children on the playground, a husband and wife, an employer and employee, two businesses, or two nations," said Arnold Shienvold, ACR's Board President. "Peaceful, negotiated solutions produce better results for both parties."

Among the most recent signs of the growing acceptance and demand for conflict resolution and other forms of dispute resolution are:

• In 1998, Congress adopted the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Act of 1998, which requires federal courts to adopt an official ADR program.
  

• In March 2001, the United States Supreme Court focused attention on the growing use of arbitration by businesses in its ruling on the Circuit City Stores v. Adams case. The Court ruled 5-4 that employees cannot sue companies if the employees sign an arbitration agreement when they were hired. In other words, employers can make signing an agreement to arbitrate disputes a condition of being hired.
  

• According to a 1998 survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Cornell University, 88% of American corporations had used mediation and 79% used arbitration in the previous three years. In addition, over 84% said that they were likely or very likely to use mediation in the future, while 69% said the same about arbitration.
  

• According to the National Center for State Courts, 16 states currently require some form of mandatory mediation, while another 16 have voluntary or discretionary use of mediation in cases involving divorce, child custody, small claims, landlord/tenant disputes, etc.
  

• Peer mediation programs and conflict resolution curricula are becoming more prevalent in schools. The U.S. Dept. of Education's Safe and Drug Free Schools program encourages conflict resolution training and use.
  

• President Bush has recognized the value of conflict resolution in his National Fatherhood Initiative which calls for $200 million in grants to community and religious groups to promote fatherhood, marriage education, and conflict resolution.
  

• In order to support the growing need for skilled conflict resolution practitioners, ACR is working to set standards of practice and help members deal with difficult questions such as confidentiality, the unauthorized practice of law, and other emerging issues of vital importance in the field. The organization publishes a quarterly magazine, an academic journal, a variety of newsletters, an annual membership directory, and special reports. ACR also hosts an annual conference that brings together conflict resolvers from across the nation and around the world.

The official launch of ACR will occur at its first international conference to be held in Toronto from October 10-13, 2001.

"ACR is poised to play a leading role in the emerging field of conflict resolution," said Daniel Bowling, Chief Executive Officer of ACR. "Our members are committed to helping people solve disputes without resorting to violence or the adversarial court system. Whether it's addressing school violence, disputes in families, disagreements businesses have with employees or other companies, or international conflicts, the practice of conflict resolution can play a positive role," said Bowling.