ACR Update is sent on a regular basis to share important conflict resolution news and organizational updates with our members. We encourage you to scroll through the items listed below, and hope you'll find this information useful. We look forward to your feedback!

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. ACR in the News

2. 2004 Annual Conference Update

   • Early Bird Registration Deadline: August 9

   • Exhibit Booth Registration Deadline for ACR Members: August 9

   • Conference Sponsorship and Advertising Opportunities

   • Help Build ACR’s Corporate Connections and Support the Conference

3. Labor Arbitrator Development Workshop

4. 2004 Annual Fund Update

5. Legislative and Public Policy News: Confidentiality and Mediation

6. Mentoring Opportunities at ACR’s 2004 Conference

7. ACR Sections Update

8. ACR Publications Update

9. ACR Chapters Update

10. Quotes

11. Message from Our Sponsor: CDR Associates

ACR 2004 Annual Conference
"Valuing Peace in the 21st Century:
Expanding the Art and Practice of Conflict Resolution"
Sept. 29-Oct. 2, 2004
Sacramento, California

Register Now: Annual Conference Early Bird

Registration Deadline is August 9!

ACR Members Enjoy Seven Extra Days to Reserve Annual Conference Exhibit Booths

The members-only deadline to reserve your exhibit booth at ACR’s Fourth Annual Conference is extended to August 9, 2004. Download a contract and fax it in today!

http://www.acrnet.org/pdfs/ac04marketingcontract.pdf
Fax: 202-464-9720

Exhibit Booth Rates:
Double booth (20x20 feet): $1,300
Full Booth (10x10 feet): $ 900
Half booth (5x10 feet): $ 525

For more information about exhibiting, please visit: http://www.acrnet.org/conferences/sponsorship/index.htm#exhibit

Sponsor an Event at the 2004 ACR Annual Conference

Consider sponsoring a key conference event at the ACR Annual Conference! This is your chance to promote your organization’s public image and to demonstrate your support of ACR. Exciting new sponsorship opportunities include:

• Lunchtime distribution of souvenir insulated lunch boxes with your logo at the World Café Lunch on Thursday, September 30.

• Overhead projection of your name and logo, and personalized presidential pens distributed at ACR’s Presidential Luncheon and Membership Meeting on Saturday, October 2.

• Your business card at every place setting at the ACR Networking Breakfast on Friday, October 1.

• Cocktail napkins with your name and logo at the Thursday evening Welcome Reception and Dance or at daily Coffee Breaks.

Visit http://www.acrnet.org/conferences/sponsorship/index.htm#opps for a complete list of opportunities and prices or call Penina Rantz at 202-464-9700, ext. 218.

2004 ACR Annual Conference Advertising

You still have time to advertise in the ACR on-site conference program! This indispensable four-day guide to all the workshops, plenaries and special events at the Annual Conference will be distributed to more than 1,500 conference attendees. Don’t be left out! Download your contract and fax it in by August 12, 2004!

http://www.acrnet.org/pdfs/ac04marketingcontract.pdf
Fax: 202-464-9720.

Advertising Rates:
Full-Page Ad (7x9 inches): $ 700
Half-Page Ad (7x4.5 inches): $ 425
Quarter-Page Ad (3x4.5 inches): $ 325

Call for Corporate Connections: Support ACR’s Annual Conference

Help us find corporate support for the ACR Annual Conference. If you, or anyone you know has connections to or suggestions of corporations that might be interested in supporting ACR’s Annual Conference or sponsoring a specific event at the conference, please let us know! This annual event brings together more than 1,500 people involved in the field on conflict resolution, so this is a great place to promote products and services. Call ACR COO Sangita Sigdyal at 202-464-9700, ext. 208 or Penina Rantz, Fundraising and Development Associate, at 202-464-9700, ext. 218 or e-mail her at: prantz@ACRnet.org.

ACR IS GEARING UP FOR ITS 2004 ANNUAL FUND CAMPAIGN!

The ACR Annual Fund Committee is forming now. Join us in making this year’s Annual Campaign the biggest success yet. Every member can make a difference by signing up to volunteer with the 2004 Campaign from August to December and/or making a financial contribution.

As ACR moves toward financial independence after years of support from the Hewlett Foundation, now more than ever, your support and generosity to ACR’s Annual Fund is critical.

Help ACR develop and maintain a strong, stable organizational foundation, quality programs, conferences, publications and professional initiatives. Help us fulfill our goals of enhancing conflict resolution and providing valuable programs and resources to our membership.

For more information about the Annual Fund Committee, the 2004 Annual Campaign or what your donation can do for ACR, please contact Ray Lanier, 2004 Annual Fund Chair at hlanier@wmata.com or Penina Rantz, ACR Development and Fundraising Associate at prantz@ACRnet.org.

California Court Decision on Confidentiality and Mediation

In a decision that will have an effect on the confidentiality of mediations all around the country, the California Supreme Court came out very strongly in favor of the confidentiality of mediation proceedings. In the case of Rojas v. Superior Court, decided on July 12, 2004, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that “confidentiality is essential to effective mediation.” The Supreme Court added that participants to a mediation must feel that “what is said in the mediation will not be used to their detriment through later court proceedings and other adjudicatory processes.”

The court then went on to find that photographs that had been taken in preparation for a mediation session were protected by the mediation confidentiality privilege, unless the party who took them chose to reveal them in a subsequent proceeding. The pictures were held to be confidential even if they were the only available evidence of their subject matter, and they could not be reproduced (the court gave the examples of a photograph of a torn-down building and a healed scar).

Although the Rojas decision strongly supports the confidentiality of materials prepared specifically for mediation, it also underlines that using otherwise discoverable materials in a mediation does not render them confidential, and does not shield them from subsequent production. For further information, see the full case at:
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S111585.PDF.

This information is provided by ACR’s Legislative and Public Policy (LPP) Committee. To learn more about ACR’s LPP activities, visit the ACR Web site: http://www.acrnet.org/about/initiatives/publicpolicy/index.htm. To receive periodic updates from the LPP Committee, log in to the ACR Member Center, click on “My Profile,” then “Contact Groups,” and select the Legislative and Public Policy contact group.

TALK TO A MENTOR AT THE ACR ANNNUAL CONFERENCE

If you would like to meet with a mentor at the ACR Annual Conference, please sign up online by August 27. You will be matched with a mentor prior to the conference. Mentors from all areas of the field and all levels of experience will be available to speak with mentees. ACR will host a mentor/mentee breakfast at the conference where you can meet your mentor and make arrangements for a time to talk together. The time and place of the breakfast will be posted online after August 15, at the following URL, where you can also register for a mentor: http://www.acrnet.org/mentoring.

For more information, please contact Lynne Kinnucan at lkinnucan@ACRnet.org.

CRISIS INTERVENTION SECTION UPDATE

Members of the Crisis Intervention Section are now eligible to receive the Police Journal of Crisis Negotiations at a 20 percent discount off the regular price. The Journal is dedicated to presenting practical information on dealing with critical emergency situations, from domestic disputes, attempted suicide and crisis intervention, to reducing the danger of hostage incidents, terrorism and barricaded subjects. For more information or to order the Journal, please contact Lynne Kinnucan by e-mail at lkinnucan@ACRnet.org.

EDUCATION SECTION UPDATE

Members of the Education Section are now eligible to receive the Journal of School Violence at a 20 percent discount off the regular price. The Journal provides the latest information on the difficult issues of violence -- from playground bullying to school murder -- tracking causes, consequences and costs of aggressive or violent behavior in children from kindergarten through twelfth grade. It presents up-to-date research, practice and theory with a focus on prevention and intervention, and provides tested information on threat assessment, stalking behavior, teacher safety and hostage situations. It also features articles that help with long-range strategic planning and articles on social policy, staff training, and international and cross-cultural studies. This peer-reviewed journal helps administrators and policymakers plan effectively to ensure school security by considering issues of administration, assessment, and funding and by providing Internet resources and Web site reviews. For more information or to order the Journal, please contact Lynne Kinnucan by e-mail at lkinnucan@ACRnet.org.

ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY SECTION RECEPTION

The Center for Collaborative Policy will host a reception for the Environment and Public Policy Section at ACR’s Annual Conference in Sacramento. The reception will be held Friday evening, October 1, from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. at the Sterling House, about 3 blocks from the hotel. For more information, please contact Section Co-Chairs Tom Fee at tomfeenj@aol.com or Mary Skelton Roberts at mskelton@cbuilding.org.

ONLINE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (ODR) SECTION UPDATE

Section Co-Chairs Colin Rule and Susan Raines spoke at the recent United Nations Conference on Online Dispute Resolution in Melbourne, Australia. The event drew more than 175 attendees from over 25 countries. The conference addressed the increasing interest of the United Nations and the European Union in the potential for online dispute resolution to address commercial and non-commercial disputes across international boundaries. Conference presentations highlighted new trends in technology, applications and skills in the field of online dispute resolution.

The Chairs invite you to attend ACR’s Annual Conference in Sacramento, where this conference and others like it will be discussed at the ODR Section meeting.

SPIRITUALITY SECTION HOSTS SYMPOSIUM AT ACR ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The Spirituality Section will host its First Annual Symposium on Religious Violence and Peacemaking at ACR’s Annual Conference in Sacramento, California on Wednesday, September 29, 2004. Spirituality Section member Dr. John Willis, Director of the Dispute Resolution Program at Sullivan University, invites attendees to “Torah, New Testament, Qur’an: Duties of the Faithful on Violence and Peacemaking.” The theme for the 2004 Symposium is “Holy Texts as Resources for Religious Behaviors.” For more information on the Symposium, please go to: http://www.mediate.com/acrspirituality/pg10.cfm.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION QUARTERLY SUBMISSIONS

Conflict Resolution Quarterly is ACR’s quarterly academic journal. Its mission is to publish scholarship on relationships between theory, research and practice in the conflict management and dispute resolution field to promote more effective professional applications. Articles should be directed to a multidisciplinary audience and be as readable and practical as possible. Submissions and questions regarding editorial matters should be sent to Tricia S. Jones, Editor, Conflict Resolution Quarterly, Dept. of Psychological Studies, College of Education, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122. You may also e-mail Tricia at tsjones@astro.temple.edu.

ACResolution MAGAZINE SUBMISSIONS

We accept submissions to the following departments of ACResolution magazine on a rolling basis. Please send an abstract, idea or story outline first; we will contact you if we are interested. Send all submissions to Alison Talbott, ACResolution’s Managing Editor, at atalbott@ACRnet.org. Please consider submitting to any of the following departments.

Members in the News

Members in the News, a subsection of the magazine's In Brief section, is the place for you to update your fellow ACR members on recent developments in your life and professional career. Found an exciting new job in the field? Appointed to a new position? Received an award? Write and tell us about it! Submissions should be no longer than 75 to 100 words, should be accompanied by a photo in JPEG or TIFF format, scanned at 300 dpi (you may send a photo hard copy if an electronic version is not available), and should note your ACR membership status and history. Please note that we can only include news about you once per volume (4 issues). Submissions received in August will go into the Fall issue of the magazine (November 2004).

Balancing Act

This is a one-page department focusing on members who are committed to developing themselves as whole persons, both within and outside the workplace. Articles should highlight an after-hours activity or hobby that enables you to feel centered and grounded in your busy life as an ADR professional. Please tell us about how this activity or hobby revitalizes you, helps you achieve balance in your personal life, feeds your intellect and nurtures your soul.

Learning Matters

We are always looking for short articles that discuss various aspects of conflict resolution education in schools, colleges and other environments. If you have an experience to share, please let us know.

Diversity Practices

This section of the magazine is devoted to best practices in diversity and conflict resolution and highlights innovative strategies for effectively responding to conflict within our increasingly diverse community.

World Views on ADR

This department features articles on conflict resolution in other countries, or efforts to promote international conflict resolution between countries or communities. Articles for this department are usually written by conflict resolution practitioners who live and work outside the United States. U.S. residents who have performed training or consultation in other countries are also encouraged to submit articles for this department.

Up Close

This department is a first-person account describing some aspect of conflict resolution practice. It is the place to offer personal opinions or take positions on issues, and can be written in a less formal style than other articles in the magazine.

ACR PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

Browse ACR’s catalogue of books, reports and training videos online at:
http://www.acrnet.org/library/catalogue.htm. In addition to such bestsellers as “Does It Work? The Case for Conflict Resolution in Our Nation’s Schools” and the “Positive Conflict Management” video series, we have added the “Master Series in Mediation” training videos featuring Dr. Larry Fong.

TEXAS-DALLAS CHAPTER HOSTS CONFLICT RESOLUTION PANEL

The Dallas Chapter of ACR announces its Third Annual Judges panel, to be held Tuesday, September 28, 2004 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Center for Community Cooperation (2900 Live Oak at Oak near downtown Dallas). This program will kick off the fall schedule for ACR professionals in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and will be provide an opportunity to discuss current trends, both positive and negative, in the field of conflict resolution. Attendees will be able to address subjects that interest them and ask questions of the panel.

This event includes complimentary refreshments and more. The program will begin and end promptly. If you have any questions, please contact ACR Dallas President Sheikha Susie Hobeiche at 972-596-5782 or sfc1ssh@gte.net.

NEW ENGLAND CHAPTER ANNOUNCES MEMBER MEETING

The New England Chapter presents “Strategies for Third Parties: When Diversity Comes to the Table,” featuring Leah Wing, Ed.D., on Thursday, September 9, 2004. The presentation will suggest several strategies and frameworks useful for third parties when differences “come to the table.” Leah Wing is a Lecturer in the Legal Studies Department at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and serves on ACR’s Board of Directors.

Registration and networking begin at 5:00 p.m. (hors d’oeuvres will be served), followed by the presentation and additional networking. The event will conclude at 7:30 p.m. The New England Chapter of ACR holds periodic general meetings and an annual conference. Please call 617-536-3227 or e-mail neacr@neacr.org for more information.

LOOKING FOR A NEW WAY TO EXPAND YOUR MEDIATION SKILLS?

CDR Associates presents: Resolving Public Policy Disputes, September 22-24

This seminar provides concepts, skills and strategies for resolving complex public policy and environmental disputes. Leaders from private organizations, government agencies, and public interest groups learn how to achieve their vital interests, select appropriate decision-making models, and when and how to use third-party professionals in the process.

If you convene, conduct, or participate in collaborative efforts, this course is for you.

To register or for more information about these exciting programs: http://www.mediate.org or call 1-800-MEDIATE.

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