[Imc] Draft of text for <http://www.ucimc.org/mediation.html> (fwd)

[John Wason]

Very well thought out discussion/amendment.  Kudos to both Pauls.

John


On Wed, 31 Jul 2002, Paul Riismandel wrote:

> I want to thank Paul for writing this mediation proposal.  I appreciate 
> the reframing of a person-in-conflict not as someone causing trouble but 
> as someone who can help find a path for improvement and advancement. 
>  Overall I think this proposal looks very good and only have a small 
> concern -- I apologize for not bringing it  up earlier.
> 
> I am concerned by the role of Advocate being someone who stands in 
> someone's place at a meeting.  While I understand that there may be that 
> need at some point, I think the Advocate needs to be construed more 
> broadly.  
> 
> One of the goals of a non-hierarchical, open organization is that people 
> are not represented, but represent themselves. While the IMC has a 
> spokescouncil in its Steering Group, this group is not a group of 
> representatives.  The difference is that in a group of representatives, 
> all power (power to propose, power to vote) resides exclusively with the 
> representatives -- you can't walk into the US Senate and demand the 
> floor and vote.  This is not true with any IMC working group, including 
> steering.  Anyone may submit an agenda item, proposal and participate in 
> all levels of decision making.  The Steering spokes only stand to define 
> a minimum constituency, to ensure that no working group is left out.
> 
> I fear that having an advocate who speaks FOR someone, essentially 
> REPRESENTING her, dilutes, and possibly undermines this.
> 
> Instead, I would like to see the Advocate be someone who ASSISTS a 
> person-in-conflict in having her/his concerns fairly addressed at a 
> meeting. This person's role would be to see that the concern is properly 
> placed on an agenda and properly given the time it deserves to be 
> discussed and deliberated upon.  
> 
> The Advocate should accompany a person-in-conflict to a meeting in order 
> to provide both support and guidance, to help guard the person's own 
> interests, and help that person guard her own.  Because we can all get 
> caught up in tense situations, that Advocate's role might also include 
> advising the person-in-conflict to calm down, to take a moment to 
> reflect, or even advise to accept a compromise.
> 
> The outcome of conflict mediation must be deliberated consensus.  In 
> order for this to happen the person-in-conflict must be an active 
> participant in the deliberation and consenting upon a solution.  I think 
> it is difficult for this to happen by proxy.
> 
> That said, I do think that there can be situations where the Advocate 
> should stand in for someone -- in cases where hostilities are running 
> high, or where some significant threats to the person-in-conflict exist. 
>  But I think and hope that these situations would be extremely rare.
> 
> I'd like to submit this revised Advocate role as a friendly amendment to 
> Paul's Mediation proposal.
> I suggest language to replace this portion: "An "ADVOCATE" is someone 
> who attends meetings as your proxy, voicing concerns and proposals on 
> your behalf."
> 
> My revised language is:
> "An ADVOCATE is someone who will assist you in having your concerns 
> fairly and properly addressed and considered at an IMC meeting.  An 
> ADVOCATE will ensure that your concerns are added to a meeting agenda 
> and given the proper amount of time for discussion and deliberation. An 
> ADVOCATE will attend the meeting with you to provide support and 
> guidance in airing your concerns, voicing your proposals and finding 
> consensus in solutions.
> 
> In the event of an extremely difficult conflict an ADVOCATE may attend a 
> meeting on your behalf, as your proxy.  You may empower that ADVOCATE to 
> act on your behalf in raising concerns and reaching a consensus 
> solution.  Because an ADVOCATE cannot represent you and your concerns as 
> well as you can, it is strongly advised that an ADVOCATE be your proxy 
> only when attending a meeting yourself will cause signficant difficulty 
> and distress to yourself and/or others."
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Paul
> 
> Paul Kotheimer wrote:
> 
> >hi folkses
> >
> >by request, here's an e-mail copy of the draft i passed out to
> >steering group two sundays ago.
> >
> >just for some context, it's proposed that this text (subject to revisions
> >submitted by all and any) become a web-page linked to the www.ucimc.org
> >site, and that it be in place to hook IMC participants up with conflict
> >resolution resources for conflicts they might encounter inside the IMC.
> >
> >my understanding is that this text is on the agenda for participant
> >comment and improvements at the next two steering meetings.  i hope that
> >info is legit.
> >
> >and i hope my ideas help...
> >
> >paulkotheimer:)
> >
> >------------------------------------------------
> >
> >WHO CAN HELP ME THROUGH A CONFLICT I'M HAVING INSIDE THE IMC?
> >
> >Since all IMC working and steering meetings are open to the public, any
> >willing IMC participant or community ally can act as a mediator or
> >advocate.  A "MEDIATOR" is someone who meets with PERSONS-IN-CONFLICT with
> >the goal of turning complaints and concerns into proposals and ultimately
> >CHANGES in the IMC.  An "ADVOCATE" is someone who attends meetings as your
> >proxy, voicing concerns and proposals on your behalf.
> >
> >The IMC has a number of dedicated MEDIATION volunteers who can be of
> >assistance to you in times of conflict.  If you want the assistance of one
> >of our mediation volunteers, you can contact one specifically by phone or
> >e-mail.  Feel free, also, to e-mail them ALL at the address
> ><mediation at ucimc.org.>
> >
> >Here are the names and contact preferences of our (more-or-less) fearless
> >MEDIATION VOLUNTEERS!!
> >
> >
> >PAUL KOTHEIMER		herringb at prairienet.org		384-0299
> >best to e-mail me with a description of the conflict at hand 
> >
> >and when's the best time for us to talk in person. 
> >
> >CONF LICTRESOLUTION	mediator at conflict.imc		123-4567
> >call me on my cel-phone.  early evenings are my best time to meet.
> >
> >ETCETERA			etcetera at etcetera.etc		012-3456
> >i don't check e-mail every day, but i'll get back to you within two
> >working days.
> >
> >PLACE HOLDER		placeholder at thislist.list		222-2222
> >i assume you get the idea.
> >
> >
> >WHAT WILL A MEDIATION VOLUNTEER DO FOR ME?
> >
> >Once you've made contact with an IMC MEDIATOR, that MEDIATOR will probably
> >ask you to get together in person to talk about the conflict.  IMC
> >MEDIATORS have made a committment to asking QUESTIONS rather than giving
> >advice or quoting policy.  MEDIATORS generally view conflict as a way to
> >help the IMC learn and grow.  MEDIATORS view persons-in-conflict as
> >CONSULTANTS to the IMC, that is, as allies with a valuable perspective on
> >how the IMC impacts the community-at-large.  As a consultant, then, you'll
> >be asked to describe a few things: how whatever conflict you're observing
> >started, what you think the problem is, what changes you envision in the
> >IMC--or about a particular working group--in order to address the
> >conflict, what you think this conflict says about the current state of the
> >IMC and the local activist community at large, etc.
> >
> >It might be the case that one or more potential mediators will "RECUSE"
> >themselves from the role of mediator.  This just means that they don't
> >want to get involved as a mediator because they see themselves as already
> >involved, either as an actor or as a person-too-close-to-the-problem.
> >Please don't take it personally if a mediator feels the need to recuse
> >herself.  MEDIATORS are acting in what they see as YOUR best interest when
> >they do so.
> >
> >WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I MEET WITH A MEDIATOR?
> >
> >Usually, the goal is to get your conflict onto the agenda at the
> >pertaining meeting, either as an item for discussion or as a proposal.
> >There are LOTS of completely valid reasons why a person with a conflict
> >might not be able to bring a conflict to the meeting without assistance.
> >It's the nature of CONFLICT to be emotional, painful, confusing,
> >intimidating, exasperating.  That's why we propose the idea of the
> >ADVOCATE.  As mentioned above, the ADVOCATE "sits in" at meetings on
> >behalf of a persons-in-conflict, speaking from the point of view of the
> >person (or group of people) with the conflict, hoping to facilitate a
> >CONSENSUS which might resolve the conflict.
> >
> >How you and your MEDIATOR and/or ADVOCATE interact as a team to get your
> >concerns voiced is entirely up to you.  It might be useful to have an
> >advocate who has experience at IMC meetings or in CONSENSUS
> >decision-making.
> >
> >Your MEDIATOR might volunteer to serve as a GUEST FACILITATOR for the
> >agenda item which pertains to your conflict.  This can be useful when all
> >in attendance at a particular meeting seem to be
> >people-too-close-to-the-problem.  It's best to get a consensus on a guest
> >facilitator one meeting in advance, although it can sometimes be done at
> >the meeting in question.
> >
> >Your agenda item might be assigned to a CAUCUS.  A caucus is similar to a
> >sub-committee:  A portion of the working group who have special experience
> >or interest in the conflict-at-hand volunteer to meet seperately in order
> >to brainstorm, problem-solve, and draft proposals.  These proposals get
> >presented to the larger decision-making group for consideration
> >and--hopefully, eventually...--CONSENSUS.
> >
> >HOW CAN I VOLUNTEER TO BE AN IMC MEDIATOR?
> >HOW CAN I HELP DESIGN EVEN BETTER CONFLICT RESOLUTION SYSTEMS AT THE
> >URBANA IMC?
> >
> >With any questions, suggestions, or to volunteer, contact
> ><mediation at ucimc.org>. 
> >
> >
> >_______________________________________________
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> >IMC at www.ucimc.org
> >http://lists.cu.groogroo.com/cgi-bin/listinfo/imc
> >  
> >
> 
> 
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