Non-profit Extends Reach of ADR-Trained Dispute Resolution Leaders to Tackle Conflict Around the World
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 17, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today marks the formal launch of the Weinstein International Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to making mediation available and accessible worldwide in the face of increasing global challenges and conflict.
Established by Hon. Daniel Weinstein (Ret.) and a complement of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) pioneers and lawyers focused on international issues, the Foundation aims to extend the reach and impact of the ADR-trained Weinstein JAMS International Fellows to promote mediation education and training and help communities around the world tackle local, regional and cross-border non-commercial disputes in the public interest.
“Mediation and sharing the skills that make it so effective have been my passion since retiring from the bench, and never before in our collective history has the need for peaceable approaches to conflict resolution been so clearly demonstrated on the world stage,” said Weinstein. “This Foundation provides an amazing opportunity to ensure that we have a dedicated global community of trained professionals who can take on the mediation of disputes with sensitivity to and appreciation of the local customs and politics that are often at play. Further, we are deeply dedicated to strengthening this ADR community and its good work.”
The Weinstein International Foundation is committed to four specific components -- increasing access to justice; providing education and training that promotes mediation; managing disputes of societal significance; and advancing the settlement of conflict through ongoing collaboration and exchanges with its global network of ADR leaders.
Following a decade of training and mentoring, these Senior Fellows of the Weinstein International Foundation include legal professionals and ADR leaders from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. The Foundation is sponsoring a series of regional conferences for the Fellows to share and learn, including a forthcoming conference in Tbilisi, Georgia on Oct. 26 – 29.
The Fellows have benefited from the wisdom of the Foundation’s Board of Directors members: David Carden, the former U.S. Ambassador to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Of Counsel with Jones Day; Leonard D’Urso, CEO and co-founder of ADR Center, Italy; Bruce A. Edwards, a professional international mediator and mediation educator; Sukhsimranjit Singh, a law professor and managing director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine Law; Jay Welsh, an innovator in the ADR field and former JAMS executive vice president and general counsel; and Hon. Ann Claire Williams (Ret.), a former circuit judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Of Counsel with Jones Day.
“We have long been impressed by the tremendous potential of our global network of now Senior Fellows and their genuine desire to bring about change in their own communities. By harnessing this collective enthusiasm, knowledge and cultural understanding and amplifying its reach, we are working towards spreading the practice, benefits and improved outcomes that we know mediation can deliver in resolving conflict,” said Ellen S. Bass, Executive Director of the Weinstein International Foundation. “It really is about mediating a better future.”
About Weinstein International Foundation
Headquartered in San Francisco, the Weinstein International Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to making mediation available and accessible worldwide. Through its global network of ADR-trained professionals, the group promotes mediation education and training while helping communities manage local, regional and cross-border disputes in the public interest.
Contact:
Traci Stuart / Michael Panelli
Blattel Communications
415.413.4522 / 415.413.4527
traci@blattel.com / mpanelli@blattel.com