practitioner

Protecting people over tech platforms with Anne Ikiara of Digital Action [Ep. 26]

In this episode, Laura engages in a riveting conversation with Anne Ikiara, the Executive Director of the nonprofit Digital Action.  She has a remarkable background directing social enterprises in Global Majority countries and is known as an author, poet, speaker, gender consultant, and social advocate.
We talk about:
Lived Experience of Disinformation and Violence: Anne shares her personal connection to the impacts of disinformation, misinformation, and hate speech during the 2007 elections in Kenya, where violence ensued. This experience inspired her to join Digital Action and make a global impact on protecting democracy from digital threats.
Understanding Disinformation and Violence in Elections: We delve into the factors that lead to disinformation and violence in elections, particularly in Kenya, where ethnic divides play a significant role. Anne sheds light on how misinformation and hate speech are propagated online and offline, contributing to social conflicts.
Digital Action's Mission and Initiatives: Anne outlines the role of Digital Action, a nonprofit organization focused on holding tech giants accountable for safeguarding democracy from digital threats. She explains the disparities between investment in Global Majority and Global Minority countries and how Digital Action seeks to bridge that gap.
Challenges and Strategies in Tech Justice: Anne discusses the challenges presented by the ever-evolving social media landscape and the fragmentation of platforms. She elaborates on how Digital Action's coalition is working to ensure that tech companies invest in safeguarding democracy across the globe, not just in certain regions.
Global Campaign for Tech Justice and Protecting Elections: Discover Digital Action's campaign for 2024 to make it the Year of Democracy and Safe Elections. Anne emphasizes the importance of partnering with various organizations to raise awareness about digital harm during elections and compel tech companies to address these issues.
The Power of Context-Specific Safeguards: Anne stresses the significance of context-specific content moderation and safeguards in addressing digital harm. She discusses how tech companies should collaborate with local organizations, governments, and civil society to ensure effective protection.
Anne as an Author and Poet: Learn about Anne's creative side as an author and poet. She shares her passion for writing about justice, equity, human rights, and women's rights. Her forthcoming book sheds light on the nonprofit sector's inequalities for people of color.
Personal Responsibility in Combating Disinformation: Anne provides practical advice for individuals to combat disinformation and hate speech. She emphasizes the importance of verifying information before sharing it and encourages spreading positive messages that promote democracy and human rights.
Don't miss this informative and thought-provoking episode with Anne Ikiara as we explore the complexities of digital threats, democracy, and the power of collective action.
 
Connect with Anne and Digital Action:
https://digitalaction.co/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-ikiara-4543265/
https://anneikiara.com/

Transforming cultures in and outside the workplace with David Liddle MBA [Ep. 20]

In this episode, Laura speaks with David Liddle, founder and CEO of the TCM Group, about his career as a dedicated mediator and 'people first' professional.  Listen if you are interested in:
His early career mediating in estates in the UK
Transformational culture and restorative justice in the workplace
A role for mediators in broader social conflicts
Redefining HR in modern organisations
About David:David has developed significant expertise and authority in the areas of people and culture, conflict resolution, leadership and organisational development. He is author of two highly acclaimed books, ‘MANAGING CONFLICT’ and ‘TRANSFORMATIONAL CULTURE’.David has spent the last 30 years reframing HR systems, management processes, and leadership behaviours. He puts purpose, people and values at the heart of his customers organisations. With a passion for collaboration, inclusion and empowerment, he brings people together to deliver high impact transformational change. In 2001, having been awarded an MBA with Distinction, David established The TCM Group (Train. Consult. Mediate). His vision for TCM was, and still is, to integrate fair, just, inclusive, sustainable and high performance cultures by creating the conditions for leaders, managers and employees to have quality conversations.David is a Fellow of the RSA and he is the founder of the Institute of Organizational Dynamics (www.organisationaldynamics.org). David is a well respected speaker and he has written numerous articles and contributed to a number of texts.Contact David at david.liddle@thetcmgroup.com or via www.thetcmgroup.com.  His LinkedIn is https://www.linkedin.com/in/liddledavid/.About the host:Laura is a facilitator, people and culture director, and former Executive Director of the International Mediation Institute.  Her doctoral research asked “in what ways does blame make villains in politics” and covered the gamut from literature studies and linguistics to psychology and neuroscience, victimology to political science.  Her expertise includes emotions, polarization, blame, and international politics.  Feel free to connect with her on  LinkedIn or ResearchGate—or even both!

Gender, climate change, and conflict with Laura Aumeer [Ep. 13]

In this episode Laura interviews Laura Aumeer, Director of the Europe-Asia Department of Conciliation Resources, overseeing work in the South Caucasus and South Asia regions, as well as cross-regional peacebuilding work.
Laura brings expertise on adaptive peacebuilding management and led our work with the Smart Peace consortium, an innovative consortium integrating research and implementation to address complex conflict problems. She also worked closely with the Women Mediators across the Commonwealth Team, providing secretariat support to the network. 
Before Laura joined Conciliation Resources, she set up and managed violence reduction programmes with a focus on learning and innovation, for an international development consultancy, where she managed teams in Nigeria, South Sudan and Malawi. She previously worked in DFID, to support adaptive programming and learning.
Before this, she worked in and with grassroots UK-based charities to advocate for an inclusive approach to tackling gender-based violence, and to increase support for women's organisations. She holds an MSc from LSE in politics and democracy, for which she conducted research with women's organisations and wider civil society organisations in Thailand and Egypt on the changing nature of civil society-state relations.
Laura Aumeer | Conciliation Resources (c-r.org)

Brains, conflict, and democracy with Dr. Sebastian F. Winter, MD [Ep. 12]

In this episode Laura interviews Sebastian F. Winter, a physician-scientist working at the intersection of public health policy, medicine, and academia with a vision to shape healthcare and inspire a lasting social impact. 
He is currently Head of Policy and Research at the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE), where he works with an interdisciplinary team committed to make epilepsy a global public health priority and improve the lives of over 50 million people living with epilepsy worldwide.
Beyond previous roles in clinical medicine and research, he co-founded and co-lead a social venture that promotes mental health and peace-building among refugee communities. A globally trained MD-PhD with exposure to various healthcare systems across four continents, he is passionate about public health and education policy (past projects at WHO Europe and UNESCO), as well as academic research, including projects in neurotoxicity, oncology, refugee mental health, brain health, NCD prevention, and public health ethics.
His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Neuro-Oncology, Neurology, the European Journal of Cancer, The Brookings Institution Press, Conflict Resolution Quarterly, and the International Journal of Health Policy and Management, and he has gathered substantial experience as a public speaker at international conferences and platforms including TEDx.
An alumnus of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation (Studienstiftung) and affiliate researcher at the MGH Cancer Center at Harvard Medical School, he holds a Ph.D. (summa cum laude; '22) and M.D. (Distinction; '20) from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and a B.Sc. (1st Class Honours; '13) in Neuroscience from King’s College London, UK.
The brain health paper can be found here: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Brain-health-directed-policymaking_Final.pdf
Additional links:
https://www.sfwinter.com/
https://twitter.com/SebastianWinter
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastianfwinter/
 
 

Communities in conflict with Felicity Steadman [Ep. 11]

In this episode Laura interviews Mediator and Facilitator Felicity Steadman. Felicity's career started out in the turbulent apartheid years in South Africa where she honed her dispute resolution skills and her capacity to work with diverse groups of people in the industrial relations field. She has mediated in 32 countries for more than thirty years, with more than 500 cases completed. After arriving in the UK in 2002 she quickly adapted to a new jurisdiction, qualified as a CEDR mediator and began mediating commercial disputes through CEDR. She was first accredited as a CEDR mediator in 2003, and in 2019 was appointed Head of Faculty at CEDR.  In 2021 she was ranked by Legal 500 amongst their top mediators in the UK. She is a founding member of Oxford Mediation.
Felicity Steadman | Achieving Sustainable Outcomes

Peer mediation amongst refugees with Helen Winter [Ep. 06]

In this episode Laura interviews Helen Winter, Co-Founder and CEO of R3SOLUTE.com, a program that strives to accelerate mutual integration of refugee and local communities and the rebuilding of refugee lives. R3SOLUTE aims to foster sustainable peace by reducing the social and economic costs of conflicts and maximizing the value of constructive debate for individuals, organizations, and communities.
Helen is an avid certified mediator and lawyer. She previously worked as a mediator with L. A. Superior Court and consultant with OnDeckMediation where her expertise included anti-discrimination law. In addition, her experience includes working with the United Nations Office of the Ombudsman and Mediation Services where she analyzed and addressed systemic issues within the organization. She is also an ambassador with International Justice Mission in Germany.
https://r3solute.com/

Conflict narratives and emotions with Dr. Samantha Hardy [Ep.05]

In this episode Laura interviews Dr. Samantha Hardy Lawson, Principal at Conflict Coaching International and Adjunct Associate Professor at James Cook University.
Dr. Lawson is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the James Cook University (JCU), Conflict Management Resolution (CMR) Program. Sam is accredited under the National Mediator Accreditation System and certified as a transformative mediator by the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation in the United States. She is an experienced conflict coach and the founder of the REAL Conflict Coaching System.
A leader in the field of conflict management and resolution, Sam is a principal at Conflict Coaching International and runs a consultancy practice in creative conflict engagement and education. She has published widely in conflict resolution, including her books Dispute Resolution in Australia, 3rd ed. (2014), co-authored with David Spencer, and Mediation for Lawyers (2010), co-authored with Olivia Rundle.

Mediating peace with Dr. Juan Diaz-Prinz [Ep. 04]

In this episode Laura interviews Dr. Juan Diaz-Prinz, senior expert on mediation and dialogue at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Juan is a mediator, trainer, and facilitator who has dedicated his career to bridging the gap between theory and practice in mediation. He started his career in the Office of the International Mediator in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1998-2004) and then co-founded the CSSP: Berlin Center for Integrative Mediation. He served as its director and senior mediator between 2005 and 2013. He later supported the founding of the European Institute of Peace for mediatEUr: the European Forum for International Mediation and Dialogue. Before joining USIP, he was working on developing the Conflict Management Space as an online platform for developing simple innovative training material for practitioners working in the field.

Convergence with Rob Fersh and Monika Glowacki [Ep. 02]

Step into the world of consensus building and collective action as Laura speaks with Rob Fersh and Monica Glowacki from the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution in the US, which is all about bringing diverse voices together to tackle critical national issues. From education to gun violence, they've seen it all! But what sets them apart is their secret sauce: the magic of co-creation and empathetic listening. Get ready to dive into this first full episode of the Conflict Tipping podcast, where Rob and Monika spill the beans on their successes, failures, and the transformative power of consensus building.
In this episode, you'll discover:
The fascinating stories behind Convergence's projects, like how they brought gun control activists and Second Amendment enthusiasts together, and the impact they've made on the Affordable Care Act.
The nitty-gritty of consensus building and why it leads to higher quality and more innovative solutions by incorporating diverse perspectives.
How co-creation can transform adversarial interactions into cooperative problem-solving sessions, where all voices are heard and respected.
The early successes that paved the way for Convergence's groundbreaking work, including their involvement in healthcare reform.
The innovative project on digital disinformation, where they're bringing together tech platforms, media, academia, and more to combat the harmful effects of false information in our society.
The challenges of power imbalances and disparities that they grapple with while striving for consensus and how they navigate those complexities.
So, if you're ready to explore the unexpected connections and transformative potential of consensus building, tune in to hear from Rob Fersh and Monica Glowacki as they take you on a journey of co-creation, collective action, and the pursuit of common ground.
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About the guests:
Prior to co-founding Convergence, Rob served as the United States country director for Search for Common Ground, an international conflict resolution organization. While at SFCG, he directed national policy consensus projects on health care coverage for the uninsured and U.S.-Muslim relations. In the 1986-98 period, Rob served as president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), a leading NGO working to alleviate hunger in the United States. Rob also served on the staffs of three Congressional committees, working for U.S. Representative Leon Panetta and for Senators Patrick Leahy and Edmund Muskie. While a Congressional staff member and at FRAC, he was deeply involved in shepherding passage of bipartisan legislation to reduce hunger in the United States.
Monika is the Director of the initiative on Digital Disinformation at Convergence, where she will bring together people across differences to explore the root causes of problems with online information and media systems, and pathways towards a more equitable vision for the future of the internet. Monika has worked in research and analysis exploring the intersection of technology, people, politics and power. She is interested in critical analysis of the impact of technology on our lives, societies and economies, as well as how technology can be reimagined to serve the public interest and our wellbeing.
Learn more at http://convergencepolicy.org
 
About the host:Laura is a facilitator, people and culture director, and former Executive Director of the International Mediation Institute.  Her doctoral research asked “in what ways does blame make villains in politics” and covered the gamut from literature studies and linguistics to psychology and neuroscience, victimology to political science.  Her expertise includes emotions, polarization, blame, and international politics.  Feel free to connect with her on  LinkedIn or ResearchGate—or even both!