Genevieve A. Chornenki

JUNE 2009 - GENEVIEVE MADE CHARTERED ARBITRATOR

Effective June 10, 2009, I received a professional designation called Chartered Arbitrator from the ADR Institute of Canada.  This designation complements the Chartered Mediator designation which I have held since 1995.  18 people in Ontario have both designations.

The C.Arb. recognizes a generalist competence in arbitration, a dispute resolution process where an arms-length person makes a binding decision after listening to both sides of a dispute.  The C.Med. recognizes a generalist competence in mediation, where the arms-length person helps disputants come to their own resolution rather than deciding the dispute for them.  I provide both services as part of my overall commitment to dispute resolution.

Applicants for C.Med. and C.Arb. must meet criteria for education, practical experience and skills.  In the case of the C.Arb., this includes a review of actual arbitration awards minus identifying information. Mine related to a partnership dispute, a price negotiation, and a quality of service disagreement.

The ADR Institute of Canada (ADR Canada) is a national non-profit organization that develops and promotes of dispute resolution services in Canada and internationally. 

For more information visit www.adrcanda.ca.

May, 2009 NEW EDITION OF BYPASS COURT FORTHCOMING

 Bypass Court: A Dispute Resolution Handbook by Genevieve A. Chornenki and Christine E. Hart, ISBN 0-433-44460-6  (LexisNexis Butterworths)

Bypass Court is a handbook for anyone who is or could be involved in any kind of dispute.   It gives practical information about dispute resolution options outside of the court system. 

First published in June of 1996, this handbook is currently available in its 3rd edition. In 2009 we begin work on a 4^th edition for release in late spring or summer of 2010.  The 4th edition plans to include, update, and go beyond the existing content including chapters on arbitration and ombuds & independent complaint handling services.

 Download BYPASS COURT (3rd ed.) Table of Contents.

Visit http://www.lexisnexis.ca/bookstore/bookinfo.php?pid=58

2009 JOINT OMBUDS CONFERENCE (April 15 -18, 2009)

This conference was co-hosted by the Forum of Canadian Ombuds in Montreal, Canada and pertained to my work as an organizational Ombuds.

·       1713  (Sweden) Office of the Supreme Ombudsman established 

·       1809  (Sweden)  Parliamentary Ombudsman Office opens 

·       2009  (World wide) Many different Ombuds models exist including ones for:

-       Citizens of a province or city, i.e. City of Toronto

-       Taxpayers, i.e. Government of Canada

-       Employees or contractors, i.e. Société des Alcools du Québec; Coca-Cola Bottling Company

-       Customers or clients, i.e. Royal Bank of Canada; Tarion Warranty Corporation

-       Students & faculty, i.e. University of Victoria; Fanshawe College

·       Beyond 2009 – More complex & sophisticated models are needed.  Professor Gilles Pacquet, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada maintains that:

-       “David and Goliath” is an incomplete and antiquated premise for Ombuds services

-       The idea of defending the little citizen against big Government is passing

-       Power, resources and information are dispersed so the focus should be governance

-        “No one is really in charge” anymore!

OF 2009 NEW YEAR'S GREETINGS & DARFUR STOVES

As one year closes and another opens, it is my pleasure and practice to make seasonal donations in honour of clients, colleagues and friends.  I publish my choices in a once-a-year mailing that offers my best wishes for the upcoming year and expresses gratitude for the part each person plays in making the donations possible.  The item that attracted the most attention this year was the Berkeley-Darfur Stove, a simple, fuel-efficient design that cuts down on the time that unprotected women and young girls need to spend in search of firewood.  One person wrote to say that he was also inspired to purchase a stove.

Here is the text of my New Year's letter Download Download SEASONAL GREETING

To learn more about Darfur stoves please visit www.darfurstoves.org. 

INFLUENTIAL BOOKS - 2008

They may not have been published in 2008 and they don't directly relate to conflict management, but they did make their way to the top of my book stack in 2008.  Most informative and influential:

• The Omnivore's Dilemma (ISBN 1-59420-082-3) and In Defense of Food (ISBN 978-1-59420-145-5) by Michael Pollan
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (ISBN 10-00-06-085255-0) by Barbara Kingsolver & family 
• The Hundred Mile Diet (ISBN 978-0-679-31482-0) by Alisa SMith and J.B. MacKinnon

These thoughtful books discuss the social implications of contemporary agriculture and industrial food. For a 2009 sequel, consider Food Matters by Mark Bittman.

WOMEN AS MEDIATORS - November 6,2008

On November 6, 2008 I took part in The Great Debate, a light-hearted, annual event of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the Ontario Bar Association.  The topic was provocative, Resolved that women make better mediators, and the format was that of a conventional debate.  I was on the negative side with my friend and colleague, Gary Furlong.  Our "opponents" were other seasoned mediators, Leslie MacLeod and Cliff Hendler.

Gary and I were unable to find any empirical evidence supporting the proposition that women are better mediators, although I did refer to research correlating personality type and how people respond to conflict.  The personality-type research reinforced our contention that superiority in mediation cannot be assigned to men or women because a good mediator has to respond to a broad range of people, problems and circumstances, and the competencies to do so can be acquired with practice.

The truth is that no one took the proposition seriously, and an audio of the evening (available at www.oba.org) shows that the event was light-hearted and fun.  A week later, however, another colleague forwarded this link http://cobbmediation.wordpress.com/2008/11/11correlation-of-mediator-gender-to-settlement-rate . So perhaps the debate lives on in the minds of some...

CONFERENCE OF ONTARIO BOARDS & AGENCIES: PREPARING FOR MEDIATION - November 6, 2008

It was an honour to be invited to present a workshop on Preparing for Mediation for the 2008 Conference of Ontario Boards and Agencies, particularly since I have a longstanding interest in the differences between public interest and private interest mediation.  The workshop included What a Tribunal Mediator Brings to the Table and How to Uncover Interests as well as a selection of public interest scenarios.

See a sample handout Download HOW TO UNCOVER INTERESTS

See how participants rated me Download COBA RATINGS

Emerging Joseph Campbell Roundtable - April 30, 2008

This emerging discussion group will reconvene on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 7pm to view and discuss "The Hero's Journey", a biographical portrait of Joseph Campbell.  See below for details.

"Seeing" Results - March 11, 2008

At the end of 2007 one of my annual donations was to Operation Eyesight Universal (OEU)on behalf of clients, colleagues and friends.  My selection criteria were the relief of human suffering without regard for personal or group characteristics and the ability to make a tangible difference in the life of an identifiable human being.

Today I learned the name, age and location of 26 individuals who now can see as a result of this donation.  Thirteen men and thirteen women had their sight restored through cataract surgery and the insertion of an intra-ocular lens.  The youngest was a 30 year old man from Orissa and the eldest was a 78 year old woman from Kerala.  Since 80% of our sensory input comes from sight, this surgery is bound to make a profound, practical difference in their work and family lives.   Thank you to everyone who made this possible.

Sample OEU patient cards Download oeu_patient_card_1.pdf  Download oeu_patient_card_2.pdf

My 2007/2008 Seasonal Donation Letter Download seasonal_greeting.pdf

Visit OEU Operation Eyesight Universal

Emerging Joseph Campbell Roundtable - February 27, 2008

Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) made a life-long study of world mythology.  His work revealed startling similarities among people all around the globe and convinced him that humanity is one vast, evolving symphony. Campbell also maintained that myths hold important clues for living a truly human life under any set of circumstances.

In 2007, I convened a "mythological roundtable" in Toronto, Canada for the purpose of studying and applying Joseph Campbell's work.  We met several times and watched Bill Moyers' PBS interviews of Campbell, and we evolved into an intimate discussion group that uses Cambpell's thinking as a prompt.  We discuss spiritual topics that matter to us, outside the range of any particular creed or dogma.

The next roundtable will take place on Wednesday, February 27, 2008 from 7 - 9 pm (EST). The topic is RUMI - Sufi Scholar & Mystic.  If this interests you, download the Meeting Notice and Agenda.

Download joseph_campbell_feb_08_notice.pdf

Download joseph_campbell_feb_08_agenda.pdf

HOW PERSONALITY-TYPE TAKES US BEYOND MARS & VENUS - May 22, 2008

People often talk about personality differences between men and women but when it comes to such differences, I prefer the psychological model of Personality Type which is a way of understanding others based on how they prefer to use their minds.  Type maintains that such preferences are inborn.

Type helps us identify and understand differences between people in a neutral and non-judgmental way.  It isn't a Mars-Venus thing; it cuts across gender and thus is less stereotypical if properly used.

On May 22, 2008, I'm offering a course on the application of Type to conflict resolution. For more informaiton click here .  You can also download these articles in a 3-part series.

Download beyond_mars_venus__part_1_.pdf

Download beyond_mars_venus__part_ii_.pdf

CBC Radio - "The Trouble with Tolerance"

In December 2006, I took part in "The Trouble with Tolerance", an IDEAS radio show that was re-broadcast on February 4, 5 & 6, 2008 at 9:05 pm (EST) on CBC Radio One.

The Trouble with Tolerance consists of unscripted conversations among me and two others who began as strangers to me, journalist Sunny Yi and philosopher Michael Blake.  We wrestled with the notion of tolerance - what it means, what it looks like in practice, what it requires of us - and we had our differences.

To me, tolerance starts with the individual and requires self-awareness, discipline and practice.  It is more than just putting up with someone or refraining from doing them harm when they are different.  I am attracted to Gordon Allport's more robust definition from The Nature of Prejudice which calls for a measure of good will and the absence of judging others.  Easier said than done, but something to strive for.

To order a DVD of the program scroll down to "The Trouble with Tolerance" after you click here.