Autumn Core News

Oct, 2018

Training opportunities, forthcoming events, mediation articles and blogs and other pieces for your interest.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Letting Go

Sep, 2018

"'The last great act of a courageous leader is to let go', I suggested to the CEO as he pondered whether this was in fact a good time to step down.... He was holding on for his own reasons, unsure what the future would hold for him, uncertain about what he would do and where he could turn. He needed a prompt, permission, to accept responsibility.."

Diaries shed personal and professional light on Law Lord

Sep, 2018

Earlier this year, John Sturrock commented on the first of Lord Hope’s Diaries. He now reflects on the latest volume, which covers Lord Hope’s time as Lord President and is a fascinating account of a rapidly changing era.

Originally published in The Scotsman on 3 September 2018.

Guerrilla Gardening – and a Plea for a Universal Declaration of Interdependence

Aug, 2018

“Some ideas take seed... so, here is another seed. What might we do to reassert our sense of identity as part of the whole? How might might we express our need for, and dependence on, each other, as an antidote to isolation, silos and alienation?”

Time to make more of resolution option

Aug, 2018

The appointment of the new Cabinet Secretary for Justice is a good opportunity to ask some questions: What kind of dispute resolution system do we wish to encourage in contemporary Scotland? How should public money and resources be deployed to achieve the best results?...

Originally published as an article in The Scotsman  on 6 August 2018.

Paddling against the Current: Embodied Conflict

Jul, 2018

"If we are to add real value and take this field to where it needs to go, we simply must keep paddling, persevering, trying to acquire greater mastery of the difficult stuff, and overcoming our fear of social failure or appearance of technical incompetence."

To Understand Trump, Study his Mother's Trauma

Jul, 2018

"President Trump’s visit has provoked much comment on the behaviour and attitudes demonstrated by this most unusual man. Not so much attention has been paid to what lies beneath. Just what makes a man act and speak as he does? An answer may lie in his Scottish roots." Originally published in The Times.

Summer Core News

Jun, 2018

Residential Summer School, Reflections on IAM Conference and visit by William Ury and more...

The Edinburgh Declaration of International Mediators

Jun, 2018

This article, originally published in The Scotsman, was written in the aftermath of the annual International Academy of Mediators conference that took place in Edinburgh on 10-12 May. During the conference, nearly 100 mediators signed a declaration setting out what they believe in and commit to.

The certainties of the past will no longer afford security in the future

Jun, 2018

"It is becoming more and more evident that a binary approach to important political questions is no longer fit for purpose.  It is also fairly obvious that the certainties of the past will no longer afford security in the future. We live in an uncertain, ambiguous and somewhat paradoxical world. We need to find ways to enable our decision-making to be confidently nuanced, subject to change, provisional, open to multiple options, willing to adapt." Originally published in The Scotsman.

Core News May 2018

May, 2018

Information about our upcoming events, recent articles and other news                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Scotland ready to reprise role in thawing Cold War

May, 2018

John Sturrock's recent article published in the Times on 10 May 2018 discussing the 1983 Edinburgh Conversations and whether Scotland can aspire to play a similar role in today's world.

Mediator "Fairness"?

May, 2018

After finishing the second module of Core's Mediation Skills Training Course, one of the participants sent an email with an interesting question: Can someone be a mediator when their instinct is to fight for the underdog?

Nelson Mandela, master of mediation

Apr, 2018

John Sturrock's recent article in The Scotsman.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

An Opportunity for Early and Constructive Resolution

Feb, 2018

John Sturrock recently provided oral evidence to a Scottish Parliament Justice Committee Round-Table Session on “Alternative Dispute Resolution”. The purpose of the round-table was to explore issues around the availability of “ADR” in Scotland and any barriers to its use. This blog builds on aspects of our discussion paper for the Committee.