Restorative Justice Week 2010 will be launched with a dynamic Open House and Networking Event
taking place at the West End Cultural Centre on Monday November 15th, 2010 from 1-3pm!
The event will feature:
* displays and information tables from a variety of organizations
* short performances and testimonials from various program participants
* the proclamation from a Manitoba Justice representative
* snacks and refreshments to enjoy while connecting with others
Are you an organization that works from Restorative Justice Principles or would you like to learn more about Restorative Justice? Join us!
How can you get involved?:
* attend this free event from 1-3pm to learn and connect
* set up an information table for your organization at no cost to you (must call 925-3419 to reserve your table by November 1st, 2010 as space is limited)
* support this event by donating snacks or refreshments on behalf of your business
For more information or to reserve a table call Kelly at 925-3419.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Amazing opportunity for RJ Practitioners and Academics
Amazing opportunity for RJ Practitioners and Academics
It is not very often that one has the opportunity to attend a binational conference with such an impressive line-up of key-note speakers, and more workshop opportunities than you can count... and all of this at an affordable cost.
Here in Manitoba – Winnipeg specifically – we have such an opportunity.. On October 1 and 2, the Peace and Justice Studies Association Conference is offering us the chance to hear expert and experienced people in the field of Peace and Justice. The plenary speakers alone are worth the cost and include Chief Ovide Mercredi, Catherine Morris, Carolyn Nordstrom, Betty Reardon and others (see their bios at www.peacejusticestudies.org/conference – click on Plenary Speakers.
This is the first time the PJSA is holding its conference in Canada, and its not likely to be in Winnipeg again in the near future.
My recommendation is that you not dismiss this opportunity lightly. Take a few minutes to check out the workshops and the schedule. If you're a good Manitoban like me, it'll be hard for you to pass up this good deal!
It is not very often that one has the opportunity to attend a binational conference with such an impressive line-up of key-note speakers, and more workshop opportunities than you can count... and all of this at an affordable cost.
Here in Manitoba – Winnipeg specifically – we have such an opportunity.. On October 1 and 2, the Peace and Justice Studies Association Conference is offering us the chance to hear expert and experienced people in the field of Peace and Justice. The plenary speakers alone are worth the cost and include Chief Ovide Mercredi, Catherine Morris, Carolyn Nordstrom, Betty Reardon and others (see their bios at www.peacejusticestudies.org/conference – click on Plenary Speakers.
This is the first time the PJSA is holding its conference in Canada, and its not likely to be in Winnipeg again in the near future.
My recommendation is that you not dismiss this opportunity lightly. Take a few minutes to check out the workshops and the schedule. If you're a good Manitoban like me, it'll be hard for you to pass up this good deal!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Bootstraps
In mid-June I attended some of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) events held at the Forks in Winnipeg. Hearing the stories of the survivors of the residential schools gave me pause to reflect on my response to this dark chapter in our relationship to the Native people of this country.
Where do I, the son of an immigrant, fit into this picture? As a Canadian I feel a sense of accountability for the actions taken by the government of this country. As a member of a Christian faith community I feel a deep shame at the flagrant disregard for the rights and outright abuses perpetrated in the name of "Christian Mission". As a member of the Mennonite faith community I am well aware that my forbears maintained their identity by having a very strong focus on worship and education as they moved from their originating countries in Europe to the Ukraine, North America, Paraguay, Mexico and the list goes on and on. As each new community was formed, the school played a pivotal role in educating with the specific goal of propagating the faith and the culture of my particular faith group.
The Mennonite faith community has been very involved in "mission work" and has seen the value of the school as an institution for fostering not only the academic development of the students but also that of faith and culture. It raises a haunting question: In spite of our good intentions, were we inadvertently partners in the effort to erase the cultural identity of the students in this setting?
In a small group setting where these issues were being discussed, a suggestion surfaced to the effect that, as recent immigrants fleeing war-torn Europe and having struggled for survival in various other countries, we had "pulled ourselves up by the bootstraps". Could we not expect others to do the same?
As I reflected on the imagery of "bootstraps" it struck me that our "bootstraps" had been woven over the centuries in the context of our schools and communities. In many cases, these had been transported intact as we migrated from one country to another. True, for many of the immigrants, especially those fleeing the soviet regime after having been stripped of their spiritual leaders and in many cases, of the male members of the family, fathers and brothers, the straps had become frayed and extremely weakened. However, most of these people found their way into a pre-existent community of support in their new environment. There is no comparison between the above experience and that of the cultural groups who, for several generations, were subjected to a very deliberate and conscious "cutting of the cultural bootstraps" with an equally deliberate
Can we as outsiders "fix the damage?" "No!" We need to recognize that the mending can happen but only as the ones who suffered the loss live in community with each other and reconnect their "cultural bootstraps". We need to honour and celebrate all cultures, not only our own. In such an atmosphere reconciliation is possible. This process can be an uplifting experience.<
The stories need to be told. We need to listen. We need to acknowledge our involvement, deliberate or inadvertent in the injustice that was done. We need to honour the culture that is bringing them back into their rightful place in this country and we need to count it a privilege when we are asked to join in the celebration of their "bootstraps".
Submitted by Martin Penner
Volunteer with Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA)
Where do I, the son of an immigrant, fit into this picture? As a Canadian I feel a sense of accountability for the actions taken by the government of this country. As a member of a Christian faith community I feel a deep shame at the flagrant disregard for the rights and outright abuses perpetrated in the name of "Christian Mission". As a member of the Mennonite faith community I am well aware that my forbears maintained their identity by having a very strong focus on worship and education as they moved from their originating countries in Europe to the Ukraine, North America, Paraguay, Mexico and the list goes on and on. As each new community was formed, the school played a pivotal role in educating with the specific goal of propagating the faith and the culture of my particular faith group.
The Mennonite faith community has been very involved in "mission work" and has seen the value of the school as an institution for fostering not only the academic development of the students but also that of faith and culture. It raises a haunting question: In spite of our good intentions, were we inadvertently partners in the effort to erase the cultural identity of the students in this setting?
In a small group setting where these issues were being discussed, a suggestion surfaced to the effect that, as recent immigrants fleeing war-torn Europe and having struggled for survival in various other countries, we had "pulled ourselves up by the bootstraps". Could we not expect others to do the same?
As I reflected on the imagery of "bootstraps" it struck me that our "bootstraps" had been woven over the centuries in the context of our schools and communities. In many cases, these had been transported intact as we migrated from one country to another. True, for many of the immigrants, especially those fleeing the soviet regime after having been stripped of their spiritual leaders and in many cases, of the male members of the family, fathers and brothers, the straps had become frayed and extremely weakened. However, most of these people found their way into a pre-existent community of support in their new environment. There is no comparison between the above experience and that of the cultural groups who, for several generations, were subjected to a very deliberate and conscious "cutting of the cultural bootstraps" with an equally deliberate
Can we as outsiders "fix the damage?" "No!" We need to recognize that the mending can happen but only as the ones who suffered the loss live in community with each other and reconnect their "cultural bootstraps". We need to honour and celebrate all cultures, not only our own. In such an atmosphere reconciliation is possible. This process can be an uplifting experience.<
The stories need to be told. We need to listen. We need to acknowledge our involvement, deliberate or inadvertent in the injustice that was done. We need to honour the culture that is bringing them back into their rightful place in this country and we need to count it a privilege when we are asked to join in the celebration of their "bootstraps".
Submitted by Martin Penner
Volunteer with Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Community at Work
A couple of weeks ago women in North Point Douglas organized a healing ceremony at the bus shelter where, in the last seven months, two people have been shot. According to news reports and interviews, the ceremony was an initiative of the community to acknowledge and begin to move beyond the trauma experienced as a result of these two incidents.
To many, this action in the community may have seemed small and relatively insignificant. As a supporter and promoter of the principles of restorative justice, however, I see this as a positive step for community well-being.
The discussions and musings in the field of restorative justice are almost always connected in some way to relationships – between the victim and the offender, the offender and the community, or the victim and the community. Underlying all these discussions about interaction, impact and relationships must be the understanding that each of the players have their own work to do – separate from the others. For this community at this moment, it included a ceremony - a symbolic gesture with powerful implications.
Restorative Justice is not only concerned with the intersection of individuals or groups in relationships. It is also interested in, and needs to continue to find meaningful ways to promote the personal work necessary to realize just and restorative actions in relationships.
LCN
To many, this action in the community may have seemed small and relatively insignificant. As a supporter and promoter of the principles of restorative justice, however, I see this as a positive step for community well-being.
The discussions and musings in the field of restorative justice are almost always connected in some way to relationships – between the victim and the offender, the offender and the community, or the victim and the community. Underlying all these discussions about interaction, impact and relationships must be the understanding that each of the players have their own work to do – separate from the others. For this community at this moment, it included a ceremony - a symbolic gesture with powerful implications.
Restorative Justice is not only concerned with the intersection of individuals or groups in relationships. It is also interested in, and needs to continue to find meaningful ways to promote the personal work necessary to realize just and restorative actions in relationships.
LCN
Monday, July 19, 2010
Inception
Inception is a 2010 American science fiction action film written, produced and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, The film centers on Dom Cobb, a thief who enters the dreams of others to obtain information that is otherwise inaccessible. For a new twist in the plot, Cobb and his team of specialists are forced to plant an idea in a target's subconscious. The film's title refers to the task of planting an idea rather than stealing one, a concept that Cobb is less acquainted with.
The movie was not only a wonderful evening’s entertainment for my husband and I, but also a reminder of the power of a single idea.
As Cobb says, “What's the most resilient parasite? An Idea. A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules. Which is why I have to steal it.”
In the play Cobb says that it is harder to plant a negative idea, which they have been asked to do, rather than a positive idea, He says a positive idea is more receptive to most because everyone yearns for reconciliation. He gave the impression everyone wants peace over war, that the need to connect and be loved always takes precedence.
I don’t know. I hope he’s right.
I was introduced to Restorative Justice almost twenty years ago. From the very beginning it was presented to me as an "idea" rather than a program, as principles before practice.
Crime does immeasurable harm, not only because of the actual loss in the crime but the shattering of trust in other human beings, the introduction of fear and anger.
The restorative justice movement that has allowed many to think outside of the box, in this case to think outside the legalities and the rules to explore the issue of how one heals from a crime began with an idea in the form of a question. How does one restore trust in humanity? How do we live with an offender whom we might never know, but who still remains part of our lives? How can we let go of the past and move triumphantly and with dignity in our future?
For all of this we need a safe place to face our demons, scream out our pain and to have the freedom to find the answers.
“Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
The movie was not only a wonderful evening’s entertainment for my husband and I, but also a reminder of the power of a single idea.
As Cobb says, “What's the most resilient parasite? An Idea. A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules. Which is why I have to steal it.”
In the play Cobb says that it is harder to plant a negative idea, which they have been asked to do, rather than a positive idea, He says a positive idea is more receptive to most because everyone yearns for reconciliation. He gave the impression everyone wants peace over war, that the need to connect and be loved always takes precedence.
I don’t know. I hope he’s right.
I was introduced to Restorative Justice almost twenty years ago. From the very beginning it was presented to me as an "idea" rather than a program, as principles before practice.
Crime does immeasurable harm, not only because of the actual loss in the crime but the shattering of trust in other human beings, the introduction of fear and anger.
The restorative justice movement that has allowed many to think outside of the box, in this case to think outside the legalities and the rules to explore the issue of how one heals from a crime began with an idea in the form of a question. How does one restore trust in humanity? How do we live with an offender whom we might never know, but who still remains part of our lives? How can we let go of the past and move triumphantly and with dignity in our future?
For all of this we need a safe place to face our demons, scream out our pain and to have the freedom to find the answers.
“Reconciliation is to understand both sides; to go to one side and describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by the first side.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Restorative Justice (RJ) in every day life....
Over the last number of years I have reflected on RJ and the rest of our lives - like our workplaces and homes. What does it mean that RJ is primarily used in victim/offender contexts whether that be in the justice system or playground misbehaviour? One of my frustrations about mediating in the criminal justice system was that RJ was primarily focused on the incident where there was a clear victim and offender as defined by the law.
Yet in many of the justice situations I mediated there was always a context - often the `offender'; had experienced mistreatment by the `victim; in an earlier incident. I found that the dynamics of justice-initiated mediations too often limited the scope of the conversations to the 'incident', in spite of efforts by the mediators to broaden the conversation to the context in which the offence occurred.
What I love about workplace mediation is that we get to talk about the themes and patterns in the relationship where people move between feeling victimized, and being the offender - with the retributive justice world view often lurking in the background.
My experience in these contexts suggests that, until the mediation, RJ is not nearly as common in the workplace as we might think.And if we are trying to come up for alternatives to Retributive Justice - don't we need to start with our every day lives like at home and work where avoidance and retribution abound? Will society be ready to apply restorative justice to 'criminals' if they don't experience it at home and work?
Have others given thought to how RJ relates to home and workplace, where relationships are more complex, on-going, and people shift between the 'victim', 'offender', and 'deliverer of (retributive) justice'?
Janet P. Schmidt
Facilitated Solutions
Workplace Mediation and Conflict Management Services
Yet in many of the justice situations I mediated there was always a context - often the `offender'; had experienced mistreatment by the `victim; in an earlier incident. I found that the dynamics of justice-initiated mediations too often limited the scope of the conversations to the 'incident', in spite of efforts by the mediators to broaden the conversation to the context in which the offence occurred.
What I love about workplace mediation is that we get to talk about the themes and patterns in the relationship where people move between feeling victimized, and being the offender - with the retributive justice world view often lurking in the background.
My experience in these contexts suggests that, until the mediation, RJ is not nearly as common in the workplace as we might think.And if we are trying to come up for alternatives to Retributive Justice - don't we need to start with our every day lives like at home and work where avoidance and retribution abound? Will society be ready to apply restorative justice to 'criminals' if they don't experience it at home and work?
Have others given thought to how RJ relates to home and workplace, where relationships are more complex, on-going, and people shift between the 'victim', 'offender', and 'deliverer of (retributive) justice'?
Janet P. Schmidt
Facilitated Solutions
Workplace Mediation and Conflict Management Services
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Fighting Crime Or Fighting the Fear of Crime?
One constant source of bemusement and frustration is the apparently growing gap between the public fear of crime and the actual reality. Daily we are bombarded with graphic accounts of increasing numbers of horrific crimes committed by bloodthirsty individuals despite the lack of any convincing statistical evidence for such sharply increasing crime rates.
The traditional Canadian response to crime has never been able to adequately respond to the fear of crime. The Canadian criminal justice system has certainly developed a thorough range of mechanisms and processes to respond to specific incidents and situations of harm but this focus on the past, on the specific facts of a given case and on the determination and prosecution of guilt, does little to build a healthier future for all those impacted. The response to crime is to punish individuals as isolated units, making it more difficult to restore wellbeing and healing to offenders and victims as members of larger communities. So we are caught in a vicious cycle, responding out of fear but in a way that only leaves us more isolated and fearful than ever.
Would it not make more sense to respond to crime in a way that directly addressed the fear of crime at the same time? Here is the beauty of a restorative justice alternative. Fears are addressed through a process of dialogue that shifts the focus from punishment for breaking specific laws to understanding and fixing the harms done. A restorative justice encounter can become an occasion to create understanding between isolated fearful parties and an occasion for a community to come together and take control over its own development.
The growing public fear of crime cannot be reversed through processes which only punish and isolate people more and more. Now, more than ever, we need to promote alternatives that can restore healthy communities and facilitate healthier dialogue, rather than letting ourselves be manipulated by growing fears and growing isolation.
The traditional Canadian response to crime has never been able to adequately respond to the fear of crime. The Canadian criminal justice system has certainly developed a thorough range of mechanisms and processes to respond to specific incidents and situations of harm but this focus on the past, on the specific facts of a given case and on the determination and prosecution of guilt, does little to build a healthier future for all those impacted. The response to crime is to punish individuals as isolated units, making it more difficult to restore wellbeing and healing to offenders and victims as members of larger communities. So we are caught in a vicious cycle, responding out of fear but in a way that only leaves us more isolated and fearful than ever.
Would it not make more sense to respond to crime in a way that directly addressed the fear of crime at the same time? Here is the beauty of a restorative justice alternative. Fears are addressed through a process of dialogue that shifts the focus from punishment for breaking specific laws to understanding and fixing the harms done. A restorative justice encounter can become an occasion to create understanding between isolated fearful parties and an occasion for a community to come together and take control over its own development.
The growing public fear of crime cannot be reversed through processes which only punish and isolate people more and more. Now, more than ever, we need to promote alternatives that can restore healthy communities and facilitate healthier dialogue, rather than letting ourselves be manipulated by growing fears and growing isolation.
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