CUC trainers Gary Friedman* and Norman Fischer will be partnering with Interstices Mediation and the Everyday Zen Foundation to offer an intensive program in Talloires, France in Self-Reflection and its relevance to working as a professional helping people in conflict.

Host Organization: Interstices Médiation

Dates: Tuesday 3 September at 2pm – Friday 6 September at 4 pm

Theme: Success and Failure

Instructors: Gary Friedman* and Norman Fischer

Where: The Priory of the Tufts European University Center in Talloires on the shores of Lake Annecy, 45 minutes from Geneva.

Fees: €1,650 for 24 hours of training over 4 days, coffee breaks, and buffet lunches (accommodation not included)

All conflict professionals are welcome to attend, including mediators, lawyers, therapists and anyone who works with people in conflict. Our working language will be English and fluency is a requisite for getting the most out of the program.

Program Overview

Success and Failure: Typically, mediation and success are equated with whether the parties reached an agreement. This is a terrible trap, as there is much more that goes into determining mediation success and failure by a number of standards, even from the parties in mediation. Quality of process, for example is an important indicator of whether the mediation was a success or not by both the mediator and the parties. And even using the external standard of whether they reached an agreement is tricky. If the parties don’t reach an agreement in the mediation room, does that mean it was a failure? And if they reached an agreement that fell apart soon after the mediation was over, does that mean it was a success? And given our view that the parties “own the process” wouldn’t we say that both credit and blame should be theirs, not ours?

Our view is that we need to establish our own standards of what constitutes success or failure based on our own deepest sense of what we consider to be most important to us in working with people. Measuring our success or failure is challenging because we need to be observing ourselves from an internal place rather than an external orientation, that takes these softer, more elusive kinds of subjective measurements that fuel our work and are sources of satisfaction and disappointment. In this program we will ask participants to bring their own situations that are psychically with you that you’d like to understand better and build on for sustainability of your work. We will be using role play, meditation, and other self-reflective tools to more deeply understand ourselves and our relation to our work, and what it means for us, the people we want to help and the world.

We strongly suggest that all participants contract cancellation insurance and select transportation options and hotel reservations that can be cancelled without consequences in case pandemic related health restrictions or any other crisis make it impossible to travel to Talloires or to participate in the program. If the program does need to be canceled, any course fees that have been paid will be entirely reimbursed by the organizers.

The program’s organizers and instructors shall not be held responsible for any financial consequences that may be incurred due to the program having to be cancelled due to border closings or other pandemic related measures taken by the public authorities in France or in the country of residence of the participant.

Accommodation:

Talloires has several charming small hotels within a few minutes walking distance from the Priory. Here are some suggestions :

–Hôtel Beau Site: Tel +33(0)4 50 27 00 65, www.beausite-talloires.com

–Hôtel du Lac: Tel +33(0)4 50 60 71 08, www.hotel-du-lac.com

–La Villa des Roses: Tel +33(0)4 50 66 88 90, www.villaofroses.com

A few kilometers from the center:

La Catarina (gite de France) : Tel +33 (0)6 22 99 75 73, www.lecatarina.com

Tourist office : Tel +33 (0) 4 50 66 76 54, www.talloires.fr

To register contact:

Arlene Weingart,  [email protected],  +41 78 618 62 16

Sylvie Adijes, [email protected], +33 (0)6 70 07 01 98

Interstices mediation
13, rue des Envierges
75020 Paris
Tel: 01 40 31 20 49
email: [email protected]

*This event is not managed or administered by the Center for Understanding in Conflict. All matters related to cost, location, content, and quality is the responsibility of Gary Friedman and Norman Fischer.