Common Ground - East London Mediation

Common Ground Foundation Mediation Training 2011

2011-10-31T15:25:00.000Z

What's good? What's bad? More hopes and concerns? Let us know here, anonymously if you wish.

Your thoughts on co-mediation...

2011-09-23T17:02:00.003+01:00

I had an email from one of our mediators today asking:

"Just wondering Common Ground has ever considered at times not using co-mediators but using very well experienced and confident mediators on their own? Am thinking about that possibility in light of the influx of cases CG is currently experiencing and the fact that in the professional world of mediation there is often only one mediator if I understand right. I imagine that would be a big shift for CG, but maybe it isn't necessarily a bad idea?"

What do you think? Mediators working alone would double our capability to take cases. How important is co-mediation to you? Is it an integral part of the process for you or is finding availability for two mediators a time-consuming task that doesn't add value? I have an open mind on this question and would very much appreciate your thoughts below.

A very different restorative approach...

2011-07-08T13:37:00.002+01:00

As Laura gets stuck into the restorative justice project, I was amazed to hear this extraordinary story about an unusual method for approaching harm done and its consequences in a US prison. This is a wonderful programme - have a listen!

Next Ongoing Training: Working with Interpreters

2011-05-31T16:58:00.000+01:00

This is a reminder that our next ongoing training session is on the evening of 22 June on the theme of 'Working with Interpreters' facilitated by Minaz - an invaluable evening for mediators working in a multilingual context. Further details will follow.

Please email Minaz to let us know whether you will be attending - hope to see you there!

Welcome: Laura Maxwell!

2011-05-16T13:20:00.003+01:00

I am delighted to be able to announce that from 21 June 2011, Laura Maxwell, currently one of our volunteers, will be joining our staff team as Restorative Justice Coordinator.

Laura will work on Tuesdays and Thursdays and her email address (active immediately but will not be answered until she starts in June) is laura@findcommonground.org.uk. When she starts work she will be available on 020 7195 0213.

Minaz and I are thrilled that she will be joining the team and are looking forward to growing our restorative justice work with her.

Welcome Laura!

Veena Vasista on Compassion

2011-05-12T14:21:00.000+01:00

Common Ground volunteer Veena Vasista is joining three others, on Tuesday the 17th May, in giving an inspirational talk on the theme of Compassion. She hopes you'll join her (even though it is in West London)...for details please see: All Ears

Edgar Cahn and Paying it Forward

2011-05-12T12:32:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday I went to a talk given by Edgar Cahn, a US civil rights activist who set up timebanking. He had some interesting things to say about the limits of (and the damage done by) our ability to value things being limited only to money and the money-system.

There's lots that's exciting about timebanking (personally, I'd love to see it go even further than asking if we can find new ways of valuing exchange, to see if we couldn't get beyond the idea of exchange altogether) but what struck me most in what Edgar Cahn said was the story of setting up a law centre for people involved in civil rights often without any money to access legal services. At the time, he was lecturing in law so didn't need to make any money out of this offer of legal services. So when he'd finished representing someone he sent them a bill - not in money but in time, and he asked the person he'd been representing to 'pay forward' the time they'd been given by volunteering in their local community. One of the interesting things about this embryonic form of timebanking (as distinct from traditional money or letts schemes) is the way it values everyone's time equally - an hour of Edgar Khan, legal professor's 'expert' time is equal to an hour of time spent doing the shopping for an elderly neighbour.

The idea really took off and when his legal department was facing cuts, 20,000 people who had benefited directly or indirectly from his services or who had paid forward their time, wrote and told the politicians that if they lost the funding they would never have their votes again. They've not struggled with funding ever since.

So, inspired by Edgar Cahn, we're going to try an experiment at Common Ground. Parties often tell us how much they've appreciated the time they've been offered by our volunteers and if there's any way they can repay the gift they feel they've been given. Our database keeps track of the time that goes into each case, so when we close a case, we're going to let parties know how many hours have gone into their case and invite them to 'pay forward' the time that they've been offered. Not everyone will take up the offer but we're going to start collecting the stories of those who do. Who knows where this could lead?

You can watch the talk Edgar Cahn gave here. Let me know what you think below.

One small move for Minaz and Edward, one giant leap for Common Ground...

2011-04-27T13:26:00.001+01:00

Hope you're enjoying the sun. As you know, we're in the process of expanding and, as those of you who've seen the room Minaz and I currently use, there's barely room to swing a gerbil, let alone two new members of the team!

So, we're moving to a different room in St Margaret's House. Our registered address and contact details will remain unchanged. Phone numbers and emails will also be unaffected (and new direct dials will be added and circulated in due course).

We will be moving office on Friday 3rd June 2011 and I am wondering if anyone would be free to help us? If you're able to lend a hand, please email me. It won't be a big job but a few extra pairs of hands will make a great difference. Thanks in anticipation!

Beyond interests and needs?

2011-04-19T11:23:00.003+01:00

Interesting comparison between our current 'interest-based' approach to mediation and narrative mediation, which we're looking at for our next foundation course, details to follow. Take a look here. What do you think?

Internal Recruitment: Job Opportunities at Common Ground

2011-04-04T18:00:00.001+01:00

I am really pleased to be able to announce that, due to securing a significant new contract, we are in a position to advertise two new posts. First and foremost, thank you to everyone for all your hard work in making Common Ground an excellent mediation organisation - it is because of the high standards and creativity you bring to our work that we have won this contract.

As is our policy, these posts are advertised internally initially - that means that the opportunity is available to current staff and volunteers in the first instance. If we are unable to fill these roles internally then we will advertise externally at a later date.

The two roles are Casework Administrator and Restorative Justice Coordinator. Both posts are part time and fixed term for one year. Job descriptions and person specifications are linked below.

If you would like to express an interest in applying, please get in touch with me to discuss the posts. If you are interested in applying for either, please send a CV and a covering letter showing how you meet the person specification to me by 5pm on Friday 15th April 2011. UPDATE: Please note that interviews are to be held on the evening of Tuesday 19th April 2011 - please confirm your availability when sending an application.

Download the job description for the Casework Administrator here
Download the person specification for the Casework Administrator here

Download the job description for the Restorative Justice Coordinator here
Download the person specification for the Restorative Justice Coordinator here

Forthcoming Ongoing Training: 16th April, 10am - 5pm

2011-04-01T17:28:00.006+01:00

Ongoing Training: Emotional intelligence and mindfulness in mediation

This one-day OGT will focus on the vital roles that emotional intelligence and mindfulness can play in mediation. Through theoretical input, activities, meditations and role-play, we’ll explore how conflict can be viewed in terms of emotional imbalance: i.e. when negative emotions hold sway over positive emotions. For good relations to be restored between two or more people, there must be a shift from the negative to positive – so that all parties feel sufficiently motivated to want to make the relationship work. This is where mediation comes in: as a process that sets up the right conditions for this emotional shift to take place.

We’ll look at how the mediator needs to understand and work with emotions – both the parties’ and their own. Effective mediators can recognise and distinguish a wide range of emotions in other people (empathy) – and are not afraid of these emotions being displayed, even in extreme and challenging forms. They are alive to their own emotional landscape – what pushes their buttons and draws them away from being truly impartial. They can use this skill and knowledge to help parties who are stuck in destructive emotions.

Together this set of skills is known as ‘emotional intelligence’. Unlike standard IQ – an innate and generally unchanging cognitive ability – it’s something we can develop and cultivate over time. There are many techniques and practices we can use to do this. But all of them are fundamentally about developing awareness of ourselves and each other.

One of the most effective ways of developing this awareness is the practice of mindfulness – the art of becoming more alive, without judgment, to what is actually going on in the present moment, in our minds and bodies. Mindfulness is an ancient tradition, and is being adopted in modern times as a powerful tool for a wide range of applications in healthcare and in the business world. Its potential benefits to the world of mediation are vast.

Facilitated by Tim Segaller, a mediator and trainer with wide experience in community and workplace mediation. Tim also used to manage the Breathing Space health and wellbeing programme at the London Buddhist Centre, which provides Mindfulness Based Approaches for managing stress and helping to prevent relapse into depression and addiction.

How do you help generate options?

2011-02-24T23:41:00.002Z

Following tonight's ongoing training - how do you generate options with parties? What did you see tonight in the role play that was helpful? What would you have done differently? How would you have continued with more time/in a real case?

A quick reminder - here's the ever useful PIN model, here are the listening prompts and tips, and here is the extract on helping parties get unstuck so they can better generate options. Over to you!

Generating options and helping parties get unstuck...

2011-02-24T15:44:00.001Z

...is what tonight's OGT is all about. Some interesting, thought-provoking stuff in this article and the other resources and links on Beyond Intractability - a really useful site on conflict and conflict resolution.

How can supervision be most useful to you?

2011-02-02T15:07:00.001Z

We've had a very low response to the request for people to sign up for supervision and I'm curious to work out why this should be.

does supervision not feel useful?
are emails not getting through?
are we sending you too much information or too little?
is there something else?
would you like different supervisors?
would you be more interested in group supervision?

I am bowled over every day the commitment of our volunteers - it's exciting and motivating for me to be working with you. As such, this really isn't a moan in disguise. How can we make it better for you? Leave a message below, at the blog or on facebook, or email me. Thank you!

deep:black training and Veena's report

2011-01-11T17:30:00.002Z

News in of some interesting projects a couple of our mediators have been involved in. Veena Vastista has recently published a report which you can download here on the Runnymead Trust website and Petra Hilgars and Kweku Aacht's organisation deep:black are running the following event:

Godzilla in the Red Mist

1-day workshop about Understanding and Working with Anger

We all have very different experiences of our and others' anger: it might feel like an exploding volcano, a hissing pressure cooker, a frozen block of ice, a scary monster, or like a foggy red mist. Whatever it feels like: it's usually a very powerful experience that can unsettle us, can make us feel we are not ourselves and can create fear of ourselves or of other people.

This 1-day training course is offered by deep:black an organisation that specialises in using creative approaches to work with conflict and anger.

The course enables you

to understand and appreciate your own and others' anger as a vital protective mechanism
to explore ways of expressing it differently

Instead of anger becoming the overwhelming red mist where everything gets blurry or turns into a threatening Godzilla; it can be a power for growth and change.

Date: 12 March 2011

Time: 10.30 arrival for 11am start; finishing time at 5.30pm

Venue: People Show Studios, Pollard Row, Bethnal Green, London E2 6MB

Costs: £95 (including refreshments not lunch)

Our New Year Early Bird Booking Offer: If you confirm your place until 12 February you will get a £10 discount!

Booking: if you're interested please contact me so I can email you more details and the booking form.

petra hilgers

mobile: 07963 492 880

petra@deepblack.org.uk

kweku@deepblack.org.uk

katharine@deepblack.org.uk

www.deepblack.org.uk

deep:black a place where conflict is creative

deep:black london, 15 Linford House, Whiston Road, London E2 8SD, Tel: 020 7684 0988, company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales no 07241106

New Year - new start

2011-01-05T16:22:00.003Z

One of my new year's resolutions is to post here on a regular basis. I hope as such it will be a more interesting and useful resource and also will be a way to continue developing my thinking and reflection. 2010 was both an exciting and a tumultuous year for THMS: we developed and grew and became more effective and widespread, but we also saw our funding cut heavily and had to make painful decisions.

For both these reasons - because we are a very different organisation to that which began 2010, we have just rebranded. From 01 January, THMS is Common Ground - East London Mediation. We have a new website - take a look here.

This fresh start is underpinned by the incredibly hard work of our 60 wonderful volunteer mediators, our committed trustees and the dedicated support of those who signpost people to us and tell their stories of conflict transformation. Thank you to everyone who has been involved with THMS since 1996: welcome to Common Ground in 2011!

Roleplay Evenings

2010-07-26T18:04:00.010+01:00

In addition to the reading group, when we were talking after the last Ongoing Training, there was interest in meeting regularly to practice joint mediation sessions. I've booked the Anson Room at St Margaret's House (our new offices - 21 Old Ford Road, London, E2 9PL) for the dates below. By each date is a link to two parties, from where you can download anonymised One Party Meeting reports, which is what we will be using for the roleplay. If you think this sort of session might be of interest, please pop the dates in your diary and let me know whether you'll be coming when I send round an email nearer to each session. Hope to see you there!

18.30 - 20.30, 7th September 2010
Party One | Party Two

18.30 - 20.30, 9th November 2010
Party One | Party Two

18.30 - 20.30, 11th January 2010
Party One | Party Two

18.30 - 20.30, 1st March 2011
Party One | Party Two

18.30 - 20.30, 3rd May 2011
Party One | Party Two

18.30 - 20.30, 5th July 2011
Party One | Party Two

Reading Group

2010-07-26T17:37:00.006+01:00

At the end of the last Ongoing Training, a group of us were talking about what we would find helpful in supporting our development as mediators. One thing that people felt the need for more of was theoretical input. For some time I've wanted to get a reading group together and there has been some interest but it felt like we'd reached a tipping point of interest where there might be enough people to make it viable. And as we're moving offices and will be situated over quite a cosy cafe, it seemed like a good time to get something going! So, please pop these dates in your diary if you fancy getting involved with this. I'd be helpful if you could let me know that you're coming either by email or phone or by leaving a message here on the blog. As to what we read, I've chosen things that I've found interesting or provocative recently for the first three - after that, let me know what you'd like to read and we can chose the next few at the first session.

What is Narrative Mediation? 18.30, 5th October 2010
The Gallery Cafe, 21 Old Ford Road, London, E2 9PL

In October we will be reading 'A Narrative Model of Mediation' by John Winslade and Gerald Monk from their book, Narrative Mediation. You can download a copy by clicking on the link or email me and I will send you a photocopy.

What does it mean to say we are 'impartial'? 18.30, 9th December 2010
The Gallery Cafe, 21 Old Ford Road, London, E2 9PL

In December we will be reading 'Ten Beliefs That Get in Our Way' by Bernard S. Mayer from his book, Beyond Neutrality. You can download a copy by clicking on the link or email me and I will send you a photocopy.

Shame and Intractable Conflict 18.30, 1st February 2010
The Gallery Cafe, 21 Old Ford Road, London, E2 9PL

In February we will be reading 'Emotion, alienation, and narratives: resolving intractable conflict' by Suzanne Retzinger and Thomas Scheff, which appeared in Mediation Quarterly. You can read it by clicking on the link or email me and I will send you a photocopy.

Hope you'll join us!

THMS is moving office

2010-07-08T13:12:00.000+01:00

I wanted to let you know that at the end of the month we are moving offices. From 1st August our address will be 21 Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PL.

While it will be sad to leave The Toby Club after so many years, the council has plans for the space we're in and want to use it for other purposes. Our new office is part of St Margaret's House; a really thriving hub of local organisations, so joining this community should create all sorts of possibilities for collaboration. Minaz and I are really excited about the move and looking forward to the new opportunities it will bring.

We will be moving in the last week of July - details will be firmed up in the next few days. Minaz will be working remotely over this time and will be available on the same phone number and email throughout, so there should be no interruption to normal service!

More details will follow soon.

A couple of interesting bits and bobs...

2010-01-21T13:39:00.006Z

A fascinating looking event at the Bishopsgate Institue on social housing in the east end - a talk by the appropriately named Graham Towers, an architect and planner "with many years experience of social housing" who has published an Introduction to Urban Housing Design: At Home in the City and Shelter is Not Enough: Transforming Multi-storey Housing. Thanks to Michele Lee for the tip-off. Details and booking here.

--

Last week saw the publication of the Jackson Report, a review of civil litigation costs which has some interesting things to say about the potential role of mediation and its potential applications. If you're interested, please find a digested version of the sections on mediation here.

Sue Fox

2009-12-23T08:52:00.003Z

Some really lovely messages have come through on hearing the news about Sue, who died at the weekend. Here are a few of them from people here at THMS and more widely who knew and valued her and her work.

Sue was one of life's rare and precious people . The world will be a dimmer place without her.

Catherine

--
This is very sad. My last appraisal was with Sue and we did an effective mediation together, She will surely be missed.

Islam

Sue was great to me when I joined THMS last year - very welcoming, friendly and helpful in a very practical way, taking me out with her on a mediation and sharing her knowledge and experience in a way that was always supportive, positive and encouraging. I know she has influenced the way that I approach a mediation and I'm sure that many others feel the same.

Helen

I joined Tower Hamlet Mediation Services 2 years ago and Sue was one of the trainers on the induction training. Over 2008, I have interacted with her as she worked as the coordinator. She was kind, positive, understanding and helpful. I am very sorry to hear that she passed away.

Michelle

Sue was a lovely person, kind, considerate and thoughtful. She will be sorely missed. Please pass on my blessings to her close family & friends.

Debbie

Please pass on our condolences to Sue's family - She really will be missed.

Marcia
--

I am so upset to hear this news about Sue. Can I just say that she was a good friend when I arrived in London and had the gift of making a stranger feel welcome. I enjoyed the time we spent working together and loved her to bits for her quirky sense of humour. Please pass on my condolences to her family. She will be sadly missed.

Dot

As others have said, Sue was always very positive and generous in her manner and in her commitment to the work we all do. Please also pass our condolences to her family.

Alan

I am so sorry to hear about Sue she epitomised all that was good about being a true Community Mediator. Sue always made us feel welcome whenever we visited THMS. I will miss our chats outside THMS building and hearing about the festivals she attended. Please pass on our condolences to her family and friends.

Dave

I will remember Sue for her dedicated and empathetic approach in mediation work. Sue was a wonderful trainer on my Mediation Foundation as well as a warm and generous 'people person'. A great example to the service as both a mediator and Mediation Coordinator. No doubt she will be greatly missed!

Alessandra

Thanks to her and THMS I learnt many things about mediation and about human kindness,

THANKS SUE!!!

Maria

Sue, was a great inspiration to many

Esther

I'm so sorry to hear the news about Sue's death. I remember her as a lively, genuine and warm-hearted person, and she will be much missed by a wide range of friends and contacts. Please pass on condolences and best wishes from all who knew her here at Conflict and Change.

Mike

I am very sorry to hear the sad news; please pass on my condolences to Sue's family.

Corrine

The few times I've met her as a colleague from Hackney, as a volunteer with THMS and also as a local resident I was always inspired by her energy and initiative. My thoughts are with her family and friends and I wish them support and comfort in dealing with this.

Petra

Values and our name...

2009-12-18T13:26:00.002Z

I realise I've been banging on about both of these for a while and people are beginning to sign up for the group meeting in the new year to look at values which is a really good development in my view. As some of you know, for a while I've been trying to come up with a new name, too so was interested in this report from NFP synergy. It's called 'A strong charity brand comes from strong beliefs and values'. Take a look here.

(I realise many people, myself included, have an allergy to words like synergy and brand and while some of this is stating the bleeding obvious in management speak there's some nice stuff in there too).

Volunteer Appreciation Day - 5/12/09

2009-12-07T18:44:00.006Z

A few photos from Saturday's Ongoing Training and Volunteer Appreciation Day.

We almost look convincing here as a Bollywood troupe, don't you think?

Lots of people expressed an interest in finding out more about the group and maybe signing up for some classes... Their website can be found here. Perhaps next year we'll have a whole team of shimmying mediators?!

Here are some new and experienced mediators really getting to groups with what our principles mean in practice.

We focussed on generating options and shared ideas about what techniques had worked in the past and what we could do to get unstuck when things got difficult.

It was a really good chance for new and older mediators to meet each other.

Helen Buxton from Peace Direct recommended their 'Practical Peace' newsletter which you can sign upto by putting your email into the box on the left-hand side.

If you were inspired by Abdul, there is more information about Truce 2020 here. Wasn't he amazing?

Finally, here is Jonathan receiving his certificate at the conclusion of the Foundation Mediation Course. 19 other new mediators have completed the course: Amanda, Amena, Claudia, Desmond, Edward, Emily, Farjana, Jane, Jonathan, Kerry, Lanre, Laura, Murray, Natalie, Olivia, Philippa, Reshma, Rose, Ruth and Sue.

Congratulations, thank you and welcome to all of them!

Power, authority, "empowerment", persuasion and coercion...

2009-12-01T18:37:00.006Z

All big topics, enormously relevant to our work and our position between the local authority and the people of Tower Hamlets. Have been thinking about these topics a lot in preparation for this Saturday's Ongoing Training which will begin the work of clarifying our values and thinking about what assumptions about the world underpin our work. In a conversation with one of our new mediators I was reminded of the following passage. It won't be for everyone (and though there will be options of reading and theoretical reflection outside the session, the will be a practical affair) but it's a contrast that has stuck with me and I find very disturbing and thought-provoking when thinking about work such as ours which involves the shifting of perspectives and approaches.

"Instead of bringing freedom, the fall of the oppressive authority thus gives rise to new and more severe prohibitions. How are we to account for this paradox? Think of the situation known to most of us from our youth: the unfortunate child who, on Sunday afternoon, has to visit his grandmother instead of being allowed to play with friends. The old-fashioned authoritarian father's message to the reluctant boy would have been: "I don't care how you feel. Just do your duty, go to grandmother and behave there properly!" In this case, the child's predicament is not bad at all: although forced to do something he clearly doesn't want to, he will retain his inner freedom and the ability to (later) rebel against the paternal authority. Much more tricky would have been the message of a "postmodern" non-authoritarian father: "You know how much your grandmother loves you! But, nonetheless, I do not want to force you to visit her - go there only if you really want to!" Every child who is not stupid (and as a rule they are definitely not stupid) will immediately recognize the trap of this permissive attitude: beneath the appearance of a free choice there is an even more oppressive demand than the one formulated by the traditional authoritarian father, namely an implicit injunction not only to visit the grandmother, but to do it voluntarily, out of the child's own free will. Such a false free choice is the obscene superego injunction: it deprives the child even of his inner freedom, ordering him not only what to do, but what to want to do."

from How to Read Lacan by Slavoj Zizek

Thoughts among the red and white poppies

2009-11-11T11:33:00.003Z

Today I am wearing two poppies, one red and one white. To my mind there is no contradiction between the first, which reminds us how important it is to remember the costs of conflict passed and the other which is a commitment to build peace today and in the future. I wear my red poppy because I think that if we really remembered the previous conflicts, we would redouble our efforts to find more creative solutions to conflict at all levels. The white poppy also remembers the sacrifice of those who refused to fight and I take it as a prompt that courage comes in different shapes and sizes and that unresolved conflict takes its toll on everyone around it. At 11 o'clock this morning people all over the world paused to remember that it is 91 years since the fighting stopped in the first world war.

On Monday evening I had the privilege of being at Conflict and Change, our opposite numbers in Newham, a wonderful organisation doing mediation and much more besides to build a culture of peace. Two things really struck me, one was the energy and vision of the young people who had taken part in the Truce 2020 project which we are currently working to bring to Tower Hamlets in 2010. It's such an exciting project, do check out their website, email me if you'd like to help make it happen or make a contribution towards so doing here.

The other thing that struck me was the words of Albino, a peace-builder who has been at the hard end of conflict in Mozambique and now works to decommission weapons from the civil war. His message for those of us building peace in the relative comfort and tranquility of east London was that if we deal with the conflict within families and among neighbours we will build a culture of peace in which their will be no conflict among nations. We a part of a bigger picture that includes domestic conflicts in Africa, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the world wars, one of which ended today, 91 years ago. Today of all days, that feels like an important message for all our wonderful volunteers at THMS making this borough a more peaceful place on day at a time.

Twenty-first century cities

2009-11-06T18:13:00.003Z

I sometimes wonder if we pay enough attention to the specifics of what it means to be mediating here and now. When I read about Edinburgh Mediation Service, another, very different UK capital city, meet with suburban mediation services like Sutton or Wandsworth or hear about rural services across the country it gives me pause for thought about what a differnce context makes. So this event caught my eye, a talk by the author of an interesting looking book 'Ground Control: Fear and Happiness in the Twenty-First-Century City'.

Am out and about on Monday 10th at 6.30 when the event begins, as I'm currently putting together our annual report (watch this space) at the start of this but may pop in. Details of the event here. Maybe see you there?

Mediation and peacebuilding in the news

2009-10-29T08:20:00.002Z

An interesting study from the Prison Reform Trust here and a chance to build peace on facebook is explored here.

Interesting and encouraging stuff!

Book Club

2009-10-05T12:50:00.003+01:00

Hi folks,

Not posted much up on here for a while. Will write a few bits in the next week as there's been plenty happening and new work in the pipeline for 2010/11 that it would be great to get some input on. In the meantime, I thought I'd post up the reading list that went out to the new intake onto the Foundation Course (including me!)

In the new year I'd like to start a book club for anyone who'd be interested to meet once a month and take a different book or article and discuss it. It should be a way for us to meet each other, exchange ideas and develop as mediators. Anyone interested?

Non Violent Communication Marshall Rosenberg (Puddle Dancer Press, 2000)

Life Serving Education Marshall Rosenberg (Puddle Dancer Press, 2003)

The Promise of Mediation Robert A. Baruch Bush &Joseph P. Folger (Jossey-Bass Inc, 1994)

Conflict Mediation Across Cultures: David W. Augsburger (Westminster/John Knox Press, 1992)

Drama Workshops for Anger Management and Offending Behaviour James Thompson (Jessica Kingsley Publishers 1999)

Getting To Yes Roger Fisher & William Ury (Random Century Ltd. 1991)

The art & science of communication Pamela Perkins

Getting Past No: Negotiating With Difficult People William Ury (Random Century Ltd., 1991)

Community Conflict Skills: A Handbook for Group Work In Northern Ireland Mari Fitzduff (Mari Fitzduff, 1988)

Violence and The Sacred Rene Girard (John Hopkins University Press, 1972)

Everyone Can Win: How to Resolve Conflict Helena Cornelius & Shoshana Faire (Simon and Schuster, 1989)

Conflict: Resolution and Provention John Burton (St. Martin’s Press, 1990)

Preparing For Peace: Conflict Transformation Across Cultures John Paul Lederach (Syracuse University Press, 1995)

The Tao of Negotiation Joel Edelman & Mary Beth Crain (Piatkus, 1993)

Mindful Mediation: A Handbook for Buddhist Peacemakers John A. McConnell (Buddhist Research Institute / Mahachula Buddhist University, 1995)

People, Peace and Power Diane Francis

The Girard Reader Ed. James J Williams (Crossroad Herder, 1996)

Violence Unveiled: Humanity at the Crossroads (Crossroad, 1999)

Communicating Effectively for Dummies Marty Brounstein

How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Communication Tricks for Big Success in Relationships Leil Lowndes

Mediation in Context Marian Liebmann

Mediator's Handbook Jennifer E. Beer

Getting Together: Building a Relationship that Gets to Yes Roger Fisher & Scott Brown

Conflict Across Culture: A Unique Experience of Bridging Differences Michelle Lebaron & Venashri Pillay

Preparing for Peace: Conflict Transformation Across Cultures John Paul Lederach

Conflict Mediation Across Cultures: Pathways and Patterns David W. Augsburger

People Building Peace 35 Inspiring Stories from Around the World

Non-Violence: The History of a Dangerous Idea Mark Kurlansky

Searching for Peace: The road to Transcend Johan Galtung, Carl G. Jacobsen and Kai Frithjof Brand-Jacobsen

The Promise of Mediation: The Transformative Approach to Conflict Robert A. Baruch Bush, Joseph P. Folger

Bringing Peace into the Room: How to Personal Qualities of the Mediator Impact the Process of Conflict Resolution Daniel Bowling, David Hoffman

Getting to Peace: Transforming Conflict at Home, at Work, and in the World William Ury

Beyond Neutrality: Confronting the Crisis in Conflict Resolution Bernard S. Mayer

The Making of a Mediator: Developing Artistry in Practice Michael D. Lang, Alison Taylor

Online Resources:

Beyond Intractability http://www2.beyondintractability.org/

Association for Conflict Resolution http://www.acrnet.org/

Mediate.com http://mediate.com/

John Burton (St. Martin’s Press, 1990)

Free Conflict Resolution Workshop

2009-08-26T20:36:00.000+01:00

To celebrate London Week of Peace we have been given funding to run a free day’s training on Conflict Resolution. Lunch will be included and it is open to up to 20 people who live, work or study in the borough of Tower Hamlets. No prior knowledge or training required – it is a chance to explore practical strategies for resolving conflict. Please forward details on to anyone you know who might like to participate.

As places are limited we are asking people to sign up in advance. If you or anyone you know would like to take part, please reply to this email address or call us on 020 7702 8305. Please use the same details if you are interested in finding out more about our broad range of training in conflict resolution and communication or see our email below.

We look forward to seeing you at the workshop!

Do you know someone who'd like to become a THMS mediator?

2009-08-21T18:24:00.003+01:00

Hello wonderful mediators. For some of you it's many years since you began mediating with us. Do you know anyone who would be able to contribute to building a more peaceful Tower Hamlets as a THMS mediator? We are currently recruiting for our next foundation course in October and November and all the details of how to apply can be found here. Petra Hilgers and Edward Nelson will be running the course and it promises to be a fantastic opportunity. So send the details to everyone you know who might be interested!

Hanna Bibi

2009-08-18T17:28:00.003+01:00

Hanna has resigned from THMS as Trainer and Outreach Worker. She has worked for many years for the service in various roles.

I'm sure we all wish her the very best of luck for everything she goes on to do.

Thank you and goodbye, Hanna.

London Peace Run: Runners and sponsors wanted!

2009-08-11T16:54:00.003+01:00

Well, if the tubby Director can do it, anyone can!

London Week of Peace is fast approaching and part of this year's celebrations is the London Peace Run, a community event along the river Thames to celebrate initiatives to build a more peaceful city.

As East London's finest peace-building organisation, THMS has to be involved - and I've signed up to run. If you'd like to sponsor me in my efforts and give THMS a financial boost at a tricky time then please make a donation here.

But I'm sure we can do better than just me wheezing to the finish line - can we pull together a TEAM THMS? It's a 5km fun run and if you'd like to take part, you can sign up here. If you raise £100 or more, then we'll pay your entrance fee.

Thanks for your support - let's build a big THMS presence at London Week of Peace and raise some money to do bigger and better things for peace in East London.

Mediate, Issue 1

2009-08-07T12:51:00.002+01:00

I hope you've received the volunteer newsletter which should have come up in the post by now. We've also put together an external newsletter which we're sending out to people who work with us and others in the borough who might want to. You can find it here. Let us know what you think and if you'd like some copies to distribute or know someone you think we should send it to?

Harry Patch

2009-08-06T20:13:00.003+01:00

The last surviving British soldier from the First World War was buried today. Harry Patch spent the last few years of his life speaking about his experience and against war. In our small way, we are engaged in the same project of building peace. There are some simple, inspiring words from someone who knew better than most the costs of conflict here and a musical tribute using those words here.

Homophobic hate crime...

2009-07-31T11:00:00.000+01:00

...has been reported around two gay-friendly pubs in the borough. Local Police and partner agencies are holding a public meeting for members of the LGBT community. There will be an opportunity for residents to express any concerns that they have about hate crime and anti-social behaviour in the area.

We will be part of this meeting from 6.30pm at ST HILDA’S East COMMUNITY CENTRE, 18 CLUB ROW, E2 7EY.

For further information about this meeting please contact either PS Charlie Earwicker on Charlie.Earwicker@met.police.uk or PC 111HT Melanie Conneely on Melanie.Conneely@met.police.uk

If you have specific thoughts on how we could be involved in tackling this form of conflict please call me on 020 7195 0212.

What's in a name?

2009-07-29T07:57:00.001+01:00

We are "Tower Hamlets Mediation Service". We offer mediation services in Tower Hamlets. So far, so simple.

But pretty much every day we get mistaken for part of the council (sometimes by people who work for the council!) That our name begins with "Tower Hamlets" and ends with "service" certainly suggests we're part of the borough.

One of our principles is that we are independent yet if we don't look or sound like we're independent then who knows how many people are put off getting in touch?

If we want to work outside the borough, we'll need a different name but even if we stay doing entirely the same work it would be good to have a name that said who we are and what we do without confusing the issue. Any ideas?

Mile End Community Fair, 2009

2009-07-26T11:26:00.010+01:00

A big thank you to Mahdi, Richard D and Emily who were all in Mile End Park yesterday for the Community Fair 2009.

If the point of THMS is to build peace in Tower Hamlets, then we need to be part of events like this which celebrate our community working together. It was a beautiful day and the passers by were interested to hear about THMS and mediation, pick up a leaflet and a free lolly pop. We signed up a few new volunteers for the foundation course and there was a lot of interest in our open evening in September. We even picked up a couple of new cases from those passing the stall. The new leaflets went down very well and our MP, George Galloway, came over to the stand and said how important he thought mediation was and offered his support to the organisation.

We need to put time into getting out into Tower Hamlets and explaining who we are and what mediation is.

We need to move from the position we've been in so long of being a 'hidden gem' and 'the best kept secret in the borough' to being a well-known, well-publicised project that people can refer themselves to and is a part of ordinary life.

Enjoy the pictures of a lovely day and let me know your ideas for places and events we should be part of to celebrate all that THMS has achieved and bring this wonderful organistaion to the notice of the people who need our service.

New leaflet

2009-07-24T10:04:00.003+01:00

We've taken delivery of lots of bright new leaflets that you can see here. Where should we send them? Who do you know who could do with one? Do you know a stand which would like some of our leaflets? Who needs to know about THMS who doesn't already?

CANCELLATION: Ongoing Training, 1st August 2009

2009-07-23T16:27:00.000+01:00

Regrettably, we have to postpone the forthcoming OGT on large group facilitation. Unforeseen circumstances mean that we will not be able to run this on Saturday 1st August.

I’m sorry for the short notice and for any disappointment as I know lots of you were keen. It’s a really interesting and important topic and, as soon as we can, we will be rescheduling. I’ll keep you posted. On the bright side, enjoy your now free summer Saturday!

Happiness...

2009-07-21T13:59:00.002+01:00

"Happiness, Happiness
The greatest gift that I possess…
When you get to measuring a man’s success
Don’t count money, count happiness."

The non-inclusive language notwithstanding, this quote from the famous Ken Dodd song makes an interesting epigraph to some new research from New Philanthropy Capital into charities who are using trying to measure the feelings of children in order to manage the impact of their work. We can count the number of face-to-face meetings or one party visits we have, we can count how many hours go into each person we work with. But that's not why we do what we do. We have meetings because they lead to change which leads to a change in people's situation and how they feel about them. Some useful ideas from charities doing different work but with the same problem here.

How do you know your work with THMS makes an impact?

Administrator Vacancy

2009-06-08T09:33:00.002+01:00

We are now advertising the Administrator Vacany externally. Please add this to any networks you know of, circulate it to your friends and in other ways publicise this opportunity.

Tower Hamlets Mediation Service
Building a better borough through compassionate communication

Administrator | 18 hours | £9,687

We are seeking an experienced administrator with excellent people and communication skills to join our friendly and dedicated team. You need to be familiar with current ICT and be able to develop and maintain effective systems to underpin our casework and fundraising. You must be able to work on your own initiative in a friendly, approachable and cooperative manner. The ability to speak a community language is desirable.

For further information please call 020 7702 8305 or go here.

Applications must be received by 10:00am on 06 July 2009.

Vote early and often!

2009-06-04T07:23:00.004+01:00

It's a wonderful thing that we can choose the people who represent us at each tier of government as the Chartists (above), Suffragists and many people around the world who still lack that right would attest. European elections are being held today and the polls are open - if you're eligible to do so, please make sure that you vote.

THMS is, of course, politically neutral. That said, there are parties gaining ground whose values are opposed to ours and if disaffection with MPs expenses leads to a low turnout, that will artificially inflate their share of the vote. This is an election in which not voting is to cast a vote for parties who represent the opposite of what we do. Please make sure you make your voice is heard today in a way which is in line with the values you live out in your work with THMS - one which puts people first and contributes towards a co-operative, non-violent world where conflict is dealt with creatively, rather than one in which people are discriminated against and victimised. The work you do here is about empowering others; let's use the power others struggled to win for us to build a more positive city and continent.

Feedback needed: Ongoing Training from Liz Stokoe - 19th September

2009-06-03T13:12:00.000+01:00

The Secrets and Mysteries of Language - Part 2 will pick up in September where Liz left off with many of you in January. We'll ring round in August those of you who attended the first session but in the meantime, Liz would like some feedback about your preferred focus for part two. She says,

"We focused on calls to centres last time, as that's the majority of my data (although I do have some mediation too), and I pushed the idea that if these calls don't go well then people never get to mediation - so they're crucial. I would select some instances (e.g., mediators describing mediation, opening up or closing calls, dealing with racist callers etc etc) for the 'role play' workshop that uses live matierals, reveal to the participants turn by turn, as I demonstrated at the end of the first session. So if I had an idea about what sorts of things they'd like to focus on I can tailor accordingly."

So, given such a responsive trainer, what would you like?

Tricky questions around independence

2009-06-01T16:04:00.004+01:00

Today I came across this report from Oxfam which details the effects of the recession on the poorest communities in Great Britain. It is a sobering and interesting read.

On my lunch break I saw a headline from a local paper about an estimated 1,000 empty homes in the borough of Tower Hamlets. This is only part of a greater problem across London.

The links between poverty and conflict are well documented and the majority of our casework has some element related to overcrowding. Tower Hamlets has the most overcrowded housing stock in the country. Overcrowding is the key cause of homelessness in the borough and our homelessness prevention work is a big part of what we do.

Naturally, independence and impartiality are crucial to our success. However, we have a large amount of information about the causes of conflict and we live in an area that badly needs imaginative solutions to poverty and the conflict that is so closely linked.

What is appropriate for us to do? Is it important to remain absolutely neutral in all things or do we have a role as advocates in the borough? No-one is suggesting we become a campaign organisation but do we have a role contributing our expertise to building a better borough? After all, are we not otherwise only dealing with symptoms and never with root causes? Are we better sticking to what we know and do best?

What do you think?

Week beginning 1st June 2009

2009-06-01T08:31:00.000+01:00

I've been here two months today - it's gone both enormously quickly (I feel like I'm just getting stuck in) and rather slowly (so much feels like its changing, I can't really remember what I did before I arrived!).

Last week Emily Knox began working with us as Community Mediation Manager and is already making great advances with that work. I was so busy with her and the other bits and bobs that I forgot to put up my agenda for the week - sorry to any (admitly comment shy) avid readers that might be out there.

This week I will be:

Moving our fundraising forward
Setting up our longterm planning and values groups
Linking with other organisations in the sector locally
Progressing the current recruitment round
Concluding (hopefully) the meetings with Social Landlords
Thinking about Anti Social Behaviour in the borough and how we can be more involved in the work that's already underway
Further exploring our options around Restorative Justice work
Working with our trustees on planning
Continuing Emily's induction
Continuing appraisals
Taking forward some schools work

Week beginning 18th May 2009

2009-05-18T12:30:00.002+01:00

Please feel free to leave thoughts and suggestion, questions or comments.

This week I am:

Reviewing the homelessness mediation project
Preparing for the year ahead with our trustees
Interviewing for a new administrator
Sending out fundraising applications
Reviewing scheduling systems

Internal vacancy: Administrator

2009-05-11T16:21:00.006+01:00

The post of Administrator at Tower Hamlets Mediation Service is currently vacant and we are
offering it internally in the first instance.

We are seeking an experienced administrator with excellent people and communication skills to
join our friendly and hard-working team. You need to be familiar with current ICT and be able
to develop and maintain effective systems. We are seeking someone committed to the principles
of Tower Hamlets Mediation Service, who is able to work on their own initiative, who values
diversity and will work in a friendly, approachable and cooperative manner.

Tower Hamlets Mediation Service is an equal opportunities employer. Application details can be
found in the job pack. For further details, please contact Edward Mackay on 020 7702
8305 or edward@thms.org.uk Closing date, 5pm 18 May 09. Interviews will be held on 19 May

Week beginning 11th May 2009

2009-05-11T10:58:00.003+01:00

Please feel free to leave thoughts and suggestion, questions or comments.

This week I am:

Working on financial systems with Sallie
Preparing for Saturday's OGT - if you've not booked a place get in touch with Hanna
Reorganising the office
Reviewing the homeless mediation project
Continuing to meet with the housing associations to whom we provide mediation
Preparing for the start of our new community mediation manager
Continuing with PQASSO

Dates for your diary - upcoming Ongoing Trainings

2009-05-08T13:29:00.004+01:00

These will be posted out to you in due course but here is advanced notice of the Ongoing Trainings we have booked for the rest of 2009.

16th May, 10.00-2.00 - Back to Basics followed by office painting and barbeque for painters

9th July, 6.30-9.00 - Assertiveness

1st August, 10.30-4.00 - Large Group Facilitation

19th September, 1.00-4.00 - Liz Stokoe: The Secrets and Mysteries of Language - Part 2 (only available to those who attended her first session in January)

4th December, 10.00-12.30 - Topic to be confirmed (do you have an idea? Please email Hanna) followed by Volunteer Appreciation 2.00-4.30

More information coming soon at www.thms.org.uk/ogt.htm

Paint Party!

2009-05-07T15:37:00.004+01:00

We have the next ongoing training - back to basics - coming up on 16th May from 10.30 to 2.00. If you've not already signed up to it, please get in touch with Hanna and let her know you're coming.

In the afternoon, there is an optional extra for anyone who'd like a new way to contribute to THMS - our offices need a bit of TLC and could do with a lick of paint. Your mediation service needs your labour: we'd love you to join us among the dustsheets to help paint the walls and brighten things up. If you can give us some time that afternoon we would eternally grateful, the more of us there are, the quicker it will go: please bring friends and relations - it should be quite fun! And in the evening there's a barbecue for anyone who lends a hand. Please give us a ring (020 7702 8305), leave a comment or email me to let me know if you can join us.

Thanks everyone!

Short week beginning 05/05/09

2009-05-05T09:17:00.007+01:00

Please feel free to leave thoughts and suggestion, questions or comments.

This week I am:

Assembling a list of charitable trusts to whom we can apply.

Meeting with people in Registered Social Landlords with whom we have contracts.
Preparing for my first Management Committee meeting and thinking about governance.
Looking at office systems and financial procedures.

Emily Knox

2009-05-01T12:08:00.002+01:00

I'm pleased to be able to announce that at the end of the month we will be welcoming Emily on board as our new Community Mediation Manager, taking the professional lead on mediation for the service.

She has been an important part of THMS for many years as both a volunteer mediator and a member of the management committee. She brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm and we are delighted that she will be joining us. She starts work with us on 26th May and will be an invaluable asset to the service. Congratulations, Emily!

Threats

2009-04-27T11:56:00.001+01:00

What trends or changes in the external environment could have a negative impact on us?

Opportunities

2009-04-27T11:55:00.001+01:00

What trends or changes in the external environment could we take advantage of?

Weaknesses

2009-04-27T11:53:00.001+01:00

In what areas is our performance not so good?

Strengths

2009-04-27T11:51:00.002+01:00

What do we do well and have working in our favour?

SWOT analysis

2009-04-27T11:48:00.002+01:00

I'm looking at various ways to analyse how we're doing as an organisation and work out where we go next. SWOT is a classic tool we're using as a staff team to help us build a strategy that will help us build on our strengths and eliminate or minimise the things we don't do so well. It should also help us build a better and more secure future. It will help us build our critical thinking about what we do and will be the foundation of our planning for the year.

So what does SWOT mean? Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. In other words, things we do well, things we don't do well, things that could make us do better in the future and things which could damage us in the future. Some things cross over categories - for instance, the Olympics is happening right around the corner from us and promotes the idea of peace-building and cooperation, so what are the opportunities for us to promote what we do? It will also suck funding away from charitable projects, so is it actually a threat? Thinking this through will help us turn threats into opportunities and make weaknesses threats.

I'm going to post up each of these headings with a prompt question. Post anonymously if you like, post up a word, a sentence or an action plan, as you like!

Week beginning 27th April 2009

2009-04-27T07:57:00.004+01:00

Each week I am going to post up a list of my priorities for the week ahead, including any knotty problems. Naturally, there will be confidential things I can't include, but I want to be as open as possible about what I'm doing and where we're going. Please feel free to leave thoughts and suggestion, questions or comments.

This week I am:

Reviewing policies and producing an action plan
Distributing and completing assessment sections of PQASSO with the relevant people
Completeing a SWOT analysis of the organisation - see later posts.
Meeting with people in Tower Hamlets Homes with whom we have contracts
Introducing workplanning tools for staff
Writing up a new case for support for fundraising

How do we know what we do works?

2009-04-23T08:03:00.001+01:00

Measuring the success of any voluntary sector organisation is a challenge. When it is work which can't be counted in terms of people through the door, or number of trees planted or number of books sold it becomes even harder. It's essential to know, because we could be missing opportunities or focusing our attention in the wrong place or even making things worse.

In my last job, this was really tricky because community building work, like mediation, is intangible - how do you measure the fact that someone feels more at home in their neighbourhood or feels more control over the situation they find themselves and have greater options for using conflict creatively?

There are lots of really exciting and interesting resources out there for measuring the impact that an organisation or a project has. Here are three that I've come across recently:

First Steps in Monitoring and Evaluation - from the Charities Evaluation Service

Evaluating Community Projects - from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Changing Places, Changing Lives - from Bassac

One that we are starting to use here is PQASSO, which stands for Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations. It's a way of assessing where an organisation is now and what steps it needs to take to develop and improve. It works through twelve quality areas which can such as planning, management, training and development etc. Section five is called "Staff and volunteers".

"The organisation recruits and manages the right people to work as staff and volunteers to benefit the organisation and its users. The organisation values its staff and volunteers and the contribution they make towards achieving the organisation's aims."

How well do you think we're achieving this? I'm mailing out a couple of things to all you volunteers today, including a questionnaire about your experience of working with us and further details of the upcoming Ongoing Training which I blogged about yesterday. One of the things I'm sending you is a checklist of PQASSO questions from their manual so that you can share your impressions of how we are meeting these and feed into the ongoing discussion. I'd love to get back as many of these as possible, but in the meantime, how well do you think the above standard describes what we do?

Do you have any other thoughts on how we can measure the effect of what we do and what it is like to be a volunteer?

Next ongoing training: Back to Basics

2009-04-22T16:13:00.002+01:00

Hi all, thanks for all the supportive emails and messages in response to my blog and email and the newsletter, they've been much appreciated. I've also joined facebook, as I understand it's an online 'place' where THMS is thriving. Thanks to all of you who have added me as a friend; I'll get the hang of it in a bit! In the newsletter we advertised the next ongoing training as the second part of Liz Stokoe's session. This is now going to happen later in the year. However, we will keep the same date and the session will be called, "Back to Basics". Wheras Liz's session was restricted to those who had attended her first session, this one is now open to all our mediators. The aims of the session are:

re-capping the principles of mediation
understanding co-working
exploring issues of responsibility
asking questions arising from your experience
understanding problems and exploring solutions in setting up a visit
personal safety and security for mediators and parties

If you want to attend this training, please contact the office on 0207 702 8305 or email Hanna at hanna@thms.org.uk

We'd love to see you there. Please remember you need to attend between four and six ongoing trainings each year. We'll provide some light lunch and there may be an optional and unrelated activity in the afternoon, details to follow!

Principles and Outcomes

2009-04-16T08:07:00.002+01:00

What makes THMS special? When I asked one volunteer this they said, quick as a flash, it was the principles and outcomes. They certainly caught my eye in the recruitment pack. THMS is a values driven organisation as is quite apparent from meeting anyone involved. I'd like to get together a working group of volunteers, trustees, staff and, if at all possible, some of the people who use our service. I'd like us to examine our principles and outcomes and make sure they fit the work we do and define some core values and a renewed vision and mission statement for the organisation. I'm aware words like 'mission statement' are enough to make some people throw-up but its really about asking why we do what we do and what sort of world we're trying to create. And then being able to not only communicate that but have something written up against which we can check our standards and behaviours as an organisation.

Do you fancy being involved? Drop me an email or give me a ring if so. Or leave a comment or question below.

The principles and outcomes can be found here.

This is a booklet that I find useful when thinking about this sort of thing, which you can find here.

Website

2009-04-15T14:59:00.003+01:00

We've put some fresh and up to date information on the website - take a look:

http://www.thms.org.uk/

In the medium term we'd like to redesign and have a website bursting with stories and resources and pictures and information. What would you like your website to include? Would anyone like to submit something about what it's like to be a volunteer? Anything else you think is missing or that you'd like to add?

A new start...

2009-04-15T08:43:00.000+01:00

I started working at Tower Hamlets Mediation Service at the beginning of the month. There's a lot to learn but most of all it's really exciting and genuinely inspiring to be working for an organisation that so many people care so much about. Everyone involved has a real commitment to building a better, more peaceful borough and equipping people in Tower Hamlets to actively work to find solutions to the problems in their lives. And what fantastic people; the office is full of energy and a commitment to use this new start to rejuvenate the organisation. Furthermore, the volunteers give up their time to train and work with Tower Hamlets residents to use conflict creatively to develop and grow. What a team - the sky's the limit...

Why am I taking time out from the many urgent tasks to start a blog? Several things strike me about the time ahead. THMS has contracted in size in the last few years. Some fantastic work with young people and gangs lost funding and regrettably had to be laid aside. Mediation is a new area of work for me but I am absolutely convinced of the potential for THMS to grow and develop and of its importance in this borough and in east London more widely. I take over as Director at a difficult time: we're at the start of what looks likely to be a deep and prolonged recession when charitable trusts and public funding are contracting; in both Sue and Irene, wonderful, experienced and clearly well-loved staff have left the organisation and such staff-turnover means this is an uncertain time. Change, like conflict, can be scary. But like conflict, if handled respectfully and creatively, it can also be an enormous opportunity and I hope, together, we can make the most of it.

I used a phrase in my interview that I passionately believe and am so pleased to have heard people use over and over again since I started. People are the primary resource of this organisation and I want to find lots of ways of putting ideas out there for you to read about and think about and, if you like, feed back. I'll be emailing and writing out too, so technophobes need not fear! But I wanted a quick way to put in an accessible place what I'm doing and what I'm thinking about. I'm aware that much of what I do on a day to day basis (such as fundraising, putting in place some of the background support systems and meeting to negotiate new areas of work with our partner organisations) will be invisible. But THMS is your organisation and I want to offer lots of ways for you to be part of it.

This is an exciting time for the organisation and it's a real privilege to be working with you all. If you fancy, bookmark this blog, check back every so often and let me know how I'm doing and what you think. It's your organisation, I can't wait to get to know you better and build this wonderful service.