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Introduction:
Leo Cardenas talks about how to "work the ethnicity out of" a conflict situation, so that more immediate issues can be addressed.
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This rough transcript provides a text alternative to audio. We apologize for occasional errors and unintelligible sections (which are marked with ???).
Looking Beyond Ethnicity in Mediation
Leo Cardenez
Former CRS Mediator, Denver Office
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[Full Interview]
Clearly, we had to work the ethnicity out
of it first, then the stature of the organization, how long they'd been in existence, because they
were non-profit and volunteer groups. We were also interested in the type of leadership that they
brought to the table.
Question:
You just said something very interesting, "You had to work the
ethnicity out of it." How do you do that?
Answer:
Very carefully. First of all, by trying to bring equity to the table in
terms of numbers -- numbers of the organizations. And one of the things that happened here and
it happened in other cities, is bringing back to the table individuals who did not currently have a
title with the organization, but had held a title before and were highly respected. We asked them
to
come to the table and be sort of senior, elder spokespeople and bring unity, and that
worked very well.
Question:
Did you try to get equal numbers of each race, or did you try to do something
proportionately?
Answer:
I think proportionate to the organizations who actually signed to be members of the
coalition.
Question:
And this was open to anybody who wanted to be included?
Answer:
Correct.
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