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Introduction:
Dick Salem, a community
and race-relations mediator, explains some basic rules for mediators and/or trainers
working in cultures other than their own.
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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 ???).
Advice About Cross-Cultural Mediation
Richard Salem
Private Mediator, President of Conflict Management Initiatives
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Q: What lessons have you learned from that project and others in your
experience?
A: To listen, not to make assumptions, if you don't have to, as to what
people need or want. Let people decide for themselves and tell you what you can
do for them. Not to try to impose an American or North American or
American-European system of mediation or conflict resolution, but rather to work
from where they are. I ask, what systems do you use and how do they work? I say,
here's what we do back home and they're doing it some other places, and provide
additional support as requested. It's important not to impose it, to make sure
people want to do this, and also to work from the bottom up. Grassroots really.
A bottom-up project is important. I think it makes it work better. For
example, mediation of interpersonal disputes that are in the community often are
in the jurisdiction of the elected community officials in the local communities.
So you can't just set up a mediation program and start addressing these without
taking that into account. If you do, you could have some problems. If you choose
to do it, you try to address those problems earlier. Perhaps the way to do it is
to be teaching conflict resolution skills to some of those leaders, and I think
that's on the table as well. That'll be coming along. So you have to know the
culture, you have to know the territory, and try to be respectful of it. ...
Q:
Is there a particular piece of theory that you find useful in this kind of
work that you take with you usually, or refer back to in your practice?
A: The theory would be not to tell others what to do, but to take it from
them. To be interested and respectful, and to be respectful of everybody I meet
whenever I can and let them know I'm interested in what they're doing, and agree
to continue our work when we're asked to. Yes. If that's theory. But that's what
I do in practice. That's the practice of it and it's important because without
that I'd be in trouble. Also trying not to yawn if I get bored.
Q: That's a really good piece of advice.
A: Yeah, it does happen. It happens here!
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