Justice Institute of British Columbia

A few weeks ago I had a coffee with Tony deWaal, the executive director of the Abbotsford Restorative Justice and Advocacy Program. Tony told me he took some very helpful courses at the Justice Institute of Canada .

Abbotsford Restorative Justice Tony deWaal

Our life in the Amazon is all about teamwork, communication and restoring relationships. This is more of an art than a science.  I am so grateful for this opportunity to study these puzzling issues from a slightly different perspective.

I enrolled in a Conflict Resolution program. Learning how to think about cultural and relational differences is very helpful. The professor of Conflict Resolution Theory, my first 3 day class, is one of my new heros. He has extensive experience among the Bosnians, Serbs and Croats in the 1990s, and more recently in Canadian “First Nations / Crown” issues. He advocates what he calls Transformative Mediation. “I do not go in with the primary goal of resolving interests. My primary goal is increasing understanding among the people involved and restoring relationships.”

Classes include theory, working out scenarios in small groups, and review. When we would share our professions in our small groups I had the distinct impression I was the first “missionary” many people had met, “No way! Really?” Maybe I will switch over to calling myself a LTCCW, a Long Term Cross Cultural Worker, like the leaders are recommending at the Vineyard Conference in Colorado. Apparently the word “missionary” has unhelpful baggage in some circles. I wonder what meanings my classmates put on the word? They are a cool group of people. One is the Red Cross co-ordinator for BC/Yukon. One is involved in city planning and community disputes for Vancouver. One is a head nurse. One is a lawyer. Some work with First Nations / Crown issues. What an honor to rub shoulders in a learning environment with these people.

This was a great week for me!

Here is an overview of the Justice Institute of British Columbia.