es wird wieder genistet in diesem baum

liebe kollegInnen und freunde,

ein neues jahr entfaltet sich, wege werden sich wieder kreuzen, menschen werden aus allen himmeslrichtungen zusammenkommen und sich austauschen. gemeinsamkeiten und differenzen brauchen raum für klärende gespräche. unter dem baobab findet der austausch statt, tag und nacht, damit wir einvernehmliche lösungen finden, die uns weiterbringen.

ob denn noch genistet werde in diesem baum, hat sich ein freund aus dem fernen kirgistan erkundigt. die freundschaftliche frage hat uns bewegt. sie gibt uns den hintergrund für den gruss zum neuen jahr. Ja klar! Sie nisten wieder. Es fliegen wieder bunte vögel ein und aus. willkommen bei baobab 2013.

2012 war ein stilles jahr. brachzeit. gesundheitliche schwierigkeiten mussten bewältigt werden. die rekonvaleszenz war krise und chance. zweifel und neue gewissheit. mediation ist nötiger denn je.
nicht nur als mediation im klassischen sinn mit einem klar definierten mandat. wir brauchen mediatives verhalten im alltag. in einer weit gefächerten vielfalt. dazu bald mehr auf diesem blog.

wir wünschen euch allen viel buntes treiben und fröhliches gezwitscher in euren baumkronen.

geri baobab

responsive government

Good news from Berne!

The Swiss minister of Justice, Simonetta Sommaruga, just gave us a beautiful example of responsive government. The story is a case of new legislation about parental rights for child care in case of divorce. Under current practice the right for child care is mostly adjudicated to the mother only. The father often feels discriminated, reduced to the role of financial provider. Men's organizations had submitted proposals for adjusting the law to give equal rights to both parents. The matter was pending for several years. When Simonetta Sommaruga took office early this year she announced that she intended to work on a broader review of divorce legislation, including also maintenance payments. However, such a broader review would have caused further delay in dealing with the burning issue of parental rights. Men's organizations came out in angry protests. They camped on the Bundesplatz, the public space in front of the federal parliament, and they launched a campaign inviting angry citizens to send protest stones to the minister. (see www.schickenstei.ch)

Simonetta responded. She came out to meet the protesters at the Bundesplatz and engaged in a dialogue. Her message was clear. I hear you, she said, we shall expedite the matter. That was in February. And protest stones kept being sent to her one by one, by ordinary postal mail. By November she had received more than 1700 stones. But now she sent out an invitation to the protesters. She wanted to meet them at a children's playground near Berne where she offered them two surprises. The first surprise was that the protest stones had been used to build a public square at the playground, dedicated to the concerned organizations. The second surprise was the minister's announcement that the new law was ready for parliament and that the demands of the campaign had been met. Responsive Government had a field day.

I think the story is good stuff for a mediator's blog. Three aspects deserve to be highlighted:

• the power of symbols: both the protesters and the minister communicated with strong symbols. the protest stones did not do any physical harm, but they carried a strong message, and the media were keen to use the pictures. The minister also used the stones as symbols, turning them into a public good;
• responsiveness: the response was given on the spot, through personal presence and open dialogue, taking the media along so that the communication was widely accessible;
• transformation: by using the protest symbols to build common ground the minister opened up a new creative dimension in the communication with the concerned "constituency".

So next time when protest stones are coming your way, don't be afraid. Think of a creative response.

Yours in mediation

geri baobab

turning points

dear colleagues and friends,

sometimes it's difficult to recognize that we have reached a turning point.

this time the media marked the decision as "historic" right from the beginning when the news were broadcast for the first time:

Switzerland will say No to nuclear energy.

The waves of Fukushima have reached Berne. The Swiss Federal Government - a cabinet of 7 ministers, 4 women (picture), 3 men - has announced its decision to refrain from this high risk option and to lead the society towards a more sustainable energy policy. This is big change. Some 40% of the Swiss energy consumption are currently fed by nuclear energy. Giving up the nuclear option will mean nothing less than changing our way of life. For the better, I think.

How is this possible?
What happened in the minds of our political leaders? What made them take such a bold decision? Is it opportunism, as the critics say, driven by opinion polls in an election year? Or are they moved by new insights that make them see their responsibility for future generations?

Let us imagine that some kind of inner mediation has happened inside the decision makers. Imagine that they chaired a meeting of their inner team and that all the different voices were heard, the voices of the bold and enthusiastic, the voices of the sceptics, the cautious, the pragmatist, the dreamer, all of them. And that the dialogue happened in such a way that they all listened to each other. And so they reached a turning point.

Turning points are crucial in the mediation process. Friedrich Glasl and Rudi Ballreich distinguish four different turning points in mediation: (see www.konflikt.de)

• The initial turning point is reached when all the involved parties agree to come to the table and engage in the mediation process.

• The second turning point happens at the cognitive level when the parties are ready and able to change perspectives. When they realize that there are different ways to read the conflict story.

• The third turning point is emotional. At this point the parties in conflict express their feelings in an authentic and credible way so that the feelings can be mutually understood and accepted. It is the point of empathy for the other side.

• And finally there is the intentional turning point. The parties are now willing to go for a win-win solution and to take responsibility for its implementation.

Somebody must lead the process. The role of the mediator is to offer an environment that opens up paths of understanding that lead towards the turning points, to highlight these points, and to encourage the parties on the way forward. It can be done with the inner team as well.

Be the change that you want to see in the world, Gandhi said.
Be the turning point.

Yours in mediation
geri baobab

vorweihnächtliche hintergedanken

Hallo!
Es ist jetzt wieder die zeit der betriebsfeste vor dem jahresabschluss. für viele eine lustlose pflichtübung. für andere vielleicht ein versuch, wieder einmal leben in die bude zu bringen und verklemmtes zu lockern. vielleicht auch, um sich erkenntlich zu zeigen für die gelebte zusammenarbeit jahrein jahraus. manchmal werden auch die einladungen humorvoll aufgepeppt und illustriert, wie zum beispiel mit diesem bild vom weihnächtlichen duo , dem Chlaus und dem Elch und ihren hintergedanken.

das bild animiert mich zu einer kurzen rede an die belegschaft:

"schön, dass ihr alle der einladung gefolgt seid! ich möchte nur gerne wissen, wer sind eigentlich die zwei, die sich da verkleidet haben auf der einladung. der chlaus und der elch mit ihren hintergedanken. habt ihr sie gesehen? da sind die zwei zusammen unterwegs. der chlaus hockt auf dem elch, und der elch steht bockstill. also irgendwie scheinen die zwei blockiert. wir können ihre hintergedanken lesen, voll transparent. der chlaus denkt: "nach weihnachten fresse ich ihn auf", und der elch denkt: "nach weihnachten hau ich ab".

findet ihr das lustig?
also ich weiss nicht. ich weiss ja nicht einmal wer gemeint ist. muss ich das am ende gar persönlich nehmen? meint ihr etwa mich?
aber wer wäre ich denn, der chlaus oder der elch?
schon eher der elch. ich lasse mich doch nicht so rumtragen.
aber wie kommen die auf die idee, ich wolle abhauen? das sind doch hirngespinste!
ja genau, weil die mich affressen wollen, meinen sie, ich wolle abhauen!
ja genau, so sind die, und wenn ich mir so überlege, was die mit mir im sinn haben, dann wäre es ja am ende wirklich besser, ich würde abhauen.
oder meinen die, ich sei der Chlaus? meinen die, ich wolle sie auffressen?
das wäre ja noch besser. einfach alles so auf mich projizieren. dabei verwickeln die sich doch in ihren eigenen hintergedanken.

nein, so geht das nicht! so können wir nicht kutschieren.
also was micht betrifft, ich rede jetzt mal klartext:

ich haue nicht ab! jetzt fängt doch alles erst richtig an.
(hier in die rede einfügen, was man im kommenden jahr so alles vorhat mit diesem fantastischen team...)
und zum schluss nochmals: klartext! gegenseitig!
ich haue nicht ab
ich fresse dich nicht auf
und ich werde nicht zulassen, dass du dich auffressen lässt
von der arbeit, von ungelösten konflikten und von allerhand hintergedanken

so, jetzt ist es gesagt. und jetzt wollen wir feiern.

baobab mediation wünscht schöne festtage

time for my neighbourhood

Hello! Here comes a new word. Ever heard of bazore? To me this is an exciting discovery. bazore is a creative combination of two words from different languages. It brings together the words bazar, persian for market, and ore, italian for hour. So bazore means a market place for bartering time. bazore has been invented by a migrant community in my home city of Berne. The idea is that people can offer their resources in non-monetary terms and take mutual benefit from their comparative advantages. You may need assistance for solving your computer problems, you have no money to pay for it, but you have your own skills that you might offer in return. You speak Portuguese. So you post both your need and your offer on the bazore market board. Bingo! There is a guy in your neighbourhood who would like to learn some basic Portuguese before travelling to Bresil and he has the skills to be your computer standby technician. Two needs are covered and a new friendship is born. That's the beauty of bazore. Learn more about it on http://www.bazore.ch/


It all came to me while I was recovering from an accident. I had plenty of time. I felt like being able to take up new engagements when the news reached me that the community center in my neighbourhood was looking for a new president. I felt attracted and I responded without hesitation. I offer my time and my skills. And I get beautiful new contacts in return. In my community center, the Villa Stucki, I discovered bazore. Maybe I will see you there. It's a good place to meet. http://www.villastucki.ch/

Wishing you plenty of time to discover your neighbourhood

geri baobab

it takes two

It takes two for tango. It takes at least two for a peaceful settlement.

Because,as we all know, each side needs a strong pillar, a personality firmly anchored in its constituency and highly regarded for his/her unifying power, the charisma and credibility. Without such a beacon of identification and encouragement on both sides there can be no true negotiation, no lasting solution. If, in addition to his/her "domestic strength", each pillar also has the capacity to change perspectives and to develop an understanding for the other side, then the mediation process is really off for a good start.

It takes two. Sometimes we need to be reminded of such basics. For me the theme got reactivated last week when the russian president dmitri medwedew was in berne for a two day state visit on his way to the UN general assembly and to the meeting of the G8. He made a beautiful gift to our city. He brought along a couple of young bears, misha and masha (see the picture above). The bear being one of the archaic symbols of berne, this gift was a charming gesture, and the bernese were delighted.

Beyond symbolism, I was attentive to the political messages of medwedew. Just a few days before the visit, president barack obama had announced that the US would not persue their plans to build a missile shield in eastern europe any further. So in one of the interviews president medwedew gave to the swiss media, he was asked how russia would respond to the american move. This is what he replied: "with barack obama we really would like to construct new relationships". And he went on to explain:"when our partners listen to our concerns then we will also meet their concerns more attentively ".

The power of listenting. It takes two.

We can find many examples of this basic prerequisite, all around the globe. Take turkey, the quest for a peaceful solution with the curds. There are signs of opening now due to new initiatives being fostered by the two pillars. In a recent speech, prime minister erdogan expressed his feelings for the suffering of the mothers who lost their sons in the conflict. He showed empathy for the mothers on both sides. It appears that the imprisoned leader of the curds, abdullah öcalan, is also preparing a new move.

The power of empathy.

Or take zimbabwe, where the two pillars, mugabe and tsvangirai, have finally agreed to cooperate in a highly risky arrangement of power sharing. How is this possible after all the atrocities? How can tsvangirai recognize the importance of his opponent as a "stabilizor"? He speaks of the fragile beginnings of a personal relationship. "As you know I have gone through some personal tragedies in recent times. And this man has shown empathy. So I realized that there is a personal factor...".

Fragile beginnings. It takes two. As mediators we must always be aware that both sides must be empowered. As our baobab motto says: responding to conflict through empowerment and recognition.

Many thanks to dmitri medwedew for his wonderful gift. Let's hope that our grandchildren when they go and see the two bears will also be told the story of the two pillars and that it takes two for peace.

Yours in mediation

geri baobab

a fresh new green

Dear friends,

long time no message on this blog. Today I would like to greet you with this picture of Iranian women demonstrating for a democratic opening.

How does it make you feel?

I feel encouraged. Envigorated. Ready to continue the journey.

Some of you might object.

As mediators we do not take sides. Our job is to develop empathy for all sides and to facilitate the search for common ground. Yes, and our job is also to see the early signs of opening, to make them more visible, sometimes even to highlight them.

In his book "Mediating Dangerously: The Frontiers of Conflict Resolution" (2001), Kenneth Cloke offers a list of alternative definitions of conflict. I quote one such definition which I consider particularly relevant in this context:

"Conflict is often a result of secrets, concealments, confusions, conflicting messages, cover-ups, and what we have failed to communicate. Conflict hides in the shadows. When one of the parties throws a light on it, it disappears." (p.7)

I see the fresh new green of the Iranian movement bringing in more light on a dark landscape. It will help us in the search for a better dialogue that we all need so badly, at home and in the world.

geri baobab