October 25, 2002

Dear colleague

I am writing to invite you to join the World Mediation Forum (WMF) and to highlight the benefits of being a member. The World Mediation Forum, founded in Dublin, Ireland in 1993, has its legal inscription in Madrid, Spain. It is a non-profit, non-governmental, non-political organization, whose aims are to explore and discuss ways that conflicts can be resolved cooperatively and peacefully.

To encourage the growth of our relatively young organization we have reduced our individual membership fees to only 25 Euros or US dollars for members from the US or Western Europe, and only 15 Euros or US dollars for members in other parts of the world. If you and/or your organization decide to join us you will be supporting the development of mediation around the world at a time when it is badly needed. The Application for Membership form can be found on our website - www.mediate.com/world

WMF Global Congresses. The WMF’s bi-annual congresses attract hundreds of mediators from many parts of the globe. They offer many opportunities to network and to make connections that lead to further opportunities in other places. The First Conference of the World Mediation Forum was held in Madrid, Spain in 1995, the second one in La Habana, Cuba in 1998 and the third one in Sardinia, Italy in 2000. Participants from over 75 countries attended from different professional and cultural backgrounds. Our fourth congress - Building Peaceful Co-Existence: Mediation and Negotiation in a Conflicted World - will be in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 9-11 May, 2003. Your WMF membership fee will be deducted from your registration fee for the congress.

WMF Regional Conferences. We also sponsor regional conferences in the years in-between our Congresses. In 1997 the Argentine Delegation organized a National Conference in Buenos Aires and in 1999 the first Latin American Conference in Rosario and are planning the next one in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2004. We have recently expanded our regional outreach from Western Europe and America to the Asia Pacific region and are now looking to develop regional activities in Eastern Europe and Africa.

In November 2001, we organized the inaugural Asian Pacific Mediation Forum Regional Conference: "Reconciliation: Conversations Beyond Cultural Boundaries" in Adelaide, Australia. An Asia Pacific Mediation Forum Steering Committee has been formed with membership from more than 12 countries in the region. The APMF Steering Committee is now planning the next conference in Singapore in November 2003.

The IV WMF Congress in Argentina. We are expecting about 1200 - 1500 professionals to attend the IV WMF Conference in May 2003 and we do hope that you can join us. This will be three-day event with simultaneous translations into English, French and Spanish. The Conference will include: Round Tables, Symposia, Central Conferences, Workshops, Sector-thematic meetings, Discussion Forums, Poster Exhibitions etc. On the 8th of May different Seminars and workshops will be held in Professional Associations' venues as Pre Conference activities.

Who will participate? Major organizations from around the world are co-sponsoring the next WMF Congress and plan to send official representatives to Buenos Aires. These include most of the major US associations - the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), the American Bar Association (ABA), the US Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, United States Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution - and others such as the World Bank: Conflict Resolution System, the German, Swiss, Czech and Hungarian Mediation Associations and associations in South America, Canada and Australia.

Mediation and ADR methods have grown rapidly in many countries around the world in the last few years. Notwithstanding the brief social critical moment for Argentina in December last year, mediators' from all over the world are motivated to come to Buenos Aries and are committed to support this Conference. Assistance has been offered from the five continents, including from countries such as Russia, Nepal, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Israel, Hungary, Papua New Guinea, Cuba, Chile, Brazil, France, Palestine, Uganda, Guinea, Nepal, Pakistan, the United States and many European countries.

Our goals for the future. We aim to continue to bring together all the major and minor organizations in the world that are concerned with the management of conflicts, on a bi-annual basis, to facilitate the sharing and exploration of our common interests and goals. We also plan to sponsor many more regional conferences, further develop our new web site as a medium for publishing WMF conference papers and distributing information, and to publish a newsletter in the not too distant future. With your help, we hope to be more active in many important arenas and to have an impact on the major conflicts in the world.

I personally am proud to be associated with a growing community of pioneers in an important global movement that will continue to have a very positive impact on our world. I encourage you to join us and to invite your colleagues to do the same.

Together we can make a difference and build stronger and more peaceful communities.

Sincerely,
Associate Professor Dale Bagshaw,
Acting President,
World Mediation Forum

WMF Steering Committee

Savina Pinna (Italy), President. On leave since mid-2001.
Associate Professor Dale Bagshaw (Australia), Acting President (Vice-President) - dale.bagshaw@unisa.edu.au 
Richard Salem (United States), Secretary - dicksalem@cmi-salem.org 
Monique Stroobants (Belgium), Treasurer - mediation.band@skynet.be 
Barbara Wood (Ireland). Assistant Treasurer. Payment enquiries: torquil_quigley@hotmail.com 
Juan Tausk (Argentina), IV Congress Delegate (Argentina) - jtausk@sinectis.com.ar 
Lisa Parkinson (UK), Chair of the IV Congress Scientific Committee: lisaparkinson@btinternet.com 
Armando Abay Castanedo (Cuba) - acastanedo@yahoo.com 
Daniel Bustelo (España) - bsbustel@lander.es 
Rolf Herzog (Germany) - rherzog@uni-bremen.de
Liliana Perrone (France) - ifatclyon@aol.com
Juan Carlos Vezzulla (Brazil): vezzulla@nts.com.br

MEMBERSHIP FEES

Barbara Wood (Ireland).  Assistant Treasurer: torquil_quigley@hotmail.com 

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