'kon gres 2011 - LEADR's 11th international ADR conference

‘kon gres – a resounding success

‘kon gres 2011 was a great success. Many left physically and socially exhausted while being professionally energised – surely the sign of a successful ‘assembly for promoting matters of common interest’. See the slideshow >>

‘kon gres reflects that LEADR is not only at the cutting edge of ADR theory and practice but importantly does so in a way which maximises opportunities to learn and to maintain and develop professional connections.

kongres-group There were many high points and developments from ‘kon gres 2009: we started the conversation beforehand through our Conversations blog; the quality of the sessions and their interactivity went up another notch and the diversity of presentations was exceptional. We salute our many presenters for the efforts they made to provide such stimulating sessions.

Again, the conference provided a wonderful opportunity for networking, for learning from one another, for being inspired and for invigorating mediator practice. It was jam-packed with thought-provoking (and thought-stilling) sessions and presenters and participants all engaged with great enthusiasm in ‘the conversations’.

link-up-dinner-novotel The evening link-up dinners held at the Novotel on Wednesday and at the Zen Bar on Thursday evenings were a huge success and obviously hit the spot for informality in conference dining. The Novotel as a venue provided intimacy and many participants enjoyed the lunchtime restaurant’s outdoor dining.

Members and conference participants can continue to benefit from ‘kon gres – through Update (we’ll be publishing all the podcasts progressively there). Also all the available podcasts, slideshows and papers will be published on the LEADR website for members and conference participants to access. Details to come.

Thank you to all who participated, chaired sessions and presented. View the “thank you slide show” to see just how many people helped to make ‘kon gres the success that it was. Thank you too for the very kind and generous feedback that you have given as well as ideas on how to make the next ‘kon gres even better.

Fiona Hollier, CEO, LEADR

'kon gres day one hits the spot

'kon gres 2011 got off to an energetic start on Wednesday 7 Sept with one participant describing it as 'brilliant'. "I liked the atmosphere; the mix of tasks in the groups; the friendliness, and the topics were spot on," she said.

Mr Jeremy Gormly SC (left), Chair of NADRAC, opening the conference noted the enormous growth of ADR in recent times. During the day participants grappled with the complex nature of justice and its relationship with ADR. In this context, Mr Gormly noted that it is the parties that provide the justice in a mediation.

joel-lee Other highlights on day one included Assoc Prof Joel Lee's presentation which illuminated the range of assumptions that underpin the interest-based model. Participants also appreciated Phillip Hart’s session on effective techniques for complex mediations, Cambell Bridge's session on the exceptions to confidentiatlity, Michael Klug on negotiation as a counter-intuitive discipline and the conversation around how you are as a mediator as opposed to what you do.

LEADR's 11th international ADR conference

In 2009 LEADR created a new version of its well established international conference: 'kon gres.

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, so
'kon gres 2011 will retain its key ingredients: innovation, interactivity, challenging sessions and acknowledgement of the wealth of experience and knowledge of the practitioners who attend.

'kon gres will once again be distinguished by how participants are actively engaged. We will continue to provide opportunities for participants to discuss, debate and explore ideas in as many sessions as possible. We will encourage participants to be active and critical learners rather than passive recipients of another's expertise.

'kon gres 2011 will provide opportunities for rich conversations about the work that we do and the topics that interest us. We invite you to join us for our two link-up dinners when these conversations will continue and develop over relaxed, informal and, we believe, attractively priced evening meals.

We look forward to connecting with you at 'kon gres 2011.

Fiona Hollier, CEO, LEADR

International plenary speakers

	Associate Professor Joel Lee from the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, has extensive experience as a teacher of negotiation and mediation and is a consultant with CMPartners (USA) and a principal mediator with and Training Director for the Singapore Mediation Centre. He is also co-editor and co-author of the book An Asian Perspective on Mediation.
	Professor Ellen Waldman from Thomas Jefferson School of Law San Diego founded and supervises the school’s mediation program. Previously, a Fellow at the medical ethics department at the University of Virginia Medical School, Professor Waldman speaks, trains and publishes in the areas of mediation and medical ethics and has recently published Mediation Ethics: Cases and Commentaries.

What is LEADR?

With a membership of 2300, LEADR is Australasia’s largest membership organisation for ADR practitioners. Established in 1989 to promote and facilitate the use of alternative dispute resolution, LEADR has members throughout Australia and New Zealand and in many countries in the Asia Pacific region.

LEADR provides mediators for the business, legal and broad community sectors. LEADR delivers training in a range of dispute resolution practice areas at all levels from basic skills courses through to advanced workshops and continuing professional development. These courses are available as public workshops or as in-house customised programs.

LEADR members have special access to current ADR news, resources and a monthly e-newsletter called Update.

More about LEADR >>

Access to the podcasts, papers and powerpoints are available to LEADR members and 'kon gres participants via a password protected area. Click here >>

Some of the feedback

It was warm, exciting, challenging, energising and a bit exhausting, smoothly run, and very pleasurable. I learnt heaps, renewed friendships, and generally had a great time.

kongres-group

It appeared to flow effortlessly is testament to the amount of hard work you and your team put in so that we participants could enjoy it.

As always, I found it to be a fabulous three days! kongres-group-standing

The whole thing ran very smoothly and offered a challenging program – which session to miss was the big question! I am delighted that so many sessions will be available on line and recommend all to try a taste.

Thank you all so much for your great organisation, attention and caring accommodation for our “needs/interests”.

kongrespanel

... I also want to say how terrific ‘kon gres was; best ever I reckon.

… thank you so much for your efforts during the conference – extremely well organised and a lot of fun to be at.

… I thoroughly enjoyed ‘kon gres and felt withdrawal symptoms last week!

… It was a fantastic conference.

kongres-group

margaret ADR in the mainstream

The commencement of the Civil Dispute Resolution Act 2011 is a landmark achievement, hastening the planned obsolescence of the ‘alternative’ in ‘ADR’. What has been an ADR niche market is likely to evolve into mainstream as parties and their solicitors take genuine steps toward reaching agreement out of court. The scope for, and variety of, ADR processes and practitioners is anticipated to flourish. ADR consumers will become repeat players and sophisticated assessors of both processes and practitioners. The three day LEADR community of practice, ‘kon gres 2011, will provide us with experiences that will sharpen our skills and understandings as well as stimulate and encourage us to reflect and refine our practice to meet these exciting challenges.

With more than 60 sessions led by both overseas and local skilled ADR practitioners and academics sharing their expertise and insights, ‘kon gres will again contribute significantly to the continuing development of excellence of ADR in our region.

The Board warmly invites you to join with us at ‘kon gres 2011.

Margaret Halsmith, Chair, LEADR

Who will attend?

Practitioners engaged in all areas of ADR from Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region.

Conference venue

The Novotel Brisbane will be home to
'kon gres 2011 and we hope you will make it your home for the three days.

Situated close to the river and CBD, much of the hotel has recently been refurbished including the accommodation rooms, restaurant, entrance area and bars.

As for the conference area, we'll have natural light in the main conference room as well as the break out rooms – a more energising environment for our workshops and sessions.

Venue details >>

Accommodation >>

Brisbane Festival

If you have time either side of the conference, make the most of the Brisbane Festival. Click here >>