Western Justice Center Foundation Executive Director Joins International Scholars
Convening  to Explore New Ideas for Resolving Conflict.

COLUMBUS, Ohio-On January 26, 2006, interdisciplinary scholars from around the world
gathered in Columbus, Ohio to participate in a symposium entitled "Listening to the
World: New Ideas for Resolving Identity-Based Conflict." The symposium was hosted by
the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution in collaboration with a new research initiative
entitled "The Bridge Initiative @ Mershon and Moritz: New Ideas for Bridging Divided
Communities."

The symposium explored the dilemma faced by society when the mechanisms in place to
resolve social problems-courts, administrative agencies, political processes-leave
significant conflicts unaddressed. The goal is to look beyond our borders in search of
alternative solutions and new ideas for building institutions responsive to conflict here in the
United States. Social problems implicated by police-community relations will be highlighted
as a case example to refine and expand understanding of the possibilities of different dispute
system designs.

The morning's panels explored some of the underlying causes and manifestations of
selected problems in our own communities. Western Justice Executive Director, Najeeba
Syeed-Miller was a panelist on the "Community-Policing within the United States" moderated
by john a. powell. Other panelists included Sandra Cheldelin, the Vernon M. and Minnie
I. Lynch Professor of Conflict Resolution at George Mason University's Institute for Conflict
Analysis and Resolution, Jay Rothman, President of the ARIA Group, Inc., and Raymond
W. Patterson, the Associate Director of the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution at the
William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Ms. Syeed-Miller's presentation focused on the emerging model that the Western Justice
Center Foundation is developing in Southern California for community police relations.
This program combines the mediation of civilian complaints against police officers with
open, community-wide sustained dialogue. She provided an overview of best practices,
highlighting the need for safe forums that are facilitated by neutral third parties to create
long term solutions to the very pressing issues facing community and law enforcement.
Ms. Syeed-Miller also discussed the need for cultural competency in such convening
sessions and presented the notion of a "Western/Southwestern Conflict Resolution Model"
that takes into consideration the unique cultural, historical and linguistic contexts of this
region of the nation.  The symposium concluded with dispute resolution experts moderating
a discussion between these domestic and international community panelists.

All symposium papers will be published in Volume 22 Issue 1 of the Ohio State Journal on
Dispute Resolution, scheduled for publication in Fall 2006. Further information and on-
line streaming video of the symposium may be found at:
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/jdr/symposium.html.