Welcome to the Alberta Family Mediation Society
What is family mediation?
Mediation is a family-centered conflict resolution process in which an impartial third party (the mediator) helps the participants in negotiating a consensual, informed and fair agreement. Decision-making rests with the parties throughout. The mediator assists the parties in identifying issues and information needs, reducing obstacles to communication, exploring alternatives and focusing on the needs and interests of those who it is agreed are affected.
Our Mission
The Mission of the Alberta Family Mediation Society (AFMS) is to draw together the community of dispute resolution practitioners to promote awareness and use of mediation in the resolution of family conflicts.
We are a non-profit organization promoting the development and appropriate use of mediation as an alternative to emotionally and financially costly court actions.
Email from our conference speaker, Justice Harvey Brownstone
Posted July 9, 2010 11:51AM
I hope this email finds you well and enjoying your summer.
I’m writing to let you know that my online TV talk show, “Family Matters”, has now been launched, and you can see the first 3 episodes at www.familymatterstv.com
If you get a chance to watch, I’d welcome your feedback and also any suggestions you might have for future episodes.
We will be filming 6 more episodes in Victoria next week during the National Family Law Conference, including an episode on mediation and an episode on collaborative law, and I hope you will like them.
Please let the people who attended my presentation in Edmonton last April know about the TV show (and the website address), as I had promised them that I’d let them know when the show was launched.
Thanks, and all the best
Harvey
Mr. Justice Harvey Brownstone
North Toronto Family Court
47 Sheppard Ave. E.
Toronto, ON M2N 5X5
Call for Volunteer Workshop Facilitators
Posted May 27, 2010 9:38AM
Join in and promote conflict resolution in your community! Conflict Resolution Day is an international celebration held annually on the third Thursday in October. The date for Conflict Resolution Day 2010 is October 21st. The Alberta theme for this year is Conflict Resolution Day: Options for Albertans.
Municipalities across Alberta are working together to provide a number of interactive workshops to the public designed to assist individuals to utilize an assertive communication model including the DESC tool. In order to accomplish this task we will need help. Volunteer facilitators will lead participants through an interactive workshop format that includes a discussion on using the model effectively.
Volunteers will receive training on the model and a work plan that has been developed in October prior to the workshops being held on October 21st. We are working with a number of organizations and networks to ensure that sites will be available in as many Alberta communities as possible.
It is the hope of the organizing committee to involve a wide range of individuals from communities across Alberta. The volunteer training will also be an opportunity to network with other organizations that work in or have an interest in the area of conflict resolution.
We would like to invite you to be involved in this community education venture. The time involved is approximately 3 hours for the training and 3 hours for the actual workshop.
Names and contact information for volunteers will be shared with local organizing committees and/or contacted directly by the volunteer coordinator for areas where no local committee is present.
If you are interested, please contact the volunteer coordinator at mrjc@mrjc.ca