CNDR Hosts the 2022 Weinstein JAMS International Fellows
On October 19, 2022, The Mediation Society, The Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (CNDR), and The JAMS Foundation hosted Mediation Developments Around the World: Introducing the 2022 Weinstein JAMS International Fellows at UC Law SF.
Moderated by Ellen Bass, Director of the Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship Program, the panel featured Victor Baba Emmanuel Aligo (South Sudan/Kenya), Judge Mohammad Faruque (Bangladesh), Judge Bunlang Jiraboonsri (Thailand), and Victoria Banke Olagbegi-Oloba (Nigeria).
The panel offered a rare opportunity to learn first-hand about mediation developments in Asia and Africa from the 2022 Weinstein JAMS International Fellows working in these regions. The Fellows shared their successes and challenges promoting public and private mediation initiatives, convincing skeptics to embrace mediation, as well as their visions for how to promote the development of mediation in their home countries. They also highlighted the role that mediation plays in their respective jurisdictions to alleviate court backlogs and improve access to justice.
Speaker Bios:
Ellen Bass, moderator, is a lawyer, trained mediator and Director of the Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship Program. She has managed the Fellowship Program since 2009 and overseen its development to include 135 Fellows from 80 countries in collaboration with the JAMS Foundation’s Board of Directors. Learn more about the Weinstein JAMS Fellowship Program.
Victor Baba Emmanuel Aligo (South Sudan/Kenya) is a lawyer and accredited mediator. Originally from South Sudan, he resides in Kenya as a refugee where in addition to his legal and mediation practice, he leads the Men’s Ministry at the Reconciliation Center in Nairobi. Mr. Aligo is a certified speaker, trainer, teacher, and coach. As a part of his JAMS Weinstein Fellowship, he intends to expand his knowledge and understanding of ADR for the benefit of people in South Sudan and sub-Saharan Africa through ADR advocacy in schools, communities, and faith-based institutions throughout the region.
Judge Mohammad Faruque (Bangladesh) is the district and sessions judge of the Brahmanbaria District and serves as adjunct faculty at the Police Training Center, where he has provided regular ADR training to police officers since 2018. He has worked as a pro bono community mediator and trained judicial officers, public prosecutors, government leaders and other stakeholders on the use of ADR processes to reduce backlogs in local dispute settlement. While in the U.S., he intends to conduct an in-depth advanced study of court-connected ADR programs with a special focus on restorative justice to better promote dispute resolution within his court and throughout the Bangladesh Judicial Service.
Judge Bunlang Jiraboonsri (Thailand) is a judge at the Court of Justice and serves as secretary of the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases, an executive position responsible for management of the court and the Mediation Center. Awarded a Young Leaders scholarship in 2021 by the Japanese government, he is currently on leave, studying in the Master of Laws program at Kyushu University. During his Fellowship, he plans to study the U.S. mediation system, especially court-connected mediation programs for civil cases in both state and federal courts to support the adoption and expansion of mediation to better serve Thai courts and the country.
Victoria Banke Olagbegi-Oloba (Nigeria) is a Law Lecturer and Dispute Resolution (Negotiation, Mediation, Arbitration & Litigation) practitioner with keen interest and experience in International law. She is well seasoned in Advocacy, Arbitration and Mediation; Lecturing and advanced legal research; Pro-Bono legal services & representation; Corporate & Commercial law practice; Refugee issues, Statelessness & Human Rights; Ethics in the Legal Profession, Access to justice, Rule of Law and Bar issues; Legal conference, workshop & seminar planning. Upon completion of her Fellowship, she aims to expand access to justice to benefit the ICMC branch in Ondo State through the creation of an ADR center in partnership with the judiciary. She join UC Law SF as an Affiliated Scholar with the Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (CNDR) for the Fall 2022 academic term.