How are we dealing with difference and conflict?

AIATSIS invites all conference delegates whatever your role in native title, to a dialogue about your experiences in encountering and/or managing conflict in native title settings with disgruntled claimants, native title holders, respondents, board members, colleagues and others. 

Discussion will address a number of these scenarios in greater detail including what worked and didn’t work and why from a number of perspectives. Participants will explore how tensions around particular issues can trigger default responses and set the scene for either meaningful conversations or conflict. The systemic and structural issues will also be identified. Examples may also be addressed in terms of their impact on consultations towards free prior and informed consent. 

A number of alternative facilitated approaches such as the Engoori method (Murrimatters), Deep Democracy (the Lewis method), Open Space and transformative mediation will be discussed. Time permitting, a short communication and decision-making tool in the Deep Democracy (Lewis) method will be practiced and some mapping will occur of what would be useful in any developing native title mediation and facilitation community of practice.