Do a Google search on the word “mediation” and you’ll turn up with some 8,460,000 hits. That’s a lot of web sites to comb through if you’re looking for information about the mediation field.
To save you some time, I’ve compiled a short list of some of the most useful conflict resolution and mediation-related web sites I’ve encountered in my travels through the Internet. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list by any means—just a place for you to start your own journey.
I’ve tried to steer clear of web sites that have an overly commercial feel to them, or whose useful content is overpowered by ads and sponsored links. I’ve also made an effort to stick with web sites that contain up-to-date information and have links that work. And, since I’m a big believer that web content should be free, I’ve only included links for sites that cost nothing to use.
In no particular order Online Guide to Mediation‘s web picks are:
Conflict Resolution Information Source
http://crinfo.org/
The Conflict Resolution Information Source (CRInfo) is, its own words, “a free, online clearinghouse, indexing more than 25,000 peace- and conflict resolution-related Web pages, books, articles, audiovisual materials, organizational profiles, events, and current news articles.” A comprehensive source for ADR-related information, CRInfo offers separate pages for practitioners, educators, students, researchers, and anyone who has a conflict to enable them to easily locate resources targeted for their respective needs.
Mediate.com
http://www.mediate.com
Mediate.com describes itself as the Internet’s most frequently visited ADR web site. I can well believe it. It’s a great resource for the mediation practitioner or the general public, offering a searchable, on-line library where over 800 articles on a wide variety of mediation and dispute resolution topics may be accessed. At the web site you can also subscribe to Mediate.com’s newsletter and receive regular updates on new articles. As I’ve discovered, they also welcome article submissions from practitioners, so Mediate.com can be an effective way to get your message out to the ADR community.
Guide to ADR Links
http://www.adr.af.mil./general/guideadr.doc
Guide to ADR Links was compiled by Deborah S. Laufer, an attorney and Executive Director of the Federal ADR Network. One of the best and most complete sources of information available online about dispute resolution, it offers a comprehensive compilation of dispute resolution links.
National Association for Community Mediation
http://www.nafcm.org/pg23.cfm
The web site for the National Association for Community Mediation includes a page devoted to links to articles, organizations, and “hot topics” of interest not just to community mediators but to other ADR practitioners as well.
Katsuey’s Legal Gateway
http://www.katsuey.com/index.cfm
Providing access to information on a number of legal practice areas and topics, Katsuey’s Legal Gateway includes an Arbitration/Mediation Legal Directory. This directory provides links that include the usual suspects (Association for Conflict Resolution, the American Arbitration Association) but also more exotic offerings such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center, and the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy Database.
Campus Conflict Resolution Resources Project (Campus-adr.org)
http://www.campus-adr.org/
Listed last but certainly not least, Campus-adr.org has quickly become one of my favorite places to visit on the web. Although created to promote the use of conflict management in higher education, there is plenty here for anyone who is interested in conflict resolution and mediation in other contexts. Check out the section entitled Conflict Resolution Training Tools, where plenty of resources are available for trainers (and for some fun while you’re at it, don’t miss the links for the Handling Difficult Workers simulation game and Know Your Legal Terms Bingo).
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