REGISTRATION IS CLOSED- please email Lydia at lydia@transformativemediation.org with questions!

FACE Lab, Fall 2022 sessions 1-3, with Carol Bloom and Bob Thompson

ISCT’s Fall FACE Lab brings experienced and new Transformative Mediation and Dialogue practitioners and thought partners together, to continue our work in the exploration and development of the FACE lens as it applies to Transformative practice. This work, initiated by the late Irving Foster, refers to the experience of losing face and saving face as a part of conflict interaction, ubiquitous and universal across cultures and identities. We believe that the efforts a mediator or other conflict intervenor makes to cultivate awareness and recognition of the dynamics of FACE exchanges, goes a long way to enhance our multicultural humility and competencies as TM practitioners. *

The Fall FACE Lab will focus on how to best introduce and train others in the development of a FACE lens. To this end, we will use role play exercises, video clips, and other prompts to practice and discuss how the FACE lens informs our responses/interventions. 

The Lab is guided by Carol Bloom and Robert Thompson and supported by ISCT staff, and consists of 3 online, 2-hour sessions, as well as full access to the Google Classroom - where we share written and video materials, exercises, role play scenarios, discussion threads, notes from live sessions, and a sign-up roster to convene/participate in 1-1 or small group exchanges – between live sessions.

Suggested contributions- We don't want payment to be a barrier for anyone, so please choose the level that works for you, between $0-$75

New Participants are welcome! We will provide an orientation session and materials for you to review, 2-3 weeks before the first session and will connect you with a Lab buddy for 1-1 support in getting familiar with the concepts and ideas we’ve been discussing.

Attention Pacific Time Zone participants: We will also be offering alternative 1-hour sessions between the general sessions, making it possible for those who can’t join the general sessions to watch the recordings and then meet for a live session with Carol and Bob. Those sessions are tentatively scheduled for:

Thurs/Fri - Oct. 20/21, Dec. 1/2, and Jan 5/6

- 5-6:15pm, PDT -  8-9:15pm (EDT) - the following morning in Japan/Australia

*We understand that the study of FACE is analogous to the ongoing explorations of these related fields in the study of conflict interaction:

• dignity and dignity violations between parties, 
• patterns of shame and blame between parties, 
• implicit bias awareness for third party intervenors, 
• trauma informed practices for practitioners, 
• increasing intervenor’s awareness of and building skills to support addressing/interrupting systemic power imbalances between parties