whanganui restorative city conference - Restorative Practices


whanganui restorative city conference - Restorative Practices...

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WHANGANUI RESTORATIVE CITY CONFERENCE Making Sense of Restorative Practice – An International Exchange of Ideas Report by John Lennox, RPI board member who attended the conference. John can be reached at [email protected]

On the 28th and 29th March 2014 Whanganui Trust held a conference in their city of some 40,000 people. The initial program was expanded as a result of the interest shown. In addition the many New Zealanders there were Australians from Northern Territory, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania as well a large number of Canadians who were primarily from Nova Scotia. Several members of RPI attended including two Board members. What impressed me apart from the warm welcome extended by those from across the ditch was the inclusion of a number of senior school students. It was their first exposure to restorative practices but it was clear at the checkout circle at the end of each day that the students grasped the efficacy of restorative practices and all were very articulate in outlining their future plans and aspirations in that regard. One important development in New Zealand has been the creation of a Chair in Restorative Justice School of Government At the Victoria University of Wellington and the appointment of Professor Chris Marshall to the Chair. Chris can be reached at [email protected]

For me the stand out presentation was that of Dr. Lori HASKELL, a clinical psychologist from Nova Scotia. Her workshop on the recovery from trauma added to my understanding of Affect Theory. Lori outlined the effects of trauma as the result of a variety of types of victimisation (e.g. violence, sexual abuse and PTSD) and the need for facilitators to understand trauma. She highly commended several texts to participants who are interested in the development of the brain: The Brain that changes Itself: stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science (James H. Silberman Books), Doidge M.D., Norman Trauma and Recovery: The aftermath of Violence – From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror, Judith Herman Why our Brains are wired to Connect, Lieberman, Matthew D. If you are interested in how Whanganui is approaching the herculean task of making progress towards the vision of a restorative city, please contact: