Hosts, Organizers, Partners and Sponsors
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Hosts, Organizers, Partners and Sponsors

The 7th International Forum on Online Dispute Resolution operates under United Nations conference rules, which means that no fee is charged for any person attending the conference, and that there are no economic barriers for students or persons from developing countries from attending. This creates a burden on the organizing committee to work with local, national and international sponsors to ensure that the Forum successfully meets its objectives.

The organizing committee would like to acknowledge the participation of the following sponsors, benefactors and donors who have contributed to this important event:

We are working closely with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to assist with the travel funding for 22 attendees from developing nations such as East Timor, Pakistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania, The People's Republic of China etc. to this Forum. CIDA's generous contribution means that ODR principles may be transmitted to nations which are developing justice, conflict, and human rights mechanisms. CIDA and the organizing committee have worked together to ensure a gender - balance participation.

The Office of the Ombudsman, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), is acting as the key member of the local organizing committee, and Frank Fowlie, ICANN Ombudsman (www.icannombudsman.org) is the Forum Chair.

Royal Roads University has one of Canada's leading Schools of Peace and Conflict Management. The School and the University, along with the Royal Roads University Foundation will act as hosts for a number of the Forum's activities. The Royal Roads Foundation will accept donations and sponsorships for the administration of the Forum, and any residual funds will be used by the School to continue research into Online Dispute Resolution. Learners from the School will be participating in the Forum and earning practicum credits toward Bachelor or Masters Degrees.

The National Centre for Technology and Dispute Resolution (NCTDR) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst is the world's leading academic institution for the advancement of ODR research. The Fellows of the NCTDR act as the key civil society organization for the administration of the International Forum on Online Dispute Resolution.

The National Arbitration Forum is a key provider of arbitration services regarding the Uniform Domain Resolution Policy (UDRP), and is the only North American provider of UDRP services.

The ADR Group is one the United Kingdom's leading ODR providers. The ADR Group has been a consistent supporter of the ODR Forum, and we thank them for their long term support.

Founded in 1962, the CRDP is the University of Montreal’s oldest research centre. Furthermore, with its 15 researchers, 31 associate researchers and 28 collaborators, it constitutes the largest legal research institute in Canada. CRDP researchers essentially work on forms of contemporary law, the conditions in which they emerge and relations with other forms of normativity and social regulation. This research is centered towards three specific areas: Law and new social relations; law, and information and communications technologies; and Law, biotechnology and community. Because of the interdisciplinary approach it has developed over the last 45 years, the CRDP now spearheads a collaborative network of researchers known as the Regroupement Droit et changement. This grouping of researchers brings together lawyers, sociologists, political scientists, philosophers, ethicists, anthropologists, historians, economists, computer specialists, physicians, biologists and geneticists, all of whom share a common interest in the relationship between Law and both social and technological changes. Their collaborative research projects serve to redefine theoretical and methodological perspectives in the study of judicial norms and contribute to the development of graduate programs in law. Over the years, CRDP researchers and their associates have been responsible for some of the most important legal breakthroughs in such fields as aboriginal law, genetics and online dispute resolution. Regarding the later, the CRDP’s Cybertribunal and eResolution projects were among the first ODR platforms available on the Web and revolutionized the field of online arbitration. The software developed by CRDP researchers for these projects is still being used today, most notably by the European Commission’s ECODIR consumer dispute resolution platform.

Mediate.com is the world's leading online journal concerning the practice of mediation, and alternative dispute resolution. We encourage you to visit mediate.com and subscribe.

Afilias is a global leader in advanced registry services and provides a wide range of capabilities essential to the smooth and efficient operation of any type of registry service.

Afilias launched its registry services in July 2001 with the launch of the top-level domain registry for .INFO- the most successful of the seven new top-level domains (TLDs) selected by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Today, Afilias provides registry services for .INFO, .ORG, .mobi (for the mobile Internet), .aero (for the aerospace industry), .asia (for the Asia Pacific region) and several country code TLDs (ccTLDs). Together Afilias supports over eleven million domain names, making it the second largest provider of registry services worldwide.

The Government of Canada, CIDA, Industry Canada, Justice Canada, and the Department of External Affairs have made significant contributions to ensure the Forum's success.

The Government of British Columbia, The Office of the Premier, its Chief Information Officer, the Protocol Office, and its various Ministries and Agencies have been key supporters of the event. British Columbia is proud to welcome the delegates to Vancouver Island.

The ICT4Peace Foundation was set up in 2006 and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. Serving as a hub for research, advocacy and networking on the topic of ICT used to prevent, respond to and recover from conflict, its genesis and raison d'être lies with Paragraph 36 of the WSIS Tunis commitment:

"We value the potential of ICTs to promote peace and to prevent conflict which, inter alia, negatively affects achieving development goals. ICTs can be used for identifying conflict situations through early warning systems preventing conflicts, promoting their peaceful resolution, supporting humanitarian action, including protection of civilians in armed conflicts, facilitating peacekeeping missions, and assisting post conflict peace-building and reconstruction."

The Foundation currently carries out work to enhance the performance of the international community in crisis management through ICT, develops templates for ICT, media and communications in conflict management and manages an inventory of existing ICT initiatives and tools in peacebuilding.

Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific is a unique two year pre-university school for two hundred students selected from around the world based solely on their personal merit, potential and demonstrated commitment to engage actively in creating a better world. All students attend on a full scholarship and live together while studying the International Baccalaureate program and pursuing explicitly the mission of the United World Colleges to make education a "force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future".

TheMediationRoom.com is a UK/Australia based leading provider of ODR using its own bespoke software to enable all forms of dispute resolution (mediation, adjudication, arbitration and direct inter-partes negotiation) to be undertaken either wholly or partially online. ODR projects using TheMediationRoom.com software include Her Majestys Court Service (UK), European Consumer Centre (UK and Ireland), eBay/PayPal (UK and Australia), Law Council of Australia (Australia) , National Institutes of Health (USA), National Mediation Board (USA), Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (worldwide), The ADR Group (UK). Mediators from seven countries have taken TheMediationRoom.com's online training course in ODR, accredited by The ADR Group.

Based in British Columbia, Smartsettle is the world's only secure eNegotiation system using patented optimization algorithms to achieve fair and efficient solutions that are truly Beyond Win-Win(r). Smartsettle puts decision-makers in control, accelerates the process, and produces more satisfactory results.


HKIAC was established in 1985 to assist disputing parties to solve their disputes by arbitration and by other means of dispute resolution. It was established by a group of the leading business and professional people in Hong Kong to be the focus for Asia of dispute resolution. It has been generously funded by the business community and by the Hong Kong Government but it is totally independent of both and it is financially self sufficient.

The Law Foundation of British Columbia is a non-profit foundation created by legislation in 1969 to receive and distribute the interest on clients' funds held in lawyers' pooled trust accounts maintained in financial institutions.

The Legal Profession Act directs the Law Foundation to distribute these funds in five areas:

  • legal education;
  • legal research;
  • legal aid;
  • law reform; and
  • law libraries.

The Ganton and Larsen Prospect Winery is a tribute to the Okanagan Valley's rich and colourful history, geography and incredible wines.

The wines pay homage to the Ganton and Larsen families; original and longstanding land-owning partners of the winery. The grapes are sourced from vineyards all across the Okanagan Valley, allowing for diversity, consistency and distinctiveness. Each varietal features a gem; a historical place, figure, animal or item from the Okanagan Valley, commemorated by original artwork from local Okanagan artists.

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is the not-for-profit, member-driven organization that manages Canada's dot-ca (.ca) domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada's Internet community, and represents the dot-ca registry internationally. CIRA processes over 300 million requests per day to connect Internet users with over one million dot-ca Internet addresses.

Pepperdine University's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution provides professional training and academic programs in dispute resolution including a Master of Laws in Dispute Resolution (LLM) for law candidates and a Masters in Dispute Resolution (MDR) and Certificate in Dispute Resolution for non-law candidates. Straus has long been considered to have one of the best, most comprehensive ADR programs in the United States, complemented by the AAA Library, the world's largest collection of conflict resolution resources. Law and graduate students, as well as mid-career professionals study in various areas including mediation, negotiation, arbitration, international dispute resolution, and peacemaking. Click here for more information.

The future of online dispute resolution. Enhancing ease, options, fairness, and empowerment in the process.

 

 

The organizing committee offers the following sponsorship benefits to interested parties:

Sponsor: up to $5,000 cash or goods in kind

Benefactor: over $5,000 cash or goods in kind

  • Prominent signage recognition of benefactor or Sponsor in registration and common areas.
    • Recognition as Sponsor on conference area of web site with logo and link to web site.
    • Logo in conference brochure and printed meeting materials, full page for benefactors, 1/2 page for Sponsors in conference handbook o Inclusion of brochures or printed materials provided by the Benefactor or Sponsor into the attendees' meeting bags.
    • Benefactor - Use of a booth within the meeting venue for exposition of materials and other information (same size as other sponsors in the same level).
    • Priority use of meeting space at the venue during the event when possible.
  • Cash donations may be made through the Royal Roads Foundation for a tax deductible charitable receipt.
  • Recognition from the Podium.

Interested sponsors are encouraged to contact Frank Fowlie, Forum Chairman.