This is a three-day introduction to Traditional Indigenous Justice Practices, Restorative Justice Principles and Theory and how those inform Restorative Practises, Processes, and Circles.
On Day 1 participants can expect to explore the traditional indigenous roots of restorative relationship building, as well as the grassroots movement that brought restoration practices into mainstream justice work with victims, offenders, and communities. There will also be an exploration of how restorative justice principles have been adapted to restoring workplace relationships.
Day 2 will introduce traditional circles and their application to victim/offender/community restoration as well as an introduction to circle applications in workplaces.
Day 3 will provide RJ and Circle practice using role plays. Participants can choose whether they want to practice facilitating a victim-offender dialogue, a Restorative Workplace Facilitation, or facilitate a circle process.
Instructor: Paula Drouin – Paula was a member of the elite 12 person Canadian Review Panel to Review the UN’s Principles of Restorative Justice and make recommendations to the Solicitor of Canada on how to implement RJ throughout Canada. She was selected based on her work in the Edmonton Maximum Security Institution and in the Inner City with men on Parole and Probation. In the 90’s she was one of the early members of what was then known as the Edmonton Victim/Offender Mediation Program, currently known as the Mediation and Restorative Justice Centre. Paula was contracted to create the early training for volunteer mediators in the program and had also created a Restorative Justice Certificate Program for the Alberta Arbitration and Mediation Society. She has taught Restorative Justice and Circle Training at Royal Roads University and provided introductory Restorative Justice training to mediators and judges in Bosnia. She has also assessed the re-integration of child soldiers in Northern Uganda using the UN’s Restorative Justices Program lens. Paula was invited to be the Keynote speaker at one of the Alberta Restorative Justice Association Conference because of her grassroots development, passion, and experience in the field. Paula will co-instruct with an Elder from Native Counselling Services of Alberta.
