Of all the international hot spots where disaster assistance workers were needed last summer, Kyrgyzstan didn’t get a lot of attention. But that’s where one local volunteer spent most of July, working on rebuilding after a regime change and a spate of internal ethnic conflict.

 

Holding on to old emotional wounds and resentments can be hard on your health, as well as your psyche. International Forgiveness Day, which is observed on August 8^th, promotes the healing of those hurts.

Dr. Frederic Luskin, Director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Project, says practicing forgiveness offers numerous benefits.

Twin brothers Noah and Logan Miller, the co-writers and co-directors of the film Touching Home, say their autobiographical story of coming to terms with their difficult alcoholic father has resonated with a great many other families that had lived through similar issues.

The Logan brothers will be among the recipients of one of four awards at this year's International Forgiveness Day observation Aug. 8 in San Rafael, recognition that they find particularly meaningful.

See the trailer for Touching Home:

Among the many groups at the Copenhagen climate conference last winter was Mediators Beyond Borders, who were there to lobby for including mediation in the framework for resolving disputes over resource scarcities as the world attempts to deal with climate change.

Just getting everyone to join in the process at the COP 15 conference in Copenhagen was a considerable accomplishment, observes Camelia Patino, adding that it’s an arena ripe for a larger role to be played by Mediators Beyond Borders as the dialog goes forward.

Mediation isn’t just for family or business disputes. It can also be applied to tribal or international conflicts, and the organization called Mediators Beyond Borders was created to do just that.

One challenge frequently encountered in mediation, explains Camelia Patino, is a need to “level the playing field” among the participants