♫ But in the communique you know he’s gonna come clean
Think what he say,
Say what he means…♫

Words and music by Mark Knopfler.

For those who followed my earlier post regarding the ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) Conference in Victoria, the final communique regarding the outcome of the conference can be found at: Communiqué on the 2008 International Forum on Online Dispute Resolution.

It was a heady experience for a humble BC lawyer.  It is not every day that one comes into personal contact with the father of the Internet Vinton Grey “Vint” Cerf, Ambassadors, Nobel Peace Prize winners and a heady collection of delegates from all over the world. Best of all, I had the wonderful opportunity to facilitate the session on “ODR and the Legal Environment”. I am hopeful that the outcome of this session will be the collaboration of the attendees in jointly producing a document resulting in a “Best Practices” document for the implementation of ODR by Governments, businesses and others.

It is opportunities such as these that make us realize the power that come from and the results that can be achieved by working cooperatively. The fact that Vint Cerf took time from his schedule to put in a personal appearance at this Conference indicates that he views ODR as having an important future not only on the Internet but in the settling of some very human disputes. I can only hope that in some very small way, I have helped to further his dream, since he seems to have this habit of dreaming big. And I know that he came to say what he means….