The ICT4Peace Foundation today entered into a partnership to strengthen the 2008 International Forum on Online Dispute Resolution . Victoria, British Columbia serves as the host city for the ODR Forum and this important conference will held at venues including Royal Roads University, and the Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific on Vancouver Island June 18-19, 2008.

The Forum in Victoria will build on the research, applications and field development discussed at other international ODR meetings and workshops that were held in Geneva (2002 and 2003), Edinburgh (2003), Melbourne (2004), Bologna (2005), Brussels (2005), Cairo (2006), and Palo Alto (2007), Liverpool (2007) and Hong Kong (2007).

The Forum will consist of two days of plenary sessions and breakout sessions. The Forum brings together the world's leading practitioners, academics, students, and civil society to discuss the resolution of disputes using online technologies. These disputes may range from b2c (Business to consumer) to the prevention of human rights violations in conflict regions, to reconciliation of opposing groups in armed conflict, to disputes over intellectual property on the internet. It also brings together the leading technology developers who design conflict resolution platforms for use legal, commercial, or insurance related disputes (i.e. PayPal).

The Foundation's participation will ensure that its significant work on ICT4Peace and in other areas is leveraged to strengthen deliberations at the ODR Forum.