The NED Board has an interest in encouraging and supporting the adoption of Restorative Practices in Australia.
Restorative practices is a social science that integrates developments from a variety of disciplines and fields — including education, psychology, social work, criminology, sociology, organizational development and leadership — in order to build healthy communities, increase social capital, decrease crime and antisocial behavior, repair harm and restore relationships.
-- Ted Wachtel [quoted on wikipedia]
Whanganui, a New Zealand Maori restorative community describes Restorative Practice as:
A philosophy, in action, that places respectful relationships at the heart of every interaction. This relational approach is grounded in beliefs about the equality, dignity and potential of all people and about the just structures and systems that enable people to thrive and succeed together.
-- Quoted on University of Canberra, Restorative Health
Restorative City Image used with permission of Samantha Asvestas Photography.
The NED Board has an interest in encouraging and supporting the adoption of Restorative Practice in Australia. The founder of NED, Ned Iceton was instrumental in bringing the value of this work to the attention of the NED community.
The board has asked Mary Porter AM, to continue promoting and advancing knowledge of Restorative Practice in Australia and internationally.
Mary has provided an outline of how her own involvement in Restorative Justice, and Restorative City came about, and the work she and her husband Ian De Landelles perform under the auspices of the board.
Explore Further: Links to Information about Restorative Cities in Australia and International
Australian Restorative Mapping
The NED Foundation has long had a strong commitment to an explicit restorative culture in both the way it works as an organisation and also how it relates to those with whom it works.
NED seeks to support and nurture restorative practice, and to this end, has established a Restorative Practice Mapping Site
The site provides a platform for both individuals and organisations to represent their restorative engagement, and also to share their stories.
The information on the mapping site is provided by the individual or organisation, and their presence on the site is not an endorsement by the NED Foundation.
Should you wish to explore the possibility of yourself or your organisation having a presence on the mapping site, please contact Ian De Landelles, by using our Contact Form.
Why is the NED Foundation particularly focusing on restorative practice?
Years ago, Ned Iceton came upon Terry O’Connell on an ABC presentation of Australian Story and learnt of his journey of discovery of how to use restorative practice to bring about cultural change and healing in the community. Terry was a serving police officer at the time and searching for alternatives to the law and order response that unfortunately still exists today.
Ned decided to explore these concepts further and to encourage members of the network to work with him to look for opportunities to bring about this cultural change wherever they could.
Ned Iceton first became interested in the 1990s in the power of restorative practice to heal/restore relationships after harm was experienced. Seeing its transforming cultural application as an alternative approach to punishment, he supported members of the SDN to learn more about it and promote it in their fields of interest and influence. Initially its importance in the area of justice and education was emphasised. Its broader application as a way of living and cultural change is now being realised. It has developed from a primary focus on young people within the legal system to a community-wide process to foster ‘restorative cities’. In small groups, participants discussed their knowledge and experience of RP. This highlighted the wide potential for its use in schools, welfare, health and community development.