I drew this for Christmas 2002.
A few months earlier, I had returned from the US after my LL.M. at Emory School of Law and after taking and (passing 😅) the New York Bar Exam.
My 2-year-trainee-program aka Referendariat in Berlin had just begun.
Having previously shared many flats with many different flatmates, I had moved into my very first own apartment.
Prenzlauer Berg (the very last upper right corner). 62 sqm. 2Raumwohnung. Altbau.
Kohleofen — meaning that I lived in a charming but completely dilapidated old building where I heated with coal.
Yes, coal as in mining.
Those who lived in Berlin at the time will remember the smell of coal ovens. I had to get up early in the morning and start a fire in the tile stove if I didn’t want to freeze in the evening. The coal was kept in big storage compartments in the basement. A one person household would run on approximately 1.5 tons per winter.
The bright side: the place cost me 230 EUR a month, and I was my own master. Given the condition of the place, I had to restore pretty much everything: sand and paint windows and doors, paint the walls, refurbish the entire kitchen.
For the first time in my life, I created my own space.
I used material that I found on the street and in dump yards. I was short on money but had more time than today. I made it work.
Looking back, I realize that this little apartment taught me something that has accompanied me throughout my professional life.
The importance of creating safe spaces.
Creating a safe space in dispute resolution, both literally and figuratively, is an essential contribution to the constructive resolution of disputes.
Not because a nice environment will itself resolve the dispute for you, but because you need to have a room that holds the conflict, the discussion, the argument.
☕️ Come by for a coffee and check out our offices at Hegelplatz 1. You will see what I mean.
DrawingFromThePast SafeSpace ConflictResolution Arbitration Mediation Dialogue
𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴: 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳’𝘴 𝟤𝟢𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘐𝘯𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 — 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭, 𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 — 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘌𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.