More than 300 participants from 17 countries attended the IIRP's 2006 conference in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA, on October 18-20, 2006 (including participants from 8 Canadian provinces and 25 U.S. states, plus Washington, D.C., and Guam).

The conference brought together people from a variety of fields and backgrounds, to explore the development of “restorative communities,” where restorative practices are the primary modality for dealing with wrongdoing and conflict.

Read an eForum report on the conference by Laura Mirsky here.

View the full conference schedule with descriptions of the sessions here.

View papers from the conference sessions here.

View participants' comments about the conference here.

Plenary session speakers were:

Gwynedd Lloyd, head of educational studies at University of Edinburgh, discussing Scotland’s countrywide introduction of restorative practices to schools.

Anat Goldstein, director of Israel’s Family Group Conference Program, discussing the development of restorative practices with Israeli children and youth.

Daniel Van Ness, director of the Centre for Justice and Reconciliation at Prison Fellowship International, in Washington, D.C., presenting on RJ CitySM, a simulation model of a restorative justice system.

Mark Finnis and Paul Moran, from the Sefton Centre for Restorative Practice, England, talking about creating a restorative community.

Christopher Hey and Gail Ryan, school administrators, Souderton, Pennsylvania, discussing the introduction of restorative practices in a local school district.

Laura Rush, coordinator of conferencing services at Community Service Foundation, talking about family group decision making initiatives in Pennsylvania.