TORONTO -- June 17, 2009 -- Smartsettle founder Dr. Ernest Thiessen presents at the International Meeting on Group Decision and Negotiation (GDN) 2009 in the First Nations Cluster session.

Thiessen, along with co-presenters, Elder and former Chief June Quipp of the Cheam First Nations people in BC, and Professor Emeritus Melvin Shakun of New York University presented "First Nations Negotiations in Canada: Action Research using ESD and Smartsettle". They provided a unique look at complexities and problems of intercultural relations and negotiations, along with proposed strategies for improvement that would be demonstrated with action research using Smartsettle technology and Shakun's own Evolutionary Systems Design (ESD).

Elder Quipp was enthusiastically embraced for her contribution to the dialogue at GDN 2009 and was invited to participate on an additional panel discussion on "Finding Common Ground through Negotiation Dialogue" to provide insight to a conversation centered on high-stakes international conflict.

For more information about GDN, see GDN Toronto 2009.