Two Meetings today...

Above is my first attempt at at group picture - these are the delegates - the guests were on a separate trip. I'll try for a complete (and better) picture later.

This morning, the delegates left early for Pretoria, where we met with the lawyers who are working with the South African Law Reform Commission.

As you can see in the picture to the left, we sat around a horseshoe table and discussed their very impressive efforts at reforming family law in South Africa. In some respects - such as validating same-sex marriages - they are ahead of the U.S. (but not Australia or Canada, as those delegates pointed out). In some other respects (e.g., polygamy which is allowed by tribal law) they are still struggling. Still, it was fascinating to learn that our similarities far exceed our differences.





After lunch, we met with three members of Divorce and Family Mediators, including its director Alfred Wolpe (on the left), his partner Jackie (in the center) and an attorney, Colleen (on the right). The discussion compared mediation in South Africa with the countries represented in our delegation. Alfred, Jackie and Colleen's program is where we were in the States about ten years ago, but they are catching up fast. Our interchange with Alfred, Jackie and Colleen was so interesting, that they joined us as guests for dinner tonight so the dialogue could continue.

Meanwhile, the guests visited Soweto and an orphanage. Mike Anderson volunteered to lead fund raising efforts to assist the children at the orphanage.

Tomorrow: The Origins Museum - then, a late afternoon flight to Cape Town.