More from the Archers this week, with Alistair baulking at the £200 “pound a pop” mediation.
It was a well observed piece showing that one party felt that the mediation should be a more clinical examination of finance and the other that it should be about the feelings and guilt of the parties.
The truth is somewhere in between but more often than not there is an emotional unburdening at the start of the process by at least one party, with the other finding that need later during the process.
Alistair should come to Northwest Mediation we charge a single fee for a half-day session and aim to resolve issues in the one session to avoid precisely the concerns that the mediator has an interest in spinning the problem out.
Still in countryside news but over to Ireland a dispute which started over the failure to count votes for the election of the executive of the Irish Country Women's Association (ICA) is off to mediation.
39 year veteran of the ICA, Patricia Madden has alleged there has been a breach of the constitution in failing to count votes made in advance of last may’s AGM and that there should have been a declaration of winners of the board roles for the term 2018-2021. This would have included the National President, National Secretary and Treasurer.
Following Miss Madden’s complaint 30 other members followed suit and all have been given permission to join as co-claimants.
Whilst the ICA has accepted there were issues in the election process it has proposed resolving these by holding new elections.
Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh approved the parties’ request for an adjournment until July for the mediation to take place. All involved are keen to resolve the issue without incurring the unnecessary delay and cost of protracted court procedures.
UN secretary General Antonio Guterres is a well-known advocate of mediation and at a meeting on peacekeeping in Oslo, Norway, this week he confirmed that given that violent conflicts around the world are at a 30 year high that the international community must engage in tactics to prevent further escalation. He was speaking at the Oslo Forum panel discussion on peacemaking. The meeting was attended by leaders from Algeria, Jordan, Oman, Somalia, Tanzania as well as representatives from the White House.
Guterres said "Prevention is more necessary than ever…mediation becomes an absolutely fundamental instrument in our action."
He recognised that that in facing global terrorism which could "can strike anywhere at any time" but that positive engagement to avoid making matters worse was an absolute necessity.
He went on to discuss the role of positive engagement in non-conflict matters including the state of the world’s oceans which he described as "a mess" saying that countries were dumping 80 million tons of plastic into the seas every year and that a "collective responsibility" and collaborative approach was needed to resolve the problem.
Over in Hawai’i 188 students from years 4, 5 and 6 have been trained at the Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center on resolving disputes for students at the fantastically named Keonepoko, Mountain View and Volcano School of Arts & Sciences.
Julie Mitchell Executive Director of the Ku‘ikahi Centre said “Peer mediation is a process where youth of the same age-group facilitate resolving disputes between two or more students,” adding that “Mediators work in pairs [co-mediating] and help classmates reach agreements that are fair, safe, and doable.”
The mediators were then quizzed on what they would be taking away from the project and one student said “I learned a new way to handle conflict. I learned that if I have a problem I can ask for mediation. I have learned to be very respectful. I have learned that to solve a problem you need to be kind, and neutral. I am proud to be a peer mediator because I can help my friends.”
The process is part of the East Hawai‘i Peer Mediation Elementary School Program 2017-2018 and is supported by local businesses including the First Hawaiian Bank Foundation, Bill Healy Foundation, County of Hawai‘i, KTA Super Stores and Hawai‘i Electric Light.
Miss Mitchell said “We appreciate the support of companies like KTA Super Stores and Hawai‘i Electric Light, which have ongoing commitments to working with local charities toward a vision of a better Hawai‘i”
And more youth training mediation in Belize where the Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation, and Poverty Alleviation brought together nineteen social workers, police officers, youth workers and community rehabilitation officers for five days of mediation and conflict resolution training.
Following the training all the participants were certified as mediators to work in conflicts across the country. They join over 150 other mediation professionals who have been trained since the peace keeping program started in 2012.
Whether it’s an employment issue, a complaint with the council’s decisions, property dispute, or family inheritance you can tell by the way that mediation is embraced around the world that mediation is cheaper, quicker and less stressful than running any case to court.
Northwest Mediation can help with any dispute whether it's an employment issue or the sale at an under value of a property, a fight with a neighbour, family issues, commercial disputes or inheritance arguments contact Northwest Mediation on 07931318347 or via email at ed.johnson@northwestmediation.co.uk
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