Mediation Musings from Sara Barnes, Executive Director
Greetings from planet Earth. Across the globe the movement for conflict resolution and alternative dispute methods is strong and growing. From our tiny island in the Atlantic, our work links up with efforts in all four corners of the globe.
In the last six months and through the magic of teleconferencing, I've spent about 100 hours engaged in workshops, support networks, advanced practice seminars, and professional discussions with representatives from six continents. Here's a little travelogue; I hope you will indulge me as I present a virtual slide show.
Slide depicts a slightly disheveled Steve wrapped in a sweater at a desk with a window behind him. It is pitch black outside. There are three coffee cups on his desk that the camera can't see--one says "G'DAY MATE."
Steve and three other Australians are attending the Harvard Advanced Mediation Seminar in July. He and I are among 45 participants hailing from Austria, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Uruguay, Singapore, South Africa, and the United States. Over the course of five days we are led through some grueling scenarios, each of us trying our hand at mediating some tough and complicated disputes. Our professors are world leaders in the field of mediation, negotiation, public conflicts, and communication. We call each other co-learners along with our professors. We are all humbled in each other's presence––especially those who stay up all night twelve time zones and in the opposite season from the East Coast of the US.
Slide depicts Vince in the airport in Texas. People are walking behind him with their luggage. He has his ubiquitous smile on his face. Vince is on his way home to Ferguson, Missouri, where he is a mediator.
Vince's sound is choppy. "I'm just about to get on a flight home but I wanted to say hi. I'll listen as long as I can." Vince is one of a handful attending this Wednesday Mediator Check-In; he wanted to hear about the topic. Mediators come whenever they are interested in the subject and are available. There is no charge.
"I'm in Brazil––we have nice weather," says Paula, who is home visiting family. Our service provider cadre is no longer limited to those who are physically on the Island. We welcome all who are trained mediators, coaches, and others who can contribute to the conversation.
Slide depicts Mamakiziel with a window behind her. There is a kaleidoscope of motorcyles, motorcabs, cars, and people walking on the street outside her house in an East African city.
"I'm going to mute myself," says Mamakiziel. "It is noisy here––but I am listening. So nice to be on with all of you."
We are learning restorative practices, and the varied contexts are felt viscerally by all participants––many from Africa, the Caribbean, and South America.
"Well, I was going to talk about a workplace conflict restorative conference," says an Australian participant––but he remarks that after hearing about the restorative work after another country's Civil War, "it seems almost laughably inconsequential."
Slide depicts a Zoom meeting. You can see Gaétan and me talking. We are running through PowerPoint on the shared screen for my presentation to the international mediators group.
I tell Gaétan, "I asked Sofie––she's the one from Montreal––to prepare a case study. So I'm going to stop after I go through the slides and apply the ideas to her case study, okay?" Soon 20 mediators from various international cities come on the screen. "I am Gaétan from Paris," he says, "but I am in Dubai right now. Welcome on behalf of Mediators Together."
I present my workshop and soon see that Vareesha has Zoom chatted with me: "I can't show my face right now, it is so hot and I am melting here in South Africa."
The COVID crisis has had some silver linings. We have learned that we can easily connect to anyone anywhere. Across the world, conflict resolvers are doing amazing work to provide meaningful support for those with difficult dilemmas. Although we are separated by language, customs, legal systems, and geography, we are united by the principles of mediation––confidentiality, mediator neutrality, self-determination, and client voluntary participation. We listen to each other's expertise and gain from the experience. We are united in a worldwide interlacing of knowledge as we help others to achieve what all humans seem to want––fairness and a chance to be heard. Peace and justice for all.
Slides above are depictions - not actual photos.