When writing a recent blog on civic mediation(SCCR blog 11 June 2016) and noticing comparisons with the family work I do, I started to wonder what is the potential of mediation to influence the way we approach disputes and conflict on a larger scale in our country or even in the world?
If so what will it take and what are the obstacles?
I would be fascinated to hear other people’s views or experience of this
Hi, If people are invested in the process then it has a chance of working. So the same would go for larger disputes between counties and the bodies/ organisations driving the dispute. Can mediation get beyond greed and peoples need for power. Very often we do not get the real reasons for dispute but instead we are given a reason/ justification that allows it to happen. As we know if someone comes into the process with poor intentions [ not in good faith] then it becomes very hard. However sometimes they can still be influenced by the human interaction and contact which gets beyond their controlling/selfish side, so the same could perhaps happen in a larger scale…but it is hard to get beyond entities/ organisation that is faceless and poor intentioned. ?
Thanks Paul, for your recent blog. When talking about mediation we speak about active listening, having a conversation or talking through the problems, and sometimes by just allowing people the space to be heard it can move things forward……enough. The same applies to larger groups. The process may be more complicated because of the number of people involved but giving those involved their say may be enough to start a process of reconciliation and a better understanding of each others views. Regardless of the number of participants and the dispute involved, it’s about fitting the process around the dispute rather than fitting the disputants around a particular process.
hi diane thanks for the info I’ll check it out
just noticed that your reply isn’t showing up on the discussion group though because it has been flagged
so I have put your reply in below:
_Diane1 _
_July 18 _
Hi Paul
When I worked as a community mediator, I had the privilege of hearing Brendan McAllister speak and read quite of few of his written pieces, that I often referred back to when working on really complex and entrenched cases. When I met him many years ago, he was then the Director of Mediation Northern Ireland. You can read more about his work on the web and at “mediateur - European forum for international mediation and dialogue”. Duncan Morrow who spoke at the SCCR Conference in 2015 from University of Ulster also is worth reading too! Your blog and the work that Abdul does at the Centre for Good Relations is also a space where talking and looking to the future is taking place. Your question about what are the obstacles is a good one. We should also be thinking about where do the opportunities lie.
Diane
Thanks Paul. Not sure why my response was flagged. Perhaps because I suggested links.