The CMC at The Hague: Supporting Community Mediation and Launching Mediators Beyond Borders Europe
The CMC at The Hague: Supporting Community Mediation and Launching Mediators Beyond Borders Europe
In a time when connection and understanding are more important than ever, the launch of MBB-Europe brought together voices from across the globe, including our own Deputy CEO Victoria Harris, to spotlight the power of community mediation. Read about her inspiring day in The Hague.
REPORT FROM THE HAGUE
On the 11 June, our Deputy CEO Victoria Harris was invited to speak at the launch of MBB-Europe, in The Hague, City of Peace and Justice in the Netherlands.
The event successfully connected community mediation organisations across the region to promote knowledge sharing and best practices, and amplified the essential work being done by community mediators to promote social and community cohesion across European towns and cities.
The topic was the value of community mediation during turbulent times and Victoria contributed to a ‘collage of voices’ from the UK and internationally and made the call for community mediation to be central to social policy.
It was also a great opportunity to share the valuable work being carried out by the CMC Community Mediation Working Group, including its current project to map community mediation services nationwide to raise awareness of these vital services and to support access to mediation.
Victoria explained: “The CMC Community Mediation Working Group now has 78 individuals representing some 30 separate organisations who meet quarterly. The group have shared expertise on fund raising, the social prescription of mediation from healthcare services, and how best to engage with referrers. In the past three years the group have also created a set of standards to demonstrate the professionalism that exists in the sector and we are currently in the middle of a crucial project to digitally map community mediation services nationwide.”
Reflecting on her experiences in The Hague, Victoria said: “It was uplifting to hear about the work being carried out by so many to support access to mediation and to stand alongside UK contributors Dave Walker from CALM Mediation, Irene Grindell from Tower Hamlets Mediation Project and Laurie Randall from Mediation Northern Ireland. It was also enriching to hear perspectives from Andrea O’Neill from the Mediators Institute of Ireland, Ivana Ninčić Österle from the International Mediation Institute (IMI), Dr. Zaza Johnson Elsheikh from Belief in Mediation and Arbitration (Sudan), Hanna Dushkova from Bring Together, and DG Mawn from the National Association For Community Mediation (USA).”
Thank you to Ilan Bass, Board Member of MBBI for organising this launch. We look forward to continued collaboration with partners to support further progress for Community Mediation.
Victoria Harris is Deputy Chief Executive at the CMC and Trustee of Mediation Hertfordshire, a community mediation organisation. Victoria gained an LLM at Kings College London before working as an employment law solicitor for 15 years and qualifying as a mediator. Victoria is an advocate for community mediation and the benefit it brings to individuals and public services. A former member of the judging panel for the National Mediation Awards, Victoria now supports communications at CMC as well as its Commercial and Workplace Working Groups. Victoria is also responsible for managing the CMC Academic Forum and Working Groups for Peer Mediation in schools and Community Mediation. Victoria is also a member of the Mediation Standards Board, sits on the editorial panel for the Journal of Mediation Theory and Practice and is planning lead for the CMC Annual Conference.
