ZIF (Centre for International Peace Operations) and welcomed the 2023/24 cohort of students at MEDAC to a certification program on the Fundamentals of Peace Mediation from Tuesday 5 to Thursday 7 March 2024.
The program was held at the Golden Tulip Vivaldi Hotel, St. Julian’s. Elmar Udo Kohlhofer, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany opened the event and introduced Amelie Overmann and Lilian Reichert, Head and Project Coordinator, respectively of Project “Strengthening of Mediation and Dialogue Capacitiesâ€, International Capacity Development at ZIF.
Natalia Mirimanova, Senior Political Adviser of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, was welcomed back for the second time following last year’s contribution to the same program. Special guests participated online, namely Carsten Wieland, German diplomat, former senior UN consultant, Middle East, and conflict expert with high-ranking mediation experience and Patrizia Albrecht, Climate Affairs Adviser, Office of the Coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities.
The Program sketched out the principles of mediation and the concept of the Dispute Resolution Continuum with the role of Third-Party Intervention in peace processes. The different levels of mediation and their formats were described with diplomatic tracks introduced and placed into the context of negotiation and the stages of conflict necessitating varying approaches.
The highlight of the seminar was a role-playing simulation in which students were engaged in an exercise to demonstrate and put into practice the principles outlined in the previous days. The concepts of mediation, negotiation and conflict resolution were put into action and followed by an extensive debrief and evaluation session.
The program was brought to a close by H.E. Tanja I. Beyer, Ambassador, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany.
