Global Conscience holds successful mediation training for councils
July 22, 2008:
On Monday July 21 Global Conscience Initiative ( GCI ) held the first in a series of training workshops on mediation.
Some 20 council and community members from neighbourhoods in and around Kumba were present to learn skills to establish Centres for Arbitration and Mediation (CAMs) within local councils.
The workshops are run by GCI 's international interns working on the CAMs project. The goal of this project is to facilitate the resolution of low level disputes at the local level in order to ease the strain on the urban judicial system and to prevent incidents of ‘jungle justice'.
The day began with a presentation on identifying and addressing corruption. The eradication of corruption is crucial for both the protection of human rights and the success of mediation.
The interns shared the findings of the research which was conducted during visits to local councils and which inspired them to create these workshops. Representatives were interested to learn of the parallels and contrasts between their councils and those of their neighbours.
There followed an explanation of mediation and a discussion of when it is appropriate to use this. After listening to the presentations, participants engaged enthusiastically in a simulation exercise to reinforce the skills they had learned. This involved role play on how to resolve a dispute brought before the council using mediation techniques.
The final session equipped participants with the skills to pass on to their own councils the training which they had received. GCI hopes that this will enable the CAMs project to spread throughout Kumba and the surrounding area.
During the day participants reacted enthusiastically to the presentations. There were many pertinent questions and representatives shared their own experiences to enhance the debates.
The interns as well as the trainees felt that they had learned a lot from the experience.
Further workshops will be held over the coming week.
For more information please contact Kate Armstrong at info@gcicameroon.org.
Training Scheduled for 90 Community Mediators
July 12, 2008
Global Conscience Initiative will from 21 – 28 July train ninety council members from thirty neighbourhoods and villages in and around Kumba on mediation and arbitration.Global Conscience will hold the workshops in her conference hall opposite the High court in Kumba to assist with the establishment of Centres for Arbitration and Mediation (CAMs) in 30 community (neighbourhoods (quarters) and villages) councils in and around Kumba city.
These workshops are run at the request of local communities which were interviewed by GCI staff and international interns throughout May and June. Council and community members expressed a desire for improved out of court options to resolve low level disputes. Global Conscience will provide training on how to set up CAMs to supply restorative approaches to justice. This forms part of the wider Access to Justice Programme at GCI.
The central aims of the CAMs project are:
- to improve the timeliness and quality of dispute resolution on the local level
- to help improve the work of the Quarter Councils
- to ease the strain on the urban judicial systems to reduce detention time and eliminate costly bail payments.
At the workshops GCI staff and interns will present the theory behind the Centres of Arbitration and Mediation, use simulations to demonstrate how they operate in practice, and equip attendees with the skills to teach their own community councils to use the system.
Casey Swegman, an intern on the CAMs project, hopes that “These workshops will provide council and community members with the training in mediation techniques which are key to addressing tribalism, favouritism and corruption at the local level.”
Attendance at the workshops has been organised on a regional basis to enable neighbouring communities to get to know one another better and to share advice.