The next dates for Spring 2024 will be announced soon. If you are interested in this course, please email the training team here.

Do you want to make a difference in your community or the wider world but find that you’ve been putting off taking action on your ideas? Are you sometimes stopped by unhelpful self-talk?

Mediation and Peacemaking Breakthrough is an 8-session online workshop series which aims to increase your confidence, help you overcome personal limitations and support you in creating and self-directing a conflict resolution project – whether a small, local initiative or a high-stakes international one.  The programme is practical and project-led, offering you the opportunity to turn your ideas into reality.

The course will be limited in number to ensure maximum opportunity for relationship building, personal coaching and project support. The course provides a forum for peer accountability and an opportunity to hear about real-life challenges and successes from self-starting peacemakers.

• You will conceptualise and operationalise a self-initiated and directed conflict resolution project.
• You will increase your confidence by breaking through the familiar blocks that keep you from achieving your goals.
• You will contribute to making the world a better place through peaceful conflict resolution projects in a local or international context.
• You will demonstrate a tangible experience to add to your c.v. for your next role.

Objective:

• To provide a space to make breakthroughs in action, velocity, and partnership
• To provide a group dynamic that supports you to create and lead new conflict resolution initiatives.

The programme is for managers and executives in commercial, public, and voluntary sectors who are looking to demonstrate their dispute resolution skills. To register, you will need to have a qualification in dispute resolution. Ideally, you will be a:

• Graduate of CEDR Mediation Skills Training
• Graduate of CEDR/Oxford Process Peacemaking & International Mediation Course
• Accredited mediators

Note: This course is not for budding mediators or those seeking advice on how to build a mediation practice or become an international peacemaker. Nor is it a forum for marketing your business, although by demonstrating tangible results, you will be building your brand

Programme Curriculum

Pre-course

Identify a project that inspires you, whether it is local, national, or international.

Session 1 – 4 October 2023

This session explores what, why and when of your project by looking at its possibility for change, key milestones and how you’ll measure success. It’s also a chance to share why it is important to you.

Session 2 – 18 October 2023 

This session looks at how to build your team by considering who you need on board and who will help you make the project happen.

Session 3 – 1 November 2023

In this session, we will explore the resources required for your project by looking at factors such as expertise, funds, time, and logistics. We’ll also look at the personal resources we already have, and how to adopt a mindset of abundance.

Session 4 – 15 November 2023

This session explores ways to create and increase velocity and maintain momentum. It includes some interactive exercises which can are useful for your project, and for your everyday life.

Session 5 – 29 November 2023

In this session, we look at how to address external and internal boundaries and objections. We also introduce a useful framework for managing difficult conversations.

Session 6 – 13 December 2023

This session provides an opportunity to review insights and results so far. You will also have the chance to hear about the project of an acclaimed international peacemaker.

Session 7 – 31 January 2024  (3-month follow-up)

This session takes place 7 weeks later. As a 3-month review, the session is an opportunity for peer review, and to receive coaching and support from the group on identified challenges.

Session 8 – 13 March 2024 (Final review and graduation)

The final session is the graduation which takes place 6 months after the start. It’s a chance to celebrate achievements and identify the lessons learnt. It is an opportunity to invite friends who will celebrate with you and cheer you on to greater heights in future.

Online Zoom sessions will be 16.00-19.00 BST (08.00-11.00 PST or 11.00-14.00 EST)

The Facilitators

Nita Yawanarajah is an international conflict resolution practitioner with more than 20 years’ experience at the United Nations and as the Head of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Good Offices and Conflict Prevention Section. Her diplomatic and military experience has led her to contribute to the democratic transitions in Commonwealth countries, and to support peacemaking and peacekeeping operations in Bosnia, Kosovo, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and Darfur. At the UN, she created the first UN Peacemaking database, for which she received an award from the UN Secretary-General. She has spoken internationally on mediating ceasefires, peacemaking, and the timing of peace initiatives. Her main interest is in mediating durable ceasefires and peace agreements, the subject of her recent PhD at King’s College London War Studies Department.  She is a certified CEDR mediator and currently Deputy Director at Oxford Process where she works on quiet diplomacy initiatives in violent conflicts.

Olivia Landsberg is a leadership coach and creative facilitator with more than 20 years’ experience with FTSE 100 companies where her development programmes have been rolled out nationally. She has also worked with non-profit organisations and private individuals at C-Suite, business owner and manager levels in finance, the arts, the Army, and service industries.  Her focus is on getting tangible results and enabling learning that can be applied directly into daily life using an approach that combines “rigour, empathy and humour”. She is an NLP Master Practitioner and has a PCC credential from the International Coaching Federation.  Previously an award-winning radio producer and Head of Programme Development at an independent production company, she created programmes for BBC networks including documentaries on noise pollution disputes, malicious phone calls, corporate strategy and a 20-part philosophy series on the history of doubt.

Please contact the training team here if you have any questions.