Dr Juan Diaz is mediatEUr’s Berlin Representative. He is a mediator, trainer and facilitator working on political, economic and social integration. He is a trilingual conflict resolution specialist with over 15 years of experience managing mediations in conflict-affected regions, especially in east and central Europe.
Today is the 10th of December, the day on which the European Union receives the Nobel Peace Prize. It is a prize hard earned. As Europeans we can be proud not only of the creation of the European Union, but the work from its citizens that made war unthinkable in Europe.
"Political negotiations need a societal climate that is conducive to peace. Society is like a greenhouse; a peace process is like a plant that grows in the greenhouse. The climatic conditions must become right and must be kept right"
"Disputes arising over implementation terms may not just arise between the parties, but also between parties and implementers, and between implementers and other implementers. As a result, and perhaps paradoxically, more mediation may in fact be required at this time, and between more actors, rather than less."
Most would agree these days that mediation doesn’t stop with the signing of a peace agreement – or, as Elizabeth Cousens put it, that ‘it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.’
This presentation was given by mediatEUr Berlin Representative Dr Juan Díaz at the 'The EU as Peacemaker - Enhancing Mediation Capacities' conference in Sofia, 17 May 2013, organised by the European Policy Centre (EPC) and the Sofia Office of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
This week, I had the opportunity to participate as a trainer and facilitator in a workshop on 'Dealing with Election-Related Violence' organized by the European Centre for Electoral Support and the Leadership Beyond Boundaries, supported by the Osservatoria di Pavia, and convened by the Barcelona Peace Centre. It all started with the film ‘An African Election’ directed by Jarreth Merz, a great inspiration for the attendees.
This blog entry is a transcript of a presentation given by mediatEUr Senior Associate Brendan McAllister at the conference ‘Conflict Resolution: Peace, Practice, Perspectives - Celebrating Women as ADR Leaders’ on International Women's Day, 8 March 2013.
In Ukraine, several initiatives are using dialogue to build options to address some of the country’s most difficult challenges. Visualising them may help strengthen their impact and learn from each other.
Europe is speechless with racing rhetoric, opinion-making, hasty declarations, reactions, and helpless gestures, some promoting understanding and some preventing tolerance and openness. Today, as for the last three days, Brussels is frozen with fear and the whole city has stopped functioning the way it used to. In a way, we find ourselves confused and marginalized in the heart of our beloved Europe.
Antje Herrberg, mediatEUr’s CEO, recently took part in the panel discussion “Post-conflict Syria: Which EU civilian capabilities for reconstruction?” The event explored what role the EU might play in a future peace-building effort in Syria. Here, her reflections on Syria's war; the EU's prospects as a stabilising actor; and the importance of learning from the past.
