Community Mediation training was held in St. Vincent and the Grenadines from November 30th – December 4th, 2015. Participants included child care officers, community development officers, community leaders, probation officers, welfare officers and youth workers. Twenty-nine persons (22 females and 7 males) attended the course.
The workshop was opened with remarks by Prof. Velma Newton, IMPACT Justice Regional Project Director, who told participants that the goal of the project is to improve access to justice for the benefit of men, women, youth and businesses in CARICOM Member States. She stated that the community mediation training which they would receive, is part of the project’s broader alternative dispute resolution (ADR) component, adding that the objective is to increase the number of disputes solved at the community level before they escalate and result in violence and crime. She also told participants that ADR had the added benefit of reducing the number of cases before the courts. The training was conducted by mediation training facilitators from the Conflict Resolution and Mediation Centre of Trinidad and Tobago.
The content of the course included Understanding of Conflict; Conflict Management; Communication Techniques; The Mediation Process and Cultural and Gender Perspectives. Participants also completed role playing and practical exercises on each day of the training session.
