The Mediation Lab conference at the end of 2016 brought together women from Colombia, Turkey, Palestine, Iraq, Yemen and Libya to exchange experiences and train in mediation and negotiation techniques. The experiences and lessons learned from the conference are now available in our brochure “Mediation Lab – Women Peacemakers as Mediators”.
Among others, the women from Palestine have discussed the political conflict within the country, the participants from Colombia have prepared for mediation in the post-conflict phase and in the case of Yemen, the causes of conflict and conflict resolution were discussed with representatives from both sides of the conflict. The fact that women face a double discrimination by not being allowed into the negotiation rooms and being labeled as traitors when they try to engage in dialogue with their own group’s conflict party means that they have to endure a double discrimination. More challenges faced by women fighting for peace in their countries can be found in the brochure.
The keynote speaker at the conference in late 2016 was Swedish diplomat Birgitta Holst-Alani, part of the Nordic Women’s Mediation Network, run by the Folke Bernadotte Academy (https://fba.se/sa-arbetar-vi/konfliktforebyggande/). She spoke about her role in the Syria negotiations and women’s participation. The training was provided by Judith van den Boogert from the Clingendael Institute (https://www.clingendael.nl/).
The participants have also organized their own follow-up conferences, where they have further trained themselves in mediation techniques and discussed strategies for the empowerment of women and the inclusion of gender perspectives in their conflicts.
Read more in the publication “Mediation Lab – Women Peacemakers as Mediators”. Available in English, Spanish, Arabic and Turkish.
