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Mediate ... not Litigate


Kumar Hathiramani, an Antioch University Master's student in conflict resolution and an experienced mediator, organised the workshop to sensitise Barbadians to alternative methods in dispute resolution.	Rick Russell, top Canadian mediation firm Agree Dispute Resolution Inc., was the key presenter/coach in the workshop, "Alternative Dispute Resolution Mediation I and II in Commercial and Workplace Settings"	Brenda Barker - Mediation Coach , from the Industrial Relations Centre, Queens University, Ontario, Canada

INSTEAD of "duking it out" or savaging each other in cut-throat litigation, let sanity prevail. Mediation, an alternative dispute resolution tool, can actually help you to talk out your problems and resolve them in a way that is mutually agreeable to all parties.
Mediation is a process whereby a neutral third party guides conflicting sides through negotiations to formulate win-win solutions. This process, which is used to avoid litigation in countries like the United States, Canada and Britain, was recently introduced to the Barbadian public through a five-day workshop

Workshop co-ordinator Kumar Hathiramani, an Antioch University Master's student in conflict resolution and an experienced mediator, said that using mediation was important to the future development and evolution of Barbadians' approach to conflict.

"The use of mediation, a creative and empowering approach to problem-solving,
can change the litigation culture that is becoming so apparent," he said. "I would like the Barbadian public to be introduced to it, to know there is an alternative to resolving
issues and disputes rather than going to court or to arbitration."

Hathiramani said that the recent,ly-concluded 40-hour mediation workshop, which was
attended by a cross-section of persons from the legal and medical professions, the
insurance industry, church and university, was aimed at heightening the local awareness of the effectiveness of this problem-solving tool.

The workshop, entitled Alternative Dispute
Resolution Mediation I and II in Commercial and Workplace Settings, was held at Asta Beach Resort from February 5 to 9. It featured discussion sessions on communication, the nature of conflict and conflict resolution, and included role-playing exercises so participants could experience or conduct actual mediations.

The mediator trainees also benefited from the experience of key presenter/coach Rick
Russell, of top Canadian mediation firm Agree Dispute Resolution Inc., and Brenda Barker from the Industrial Relations Centre, Queens University, Ontario, Canada.

At the end of the exercise, each participant received a certificate in mediation from Queens University.

Hathiramani was quite pleased with the response to the sessions, and said he harboured great hopes for those who had completed the course.

"You can't change the world and you can't change all the people, but what you can do is
change them one at a time," commented the master's student. "What will eventually happen here is that these mediators we have trained will take the knowledge gained in
the workshop and apply the techniques in their workplaces, in everyday situations, and in mediations -- they'll set the example for others to follow."

Hathiramani and the workshop team said although mediation was in its embryonic stage in Barbados, they hoped to do more to encourage its future growth and acceptance in society.

They are motivating workshop participants to form a peer group to hone their skills and provide a network of talent, experience and professional expertise to foster local mediation. They are also looking at repeating the certificate workshop in mediation, and eventually introducing an advanced three-day workshop in alternative dispute resolution.

Hathiramani hoped that in the future an even greater cross-section of the population would be exposed to mediation techniques, which he said offered great personal as well as social benefit.

Mediation coach Russell agreed. "It's gratifying to see what happens when people who felt that they could not resolve an issue actually solve the problem themselves and take ownership of it," he said. "I love to watch what happens when grown, mature human beings begin to realise how much power they have over their own lives.

"A society of people who can solve their own problems instead of waiting for an authority figure to decide their fates is a mature society."

As a "life skill", mediation techniques also help practitioners in their everyday lives. Said Hathiramani: "[Learning mediation
techniques] changes your life, because you view things from a different perspective. You don't only view it from your own point of view of what's best for you, but you view it from the point of what's best for all parties involved. Everybody comes out a winner."