We will have the participation of prestigious speakers who will endeavour to explain why the traditional ways of approaching change at all levels have led to a situation with increasing levels of lack of governance and high costs in human lives, impacting the performance of economies, social and political systems and the administration of justice.

We believe that new approaches and methods are needed to face the conflicts generated by this situation.  In this context, mediation can clearly play an important role in promoting a new system of relations that goes beyond the prevalent adversarial logic, facilitating the effective reconstruction of consensus and turning our societies into governable spaces. In this VII Conference of the World Mediation Forum, we would like to share successful experiences in this field. It will also be the opportunity to get to know academic and professional progress and innovative experiences in mediation in criminal law conflicts, labor conflicts, family conflicts, school conflicts, conflicts with young offenders, community justice, environmental mediation, design and management of public policies, and university and student conflicts. We will also share best practices in relation to mediation in commercial disputes (in courses or on-line), in business, financial and intercultural conflicts, among many others.

The wide-ranging subjects show the broad assortment of solutions to which mediation is giving answers, expanding its contribution to improve social reality in all parts of the world.

On Saturday, September 5, the group of volunteers resident in Argentina held a stimulating meeting at Buenos Aires. These volunteers are part of the team that collaborate in producing the news reports issued by UNDP and the Carter Center ...

(The news report are available at this website in the Country Information section)

(A complete list of the Volunteers can be found at the Volunteers section of this website)

In recent years, the world population has been exposed to radical, rapid and multiple transformations which have been dealt with differently, according to the cultural, economic, political and human development context of each reality. In this VII Conference which has been give the name of Mediation, Justice and Governance: An Opportunity for Peace, our desire is to understand and share the different ways in which these changing times are being assimilated and coped with.

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA ), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the Handbook of Democratic Dialogue in 2007. This handbook is the result of a joint initiative to provide decision-makers and practitioners with a practical guide on how to design, facilitate and implement dialogue processes. It combines conceptual and practical knowledge, while providing an overview of relevant tools and experiences.

With the financial support of CIDA, the Handbook has been translated into Spanish and French. You can download these pdf files it from the home page.