2012 Organizational Accomplishments
Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBB) is proud of its 2012 accomplishments. In addition to our project accomplishments described elsewhere, we had significant organizational milestones, funding highlights and conference presentations.
Organizational Milestones
Last spring, we moved our headquarters from New York City to the Washington, D.C. area, to share office space and staff with the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy, founded by MBB Global Advisory Council member Ambassador John W. McDonald. In addition, MBB retained Tadios Tekeste as MBB’s Finance & Operations Director.
MBB attended the first Istanbul Conference on Mediation in February, hosted by Turkey, and co-sponsored by Finland and the President of the 66th session of the UN General Assembly. Last March, 104 people attended 5th Annual Congress in Baltimore, MD. MBB will hold our 6th Annual Congress in Istanbul, Turkey, September 26-28, 2013.
MBB received Special Consultative Status from the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in July, enabling MBB to actively engage officially with ECOSOC, as well as with the UN Secretariat and its various programs, funds and agencies. MBB also participated in Workshop on How Religious Leaders and Communities Become Part of Effective Mediation, hosted by the Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN in New York, NY in March; and co-sponsored by the Mediation Support Unit, UN Dept. of Political Affairs; Finn Church Aid; Religions for Peace; and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Funding Highlights
MBB received a second-year grant from the JAMS Foundation to support MBB’s Ecuador Mediation Exchange and Capacity Building Project, a partnership among MBB mediators, JAMS neutrals and Ecuadorian ADR professionals. The project partners with Ecuador’s conflict resolution leaders and mediation practitioners to enhance multi-cultural mediation practices in Ecuador and the United States.
MBB also received two grants from Systematic Management Services, Inc., a Maryland-based engineering company, to support both operations and projects to enhance organizational and project sustainability. MBB members and friends contributed a total of $47,000 over a 6-month period in response to a $20,000 challenge grant from a very generous donor.
Conference Presentations
In 2012, MBB made presentations at the following conferences:
- American Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Conference, Washington, D.C., April,
- UN General Assembly, informal high level meeting on the role of Member States on Mediation, New York NY, May,
- Association for Conflict Resolution, Annual Conference, New Orleans LA, September, and
- World Mediation Forum, 7th International Conference, Valencia, Spain, October.