MBB 2015 Year-in-Review

MBB has accomplished many things in 2015:

• Forming a coalition of forty organizations that built conflict transformation skills among youth, women and traditional leaders in Sierra Leone.
• Advocating effectively at the recent UN climate change negotiations in Paris for the use of mediation in climate change disputes worldwide.
• Training women from Southeast Asia in peace leadership as they tackle the intra-national conflicts within the boundaries of their countries.
• Creating a much needed Trauma-Informed Peacebuilding Curriculum.

…and lots more in Colombia, Thailand, Kenya, Greece, Uganda and South Sudan.

MBB’s Newest Team: South Sudan

In 2015, MBB’s newest project team responded to students requesting trauma and conflict skills for severely war-affected South Sudan. After co-leading an assessment process, members Ginny Morrison, Mary Jo Harwood and their team are partnering with local and international partners to design trauma-informed peace programming for internally displaced people and the Juba communities from which they fled. Read more…

Washington & Jefferson College Partnership

Focusing on the intersection between Conflict Transformation and Trauma, MBB has developed a Trauma Informed Peace Building (TIP) Curriculum that can be integrated into peacebuilding, development, health, livelihoods and education programs. The product of a diverse team of practitioners, this research and practice-based training is designed to enhance professionals’ ability to integrate trauma-informed practices into program design, implementation and training. Read more…

MBB Dialog Team in the Czech Republic

Members of the Dialog Project of MBB participated in a roundtable held at the Czech Bar Association headquarters in Prague. In attendance were lawyers, members of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the Czech Bar Association and students of the Charles University in Prague. Read more…

International Training Institute

April 20-22, Mediators Beyond Borders International Training Institute (MBBITI) hosted a meaningful, productive, and enlightening Women In Peacebuilding gathering for 15 peacebuilders and activists, concentrating on Southeast Asia. MBBITI provided an opportunity for women and men from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, Nepal and Singapore to engage in shared learning and form a network in service of women’s participation in building a more peace (able) world. Participants emerged with a strong set of core competences for use in peacebuilding engagements.

7th Annual Congress in Bucharest

MBB’s 7th Annual Congress, in partnership with the Social Training and Antreprenorial Research Society, was held in Bucharest, Romania from April 23rd-26th. It was the only event in Europe, in 2015, to address multidisciplinary perspectives on mediation and conflict transformation— as well as issues of social cohesion and positive peace from the mediation perspective. Read more…

MBB Ombudsman

Lead by Mark Baril, and with the assistance of a global advisory group, MBB appointed a panel of volunteer ombudsmen in 2015. MBB’s Ombudsmen Team provides the organization and its members a system to enable our peacebuilding and mediation communities to discuss all issues, in a confidential, neutral and informal setting. The lead ombudsman, Chris LaHatte, is the ICANN ombudsman based in New Zealand; he has undertaken this role along with Ayo Ayoola-Amal and Yolanda Woods. Read more…  Photo Credit (“Ayo Ayoola Amale Profile Pictue 2” by Juliancofie)

Innovative Responses to Ebola in Sierra Leone

In 2015, travel restrictions within Sierra Leone prevented MBB’s in-person trainings, so a “Train the Trainers” program in conflict transformation was delivered via webinars. The project equips NGO leaders from Kenema, Bo, Makeni, Freetown, Kona and Magburaka gained skills to work with conflict and trauma resulting from the Ebola crisis. Nineteen participants completed the first portion of the curriculum, covering modules on group dynamics and facilitation, dialogue facilitation, and conflict transformation. Read more…

Climate Change Team in Paris

The MBB Climate Change Team made a big step toward reaching its goal of incorporating “mediation” in the final protocols on Dispute Resolution Procedures at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP 21, in Paris. Team members, Thomas Fiutak and Suzanna Anstine Norbeck explained how MBB applies neutral problem-solving in regions of most at need.

Developing Peacebuilding Skills in Colombia

Colombia project leaders completed an assessment trip to the country in December 2015, while team members explored how best to build on the work of former MBB volunteers. The team is exploring opportunities to work with one or more additional local partners to: develop the peacebuilding skills and practices of women; strengthen local trauma-informed peacebuilding practices; and work with local Rotary International clubs in their service efforts to promote peace. Read more…