More than 300 mediation professionals meet at the VI International Congress for the study of mediation and conflict

• On October 21 and 22, the UPF Barcelona School of Management has hosted the conference on the culture of mediation for planetary well-being
• Sister Lucia Caram, Ma. Eugènia Gay, Joan Ramon Casals, Toni Aira and Sílvia Cóppulo have participated in the meeting on mediation
• Lourdes Ciuró, Minister of Justice, opens the meeting: “We must make mediation a more reliable tool for citizens”

More than 300 mediation professionals have gathered at the VI International Congress for the study of mediation and conflict (CUEMYC), which was hosted by UPF Barcelona School of Management (UPF-BSM) on October 21 and 22.

The Minister of Justice of the Generalitat de Catalunya, LourdesCiuró , has urged at the opening of the meeting to "make mediation a more reliable tool for citizens", for which she has requested the collaboration of professional associations, chambers of commerce and universities.

Ciuró: "Mediation has to be now more than ever a prepared tool, oiled and endowed with resources"

Ciuró has valued that in the current scenario of social and economic crisis due to the pandemic it is "when more than ever people will seek solutions, and mediation has to be a prepared, oiled and resourceful tool", and has affirmed that the Department is committed to giving it a political boost.

The Minister has called to promote the culture of dialogue and mediation because "to the extent that mediation and alternative conflict resolution systems are consolidated, the path of dialogue becomes a way of life and of understanding the interpersonal relationships ", for which she has said that it is necessary for citizens to see it as a useful tool.

Amat: "Lack of mediation culture, you cannot always win 10 to 0, if you go to mediation you can tie. This congress has to serve to increase the importance of mediation"

For his part, the rector of UPF, Oriol Amat , has linked mediation to the well-being of society, but also to saving money and time. Thus, he has cited a study that calculates that a judicial procedure of first instance without subsequent appeals costs, on average in the European Union, 10,400 euros and 548 days, while the same procedure carried out through mediation has a saving of 75 % in economic resources and 84% in days. In this sense, he has said that the Spanish State is at the tail end of mediation processes and makes the establishment of companies difficult due to the high judicial conflict. "There is a lack of mediation culture, you cannot always win 10 to 0, if you go to mediation you can tie. This congress has to serve to increase the importance of mediation", he has argued.

The president of CUEMYC, Leticia García Villaluenga , stressed that “people do not choose what they do not know, therefore the communication task that we have to do to publicize mediation is enormous". García stressed that “mediation is much more than peace and love, mediation works with people to transform society with scientific rigor. And this congress serves to create the foundations of peace in society. ”

The world of mediation

For the director of the Master in Professional Mediation at UPF-BSM, María Munné , “holding this congress is important for UPF-BSM because, as first-level mediator trainers, it is relevant to have hosted it in Barcelona. We are the first Catalan university to hold this congress, which has repercussions in 50 Spanish, Italian and South American universities. It positions us in the world of mediation. During these two days, we have fostered spaces for listening and dialogue between professionals, people and elected officials linked to mediation and the construction of coexistence ”.

Munné: "We are the first Catalan university to hold this congress, which has repercussions in 50 Spanish, Italian and South American universities"

According to the director of the master, Javier Wilhelm , “mediation can help in a post-covid society because we are going through a very difficult time. Covid has left serious and deep wounds that will have to be healed. We believe that, as social beings that we are, mediation is an ideal tool to create spaces for healing, dialogue and reflection after these traumatic events. After the pandemic there will be many mental and social health problems. Mediation is always an appropriate tool because it fosters spaces for meeting and dialogue between people who have to live together in a world that is now unknown. ”

Thefuture of mediation

During these two days, personalities such as Sister Lucia Caram; Sílvia Grau, director of Centre de Mediació de Catalunya; Ma. Eugènia Gay , dean of the Barcelona Bar Association;  Hon. Mr. Joan Ramon Casals , General Director of Law, Legal Entities and Mediation of the Generalitat de Catalunya; as well as Marcos Eguiguren , Associate Provost for Strategic Projects at UPF-BSM or journalists Toni Aira , Sílvia Cóppulo and prominent international professionals in the field of mediation.

Caram has emphasized in her intervention on Restorative methodologies for coexistence that "we are condemned to understand each other, to pool our resources to see what we can give, because the weakest cannot wait".

Eguiguren has predicted in his participation in the congress that "the role of the mediator in the field of business has a splendid future, since there is a great schizophrenia in the business world between the ethical definition of business and the implementation of this definition, because we have been with the prevalence of the results for decades ”. Thus, according to the professor, "from the point of view of the mediator this is a great opportunity, because from the moral and ethical role situations are going to occur that will require mediation services".