Mediators and trainers from AJPP improve their skills with the help of Dutch partners

The European Policy Institute and the Academy for judges and public prosecutors “Pavel Shatev” are organizing training for trainers for mediation in order for Macedonian mediation trainers, current and future, to be trained with modern methods and skills in the field.

At the opening of the training, the Director of the Academy for judges and public prosecutors, Dr Natasha Gaber Damjanovska stated that the new generation of students at the academy should be introduced to mediation from the beginning and mediation should be included in their educational process. She added that this training is important in order for mediation to become more present in the country and more disputes to be resolved through mediation.

The Deputy Minister for Justice, Agim Nuhiu said that the new Law on mediation focuses on strengthening the integrity of the mediator. Only persons with integrity and adopted special mediation techniques, can mediate in overcoming a specific disputed situation, but also in the promotion and widespread acceptance of the concept of mediation in society.

EPI’s Director, Simonida Kacarska stated that “Mediate, do not hesitate!” is more than just a project and the Institute sees it as more of a program that supports and promotes mediation in North Macedonia.

This training is organized in cooperation with the Dutch federation of mediators and Dutch experts on specific topics and skills in mediation. The main lecturer is Mr Jan van Zwitten, President of the International Mediation Register and President of the Dutch Federation of Mediators. In his introductory address, he said that he does not see mediation as an alternative dispute resolution, but as a way to resolve disputes in parallel with court proceedings. According to him, a mediator should be well trained and professional, and for that, it is necessary to master the basic mediation techniques, which is the goal of this five-day training.

In order to promote mediation, we have prepared a series of infographics with information on the perception of the public administration and the private sector about mediation as a way of resolving disputes in the Republic of North Macedonia. The infographics can be found on our website: https://bit.ly/infografici-matra.

The training will end on Friday, March 3, and is organized within the project “Mediate, do not hesitate!”, which is implemented by the European Policy Institute (EPI) – Skopje in cooperation with the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors “Pavel Shatev”, the Chamber of Mediators of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Dutch Federation of Mediators. The project is funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Skopje.