The Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) Mediation and Sustainable Conflict Resolution Laboratory is organizing a series of mediation events that will take place in Vilnius on 21-25 November 2023. It will start on 21 November with an international scientific conference "Overcoming the Mediation Paradox: Ideas, Challenges and Best Practices", which aims to foster cooperation between academics, practitioners, and national policy makers as well as to stimulate scientific debate and research to find effective measures to promote the use of mediation in EU Member States.
The keynote speakers of the event will be prominent, world known mediation experts Giuseppe de Palo (USA) and Nadja Alexander (Singapore). The conference will feature presentations by internationally recognized mediation experts from Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Greece, Bulgaria, Ukraine, United Kingdom, the United States and other countries. The event is partly funded by the Lithuanian Research Council.
The conference will provide an opportunity to hear from its author Giuseppe de Palo more about the mediation paradox and to understand the losses suffered by both states and disputants because of the insufficient use of peaceful dispute resolution. Leading mediation expert Nadja Alexander will talk about the mediation eco-system and explain how promoting mediation though regulation and institutionalization requires masterful attention to context and culture. Other Lithuanian and international speakers will address the challenges faced by countries with different regional, cultural, and political contexts when promoting the use of mediation among the society. New challenges arising for mediators and their practice due to the emerging use of modern technologies will also be a major focus of the event.
The conference attracted a very high level of interest not only nationally but also internationally. It will be moderated by the Head of Mediation and Sustainable Conflict Resolution Laboratory and full time professor Dr. Agne Tvaronaviciene and Director of the National Courts Administration and Professor at the Institute of Private Law of the Law School at MRU Dr. Natalija Kaminskiene. The third part of the Conference will invite participants into two parallel panels to discuss whether a new harmonized approach on solving family conflicts needed and what other measures except mandatory mediation might better foster the use of mediation in the EU. These discussion and the conference aims to elaborate and propose recommendations and specific measures based on academic research and foreign best practices towards overcoming the mediation paradox and encouraging more frequent use of mediation to resolve conflicts between members of society for a policy maker. The conference program is available here.
The second part of the event series will be the International Student Mediation Tournament, organized by MRU in cooperation with the International Academy for Dispute Resolution (INADR) on 22-25 November 2023.
MRU is extremely proud to be able to host the INADR tournament in Vilnius for the third time and therefore encourages student teams and coaches from all Lithuanian and foreign law schools to submit their applications.
MRU is preparing to welcome 14 student teams from Singapore, India, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Poland, Ireland, Austria, Bulgaria, the United States of America and other countries. The MRU Student Mediation Team, which is actively preparing for the tournament under the supervision of a lecturer at the MRU Institute of Private Law Indre Korsakoviene and a postdoctoral researcher at the MRU Dr. Yulija Branimirova-Radanova. The tournament will be judged by the national and international mediation professionals, academics and practitioners
We look forward to seeing you in Vilnius very soon! And we're excited to welcome all mediation experts and enthusiasts at MRU in November this year.
For any questions, you are kindly invited to contact us by email: a.tvaronaviciene@mruni.eu.