Albania
Bosnia i Herzegovina
Croatia
Kosovo
FYRO-Macedonia
Montenegro
Serbia
Slovenia

30. Sep. 2009
Partners Kosova and CSSP will organize two days Mediation conference on 1-2 December 2009 in Pristina, Kosovo aiming to bring together the main stakeholders in the field of ADR to develop a strategy on how ADR services like mediation can support the efficiency of the justice system of Kosovo and reduce the case backlog that currently exists.

Introduction

The South Eastern European Mediation Forum (SEEMF) is a regional network of mediators that supports and advocates the development of mediation as a conflict resolution tool in South Eastern Europe – the former Yugoslavia and Albania.

SEEMF was initiated in October 2005 by CSSProject for Integrative Mediation (CSSP, www.cssproject.org) in an effort to connect all mediators and mediation organisations in the region. The purpose was to create a platform for exchange and dialogue to improve good practice, cooperation, and strengthen human relationships.

The network was strengthened through the support of the Nordic Forum, especially Mr. Dag Hareide, who enabled SEEMF Country Coordinators to come together in Norway and Finland to increase their skills and form lasting bonds.

SEEMF promotes mediation through direct activities, like trainings, conferences, and exchanges, and by interacting with local and external networks and organizations focusing on conflict resolution. It includes mediators specialized in all fields of mediation and seeks to raise awareness of the contribution mediation can make in the regional peacebuilding process by helping resolve conflicts nonviolently. SEEMF seeks to advocate the legal frameworks for mediation in the individual countries.

SEEMF is sponsored by CSSP through funds from the Stability Pact Fund for South Eastern European sponsored by Germany. Additional financial support has been provided on an activities’ basis by partners. SEEMF seeks to become financially self-sustainable and welcomes contributions from donors and through projects.

Goals of SEEMF

SEEMF has five principal goals:

1. Promoting and building the capacity of mediators in South Eastern Europe
Through its activities and through its website, SEEMF strives to promote mediators from the countries of South Eastern Europe regionally, in Europe, and internationally. Through the SEEMF website SEEMF members have the opportunity to advertise their services and inform potential users of their expertise. This gives them the ability to easily locate potential counterparts and to make people conscious of mediation efforts in the region.
SEEMF focuses on strengthening the capacity of the regional mediators by providing a platform for exchange. By being linked through the network, mediators can consult with one another, share best practices, develop new strategies on how to promote mediation, and find ways to continuously build their skills. Therefore, they do not have to rely on external experts but build up the local mediation resources.
SEEMF encourages the development of bilateral or regional initiatives, like trainings or conferences, to increase the skills of the mediators. Their expertise of the local situation allows the mediators to have a special insight into the conflict dynamics. Therefore, they are able to play a key role in finding ways to resolve the conflict and begin rebuilding the destroyed human relationships. Especially in the post-conflict environment it is important to strengthen the local resources so that the peacebuilding process is sustainable and locally-owned.
SEEMF members are active in networking and interacting with other mediation networks. Currently, three SEEMF country coordinators are on the Board of Directors of the European Mediation Network Initiative (EMNI). SEEMF also cooperates with the Nordic Forum and always welcomes working and exchanging with other regional and international partners.

2. Strengthening interethnic dialogue and cooperation in post-conflict regions
SEEMF provides an opportunity to promote interethnic dialogue among individuals from the different countries of the former Yugoslavia and Albania. It is a platform that encourages regional cooperation, the development of joint project, and cross-border experience exchange. Thus, it is a tool for conflict prevention in societies that have been torn by war and contributes to regional reconciliation.
Through its activities, SEEMF promotes cross-cultural sensitivity and respect. Members speak six different languages, materials and all events are multi-lingual, and great consideration is taken to promote tolerance and understanding. Many of the SEEMF mediators actively carry out interethnic mediation in their countries. By being a regional network of individuals and organizations that work together to resolve conflict, SEEMF becomes a prime example of how mutual respect can lead to fruitful interaction and the rebuilding of relations.

3. Raising awareness of mediation as a conflict resolution tool
Another goal of SEEMF is promoting the use of mediation as a conflict resolution tool in all types of disputes. SEEMF members are mediators who come from South Eastern Europe and are specialized in one or various fields of mediation, ranging from commercial, court-annexed to peer mediation. They know the local culture, history, and economic, social and political situation and are therefore able to quickly evaluate conflict potential.
By working in their respective countries to promote mediation, formalize it as a profession, and advocate the creation of legal support structures for its use, SEEMF members try to raise the awareness of mediation. Due to the diversity of the positions they hold – ranging from judges to lawyers to full-time mediators – they are able to support mediation on a variety of levels.
The Annual SEEMF Event is open to the public and focuses on promoting one specialization of mediation, i.e. peer mediation or interethnic mediation. It provides the opportunity for people interested in mediation to become familiar with the concept, and it also aims to bring together local, regional and international decision-makers with mediators from South Eastern Europe. Thus, the possibilities for mediation as a structured conflict resolution tool become more widely known.

4. Facilitating communication and exchange among mediators
SEEMF was created to bring together mediators from the region so that they could exchange ideas, consult each others’ expertise, share experiences and information, and publicize their activities. The SEEMF website facilitates this communication and provides the platform to advertise regional events, inform about mediators and mediation organizations in the different member countries, and publish research, training materials, and regulations pertaining to mediation. As the website is continuing to develop, it is becoming more interactive, encouraging debates and discussions so that new strategies on how to strengthen mediation as a conflict resolution tool are created.
Additionally, SEEMF will create a database of mediators and mediation organizations in the regions, which will improve the overview of the mediation resources that are available. This will also facilitate interaction with international counterparts since contact information and field of expertise will be readily available. Furthermore, it will support mediators in advertising their services to potential clients.

5. Professionalizing the use of mediation in the region
SEEMF seeks to promote the development of mediation as a profession and a structured conflict resolution method in the region. SEEMF members advocate for the appropriate legislation to be passed in their countries in order to systematize the use of mediation and incorporate it into the formal political and judicial structures. They assist in the drafting of Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics and promote new areas where mediation would be beneficial. SEEMF members continue to conduct research on conflict resolution and mediation topics in order to further develop the field in their region. They create training materials, like multi-lingual handbooks, to improve the resource available to local mediators and exchange their own expertise.

SEEMF Activities

Date	Event
October 2005	Initiation of SEEMF at 1st Networking Conference Sarajevo, BiH
February 2006	SEEMF website launched: www.seemf.cssproject.org
May 2006	Mediation Study trip to Lillehammer and Oslo, Norway for SEEMF coordinators
May 2006	Nordic Forum Mediation Conference in Helsinki, Finland
October 2006	SEEMF 2nd Annual Conference in Skopje, Macedonia
October 2006	SEEMF Annual Coordination Meeting in Skopje, Macedonia
May 2007	Conference on Restorative Justice, Tirana, Albania
September 2007	European Mediation Conference, Vienna, Austria
November 2007	SEEMF 3rd Annual Conference in Podgorica, Montenegro
November 2007	SEEMF Annual Coordination Meeting in Podgorica, Montenegro
April 2008	European Mediation Conference in Belfast, U.K.
April 2008	5th European Forum for Restorative Justice in Verona, Italy
October 2008	Launching of new interactive SEEMF website: www.seemf.eu
November 2008	SEEMF 4th Annual Conference in Zagreb, Croatia
November 2008	SEEMF Annual Coordination Meeting