Mediation is a fondamental tool used to solve commercial and civil disputes without having to sit in front of a judge.

The advantages of Mediation over Litigation are: time effective, cheaper, keeps the relationship going between the Parties, private and confidential.

In the case of International Mediation, where Parties from different countries and especially different cultures are emotionally involved in the dispute, the Mediator skills are paramount in order to help the Parties settle the issue.

Within international conflicts, the Mediator, or neutral Party, needs to have qualities such as understanding of International behaviour, exposure to different and varied cultures, soft touch, psychological skills, patience, ability to active listening.

CONFLICTS are a constant part of our lives and may affect our reputation at all times.

Whether or not you are the aggressive type of person that looks for conflicts or if you are a peaceful person that just comes upon them, you will still have to deal with conflicts which you find are thereby issues in your life. Conflicts arise for different reasons and can affect people or companies, such as NGOs, firms, homes, schools, universities.  Mainly they arise because of  1) Cultural differences; 2) Personality conflicts 3) Not attentively listening; 4) Operating on assumptions; 5) General misunderstanding.

All of these five causes of conflicts listed above are possible integral parts of our lives. How many times we had misunderstandings at our work place? Or misunderstandings with our spouse? How many times did we just pretend to listen to a colleague or friend that came to us but not really hear or comprehend the subject he/she was presenting? Perhaps we were even silently arguing with him or her.

Did you ever have to deal with a person who had some troubling issues?  He could have acquired those issues as a consequence of a different cultural background because of upbringing or coming from a different country. How many times have you find it difficult to get along with someone just because you cannot tolerate his\her personality?
Those encounters happen in everyday life, and this is where conflict resolution becomes a necessary tool to perfect a resolution and protect your reputation as well. Any of the listed encounters could create conflicts and, consequently, harm your reputation.

Reputation(1) is a person’s and a company’s most valuable asset. It is primary and all transactions flow from its status. Like it or not every individual, every company, and every organization develops a reputation that is based on the public perception of that person or organization over time. Though a good reputation often takes years to form, it can be ruined in an instant. So nothing is more priceless than preserving a good reputation. The reputation and integrity are the only real assets held by the associates in professional services firms and organizations; when that reputation is lost, everything else goes down the tubes with it.
Life grants every person the choice of managing ones decisions or letting others do it. The question for companies is whether they will passively let others form opinions about them or will actively manage and maximize that most valuable asset.

What shapes corporate reputation? Most people mistakenly equate reputation with corporate social responsibility and ethics. But these are only two elements.  Other considerations include (A) production and service quality which must be par excellence;  (B) behaviour must be above reproach; (C) financial results must show consistent growth, and  (D) they must be likeable and trustworthy.  So one not only has the complex interactions of financial performance, workplace environment, product quality, corporate leadership, corporate vision, the emotional bond between a company and its stakeholders, but also a company’s good name can be effected every time a customer sees a company’s truck or makes a phone call. So it is very important that each and every one of the employees is trained in the matters of conflict resolution since they effect the reputation on a daily basis. Yes indeed, reputation is affected by every single person or employee that works under the organization’s name.

A good Reputation requires Integrity, Consistency and Clarity and associated Transparency.
Integrity is comprised of Responsibility, Reliability, Credibility and Trustworthiness. Trust is the cornerstone of reputation and is built by being trustworthy and through consistent actions. Mendacity is the quickest way of destroying trust. So if you made an agreement, you have to behave accordingly.  A strong reputation is a commendable (and profitable) burden that carries with it extra responsibility. The public wants to see that a company takes full responsibility for its actions and show contrition if it errs. A confession of error may even end up creating good will and fortifying your reputation.
Consistency is based on a simple thing: act as you say. Aristotle was a deep believer in the virtue of practice and taught that “Moral virtue comes about as a result of practice”.  In fact “we are what we do”.  We are judged as fair by our actions and, thusly, found temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts and smart by doing smart acts. Moreover, it is impossible to perform consistently in a manner inconsistent with the way we see ourselves. In other words, we usually act in direct response to our self-image. People respect people with high integrity and ethical behaviour – even though sometimes, it seems it doesn’t payoff in the short term, it does payoff in the long term! Never overpromise and then fail to meet the expectations of your audience.
Clarity\Transparency.  A leader must not have dissonance between his/her private beliefs and associated public actions. There must be a consistency in the positions. A leader’s private beliefs and behaviour shape his public posture. In fact the head of a company/CEO’s own reputation directly affects a corporation’s reputation. The CEO is the ultimate spokesperson of the company; he is the embodiment of the brand, and the official storyteller who knits together the company’s past, present and future.  The way a leader behaves and acts in his professional – and personal – life is the surest way of building trust or the quickest way of destroying it. A leader has to be and has to act in a transparent way and has to have a clear communication to gain and maintain public trust. This same model of credibility is mandatory for companies.
As George Washington said: “Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation, for ‘tis better to be alone than in bad company.”  Sometimes it seems easier to stay in a risky relationship, but comfort isn’t worth harm such relationship does to your reputation.
It is important to always keep in mind that people will respond to how you act and you behave, so, when you speak, it is better to always tell the credible truth. People will respond with trust and credibility when you speak, and that remains the essence of your reputation.
In any case we are always free to choose and what we choose creates our reputation.
It is fundamental for all professionals, such as mediators, negotiators, managers, CEO, entrepreneurs, business people, politicians, attorneys, as well as people, and every human being, to have a spotless reputation. So that the clients, friends, spouses and general audiences know who they are dealing with and be able to trust them, the reputation of the professionals must precede them. The targeted audience must know what to expect, and the professional has to deliver what is expected. If that professional does not deliver as expected, his/her reputation is at stake. I again emphasize, IT TAKES A LOT OF RESPONSIBILITY AND INTEGRITY, AND DISCIPLINE TO CREATE AND MAINTAIN A GOOD REPUTATION.

So when you mediate or negotiate a conflict, it is very important that you are seen and evaluated as a person of high morale, integrity, ethics, trustworthy, competence. The important thing for the client who comes to you and trusts you and your work is what precedes you, and that is your reputation. If you have always worked and behaved in a “good” manner, people will acknowledge that and come to you. If you haven’t, either people with low values and principles will come to you or –in the long term, nobody will want you as a consultant.
When you have to resolve a conflict with a co-worker, employee, in a divorce or a dispute, a mediation is the better resolution and preferable to an arbitration or going to court, as mediation preserves you reputation and is important for your reputation.

MEDIATION(2) is a peaceful method of conflict resolution that can benefit both individuals and business. Mediation is less expensive, faster, and more confidential than traditional litigation. This is especially true in the international business context, where transaction costs are high and disputes over choice of law and choice of forum are both challenging and time consuming when an international conflict arises. MEDIATION is a voluntary and non-binding negotiation process that occurs outside the courtroom.  In mediation, a third impartial and neutral party manages the interaction between disputing parties to ensure constructive negotiation, thus helping them to agree on a resolution that is fair, durable, and workable.  In MEDIATION, the disputants, not the mediator, create, and agree on the final decision.

MEDIATION allows building stronger relationships between the parties and focuses on people cohesion more than the actual problem.  Additional benefits of MEDIATION are its non-bureaucratic and completely confidential approach to resolving conflicts.  Moreover, all statements made and all documents presented during the mediation process are confidential, unless otherwise agreed by all parties involved.  MEDIATION allows disputants to share information in total legal confidence with the mediator, a privilege not granted by the public litigation system. Confidentiality is essential for corporations, as any publicized lawsuit or negative business relationship have the potential to significantly harm a company’s reputation.

Before you start a MEDIATION, all parties have to sign two documents; a Confidentiality and a Mediation Agreement(3) that will provide the rules, regulations and privacy norms of the mediation process.

The Confidentiality Agreement discloses the confidentiality rules in order to promote honest communication among parties, their counsel and representative, and the mediator.  All that is said or disputed in MEDIATION will and can neither be used in court room nor outside the mediation office;  such information remains non-discoverable and inadmissible for any purpose in any later legal or administrative proceeding and no aspects of the mediation can be introduced as evidence in any legal or administrative or other proceedings, unless prior agreed upon by the parties.

The Agreement governs all aspects of the mediation process, including those that pre-date the execution of the Agreement, such as the selection of a mediator, the convening of the mediation, all phone calls, correspondence, e-mail and other documents relating to the mediation and the mediation process, all person to person meetings, site visits, or conferences of any kind, and any post-mediation communications or conferences relating to the mediation.  Furthermore, disclosure of any records, reports, or other documents received or prepared for or by the mediator cannot be forced. The mediator shall not be subpoenaed or otherwise compelled to testify in any later proceedings, be it civil, criminal, and administrative proceedings, and shall not be required to produce any notes or documents, as to any aspect of the dispute that was the subject of the mediation proceedings or was otherwise communicated to the mediator in confidence.

Since the parties disclose sensitive information in reliance upon this contracted privilege of confidentiality, any opposing party to this agreement may obtain an injunction to prevent disclosure of any information in violation of this agreement.

Therefore, by listening to each other, companies and\or people can find better resolutions, enforce or reinforce their relationships or partnerships in order to come up with win-win strategies on a long term basis.  In other words, mediation allows a more detailed and open problem-solving strategy that helps companies to strengthen their relationships and keep their reputation, preserving and protecting both their good name and the company’s reputation.

The purest treasure mortal times afford is a spotless reputation. William Shakespeare, Othello II:3

Human trafficking is an international crime that has seriously developed all over the world; this illegal global trade is continuously growing. Recent estimates  of global profits from human trafficking are as high as 32 billion Dollars, if both the sale of individuals and the value of their exploited labor or services are taken into account. In order to properly understand what can be counted into this “modern day slavery”, it is important to define the concept of human trafficking. According to the UN Protocol Act 2000 , at art. 3 human trafficking is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs”. Read Full PDF Version

Mediation is a method of dispute resolution that can benefit any country.  Mediation is less expensive, faster, and more confidential than traditional litigation. This is especially true in the international business context, where transaction costs are high and disputes over choice of law and choice of forum are both challenging and time consuming when an international conflict arises. I personally believe that when you build bridges to bring something new into a new country or a new setting you need to deal first with the culture and what is going on in that new setting.
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It´ was an interesting day. Alessandra Sgubini introduce me to Ms. Marisa Ugarte.   We went to a meeting with Ms Ugarte at 6 in the afternoon. She is the founder of the Binational Crisis Line in Tijuana, as well as the Domestic Violence Crisis Center for the National Sistem for Development for Integral of the family in Tijuana (DIF Tijuana). Ms. Ugarte continues to be an advisor to DIF and to the Civil Protection and Disaster Crisis Prevention Program in Mexico.
Her history was so beautiful that touched my soul. In 1993, she began working at a program for runaway teens when she came across a young girl who had been prostituted. Soon Marisa, realized through her work that the young girl, like many of the women and children who walked the streets selling their bodies, were not voluntarily “on the job,” but were victims of traffickers and pimps. The women, children, and men were being commercially exploited. I learned about her experience, “always think without limits”, these words are the most important in our life, everything is possible if you work hard and to be patient!
Her organization “Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition (BSCC)” is an alliance of over 60 government and nonprofit agencies in the United States and Latin America, especially along the U.S.-Mexico Border Region to combat slavery and human trafficking. BSCC’s purpose is to bilaterally prevent and intervene in the commercial and sexual exploitation of men, women and children while advocating for all exploited persons.
Every day, many children to become involve in illegal networks who have control over their lives.
She told us about human trafficking internationally and the commercial sexual exploitation of women and children and then we planned to work together in the project of training for attorney, judge, and police, because they need to know in this specific case (human trafficking) what the mediation cannot be considered the tool to resolve the crimes, but as the tool that will allow the parties involved in fighting these crimes (Government Agencies, Law Enforcement, and NGO´s) to be able to communicate, negotiate, manage and resolve the issues, and to be strong and unified against the crimes. We will to start this project on the next Monday, April 6th.
Actually, I could understand how Mediation is going to help the battle against human trafficking and how important is to be able to know cross- culture negotiation, because the mediation can open dialogue and communication aiming to resolve possible conflicts. It will help them make better plans to protect the victims and to fight the criminals as well as Cross- culture negotiation, because the crimes involve the world, and the people and agencies against those crimes need to be trained globally to fight Human Trafficking.

The mission of the association is to preserve the dignity and well being of commercially and sexually exploited people through prevention, intervention, and education, in order to reach a world without exploitation and where men, women, and children’s lives are protected.

Ms. Ugarte is founder of the Binational Crisis Line in Tijuana, as well as the Domestic Violence Crisis Center for the Sistema Nacional para el Desarollo Integral de la Familia, in Tijuana (DIF Tijuana). She continues to be an advisor to DIF and to the Civil Protection and Disaster Crisis Prevention Program in Mexico.

As I am especially involved in the topic of children rights and protection, I was really interested to meet Marisa Ugarte, with whom Alesandra Sgubini is going to realize a pilote project which aim is to introduce mediation as a tool in the fight against human trafficking in order to create a bond of communication and a dialogue between organizations, agencies and people involved, so that they can be more effective.

Trafficking is a crime by which victims are “stolen” without their consentment and are lured from their homes to other countries in order to make them work in forced labours or practices, prostitute or be sexually exploted, in a situation of slavery or with the aim of removing their organs.
The majority of the victims are women and children.

Much like the trafficking and movement of drugs, human trafficking is controlled by international cartels and is a form of organized crime. The United States is a destination country for many victims and the demand for illicit sex and cheap labor in the United States is over looked.

In our meeting with Marisa, I realized that human trafficking is not a problem limited to specific boundaries of one country but is internationally developed, and that lots of people from Europe-especially Italy and Germany- collaborate in improving the trafficking of children because of sexual explotation. I was shocked to hear how people can behave like animals and abuse of someone who is not able to react or reach a defense. In many cases, victims are threatened or deceived, and sometimes there is an apparent legal way-like for instance adoption-to traffick people.

Marisa is working to organize seminars and courses for judges, lawyers, policemen, and common people, in order to make them aware of human trafficking and its issues.

In our meeting we talked about improving and collaborating on an international network, as a team fighting against human trafficking; I must admitt that I am really excited in giving my contribution in order to combate against a pleague that I really whish will be eliminated.

In today’s business market, successful and efficient businesses recognize the numerous benefits of mediation and possess the willingness to engage in cooperative negotiations with the help of an impartial third party.  This article addresses the importance of promoting the awareness of mediation as an effective conflict resolution tool for businesses in all fields based on proven evidence that it saves immeasurable time and capital especially for businesses across the board.

Businesses that are unaware or fail to utilize cooperative conflict resolution procedures, such as mediation, sacrifice money, time, and business relationships.

Imagine two companies with a 10-year business relationship enter into a time-sensitive contract for the production of 200 airplane passenger seats.  Deutschland Aeronautics (Deutschland), a German airplane manufacturing company, enters into a contract with New York Seat Inc. (NY), an American company.  Deutschland requires NY to manufacture and deliver airplane seats to Germany in order for Deutschland to fulfill a pre-existing contract with Inter Air (Inter), a new Italian airline that will introduce this new fleet of airplanes for international travel in exactly one year.

Suppose, however, that NY delivers these seats to Deutschland two months late; causing Inter to rescind the contract according to the time-sensitive stipulation.  Consequently, Deutschland sues NY for $20 million in lost profits from its $200 million contract with Inter. A trial date is set for seven months after Deutschland sues NY, and NY files the counterclaim alleging that Deutschland did not inform NY about the new European Union (EU) law instating new passenger seat requirements.

Can this situation be resolved more efficiently and cost effectively, without relying on over-stressed court systems?  How can each of the involved parties quickly resolve this situation, without sacrificing their long-standing business relationships?  Can these parties derive a flexible solution that is mutually agreeable?  Yes they can, and mediation is the key.

By resolving disputes in a manner that is imminently more efficient, businesses are more effective at handling disputes and building solid foundations among other businesses.  Disputes are an inevitable part of business ventures, especially in highly complex international undertakings.  Disagreements can arise as a result of minor misunderstandings, ranging from unclear delivery time and location, to major conflicts, such as breaches of contracts.  These complications are part of every business endeavor, which can create a high potential for misunderstandings and disputes.  However, where they are properly addressed, such conflicts are not necessarily detrimental to businesses if handled with diplomacy and tact.

Over the past two decades, businesses throughout the United States have moved away from lengthy and costly litigation processes to more flexible and cost-effective mediation processes and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods.  Mediation involves the use of a neutral third party who assists the parties in coming to a confidential and binding agreement without the costs associated with traditional litigation.  This transition is rooted in Businesses’ growing awareness of the immense potential for mediation to resolve traditional and international business disputes.  In fact, more and more businesses are utilizing mediation for their business and legal disputes rather than relying on the sluggish court systems.  Numerous industries are aware of the successes of mediation in solving such problems traditionally, and recognize that the benefits can be extended to international dispute resolution as well.

Last Tuesday Dr. Vesselin Popovski, a former Bulgarian Diplomat currently working as an educator at the United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan, came to speak at Bridge Mediation. I found Dr. Popovski to be fascinating with a great deal of experience in international policy and law. Of particular interest to the entire Bridge team was Dr. Popovski’s experience with, and views on, alternative forms of dispute resolution. Prior to Dr. Popovski’s arrival we were not quite sure how receptive he would be to the concept of ADR. Much to our surprise Dr. Popovski was very receptive to the benefits of ADR and had used the process effectively throughout his career.

As a diplomat, educator, researcher and writer focusing on international law issues, Dr. Popovski is in a unique position to see the benefits of effective cross-cultural negotiation techniques first hand. In our meeting Dr. Popovski discussed the need to use communication techniques that are inclusive and sensitive to differing views and beliefs. In this regard Dr. Popovski saw mediation as a highly effective method of bringing conflicting international parties together in a way that encourages cooperation open-minded resolutions. This is extremely positive when one considers the alternative “traditional” rights-based approaches to resolving international disputes. Such methods generally entail one-sided arguments about what one party is entitled to and another owes. Rarely are individual party’s beliefs, customs or positions taken into account. While this may be the case in any dispute, when dealing with different peoples, ethnic groups or countries, failure to take positions and beliefs into account can be a complete block to progress or even an instigator of further conflict. This is why mediation and other ADR processes that force the parties to look across the table are so important to the international legal and policy world. Yet for all of his enthusiasm, Dr. Popovski admitted that ADR is not implemented to the level it should be on the international stage. He believes there is still a great deal to learn and that organizations that specialize in cross-cultural ADR process such as Bridge Mediation are an important factor in realizing this next step.

Finally, I would like to share a story that Dr. Popovski told us that illustrates how quickly ADR can catch on and how effective it can be in resolving disputes. In his classes, Dr. Popovski breaks the students into groups. Each group is assigned a group of chairs and the entire class is required to arrange all the chairs in a particular manner. The basic idea is that if each group works separately the will never be able to achieve the goal because in order to arrange the chairs in the required manner, there has to be cooperation between the parties. Now for the interesting part; at first, no one is allowed to talk. Everything has to be done with gestures body language. This of course leads to a great deal of chaos and arguing among the groups who seem to always start out working against each other. After allowing the parties to struggle for a bit, Dr. Popovski calls for a break and explains the importance of cooperation and looking at “the bigger picture”. He then allows the students to write notes to help facilitate the exercise, but still no talking. Once the students start expressing what they need, while appreciating what the other groups need and when everyone views the situation in the light that what is good for one is good for all, progress is invariably made. I found this to be a very interesting lesson and I think it really explains how many people go into a dispute. At first they are unable hear or speak. This of course leads only to chaos because no one can put together what is best for all. However, when mediation or other ADR process is introduced and the parties or educated on how important it is to communicate, they are given the tools (in our case the ability to write) needed to come to a positive conclusion.

Overall, I was very impressed with Dr. Popovski. Not only has he had a fascinating career, much like I hope to have, he truly has a grasp on mediation and its many benefits. Now if only more international figures would embrace mediation with the same enthusiasm, we may see some real change for the better. Then again, now is as good a starting point as any.

It was interesting to see how the source of communication can change the attitude and capture the attention of the audience. In this particular case I will refer to the four offenders as the audience. As a mediator, I pay particular attention to the outstanding work of Don the facilitator who helped to drive the flow of conversation.

Additionally, I like to observe the body language of the audience. While the two members of the community were speaking about the problems that prostitution caused in their community, the four men were more passive and not engaged in the communication process. Everything changed completely when the sex alcoholic speaker began to tell his story. I could see clearly the body language of the four men changing and moving forward toward to the speaker because he created a bond with them.  It was a great learning lesson for me and underlined the importance of creating a bond with your opponent in negotiation or mediation. This powerful connection, gave the key to the impact panel to have the offenders listening actively.

I believe the order of the speakers was great because it facilitated the communication process. In fact, after the audience was actively listening, the two prostitutes began to tell their stories. At this point, a tsunami hit all of the people in the room including the four offenders. Then, it was a blessing experience to see how these two ladies were able to mentor these offenders about the risks involved in soliciting prostitution after what they had been through.

The police officer was a young good looking woman that helped to reinforce the fact that prostitutes don’t care about their clients, but about their money. Some prostitutes give one hundred percent of their money to their pimps. As a result, prostitutes end up in using drugs and hating their clients. The officer grabbed the attention of the audience by asking questions to the offenders.

This is a clear example of how awareness through communication can save lives.
Everyone should attend at least at one of this Prostitution Impact Panel. It is a great learning experience for all those professionals or students who work in negotiation, communication and mediation.