„A dialogue approach is a kind of glue in society“

An interview with representatives of the Community of Practice of Mediators and Dialogue Facilitators in the Ukraine

The Community of Practice of Mediators and Dialogue Facilitators (CoP) was presented with the Socrates Award (Sokrates-Preis) of the Centre for Mediation (Centrale für Mediation) in an online event on 14.6.2023. The CoP is a network of conflict management professionals consisting of over 25 organizations from all sectors of Ukrainian civil society and covering a wide range of activities. The award recognized the pragmatic and professional support of those responsible, adapted to local needs. The ability expressed in joint statements to „speak with one voice“ in this complex situation full of normative and factual uncertainties and contradictions was also recognized as an outstanding achievement.

ZKM: How did your initiative come about and who does the CoP represent?

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 was met with extensive resistance and immediate response from Ukrainian civil society – from evacuation of people from dangerous zones to using art as a tool of non-violent resistance. Among different sectors of Ukrainian civil society was a Community of Dialogue Practitioners (CoP), which unites professionals from different fields within mediation, dialogue facilitation and peacebuilding. For decades this network promoted a culture of dialogue and peaceful conflict resolution in Ukrainian society, and has concentrated its efforts on responding to the escalating national conflict situation as the Russian escalation progressed.

After the full-scale invasion of Russia in 2014, the community became an important enabler of social cohesion and resilience at the national as well as local levels. The community was able to quickly mobilize itself and respond to the aggression. They united around 30 NGOs and initiated important work on advocating for a Ukrainian peace agenda internationally. In May 2022, they developed a joint statement on the war and dialogue and in June 2023, mobilized more than 100 Ukrainian NGOs around the Ukraine Peace Appeal.

ZKM: In pursuit of all our core concern „peace for Ukraine“, what has the CoP identified as its primary aims?

The ultimate goal is that Ukraine becomes more resilient to withstand Russian aggression and build a sustainable peace. Therefore the CoP is working on the ground level in the shelters for internally displaced people, local communities and schools through integrated psycho-social and mediation help; at the policy level inside Ukraine – to promote people-centered Transitional Justice and facilitate dialogue on these matters between the government and civil society; at the political level by rethinking approaches to Russian-Ukrainian dialogues and conducting international advocacy for context-sensitive approaches to peacebuilding in Ukraine.

ZKM: How were you able to succeed in bringing so many different actors to „speak with one voice“ (through joint statements)?

Since 2014 we already had established local peacebuilding communities in Ukraine from thematic „bubbles“ – for example, working with veterans’ trauma, or inclusive recovery. The Community of dialogue practitioners has a unique positioning and role in the peacebuilding ecosystem and has interface with all the thematic organizations and activities, so that’s why it was very natural, logic and effective to mobilize the voices and bring all of them into one important statement like Ukraine Peace Appeal 2023.

ZKM: What are the most effective activities of CoP member organizations in your view?

In February 2022 mediators and dialogue facilitators started to implement a number of volunteer initiatives to address people’s needs on the ground to enable them to transit from emergency response to recovery and development even during the war. The major innovation of the CoP in this regard was a methodology of integration of psychological and psycho-social help with conventional mediation and dialogue approaches in community work, (see www.national-platform.org).

As early as April 2022, the CoP set up mobile teams that offered integrated psychological and conflict resolution services in the West of Ukraine for IDPs and host communities. The teams consisted of a mediator and a psychologist and worked in the shelters, humanitarian hubs and other locations where IDPs were residing or spending their time. The teams assessed the needs of people, and designed and implemented a tailor-made package of interventions for particular locations, ranging from individual crisis counselling to on-the-spot mediation. The mobile teams were supervised by experienced staff who offered training, supervision, and methodological guidance.

In addition to the Mobile Teams projects, members of CoP were offering family mediation services combined with mental health and psychosocial support for families with children who were affected by the war; worked with schools to provide trauma-sensitive conflict management training for educators and improved conflict resolution skills of young people. The CoP members were actively engaged in research into conflict response practices in Ukrainian civil society and dividing/uniting narratives in social media. Based on the later research, the Institute for Peace and Common Ground carried out a nationwide information campaign on social media, reaching 20 million people, to promote unifying narratives and counter dividing narratives in society.

ZKM: What did your research reveal with regard to unifying narratives in conflict management practices? Which narratives do you oppose

We would not want to position the Peace Appeal as a tool for confrontation, but rather for engagement on a different level and „a more informed solidarity“.

Our narratives are pretty clearly listed in the Appeal:

1. Stopping weapon deliveries to Ukraine now would not lead to „peace by peaceful means“.
2. We ask the international community for further understanding and informed solidarity, and to respect the rights of Ukrainians.
3. The cause of the disaster is not the victim, but the aggressor.
4. Formal freezing of the situation neither guarantees security for civilians nor stabilization in the region.

ZKM: How are mediators organized in Ukraine; is there a federal association for mediators? How do you collaborate?

In Ukraine, at the moment, there is a national organization of mediators, which is not state or federal, as well as separate family moderators. CoP is a partner organization of NAMU (http://namu.com.ua/en/), a community of mediators, participation in which is voluntary. We support the efforts of mediators in their peacekeeping activities and create social partnership as an element of peace building.

ZKM: You have mentioned that you are in process of establishing the CoP’s formal ‘structures’. What will it look like? Does the CoP see itself as a kind of umbrella organization today?

CoP is an informal network without memberships. It is organized horizontally, the only formal part is the secretariat, which keeps the activities of the community stable and visible. The main task is to help members of the community think strategically and develop, create synergy between organizations, as well as grant writing in order to find funds for ideas that will support the Ukrainian democratic society.

ZKM: Where should CoP develop to?

СoP is a community dedicated to the development of a culture of dialogue, which uses dialogue as a tool for conflict resolution and the creation of sustainable peace. A dialogue approach is a kind of glue in society, which ensures inclusiveness and freedom of communication of all participants of civil society. It is important for our community to be a think tank in the field of mediation in Ukraine and to take meaningful leadership in building peace.

For this, we have to further develop the capacities of the CoP for self-governance and sustainability. However, it will be necessary to continue engaging with the other peacebuilding actors and move towards a more consolidated, less bubble-like Ukrainian civil and expert society. We note that local experts have outgrown a purely technical role and hold more and more agency in matters of war and peace. At the same time, the international support system has hardly any instruments to support local networks and local ownership. Hardly any international actors are capable of conceiving and doing that.

Interview mit der Pressesprecherin der CoP: Karen Engler, ZKM-Redaktion

Foto: Virtuelle Preisverleihung am 14. Juni 2023. Vertreterinnen der „Community of Practice of Ukrainian Mediators and Dialogue Facilitors“ nehmen den Sokrates-Preis 2022 stellvertretend für das Netzwerk entgegen. Vlnr: Lars Kirchhoff (Juryvors.), Diana Protsenko (CoP), Alona Horova (CoP), Natalia Bezkhlibna (CoP), Karen Engler (Centrale für Mediation), Alexander Redlich (Juror und Laudator).