3rd Annual MBB Congress

Washington, D.C., USA

By Alexandra Lee Everett
PR Report Staff Writer

	Slideshow

By Alexandra Lee Everett
Staff Writer

Leaders challenged and taught, members and students asked and learned, and there was no shortage of high praise for the Third Annual Congress of Mediators Beyond Borders (MBB), themed “Preparing to Serve”, held in Washington, D.C., USA on March 5-7. Leaders in peacebuilding and over 140 MBB Members from around the world exchanged ideas, honed and learned skills to promote and spread conflict resolution programs and initiatives worldwide, including discussing the many diverse ways to participate with MBB.

Keynote speaker and renowned author Bernard Mayer said he was energized by the dedicated and talented audience. He said “as North Americans, in order to be really helpful, we have to understand that our presence may be short term, but these conflicts are not. This raises certain challenges for us but it does not mean we cannot be useful. It just means that we have to understand our roles and limitations within the nature of the challenge. I wanted to challenge people to think about what we can do that’s useful when we are not assuming the traditional positions as mediators.”

Ambassador John McDonald conveyed that his mantra would always be, “The only way to solve a conflict at any level of society is to sit down, face to face and talk about it”. McDonald said conflict resolution success comes only after a thorough political, economic, social and most importantly, cultural awareness of peoples and places before reaching out. He encouraged the membership to always listen to the very individual needs of a situation and be ready to make a long term commitment to those who ask for help, when it is crucial for success.

Beyond the hugely talented Congress attendance, the overwhelming buzz this year was the student and younger audience participation. Board Member Lynn Cole, Tampa, Fla., USA noted that this was the first year that the MBB Congress had students from University Chapters attending and actively participating.

Students told Lynn that it was a tremendous event for them that opened their eyes to entire new horizons for peace building. Lynn said she was excited that MBB was giving its next generation the opportunities to learn and connect globally with young mediators all over the world.

Sharing Lynn’s enthusiasm, MBB President Ken Cloke, Santa Monica, Calif., USA said that the highlight of this year’s Congress was also the presence of so many students and young people. Ken was glad to see this new MBB audience grappling with inhabiting and improving their world, and felt that their voices and enthusiasm for global services were positive and energizing. Ken hopes that MBB will be able to organize a Student Congress in the future and offer summer internships around the world to interested students. Ken said he will be proposing that a percentage of all dues and contributions be set aside to fund student experiences.

With so many positive comments about the student attendance, how did the students feel? University Chapter President at University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., USA and Law Gators for Alternative Dispute Resolution (GADR) President Zarra Elias, Gainesville, Fla., USA said she had a very positive experience as did her fellow GADRs. Michael Kelly felt that hearing about the real-world challenges of professionals in the thick of resolving conflict helped to put in perspective what the preparation and learning of law school is really all about. Kelly said he would recommend future MBB Congress to any law student dedicated to serving the local and global communities in the changing world.

Another GADR Member Allison Wender said she did not really know anything about MBB and was blown away by the dedication and impact that the members have in their local communities and in remote communities worlds away. Wender said she was amazed that this type of mediation extends to everything from Katrina, to the 2009 Climate Change convention in Copenhagen to the Middle East.

Board Member Dave Joseph, Smithfield, R.I., USA who was also one of the main Congress organizers said that one of the biggest highlights was the stunning 140 attendees, which was double the attendance from last year’s Congress. Dave also said he was happy to see the tremendous level of energy and enthusiasm.

Dave praised the “Role & Expectations: Lessons Learned Experience on Projects” session conducted by MM Mary Jo Harwood, Washington, Penn., USA, FM Ginny Morrison, San Anselmo, Calif., USA and Board Member Prabha Sankaranarayan, Pittsburgh, Penn., USA. Dave said this session really highlighted critical issues in terms of individual preparation and team formation, hitting “a home run” by giving MBB members tools to deliver a higher quality of service and to be much more effective on projects.

“Leadership in Peacebuilding”, presented by Board Member and Congress organizer Nan Waller Burnett, Golden, Colo., USA and FM Louise Phipps Senft, Baltimore, Md., USA facilitated 40 participants in sharing ideas about how to go forward peacebuilding in the world.

All in all many attendees felt good about the length and level of intellectual and thoughtful exchange.

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