Conciliation and mediation for judges in Ethiopia

19 - 23 April 2021 This course was designed with the intention to strengthen the national setting of conciliation/mediation in Ethiopia and to contribute to its greater use, in order to make dispute resolution more effective. More specifically, the focus on the functioning of the process and the strong emphasis on the skills to be used by the neutral third party from both a theoretical and practical perspective was aimed to improve and reinforce the way in which conciliation/mediation is interpreted, understood, and applied. The course was delivered online, from 19 to 23 April 2021. It lasted five days and foresaw an overall time involvement of approximately 25 hours. Participants were given access to a dedicated e-platform on the E-Campus, the e-learning portal of the ITCILO. On this e-platform, participants could find recorded videos, readings and other resources and the activities related to the course sessions. Every day, four hours of live sessions were conducted remotely through webinars on Zoom. The learning was interactive and facilitated by trainers. It included theoretical explanations complemented by individual reflection activities, plenary discussions, group works and other activities highly interactive. OBJECTIVES This course aimed to: • Strengthen Ethiopia’s labour dispute resolution system; • Provide sound theoretical and practical knowledge of the key principles of the conciliation/mediation processes with a focus on individual labour disputes; • Strengthen the understanding and analyse the role and functions of neutral third parties in resolving labour disputes, with a particular emphasis on individual labour disputes; • Provide techniques and guidance on how to improve the skills and the techniques to be used during these processes by the neutral third party; • Foster knowledge sharing and exchange of best practices related to conciliation/mediation; • Promote the application of key ILO principles and values in this context. CONTENT The sessions given during the sessions included the following topics: • Principles of conciliation / mediation; • The conflict dynamic; • Process management skills; • Problem management skills; • Effective people skills; • The process of conciliation/mediation. • Effective qualities and skills of a conciliator/mediator; ACHIEVEMENT Participants recognized the key elements and principles of conciliation/ mediation and the different phases of this process. In addition, they understood how to manage conflicts and the different approaches to address them. They also gained new knowledge about the role and function of a neutral third party and the effective skills necessary to be successful in the conciliation / mediation process.