Campus Belval – Maison du Savoir – 9 to 11 July 2019
Mediation: a transversal approach with multiple purposes
Introduction to the Xth Conference
Mediation has boomed in the last forty years in many countries. Decision-making and political bodies such as the European Commission encourage the use of mediation in the traditional fields of its action but even in other fields less commonly and traditionally related to this alternative method of conflict resolution. From the initial positioning of mediation in the fields of family, school, and justice, many experiments have emerged on more or less important scales, and these have been discussed during previous World Forum of Mediation conferences. Presently, it seems certain that, behind the accepted meaning of mediation and its traditional modus operandi, mediation hides a plurality of facets and a multidimensionality that is in stark contrast to the unitary and generic character that we would often like to grant it or even impose on it. Without pretending to offer a complete and certainly useless analysis of this mode of conflict resolution, the Xth Conference of the World Forum of Mediation in Luxembourg wants to devote itself to trying to understand how mediation can be organized and developed when it has so many objectives that are seemingly difficult to reconcile. Thus, the 2019 conference will try to bring, through four highly interrelated roundtables and about forty presentations, a significant contribution to this question: Is mediation a transversal approach with multiple aims? Through three well-recognized mediation outcomes (conflict prevention, social regulation, and institutionalization) but also a thorough analysis of the multidimensional field of intercultural mediation, participants in the Xth Conference of the World Forum of Mediation will be brought to reflect on the place that mediation takes, should take, or could take in our modern societies.
Themes of the proposals
Participants are invited to send their proposals in response to questions that will form the structure of the four plenary sessions:
- Is mediation a way to prevent conflict?
- Is mediation a mode of regulation or of security?
- Does mediation have a future in the management of intercultural conflicts?
- Does the institutionalization of mediation help to reform institutions or does it distort mediation?
Apart from these questions, other proposals may be submitted. For example, proposals may be related to results of empirical studies, theoretical or conceptual thinking, a specific program or initiative, a legal framework, and so forth.
The proposals will be evaluated by a scientific committee in accordance with two main criteria: its contribution to the knowledge (theoretical or practical) on mediation and the quality of the communication (conciseness, structure, and clarity).
Please note that the maximum number of presentations accepted by the scientific committee will be 84.
The final acceptance of your presentation will be conditional on the payment of registration fees to the conference.
Format of the proposals
Your proposal must be sent in Word format, in French, Spanish, or English.
Please note that due to the large number of proposals, the Scientific Committee will accept only one proposal per author(s).
Please send us your proposal indicating:
a. Title of the presentation (maximum of 70 characters)
b. Summary of the presentation (maximum of 300 words)
c. Name (in upper case) and first name (in lower case) of the author(s)
d. Institutional affiliation of the author(s) (university, organization, ministry …) or profession
e. Nationality and country of residence of the author(s)
f. Language you will use at the conference (French, Spanish, or English)
g. Email(s) of the author(s)
Format of presentation
If your proposal is accepted, please note that you will have 30 minutes, including 20 minutes for your presentation, followed by 10 minutes of discussion.
Dates to respect
Receipt of the proposal electronically:
15 March 2019
Electronic notification of the decision of the Scientific Committee:
31 Mars 2019
Payment of registration:
15 April 2019
Proposals should be send to Ms. Pascale NeumanCoordinator of the Xth World Mediation Forum Conference at the following address:pascale.worldmediationforum@hotmail.com.,
Please visit the website of the World Mediation Forum for more information.