EU Community of Practice on Peace Mediation 2022
Mediation in a challenging international environment:
building partnerships for sustainable peace
Dear Community,
The 2022 EU Community of Practice on Peace Mediation (CoP) took place on 26-27 October in Brussels and online. More than 750 people registered for the over 20 hybrid panel sessions that were organised - with a maximum concurrent participants of 120 joining online and up to 110 joining in-person.
The EU Community of Practice for Mediation engaged with a wide range of civil society actors and policy-makers from around the world, providing concrete recommendations on how to further build partnerships for sustainable peace in an increasingly challenging international environment. Comprehensive content was produced and subsequently condensed for our CoP 2022 report and a “Summary Whiteboard”, which is accessible on the top of the website.
The kick off meeting of the EU CoP included an Opening Panel on Trends and Perspectives for EU Mediation, with Benedikta von Seherr-Thoss (EEAS, Managing Director, CSDP and Crisis Response), Fatima Maiga (Founding Member and President of the Coalition des Femmes Leaders Nord, Sud et Centre du Mali (NSC). Miroslav Lajčák (EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue and Western Balkan Regional Issues) and Sonya Reines-Djivanides (EPLO, Executive Director).
The different hybrid sessions produced interactive maps with key takeaways which were cumulated into a visual report (summary whiteboard) and was shared with the community. The visual report is complemented with the CoP22 written report, summarizing the main points raised, and outline some of the key recommendations for the EU and the wider mediation community.
Please find the whiteboards of each panel by clicking on the link below.
Two days of hybrid format
Drawing on both the advantage to meet in person and the possibility for a more inclusive and wider group brought in through the virtual space.
Participating in person:
Last years CoP22 took place in Hotel Martin´s on Boulevard Charlemagne 80. The venue allowed for approximately 80 participants joining physically in Brussels. In person participation were therefore subject to availability on a first come first served basis.
Participating virtually:
Most sessions were streamed online and we were glad to welcome participants joining CoP22 virtually over Zoom.
Engaging virtually:
Building on the successful experiences of previous years, CoP22 featured an online whiteboard that was divided into two parts. On one side the content discussed in the panels was visualized in real-time by a dedicated dialogue mapper. On the other side of the online whiteboard, online participants were able to post their ideas, questions and comments. Moreover, the Zoom chat was disabled but participant could raise their hands and take the floor for asking questions. For more information on the digital methods of CoP22, please click here
Propose issues that are important to you: We were grateful about multiple, innovative proposals to enhance the EU approach to mediation. Sessions were run by the people who proposed them, and provided an opportunity to feed into future EU mediation planning.
Ready? If you have any further questions, please reach out to isabella.bjorkman@cmi.fi
Background
The 2022 EU Community of Practice on Peace Mediation (CoP) took place as the EU peace mediation is facing unprecedented challenges. War is waging at the doorstep of the European Union, and numerous other violent conflicts continue or risk outbreak in different regions of our interconnected world. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has had a major impact not only on the European but also on the global peace and security architecture. All this leaves the mediation practitioner community with many questions as to the place and role of peace mediation and dialogue.
In this era, enhancing the potential of partnerships in peace mediation is particularly pertinent. This should entail reinforcing existing and building new partnerships for joint and complementary mediation approaches that contribute to lasting peace.
Organised since 2019, the CoP is an annual event, convening EU and international actors, policy makers, mediation practitioners, experts and representatives of civil society from around the globe. It allows discussions on the current state and the future of EU mediation and enables knowledge exchange and constructive reflections on challenges and lessons identified, with the aim of formulating concrete recommendations for continuous improvements.
The first CoP took place in person, while the 2020 and 2021 editions migrated to the virtual format amidst the covid pandemic. The fourth edition, on 26-27 October 2022, took place in a hybrid format, with both physical (in Brussels) and online participation. Since May 2022, a Steering Committee convened by the EU Mediation Support Team led the preparations of the event.
In light of new challenges, the event allowed the Community to highlight the importance of mediation and dialogue support as key tools of EU foreign policy. Importantly, it enabled gathering concrete recommendations from the practitioner community on how to further enhance EU mediation, in particular the implementation of the 2020 Concept on EU Peace Mediation and the EEAS Peace Mediation Guidelines.
Please note: With exception of the opening and closing panel, all sessions took place under the Chatham House Rule.
On 27, 28 and 29 April 2021, the Mediation Support Team of the European External Action Service hosted the Third EU Community of Practice on Peace Mediation (CoP). During the online three-day event, EU actors, policy makers, mediation practitioners and members of civil society joined to cast the future of EU mediation, reflect on challenges, and share lessons to help drive forward key issues.