Nikolai Borisov, Project Director UMG is a network of independent, nonprofit organizations that provide conflict resolution services throughout Ukraine. The mission of UMG is to promote mediation and dispute resolution in Ukraine and, in the process, strengthen civil society and democratic reform. The SCG-UMG collaboration has led to a series of professional exchanges, mediation training seminars, and projects, which have encouraged Ukrainians' efforts to influence the ways in which their society deals with conflict. The Ukrainian Mediation Group has designed a training program to certify conflict resolution specialists.
Graduates mediate labor, family, commercial, and consumer disputes.
In the last year, the program has involved nearly 100 participants, including judges, lawyers, psychologists, teachers, and students. UMG has been working with a core of Ukrainian judges who outsource cases to UMG mediators. UMG hopes to expand its experience in court-annexed mediation in order to contribute to the legal reform process in Ukraine. UMG has worked to provide consulting services for enterprises in various stages of the privatization process. UMG has worked closely during the past two years with high schools to develop conflict resolution and peer mediation programs.