Of course, every facilitator knows how much hard work, courage, sophistication, and skill success often requires of them. But any lasting agreement requires the parties to 'own' the outcome of their talks. To the extent that facilitators claim credit for themselves, they reduce the parties' ownership in the fruits of any peace process. Usually such claims seriously damage the parties' trust in facilitators, and poison relationships with others in the peacebuilding community as well. More than any other temptation, the quest for credit for their own work is a major obstacle to the work of peacebuilders worldwide.
Facilitators can of course accept the acknowledgement and even the praise of others.
Negotiate a clear understanding among all parties early in any peace initiative regarding how to deal with the media. Not long ago, religious leadership in a war situation invested months of effort in gaining the agreement of key parties to attend peace talks. However, the facilitators failed to discuss the question of press contacts with the parties. A week before the talks were scheduled to take place, one of the parties announced to the press its intention to meet with other parties. The major opposing party, which had previously agreed to attend, immediately denounced the talks and made clear they had no intention of participating.