In order for disputants to understand each other's stories they must have an appreciation for who they are in terms of their lived experience. As well, an understanding of the forms and structures of society and culture helps to set the agenda and determine the issues to be discussed during the mediation process. Integrating these key elements into the traditional models will help to establish a baseline for approaching the mediation of a racial or ethnocultural conflict. Such conflicts are traumatic for the disputants. Whether they are the victim or the perpetrator, disputants need to be empowered to understand their behaviour so that resolution is deep seeded.
Racism requires action.
Failure to respond to racism and acknowledging it in the mediation process condones racism. Claude Grimmond is Coordinator of Youth Services for the Positive Peer Culture Program, Westview Centennial S.S. in North York, Canada, and a mediator and training consultant. All rights reserved. Inc. All rights reserved.