MEDIATION #222
The Two Mediators are close to drafting their Report to the Chief Executive of the Hedgewood City Council. The Mediation has broken new ground – moving away from husband + wife quarrels; neighbour aggravation or partnership breakdowns. It has played a role in bringing together social, political, financial + criminal issues to produce a possible new harmony in Hedgewood.
The breakthrough points were two fold; – first breaking the logjam on funding by bringing the Five Local Wealthies on board. Their commitment has helped to loosen the Treasury grip on funding + provided a pointer for future interaction between private wealth + Government expenditure. Second, Government has been encouraged to break new ground by intervening to requisition long-term empty residential properties + thereby provide much needed accommodation.
Within Hedgewood, the key inititative was to get around one table the nine representatives of the Three Groups (Ukrainians, Yemenis and Local Citizens) and commence the process of moving them away from a frigid uncommunicative start to a position where they began to share ownership of a common goal of helping the two refugee groups and the UK citizens to improve their lot re accommodation, schools, parks and medical facilities.
The outcome could have been different. The Local Wealthies could have held back on contributing their wealth; Government could have refused to meet “£ for £”; the coming together of the Three Groups could have been fractured by enmity + racism; there could have been an absence of empty flats + houses.
Mediations have a rhythm of their own. They can go off at a tangent. A loose word can lead to confrontation + it is up to the Mediators to use their experience to bring things back together.
But the point is that Mediation is a valuable process for getting busy within the Local Community on an across-the-board macro basis as well as on the more localised micro basis. Mediation is about much more than just access to the children or pay-outs to departing partners.
19 MAY 2022 – ARBITRATION
OVER BUSY ARBITRATORS AND THE CONSEQUENCES
0 Comments