School mediators of Chernihiv region on building a peaceful educational space

Educators are increasingly asking themselves how to make communication in a school environment pleasant and useful, where a large number of children, their parents and teachers are involved in the communication process. How to find a common language? Where to find a way out of a conflict situation?

Often, misunderstandings with classmates deepen the inner feelings of a teenager, who expresses them by committing unlawful acts and aggression against people. Therefore, in order to prevent these negative phenomena, counteract manifestations of bullying and violence, and create an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual understanding among students, school mediation (peaceful conflict resolution) should be introduced. Schoolchildren have many advantages over experienced specialists when resolving conflicts that arise between peers.

In order to disseminate the experience of implementing restorative approaches in creating a safe educational environment, the Summer School of Mediators was held in Chernihiv on August 18-21.

The event was initiated by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights at the request of school administrations of educational institutions of the Chernihiv region.

Thus, high school students and social educators of educational institutions in Chernihiv and Chernihiv region underwent training on “Activities of a mediator of the School Understanding Service in preventing and combating violence/bullying at school”.

Such training allows preparing specialists who will not only possess the skills of a mediator themselves, but will also be able to pass them on to others, educating new generations of school mediators.

“This role of student mentors is very important, because over time, trained mediators gradually graduate from school and their experience, in order not to be lost, must be passed on to younger ones. On the other hand, this role is also very responsible, since it is they who have the difficult task of not only interesting and inspiring future mediators, but also transferring all the necessary knowledge and skills,” emphasizes the school mediation trainer, expert of the NGO “Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights”

Kateryna Dankova

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During the training, the participants had the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to plan a training, work with a group, respond to difficult situations, apply the active learning model, etc. In addition, each of the participants was able to demonstrate their own coaching skills and receive appropriate feedback from the trainer Kateryna Dankova.

The event was organized by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights as part of the project “Local Communities of Chernihiv Region Against Domestic Violence” with the support of the Democracy Promotion Foundation of the US Embassy in Ukraine.