ULusófona hosts international meeting on mediation in cities

Lusófona University - Porto University Centre hosted, on 17 April, the 2nd international conference dedicated to mediation within the scope of the VITEM - Building Cooperation Networks Between Mediating Cities project, integrated into the European Union’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV). This project includes the participation of 10 cities from different countries, namely France, Italy, Belgium, Spain and Portugal, with the aim of building a European Network of “Mediating Cities”.

The meeting created a space for sharing and reflection among members of the VITEM Consortium, institutional partners, specialists and the local community, focusing on the importance of mediation as a tool for social cohesion, educational quality and access to justice.

Throughout the day, discussions focused on Porto’s role as a “Mediating City”, the presentation of a field study on mediation within the territory, the dissemination of school, intercultural and Peace Court mediation projects, as well as a visit to the Agrupamento de Escolas Fontes Pereira de Melo.

Elisabete Pinto da Costa, Vice-Rector for Lifelong Learning and Pedagogical Innovation and Director of the Mediation Institute at Lusófona University, highlighted that the aim of this meeting was to “learn about good practices, understand experiences and also explore the research carried out in all these mediation activities”. She believes that this event represents an important step towards establishing mediation more firmly.

Matilde Rocha, Councillor for Education and for Talent and Knowledge at Porto City Council, who addressed School mediation in the educational policy of the municipality of Porto during the session, highlighted that school mediation projects have had “a very significant impact”, helping students and the school community understand that verbal and physical aggression are not appropriate ways of resolving conflicts, while instead promoting skills that enable peaceful solutions to be found.

The councillor added that mediation helps empower not only students, but also teachers, staff and parents or guardians, by providing tools for the peaceful management of conflicts and promoting a culture of dialogue within the school context. She also underlined the importance of continued investment in the training of teaching and non-teaching staff, in order to ensure that, in the future, school communities will be able to resolve conflicts autonomously, beyond the direct intervention of mediators.

The conference thus reinforced the importance of mediation in different social and educational contexts, promoting the exchange of experiences and best practices among the various European partners. Text edited by Susana A. Oliveira

View Event Photos on the ULusófona Facebook page

Text
Bruna Pereira

Coverage
Susana A. Oliveira

Video Editing
Lara Sousa

Photography Editing
Paulo Renato