The Canadian-funded project aimed at Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean (IMPACT Justice) held an advanced community mediation workshop at the Regional Headquarters of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus in Jamaica last week. The workshop was held under and in accordance to its Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) component. The participants were twenty-four in all and they came from seven Caribbean countries namely, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and St Kitts and Nevis. The three-day workshop also comprised of academics, Attorneys-at-Law, clergymen, Police Officers, probation officers and social workers. The individuals who benefited were persons who were trained by IMPACT Justice in the area of basic community mediation and showcased aptitude and the capacity to be trained at the advanced level. The issues discussed comprised of gender and diversity issues, techniques in the settlement of family and property disputes, fees and pro bono services and the establishment of community mediation committees and service points. Participants were tasked in role-playing with their configurations reflecting what they would surface in their exercise.The aim of the training workshop is that the involved persons will be critical in the formation of community mediation service points and networks in their respective countries.
