Abstract
This chapter focuses on a community mediation initiative in Nepal that employed participatory action research as the mode for understanding practice and the development of relevant training materials for local use. The approach permitted a better understanding of mediation at local levels that helped improve program strategies and mediator preparation.
We started seeing ourselves, those of us who are in and close to the actual mediations, as having resources to contribute to the training, and to see that we ourselves are in the best position to identify our needs, according to the realities of our communities, not according to somebody’s view from outside. This was a big change in how we saw ourselves.
—Hari Pandit (Kaski mediator, 2010)
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Notes
- 1.
The Asia Foundation (TAF) worked with Christopher Moore in Sri Lanka, who played a crucial role in designing and implementing community mediation programs under the Ministry of Justice there. These programs also used facilitative interest-based mediation, though the administrative approach was significantly different.
- 2.
By June 2017, registered cases had increased to 35,000, with 85% of these resolved through mediation.
- 3.
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Lederach, J.P., Thapa, P. (2018). Staying True in Nepal: Understanding Community Mediation Through Action Research. In: d'Estrée, T., Parsons, R. (eds) Cultural Encounters and Emergent Practices in Conflict Resolution Capacity-Building. Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71102-7_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71102-7_2
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