Mediation Clinic Professors Join Symposium Training for International Visitors

From May 30 – June 3, 2023, the UC Law SF hosted an International Human Rights, Mediation & Restorative Justice Symposium, where Mediation Clinic professors from the Center for Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (CNDR) joined for two days of training.

Co-Chairs, Professor Kate Bloch and Director of the International Development Law Center, Jessica Vapnek, worked with sponsors at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti, the U.S. Embassy in Ghana, and the U.S. State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) in Kosovo to bring international visitors for a week of training and sharing of expertise. UC Law SF’s International Development Law Center supported the event.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, attorney and professor participants from Haiti, Ghana and Kosovo (Kosova) engaged in theoretical discussion and interactive exercises with the Mediation Clinic professors: Associate Dean for Experiential Learning Gail Silverstein, Deputy Director of CNDR Mattie Robertson, and Lecturer Betsy Candler.

The Mediation Team focused on clinical education, supervision of students in the mediation clinic, and mediation practices here in the US. The visitors dug into specifics and the group worked through many scenarios applying the concepts to mediation practices in their countries. The visitors also all gave fascinating presentations on mediation in their respective countries. Comparing norms and values of dispute resolution in varying cases led to some lively discussion, and everyone had a hard time saying goodbye at the end of the two mediation-focused days.