The last quarter of 2011 was an exciting one, filled with opportunities to share our expertise. Through a series of training workshops and talks, we connected with a diverse group of individuals ranging from students to professionals.
EMCC held workshops for different groups of professionals on conflict management, focusing on mediation as an effective means of conflict resolution. Professionals from the education field, namely the allied health educators from schools in the North Zone cluster and teachers from Tampines Secondary, had their first taste of mediation under the guidance of EMCC’s expert mediator trainers. The workshops were held on 6 Oct and 2 & 3 Nov respectively. EMCC also concluded its third run of the “Basic Mediation Advocacy” workshops for working professionals for the year on 15 & 16 Nov.
Holding true to its cause of promoting the spirit of peacemaking in schools, EMCC conducted peer mediation workshops for Greendale Secondary on 9 & 10 Nov and Singapore Chinese Girls’ School on 24 & 25 Nov respectively. The students were taught foundational mediation skills to resolve interpersonal conflict within the school context and had opportunities to put the skills they learnt to test in fictional dispute scenarios.
Recognising that peace begins with the family, EMCC also worked closely with couples and parents to equip them with basic mediation skills within the family context. Collaborating with Marriage Central, husband-wife team comprising EMCC’s Principal Mediator Chia Swee Tin and EMCC Management Committee member Chia Kok Leong gave an inspiring talk titled “Fight to Love / Love to Fight” to couples on conflict management. Held on 19 Nov, the engaging couple shared with more than 50 couples on how they learn to normalise fights in their marriage journey of 40 years.
EMCC also brought its own brand of peacemaking to North Spring Primary School on 10 Nov where thirty-one parents had a first-hand account from EMCC’s Executive Director Benjamin Chan on parent-child conflict. Benjamin spoke extensively on the importance of connecting emotionally and establishing a strong bond between parent and child.
We hope that our training workshops will serve as a springboard from which a future cohort of mediation advocates can be nurtured, contributing to the peacemaking cause in the community.
