European Forum for Restorative Justice - Leuven Belgium / Belfast Northern Ireland

Michael Klitching, Chair International Forum for Restorative Justice, David Ford, Justice Minister for Northern Ireland and Tim Chapman, University of Ulster - Conference Chairman outside Queens University, Belfast

Whilst traditional mediation places a focus on re-engaging relationships, it has never been a core aim. Mediation, being party-led, goes only where the parties choose to go - frequently to reach a working agreement, but not to fix their relationship.

That is fine, but what if the parties to a dispute wish also to restore a trading, contractual, employment, operational, social, or other working relationship?

Restorative Justice (RJ) used to be the term for 'interventions between victims of crime and offenders'. Over the last few years, RJ has transcended this simple definition to become a highly recognised transformative technique for 'fixing relationships' of all kinds. Herein is its power.

After the European Forum's 'Accessibility and Initiation of Restorative Justice conference' in Leuven, Belgium in May 2014, I went on to join the Forum's 8th International three day Conference 'Beyond Crime- Pathways to Desistance, Social Justice and Peacebuilding', this year held in June at Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, supported by the University of Ulster.

It is hard to imagine a more illustrious line-up of plenary speakers - Shadd Maruna and Kieran McEvoy, University of Belfast; Joanna Shapland, University of Sheffield; John Braithwaite, Australian National University; Tove Malloy, European Centre for Minority Issues; and Brunilda Pali, Catholic University of Leuven. Throughout the three days, there were fifty five parallel workshops, each headed by experts in their field, many with international expertise - Northern Ireland, Romania, Germany, Tasmania, Portugal, Estonia, Singapore, Hungary, Russia, Ireland, UK, New Zealand, Netherlands, Spain, Norway, Albania, Macedonia, Belgium, Austria, Canada, Finland, Serbia, Sweden, Brazil, USA, Italy, Chile.

A summary such as this can only adequately address 'net effect'. Just as travel broadens the mind, so international collaboration broadens both vision and skill sets. The net effect for me as a facilitator was the opportunity to witness the communality of approach amongst other facilitators, and to experience the elements that inject energy into a process which at times can be very challenging.

Restorative Justice, whilst reminiscent of interventions in crime, has become the advance-track of the mediation movement. For public organisations, trading companies and in the workplace - facilitators out there - take notice and learn skills and approaches from RJ practitioners. Ignore them at your peril!