15 April 2024, New York, USA - UNITAR and Columbia Law School continued the spring 2024 iteration of their longstanding partnership programme, The Columbia University Law School Series, with the last session of the season titled “Mediation Skills Training”.

UNITAR Programme Coordinator, Mr. Nyle Pierre opened remarks on behalf of Mr. Marco Suazo, Head of the New York Office, talking about the importance of mediation skills in multiple fields of expertise, emphasizing that, conflict happens everywhere, and mediating is a crucial skill in resolving conflict. Professor Alex Carter, Director of Columbia Law School’s Mediation Clinic, then gave her remarks on this longstanding series and the fruitful partnership between UNITAR and Columbia Law School. She previewed the changes UNITAR and Columbia Law School plan to make for the Fall before providing her remarks and personal anecdotes on Mediation as a skill. She then proceeded to introduce the Columbia Law School team that will deliver the day’s presentation.

The last portion of the day’s training delved into the true nature of a mediator as opposed to what many believe a lawyer’s job is, which is litigation. They discussed the cruciality of being a neutral third party, particularly, the challenges of leaving behind one’s personal biases to perform the role to a high standard. A critical skill of this is active listening, which the participants practised in an interactive exercise. Finally, participants learned about the importance of asking certain types of questions as a mediator, namely, to prioritize open-ended questions and avoid closed-ended and yes or no questions.