Peer Mediation workshop by expert committee

Workshops and seminars are an inherent part of our school education system. A workshop on peer mediation was conducted on 27 September, 2108 by a Peer Mediation Committee of renowned senior lawyers and educationists-Dr. Sanaya Nariman, chairperson and educationist, J.P. Singh, senior advocate and mediator, Sadhana Ramachandran, Veena Ralli, Amit Sehgal, Sumit Chander and Manika Agarwal - advocates and mediators. The workshop was conducted in the School auditorium.

They shared their unique idea of incorporating negotiation and mediation in the school system to resolve conflicts, confusions and differences amongst students. The session began with the presentation of a video in which two young boys tried to resolve the conflict of their parents through negotiation and mediation. The teachers were told about the process of mediation through a role play which was very engaging. It made the concept and the process of mediation clearer. This was followed by the plan of introducing the concept to students of classes VI to IX. The training to be imparted to the students of classes VIII and IX was scheduled for 28, 29th September and 1 October 2018.

On 28th September 2018, a workshop about peer mediation was conducted for the students of classes VI to IX. The mediation team introduced the process of peer mediation which is a way of resolving conflicts between two people or groups. The lawyers and the students also sang the anthem of Peer Mediation, Heal the World by Michael Jackson. Then, Sadhna conducted a small activity on how disagreements escalate and can turn into wars. Three of the lawyers also enacted a scene where a peer mediator was helping two students resolve their problems. It was quite interesting and humorous as they depicted the various stages of peer mediation.

The next day the selected young peer mediators entered the auditorium in excitement as at the end of the day they would be moving out as trained peer mediators! Mr. A. S. Chandiok, senior advocate and mediator, was a part of the workshop that day. His words of wisdom inspired all of us. The trained team from Madhyan welcomed us. Ms. Nariman introduced us to the topic and then discussed the causes of conflicts. Several activities made the session extremely interesting and engaging. Mr. J.P. Singh taught us about the qualities and effective skills of a mediator. Nothing better than a role play could have summed up this event. A skit presented by Ms. Amita Sehgal, Mr. Sumit Chander and Ms. Monika Aggarwal focused on the proceedings under mediation. After that the whole team of peer mediators was divided into groups and were given a situation on which we were to present a role play on 1st October. We ended the session of the day with a small quote by the father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi- If we are to teach real peace in this world and if we carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.

The task given to the peer mediators on the previous training session dealt with suggesting ways to resolve the fights between two students through mediation. The whole auditorium resounded with excited chatter of over 50 peer mediators. After following the instructions, all the teams presented their role plays. The mediator trainers went to every table offering the mediators tips and correcting them at various places. After an hours session the students left the auditorium as trained peer mediators.

The workshops successfully spread awareness about the peer mediation program introduced at our School. It was a very interactive and informative workshop.

Meenakshi Kamboj VIII-E Anushka Saxena IX-E Anushka Saxena IX-E Jigyasa Khokhar, School Counsellor