USP Mediators and Conciliators Training Course

PRIP-USP/Ribeirão Preto Law School. Venue: Ribeirão Preto Law School

Coordination: Antonio Rodrigues de Freitas Jr. and Célia Zaparolli

Schedule: Fridays, 9 am to 12 pm and 1 pm to 5 pm

Period: August 2 to October 25, 2024 (lecture module)

Objective
To train conflict mediators and conciliators with the skills to work in the university environment, qualified to mediate conflicts at USP and other universities.

Syllabus
Lecture Module: 70 hours in 10 sessions. In-person attendance at 80% of the lecture module sessions is mandatory for certification as a private conciliator/mediator to work with the University. Students who complete the theoretical module with at least 80% attendance and pass an individual assessment may take the practical module. Practical Module: 60 hours of supervised internship in projects and programs indicated by the course coordination.

I. Theoretical Lecture Module – 70 hours, 10 sessions, 7 hours per session

Session 1 – August 2

9 am to 11 am
– Opening: USP Office of the Provost for Inclusion and Belonging and other representatives of partner institutions;
– Presentation of the scope of the Training Course.

11 am to 12 pm
– The experience of conflict mediation at Unicamp.

Lunch break

1 pm to 5 pm
– Origins and background of ADR and Conflict Management Design programs;
– Conflict Theory and Culture of Peace: concept, elements, propaedeutics and related
concepts

Session 2 – August 9

9 am to 12 pm
– Conflict and coexistence in Education.

Lunch break

1 pm to 5 pm

– Theory and Pragmatics of Communication: axioms, communication strategies, narrative techniques, verbal and non-verbal communication, active listening. Nonviolent Communication. Communication in interaction patterns and human relationships: sociological and psychological aspects. Conceptual premises of self-composition.

Session 3, August 23

9 am to 12 pm
– “Me and the service”. Contributions of Psychology to Mediation.

Lunch break

1 pm to 5 pm
– Change and Negotiation. Concept: integrating and distributing value in negotiations. Basic negotiation techniques (positions, separating people from problems, focus on interests, creating options, standards, objective criteria, best alternative to a negotiated agreement, alternative negotiation techniques such as rapport, turning adversaries into partners and effective communication). Harvard Model, data from the “British Model”, stages, exercises.

Session 4, August 30

9 am to 12 pm
– Tragic Choices and Criteria of Justice. Local justice in Jon Elster.

Lunch break

1 pm to 5 pm
– Conciliation. Concept and philosophy, judicial and out-of-court, techniques (reframing, identifying implicit proposals, active listening, mirroring, generating options, organizing the parties’ issues and interests, reality testing, reality data, monitoring agreements). Stages of conciliation. Closing the conciliation. Formalizing the agreement. Essential elements of the conciliation record (identification of the parties, nature of the conflict, content of the legal transaction, deadlines, penalty clauses). Data recording and statistics. Conciliation in different practical contexts and areas of use. Exercise.

Session 5, September 13

9 am to 12 pm
– Mediation. Definition, concept and philosophy. Interdisciplinarity. Judicial and out-of-court mediation, prior and incidental, in public policy. Exercise/film. Facilitative, Transformative, Evaluative and Circular-Narrative Models. Stages of mediation: pre-mediation; techniques and tools such as co-mediation, reframing, identifying implicit proposals, communication techniques (questions, active listening), generating options, reality testing, reality data, organizing the parties’ issues and interests; monitoring agreements.

Lunch break

1 pm to 5 pm
– Quality in the Mediation and Conciliation Process. Authority, power, emotion; grief; addictions; akrasia; overcoming barriers in mediation: lack of information; violence in the session. Exercise. Film. Mediation in different contexts.

Session 6, September 20

9 am to 12 pm
– The Lawyer in Mediation. Litigation culture. The presence of lawyers in sessions. Parameters and ethical issues in the lawyer’s role. Ethics in Mediation.

Lunch break

1 pm to 5 pm
– Online Dispute Resolution. Community mediation, networks. Other conflict management tools: assisted facilitation. Crisis management.

Session 7, September 27

9 am to 12 pm
– Mediation in Labor Relations: Code of Good Practice.

Lunch break

1 pm to 5 pm
– USP Ethical and Disciplinary Proceedings;
– Mediation in Public Administration and Disciplinary Proceedings: designing conflict and crisis resolution systems.

Session 8, October 4

9 am to 12 pm
– Gender & Identities;
– Mediation and gender-based violence.

Lunch break

1 pm to 5 pm
– Racism & Recreational Racism. Dimensions of Diversity and Conflict: a dialogue.

Session 9, October 18

9 am to 12 pm
– Hybrid Methods. Restorative Justice and Multicultural and Diversity Mediation: gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnic origin, religious faith. Multiparty mediation. Exercise.

Lunch break

1 pm to 5 pm
– ADR, appropriate or consensual methods: distinguishing features. Areas of use of mediation/conciliation: business, family, consumer, civil liability, social security, labor, criminal, restorative justice; links with other fields of knowledge. Mediation and Ombudsman Programs. Elements for designing integrated systems.

Session 10, October 25

9 am to 12 pm
– Project Workshop: design.

Lunch break

1 pm to 5 pm
– Proposed supervised internship model;
– Student assessment.

After the lecture module, students will take the Practical Module, with 60 hours of supervised internship in projects and programs indicated by the course coordination. The practical module must be completed within six months after the end of the lecture module.