is a newly developed professional program on the interdisciplinary topic of Mindful Mediation & Holistic Conflictology in English language. This professional online program is divided into three different levels of engagement, and offers each student the possibility to connect, learn, practice, and in the widest sense of the private instructions delivered by an international team of expert professionals. The program is divided into 6 chapters per level and should be finished within the time frame of 1 semester, accordingly 6 months. Due to its private teaching approach, the student can enroll at any time and is empowered to study at her / his own pace, while keeping up with the target of finishing one chapter per month. The professional diploma program is based on international research results but more importantly includes real life expert’s comprehensive input and expertise from the field of Mindful Mediation and Conflictology.
The WMO Professional Diploma Program is set up by three different levels, namely: 1) Practitioner, 2) Researcher, and 3) Lecturer. Students are free to progress from level to level. Each level deepens the understanding of the corresponding topic and strengthens the understanding of the topic’s complexity and the ability to discover and use the potential linkages between the chapters. Thereby, the student may advance in her / his professional development in a consecutive way, until reaching the proper competencies of being a facilitator, sharing individually gained expertise and findings gathered on the path of professional advancement. The pedagogic concept includes self-reflection, thematic input, interactive tasks, putting the content to practice, professional writing. The purpose of this program is to equip the student with the most practical tools, that enable the individual to become a free and independent professional who initiates peace and acts as a sustainable change maker. Therefore, WMO does not only want to talk about being a platform of transformative change but truly intends to be the change at all.
“I am thrilled to see such an outstanding set of international faculty being part of this program and offering the individual student, in a private teaching approach, the true depth and hidden insights of the art of mediation. This is a unique chance for any student to get the best out of the topic by benefiting from expert’s perspectives from around the globe, and being engaged in the most efficient and practical related mediation program worldwide. “
Introduction: This cross-border and cross-cultural training does not intend to impose a western style of Mindful Mediation and Holistic Conflictology on another culture. The content of this program emulsifies with the cultural background and language of the student and allows him or her to become a unique professional. In this way, WMO is able to offer the only worldwide achievable educational program series that truly respects and works with global diversity. If a potential student feels that all this is true and highly valuable, then (s)he may understand that to become a successful and effective professional requires to explore the topic’s inner logic.
Personal Statement from the Director: ‘I believe that each of us should open her- / himself in order learn a very important lesson, namely that Mindful Mediation is a process of healing other person’s conflicts and an active contribution to healing society. We should try to raise the awareness of this potential skill that lies within each of us. I do not want you to study thousands of pages and endless concepts and models to be kept in mind. I want you to properly understand what the core of Mindful Mediation and Holistic Conflictology is, and to truly enable you to create a positive and sustainable benefit to mankind. It will be more about self-reflection instead of enhancing the quantity of topics to be studied. The clue is the proper personal understanding of what mediation may be on a very individual basis and how it can be developed while including all the diversity that life offers. This is the true secret of my mediation, what I later on called, Mindful Mediation. This educational concept grants all necessary space for you to create your own conceptual understanding of mediation. What means that ‘my mediation’ turns into ‘your mediation’ without injecting any sort of dogma to your mind. Therefore, this course will introduce you to deep listening, critical thinking, and wise speaking. Personally, I wish that this content will serve you and your environment at its best.’
Structure and Content: The curriculum of this program series follows a consecutive development roadmap of insights, understanding, and the ability to make use of the specific content in real life. In order to understand the value and impact of the shared insights, we ask the student to put the content into practice and to evaluate the importance and change-making potential of the program material and the support of our international staff of lecturers. Following the preamble on Peace Education, our students become consultants, investigators, and trainers for the field of conflictology at the same time. The core topics of all three levels are: Mindful Mediation, Social Conflict Psychology, Effective Communication, Analytical Conflictology, International Diplomacy, Critical Thinking and Academic Writing – From Theory to Practice.
The learning process that you are about to experience, shows each topic or syllabus being structured into three parts, namely into: Section A – a self-reflection, Section B – the main content of the chapter with specific tasks to answer and realize, and Section C – an article that needs to be created. Basically, the program leads you from one section to the next one. Therefore, you simply have to follow the instructions scheduled in the content and to remember the proper goal that you set yourself, namely the development and further improvement of your personal and professional skills. The program series, equips you with the necessary quantity of key skills and insights to truly work in the field. You will be able to truly understand, remember, and use the skills in due form. Additionally, you will understand that the delivered content is the starting point to finally discover and create your proper and very own version of the topic.
The scheduled workload per level is about 10 hours per week, meaning a maximum of 40 hours per month or module. In addition to these 40 hours of theory, please add about 60 hours of using the new knowledge and insights in a practical and mindful way. Hereby, we face a monthly workload of 100 hours (theory and practice), and 600 hours for one complete level.
“ To serve well to the world, we need to recognize the damage done by practices that control and oppress the human spirit. Although, throughout history, more humanized treatments and more inclusive social practices have emerged, many people with psychological suffering remain objects of segregative practices. The so-called crazy offenders are typically condemned to real life imprisonments and to silence. It is important to give voice to these people and to promote liberating actions. It is not possible to change the world as a whole and save people from their sickness. However, it is possible, in each encounter, to be an agent of some transformation; even if small, even if not ideal. Unwavering belief in the possibilities of transformation allows us to persevere in the construction of shared outlets with those who suffer. It is important to be aware of this nowadays, especially when we see the assumption of political powers that do not promote policies favorable to the inclusion of different people..“
During this course, you will learn:
To understand the root causes of conflict,
To understand mindful conflict management strategies,
To understand how to create a meaningful conflict analysis,
To understand how to unveil information hidden behind human behavior,
To understand and to realize crisis communication in a sensitive context.
To understand the psychological complexity of a person in a conflict setting.
The program series is highly interactive and basically, your progress depends on your proper engagement and participation. This program will teach a comprehensive list of topics, that will be intensively analyzed and put into practice. The conceptual idea of the program is, that the content connects to your socio-cultural settings that you guard in your unconsciousness. Together, we will re-discover your personality and identify your diversity. We help you to create your understanding of the content and to create your very individual style of practicing the art of Mindful Mediation and Holistic Conflictology.
Mindful Mediation:
This topic develops your conflict resolving competencies in an intercultural and non-armed environment. We believe that „Mediation is a social core skill that lies veiled within each of us.“ By using the term of Mindful Mediation, we want you to understand that mediation is not a single method but more likely a conglomerate of diverse competencies and skills. By promoting a constructive dialogue within an area of mutual respect and non-escalated armed conflict (previously named: ‘culture of peace‘), it is intended to make the individual reflect in order to identify a person’s point of view, to raise awareness towards social and political conceptions and responsibilities, and to communicate knowledge that may assist in creating enduring solutions to conflicts and tensions created by human interactions, states, and organizations.
Social Conflict Psychology:
This course provides an up-to-date integration of some of the most recent developments in social psychological research on social conflict and aggression, one of the most perennial and puzzling topics in all of psychology. It offers an informative, scholarly yet readable overview of recent advances in research on the nature, antecedents, management, and consequences of interpersonal and intergroup conflict and aggression. The chapters share a broad integrative orientation, and argue that human conflict is best understood through the careful analysis of the cognitive, affective, and motivational processes of those involved in conflict situations, supplemented by a broadly-based understanding of the evolutionary, biological, as well as the social and cultural contexts within which social conflict occurs.
Effective Communication:
This course provides students with a thorough introduction to the vast body of scholarship in the field while showing how understanding and applying the research helps us achieve our interpersonal communication objectives, whether our goals are self-presentational, relational or instrumental. Students are empowered to be effective communicators in today’s rapidly changing and technologically advanced society. An innovative theory-skill framework, integrated in every chapter, uniquely combines theory and practice, eliminating the perceived division between them while clarifying their fundamental interconnections. The content addresses challenges to effective communication caused by interpersonal, intrapersonal, intergroup or intragroup conflict, and role of communication in resolving such conflicts.
Analytical Conflictology:
This interdisciplinary topic introduces students to important theoretical perspectives on modern understanding of conflict and conflict response. Specifically, students explore the biological / physiological, psychodynamic, social psychological, communication, and sociological / political perspectives on conflict by reading and discussing major theoretical works within each perspective. Emphasis is on comparing and distinguishing key dimensions of these theories, such as the nature and sources of conflict, conflict escalation, conflict response, and the nature of the third party role. The course explores the usefulness of each perspective to understand the experience of conflict using case studies, exercises, and discussions to draw upon personal experiences, including those involving race and social identity.
International Diplomacy:
This course is a timely discussion about dispute settlement between states by using a neutral party. It focuses on conciliation and reconciliation on a broad scale, making specific emphasis on Mediation and related tools. A diplomatic mediation may occur whenever there is a need to reach an agreement between two or more states but the parties feel that they may benefit from having a third party mediate the dispute. Lack of familiarity on the part of politicians, diplomats and other national officers often hinders reaching a suitable agreement between the parties. This course teaches the background and “how to” areas about how to conduct a mediation and reach an agreement. The need for these skills – mediation and diplomacy- are greatly needed in the world we live today.
Critical Thinking & Academic Writing:
This topic deals with the necessity of analyzing conflict and gathering the obtained knowledge, to sum it up, to make it merge with each other, and to put it into practice. This is truly a very challenging moment and process that will take a lifetime. Due to our belief that we are part of constant changes, it is only logical that also our belief system, our point of view and the management of our social skills constantly change and hopefully always improve. Accordingly, it is now time for you to look behind the curtain, to unveil what is the hidden message behind a statement, and make people see what third parties try to veil. This is the moment when academic insights, practical expertise, and a person’s visions have to opportunity to merge and to create a sustainable and lasting foundation stone of peace in society.
WMO promotes respectful intercultural and non-armed understanding. We believe that „Mediation is a social core skill that lies veiled within each of us.“
WMO offers a wide range of reflective activities that initiate positive transformative processes in our international members .
WMO points out that we need to spread our positive findings in our environment. We need you to be a change maker, as there is no change without you!
