The past week, in which we celebrated the first ten years of our work, was marked by a series of events, organized in cooperation with our partnering organizations.

On Thursday, November 1, 2018, at the Hilton hotel in Belgrade, we hosted a Business Breakfast on “Commercial Mediation – from Destructive Conflict to Constructive Resolution”, attended by over 60 representatives of commercial companies, legal and HR professionals, judges, attorneys, lawyers and managers. The event was organized by Partners Serbia and ADR Partners, in cooperation with the Serbian Association of Managers (SAM), with the support from MATRA Program of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Serbia. This was a unique opportunity for attendees to hear the experiences of the world renowned US mediators on how mediation can help resolve complex and delicate commercial disputes; learn about the development of mediation in commercial disputes in Croatia, and familiarize themselves with the currently most effective European mediation model applied in Italy. In addition to that, series of lectures in the field of alternative dispute resolution and mediation were recorded at the Partners Serbia office, and they will soon be made available on the E-learning platform.

Parallel with this event, at the Human Rights House, a closed meeting was held with twenty representatives of local, regional and international civil society organizations on the topic “Civil Society in the Changing World”.

On Friday, November 2, 2018, the Conference “10 Years of Partnering for Change” was held at Dorcol Platz, where we reflected on the first ten years of our work, through three panels dedicated to areas in which we developed our expertise – judicial reform, good governance and protection of human rights. More than 80 participants – our friends and associates from the judiciary, civil sector, media, independent bodies, state bodies, international organizations, had the opportunity to hear local and foreign experts from these areas, who shared their experiences in defending democratic values ​​and protecting the rule of law rights in their societies.

At the same time, in the Media Center, the three-hour accredited advanced workshop for licensed mediators was organized, in cooperation with the Serbian National Association of Mediators on the topic “Mediation in the USA and Europe”. Over 100 mediators had the opportunity to listen to eminent mediators from the US, Italy and Croatia, and to improve their mediation skills, as well as to obtain additional hours of specialization, which are required for license renewal.

The celebratory week ended with a big party at Dorcol Platz. If you’re interested in seeing how we celebrated our tenth birthday, please visit our FB page.