The Special Commission for Youth and Mediation aims to involve young people in mediation as much as possible. One way the Commission does this is by raising awareness of conflict management and mediation. The commission also aims to educate young people on resolving conflicts through effective communication. The Special Commission for Youth and Mediation also promotes youth participation by giving young people an appropriate voice in mediation when they are directly or indirectly involved in a conflict (for example, through their parents).
Why focus on young people?
Young people are the future of society. They will be responsible for solving the challenges of the future. For this reason, it is important to teach them how to resolve conflicts peacefully. By learning to communicate connectively as children, young people develop amicable conflict resolution as a reflex, an automatic response they can rely on when facing conflict.
Operations of the Commission
The Special Commission for Youth and Mediation consists of a core group of accredited mediators, which provides oversight for four steering groups composed of experts in the field:
- Two 'Youth and Dispute Resolution' steering groups that examine the role of young people in conflict resolution, both in judicial and extra-judicial contexts.
- Two 'Education and Awareness' steering groups that focus on the field of education. These commissions aim to educate young people about mediation and teach them how to approach conflict resolution.
For each theme, there is a Dutch-speaking and a French-speaking steering commission, as their work is closely linked to the competencies of the different communities. This enables the BCJB to maximise the expertise of its members within each language area.
Within the steering commissions, working groups of external experts are established to carry out specific projects.
The core group is made up of the Bureau of the Federal Mediation Commission and includes a chair and a vice-chair representing the respective language groups.
Explore our other commissions
Multiple commissions within the Federal Mediation Commission collaborate to strengthen mediation in Belgium. Learn more about how they operate: