The JADE Mediation Practice Group is an initiative created by four ADR grads. Our goal is to create a supportive and educational environment in which students and graduates of ADR/Mediation programs have the opportunity to practice their mediation skills, receive feedback from experienced practitioners, connect with peers and mentors, and support one another.
JADE offers monthly sessions in which participants sign-up in advance to take part in a practice mediation session. Since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, the sessions have been taking place online via Zoom, and this has allowed JADE to reach more people than ever before.
Each JADE session will have a specific focus, e.g. family, elder, workplace, community, and participants will select their preferred role, e.g. mediator, party, counsel, observer. There will frequently be experienced mediators available to observe and provide constructive feedback.
JADE provides carefully selected coaches who, in addition to being experienced mediators, are skilled at giving feedback in a supportive and constructive manner. We believe this will be especially important for mediators who are new to the field and need the opportunity to hone their skills. It also provides the opportunity for more advanced mediators to continue to build their skill set in a supportive and informative environment.
Above all, JADE is about building community. Even though JADE is based in the Greater Toronto Area, we have members joining us on our online sessions from across the country. Every session ends with a group hug – yes, we even do this virtually on Zoom – and it is symbolic of the mutual respect shown among participants, and the community of support that we hope to build.