Name of the organization/initiative and year of foundation

Odesa Regional Mediation Group (ORMG) was established in 1994 to test and implement mediation and facilitation in various spheres of public life. ORMG has been working in the field of mediation since 1995.

Mission

Development of mediation and non-violent methods of conflict resolution, mediation market, and mediation profession.

Actions and projects in the context of armed conflict

ORMG is a member of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) international network in Eastern Europe responsible for mediation, dialogue, early conflict prevention, and gender issues. ORMG’s primary focus is the development of the mediation practice (since 2016 by launching a commercial project “Center for Mediation and Negotiation CMN”), organization and facilitation of dialogues, and training for mediators and facilitators.

Since 1995, ORMG created the first precedent for mediation in civil court (1997). In 1999, they developed and implemented a model of a peer mediation center in schools, in 2003 – a model of a Municipal Juvenile Center based on the principles of restorative justice and mediation in criminal cases, and in 2004-2007 – a model for the introduction of mediation into the local government system in the agricultural area of Crimea. ORMG initiated and organized the first specialized international conference “Modern Practice of Mediation” with the Coalition for the Promotion of Mediation in 2012 and international conferences on dialogue together with and under the support of the OSCE Project Coordinator Office in 2014 and 2019 in Odesa. In 2014, ORMG established in Odesa the first dialogue platform in Ukraine in the aftermath of the Maidan Revolution and the outbreak of the war, and developed the Odesa Model of Dialogue (a system of measures and approaches in community aiming at conflict transformation).

ORMG trainers were involved in the peacebuilding activities and development of mediation programs in Moldova, North Caucasus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Montenegro, and Belarus. ORMG is actively participating in the process of lawmaking, its members co-authored several draft laws on mediation.