The role of cultural mediator has not yet
obtained any recognition or legitimization
neither in Greece nor in many European
countries despite the fact that most of the
countries on the European territory are multinational, especially after the massive migration
flows from Far East, Middle East and Africa of
the last decades.
In Europe discussion on cultural mediation dates
back to '80s with reference on official
documents on 1990.[1]
Since 2000 various pilot projects [2] and
researches on mediation have been launched and
co-funded by the European Union as well as
Actions promoting cultural mediation training
and employment of trained cultural mediators in
the field of health, family law and housing in
some EU member-states, including Greece.
SONETOR [3], a multi-lateral project launched in 2011
aiming to train cultural mediators utilizing social
networking software, has elaborated among others a
detailed comparative user needs analysis in the fields
of legislation, training, collaboration and skills
definition in order to clearly define the knowledge,
skills and competences that professional cultural
mediators must possess. That has lead to the creation
of a draft job profile for the cultural mediator which
includes all knowledge, skills and competencies
necessary for effective cultural mediation services.
To guarantee suitability and proficiency of the cultural
mediator a legal framework is needed to recognize and
legitimize the role of cultural mediator with registered
professional rights.
According to the Report of the International Social Service
(ISS) in Berlin (2 Aug. 2006)[4] based on a survey about
mediation-related process carried out in nine countries
worldwide, there is no general agreed definition of the word
“mediation” worldwide. Only European countries and South
Africa have a relatively consistent and well-defined
understanding of “mediation” compared to the other
countries participating in the survey. The same report
suggests there should be established a united recognized
certificate for mediators in Europe.
Greece is one of the countries in Europe that have
shifted from a traditionally migrant country to a host
country for migrant flows in significant numbers during
the last decades.
Nowadays cultural mediation in Greece has become
more essential than ever before.
Cultural mediation is the key element to the smooth
integration of migrants in the host society. Therefore it is
absolutely necessary for cultural mediators and
stakeholders to provide their services in conform to
common standards and professional ethics.
Literature overview and experience from
SONETOR have provided us with valuable
conclusions regarding mediation in general and
cultural mediation in particular.
These conclusions have inspired us to proceed
with a survey on cultural mediators training
process in Greece. To that end, we made out a
questionnaire divided into thematic sections in
order to support our research.
REFERENCES:
[1] Simone Casadei, Massimiliano Franceschetti, Il Mediatore cultural in sei Paesi
europei (Italia, Francia, Germania, Grecia, Regno Unito e Spagna) ambiti di
intervento, percorsi di accesso e competenze, Report di ricerca, Istituto per lo
sviluppo della formazione professionale dei lavoratori (ISFOL), Italia, 2005-2007.
[2] Mediation, Guide to Good Practice under the Hague Convention of 25
October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
[3] http://www.sonetor-project.eu/project-description/objectives/
[4] THE HAGUE CONFERENCE ON PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW, Special
Commission of October/November 2006 on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction, Answers from International Social Service to the questionnaire
concerning the practical operation of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980,
(Report), ISS Germany, Berlin, 2/8/2006.
Major research questions that led us to create the aforementioned questionnaire
were on:
 what education programmes are offered for cultural mediation in Greece?
 is the profile of cultural mediators in Greece in conform to the draft job profile
set by SONETOR?
 are cultural mediators in Greece trained and qualified?
 what sector do cultural mediators usually offer their services in Greece?
 is there any certification on cultural mediation?
 are migrants informed on their right to ask for cultural mediation services?
 what is the public opinion on cultural mediation?
 what are the weaknesses of cultural mediation education & training in Greece?
 what can we learn from the European and international experience?
 how important is to have qualified and specifically trained cultural mediators?
 how can we mobilize decision- and policy-makers to launch a legal framework
for cultural mediation?
The results of our survey are to be used in a primary
research on the education of Cultural Mediator in Europe
and in Greece.
Aim of our research is to show the necessity cultural
mediators be trained by a multidisciplinary curricula and
the need to have the role of cultural mediator be registered
with professional rights.
Material: Questionnaire of 65 questions divided into 10
sections: General, Personal information, Cultural mediation
at work, Education on Cultural mediation, Public opinion
and the role of Cultural mediator, Migrants and Cultural
mediators, Certifications, Cultural mediation and IT
technology, Cultural mediation abroad, Poll on the
population intentions.
We are please to present herebelow some
indicative results of our survey.
Note: the original research has been carried out in
Greek on www.surveymonkey.com therefore the
resulting graphs have been exported in Greek. To
your convenience I will translate them on the spot,
therefore I ask for your kind understanding.
Last but not least in our survey was a pole on the
intentions of the population (see below indicative
result).
Concluding,
since cultural mediation is a major
topic in the political agendas in
Europe, as it is related to all
aspects of society functioning,
there is a vast area that still need
to be researched in the future.
Thank you for your kind attention
HAVE A NICE EVENING!