Inclusion and ownership in mediation - seminar
On 24.10, Otto Kivinen (Deputy Director, Centre for Peace Mediation, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland) and Paula Tarvainen (Senior Advisor, Right to Peace at Finn Church Aid) travelled from Finland to Türkiye to give a seminar about “inclusion and ownership in mediation”.
The seminar was part of the “Mediation for Peace Certificate Program“, organized by The Diplomacy Academy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Türkiye. The program was organized for junior diplomats from OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) states.
Mediation is a vital component of Finland's foreign and security policy, emphasizing peaceful conflict resolution and prevention. Recognizing that sustainable solutions to violent conflicts must involve the parties themselves, Finland plays a supportive role through mediation, helping to foster peace and stability—an outcome beneficial also for its own interests.
The establishment of the Centre for Peace Mediation within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 2020 underscores Finland's commitment, leveraging its diplomatic network to enhance state-level mediation efforts. Finland champions meaningful participation of women and youth in peace processes, aligns with international frameworks like the UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security and Youth, Peace and Security, and promotes the role of religious and traditional peacemakers. Additionally, Finland's expertise in water diplomacy addresses climate-related tensions, further integrating these initiatives into its broader foreign policy.
Through active participation in international forums and cooperation with civil society, Finland strengthens its reputation as a mediator, aiming for long-term stability and development in conflict-affected regions.
The seminar included participants from OIC member countries such as Türkiye, Uganda, Chad, Burkina Faso, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Malaysia, and Palestine among others. In the seminar, we learned about the importance of the inclusion of different actors in the peace process in order to create an efficient and fair process that has potential to create a lasting peace or ceasefire.
The seminar also focused on the role of traditional and religious peacemakers and complementarity of actors. The role and importance of insider mediators was especially highlighted and in the end, the participants put the teachings into action through a group exercise that touched on the Colombian peace process.
