In our interview series, entitled “Peace Talks”, we speak to peacemakers with different backgrounds and life stories, and ask them to share their thoughts and reflections.
This edition of "Peace Talks" features Jeevasree from Commonwealth Secondary School:
Q: How did you feel about the Peacemakers Conference 2017?
Peacemakers Conference 2017 was an amazing experience! I was able to meet so many new people and had so much fun while learning many new things that are useful in life. It was an enjoyable experience as well, since we were able to learn through fun activities while making new friends.
Q: What was your favourite part of the Conference?
The competition rounds were my favourite and most memorable part of the Conference. We were given the opportunity to test our mediation skills with our friends from both our schools and different schools in front of guest judges. Given a scenario, we had to either act as mediators and help solve our friends’ problems, or we had to act out as the friends in trouble. Not only were we able to get the experience of how it would feel like as a mediator, but we were also able to get feedback to improve, and also have fun in being an actor!
Q: What is an example of you applying what you learned in the Conference in real life?
I was able to help many of my friends whenever they had problems by better understanding their problems, and reading their facial expressions and reactions more effectively. I was also able to apply mediation and help them to solve their own problems independently.
For example, there was once when 3 of my friends were involved in a quarrel. It was taking a while for them to solve their problems and talk things through. Thus, I brought them somewhere to talk in private. I mostly sat there quietly and asked questions instead of giving them advice, to help them understand the situation and their own feelings as well as the other party's feelings better. This helped them to find a solution together, understand each other and the situation better, and learn from their mistakes as well
Q: If you had one piece of advice for incoming participants of the Peacemakers Conference 2018, what would it be?
The Peacemakers Conference may seem like a waste of time at first, but always have an open mind and bond with your group to make it a more enjoyable and better experience for you. I think that the lessons learnt are actually useful in life, and many of my friends think so as well!
For more pictures and videos of the Peacemakers Conference 2017, please visit the Peacemakers Facebook Page.
As Singapore’s leading peer mediation experts, Peacemakers has an extensive track record of managing and delivering conflict resolution training for youth at both local and international levels. If you would like to train your youth to better manage conflict, let us know how we can help via email at mediate@peacemakers.sg.
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