Digital Practice Workshop Peace Mediation "Peer exchange on possible roles and entry points for German embassies' mediation engagement"

The event is already the sixth in the ZIF peer coaching series "Mediation and Diplomacy", which is aimed at representatives of the FFO at ambassadorial and director level.

The workshop offers diplomats who actively accompany or support mediation processes on Track-1 in their current or future posts a platform to exchange ideas and advise each other on possible mediation engagement. Based on concrete case studies, the specific roles, challenges and successful practices in the field of peace mediation in the context of German and international diplomacy were discussed during this year's mediation workshop.

Professor Michael Ambühl of ETH Zurich, holder of the Chair of Negotiation and Conflict Management and former State Secretary, Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Finance, enriched the discussion with practical examples outlining the tensions between peace mediation and classical diplomacy and the resulting opportunities and challenges.

For already five years, ZIF together with Unit S03 of the FFO has been hosting interactive and participatory peer coaching and peer exchange formats in the field of peace mediation, which are part of the contributions to strengthen national and international capacities in the field of peace mediation and mediation support. In addition to the FFO, ZIF regularly collaborates with multilateral partners in this field, including the European External Action Service (EEAS), the OSCE, and the African Union (AU) in the form of expert exchange formats and trainings, as well as by providing relevant technical and regional expertise.