Gibraltar Citizens Advice Bureau International Conference: Pathways to Resolution: Ending Negativity, Ending Conflict

Holistic Lawyer, Mediator and Barrister Amber Turner was honoured to be invited to be one of the Panel of Guest Speakers at the Gibraltar Citizens Advice Bureau’s International Conference, held at the O’Callaghan Hotel Gibraltar. The theme was 'Pathways to Resolution: Ending Negativity, Ending Conflict'.

Amber spoke about the power of the Mediation Tool in resolving conflicts in families going through breakdown due to separation and/ or divorce. “Mediation is an empowering tool because it gives each participant a safe platform from which to voice their inner dialogue which otherwise might have been buried. This voice communicates a perspective that others involved in the conflict may have been unaware of and never considered.  It moves people from 'entrenched positions’ through the discovery of the heartfelt interests which lie beneath those positions. By raising awareness of the impact conflict has on each of the individual family member, with a particular focus on the negative and traumatic impact of conflict on the children and their need for peace, stability, security and love, adults are empowered to make new decisions from a place of understanding and compassion, rather than ignorance and blame which only serve to ignite the flames of conflict”.

The conference was opened by Gibraltar’s Honourable Chief Minister Mr Picardo and Minister Mr Linares. There were 200 delegates present including members of Citizens Advice International, representatives from Rumania, Poland, Ireland, Scotland, UK, Brussels and the Czech Republic. Members of an ongoing project to develop and introduce Citizens Advice services in the West Balkans, Turkey, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia were also present.

The pathways to resolution explored included: counselling, mediation, litigation and the European Commission.

Amber Law congratulates Pili Rodriguez, Manager of the Bureau and Chair of Citizens Advice International who post-conference has been invited to participate in the U-Impact conference that will take place in Bucharest – in September 2015.