Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends of mediation,

The GROUP OF EUROPEAN MAGISTRATES FOR MEDIATION (GEMME) will hold its fourth congress in Geneva, Switzerland on November 6-7 2008, on the theme of "MEDIATION IN SERVICE OF PEACE". It has entrusted the organization of this event to its Swiss chapter, whose organizing committee I have the pleasure of presiding.

The purpose of this international congress is to bring together during two days in Geneva key actors in international mediation who are active in the fields of political, social and commercial mediation, for the purpose of exchanging current best practices and discussing possible new interdisciplinary approaches to using mediation in service of peace.

To accomplish this objective, various leading mediators will present their experiences in one of these three fields (i.e., political, social, or commercial mediation), during three half-day sessions. A trio of experienced mediators, consisting of a reporter from each session, will then collect these experiences and provide their views on what they have heard and learned in the fields that are not theirs in a final half-day session. The trio will exchange and discuss possible ideas as to how mediation could be used in new ways to resolve conflicts and in service of peace.

As you will have realized, we have great ambitions for this congress. We wish go off the beaten path and to bring together a broad range of stakeholders, organizing a congress that is innovative both in form and in content, and which will prove to be enriching for all participants. We hope to achieve this thanks to the kind patronage of the Swiss Confederacy and the Canton of Geneva, who are kindly assisting us with this event, but especially thanks to your participation and support.

You will find on our website all necessary and useful information for attending this conference and I hope you will register in great number. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions and we look forward to receiving you in Geneva.

Yours sincerely,

For the Organizing Committee:
Judge Isabelle Dubois