Today I share with our readers a very special news: the receipt of the Medal of Professional Merit awarded by Diario de Mediación for ‘promoting the Culture of Peace, Dialogue and Mediation’, which was presented to me during the fourth edition of the gala of Medals for Professional Merit of Diario de Mediaciónheld at the Madrid Press Association (APM) last Friday, January 17th, very close to the celebration of the European Mediation Day (January 21). More than one hundred people took part in this celebration, in which its protagonists -a total of 32 award winners- highlighted the value of dialogue, the word and alternative conflict resolution as a way to achieve a culture of peace.
The event, organized under the Chair of Social Welfare, Communication, Education and Employment, by UDIMA-EDAE, began after seven in the evening and lasted until after nine o’clock, at which time the guests enjoyed a cocktail to exchange opinions and experiences with the attendees.
The dissemination of mediation and the goal of turning this tool into an increasingly known and used figure, as well as the importance of parental coordination, were the ideas defended during my thank you speech, ideas that were also defended by my colleagues Marisol Ramoneda Batló and Elvira Rodriguez Sáenz.
An event to celebrate mediation in Spain
The president of Diario de Mediación, Gonzalo Ruiz, opened the ceremony by thanking the attendees for the work they do every day in favor of mediation.
“A field that would be nothing without those who every day dedicate their efforts to continue betting on alternative conflict resolution and who, little by little, see their work rewarded”. So much so, that on more than one occasion, it was heard that 2020 will be the year of mediation, especially taking into account that during this fiscal year the approval of the Draft Bill for the Promotion of this figure for the civil and commercial fields is expected. Among the award winners, in addition to those already mentioned, was the General Technical Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice, an award collected by the secretary of this institution, José Amérigo Alonso.
Also receiving the Medal for Professional Merit was Ana María Carrascosa Miguel, magistrate and head of the General Council of the Judiciary, who highlighted the role of mediation and dialogue and pointed out that “whenever the human being is the center of progress, everything is ordered”. Rosalía Fernández Alaya, magistrate and president of Gemme España; Juan Francisco Mejías Gómez, magistrate of the 15th Court of First Instance of Valencia; Carme Guil Román, magistrate of Section 3 of the Provincial Court of Barcelona; Carlos Villagrasa Alcaide, doctor in law; and Juan Ramón Rodríguez Llamosí, also a graduate in law, were other award winners.
Another award winner was Marta Gonzalo Quiroga, doctor in law and professor of mediation, who noted that“mediation is the art of encounter”.
The work of Francesc José María Sánchez, Manuel José Rosales Álamo, María Avilés Navarro, Emiliano Carretero Morales, Cristina Merino Ortiz, Gema Varona Martínez, María Eugenia Ramos Pérez and Yolanda Muñoz Ramos was also recognized. Jesús Lorenzo Aguilar, Paloma del Hoyo Alonso-Martínez, Félix Arias Arias, María José Castillo Escudero, María Carnero de Blas, Leticia Gorospe Amo, José Ángel Galán Torrecilla and Cristina Equiza López also received this recognition, the latter pointing out that “it is an obligation to do this better and to reach more people” . From other professional areas, but also for their work on the culture of peace and their social work, José Luis Martín Ovejero, Gregorio Cañedo Gutiérrez, José Manuel González Huesa, María Dolores Merino Chacón and Jesús Higueras Esteban were recognized.
From this space we thank Diario de Mediación for allowing me to be part of the most relevant people of the year in the promotion of dialogue, the culture of peace, the search for alternatives in solving conflicts and mediation during 2019.
In addition, we would like to thank all the colleagues present at the event for their daily work and their willingness to share their knowledge and experiences.
As I had the opportunity to share during the event, being part of this great team has allowed me to learn and grow as a professional and, above all, as a person.
And this is especially important in times when promoting dialogue is key to solve any kind of conflict.
We believe that from the legal profession and from Family Law it is very important to promote the debate on mediation, as well as to create spaces and tools to avoid taking this type of cases to court and to help reduce family conflict in an effective and permanent way. Consult us about your case.
