Mediation congress at Belair Community Center on Friday

PHILIPSBURG – The Belair Community Center is the stage for a mediation congress organized by the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor in collaboration with VNG International. The congress will take place this Friday, June 1, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Speakers at the congress include Public Health Minister Emil Lee, Director-General Recovery Windward Islands Hans Leijtens and Gwendolien Mossel, a legal advisor at the office of the Ombudsman.

Minister Lee said at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing that between twenty and thirty civil servants have taken part in Mediation Week; the congress that aims to sharpen mediation skills, is the closing chapter of this week.

“There is a lot of tension in the economy and on all levels in our community,” Minister Lee said with a reference to the increased competition for resources in the post-Irma era. Dialogue is one way of settling disputes and the skills required for proper mediation are valuable to the employees at the ministry.

“Many of my staff members do intakes for financial and medical aid and for other types of assistance. At times they have to deal with tense situations and with frustrated people.”

VNG International – the international arm of the Association of Dutch Municipalities – supports the government with this congress, but also with other programs focused on recovery after Hurricane Irma.

“We are challenged for resources and there is conflict in the market place,” Lee said. “We hope that people can find amicable solutions that are in everybody’s interest, rather than going to court.”