Last Friday in my role as a PR consultant to and certified member of the Mediators’ Institute of Ireland (MII) I was working at the MII conference in Dundalk. Two of the key speakers addressed the issue of Brexit. As it was a mediators’ conference the emphasis was on the increased level and range of new conflicts that are likely to result from the referendum decision. I was particularly moved by the contribution of Ashok Panikkar http://www.themii.ie/ashok-panikkar-biography who focused on the reasons for the Brexit decision and suggested that it was just another symptom of the world moving to a more confrontational era. Ashok cited the US presidential election, current upheavals in South America, the rise of populism in Europe, a hardening of Russian foreign policy etc as example of this change. He called on everyone who valued freedom and tolerance to get active, and stand up for these values. Ashok explained that to deal effectively with issues of migration, religious freedom and gender equality, individuals and organisations had to devote energy and patience to achieving long term harmony and justice. Ashok argued that mediators had a particularly important duty to use their professional skills to help in this regard.
Stiofán speaking from the floor at the MII conference
Many of the points that Ashok made resonated with me and I was moved to contribute from the floor to commend him on his presentation and is call to each of us to act to defend human rights and democracy. In my contribution I pointed out that I would be taking part in a Brexit summit the very next day, which just happened to be taking place in Dundalk too. So after playing my part in a Commercial Mediation role play at the MII conference on Saturday morning, I walked up to DKIT for the Brexit summit. The gathering included MEPs and members of parliament from the Dáil, NI Assembly, Scotland’s Assemply and Westminster, as well as representatives from other EU countries in mainland Europe. It was illuminating to listen to the different perspectives and discuss possible strategies to minimize the impact of Brexit. In my contribution, I highlighted the plight of Ireland’s mushroom producers http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/10/14/irelands-mushroom-farmers-become-early-victims-of-brexit/ and stressed that Brexit was already having an impact on jobs, and that practical strategies were required now to deal with it’s effects. It’s been a busy but productive weekend.
