The major activity of the project is the organization of trainings on conflict solving methods for teachers of vocational educational institutions. The trainings are organized primarily for schools situated in one of the following three regions of Hungary: Northern Hungary, Southern Great Plain and Southern Transdanubia. We have signed contracts of co-operation with universities working in the regional centres.

To give information on the training programmmes of the project for prospective participants and co-operating schools, we organized press conferences, round-table conferences, as well as special information days in our regional offices in March, April and May 2009.

We have entered into contracts of co-operation with vocational educational schools, too. From each of the 21 co-operating institutions 4-25 teachers take part in our trainings. If more than 15 teachers wish to participate in a training from any institution, OFI provides on-site training for the group.

 

The project offers four different training routes and, within that, 7 training modules for the participants. Each module is topic-centred, of the duration of 30 training hours, accredited by the Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Education. At the end of each training, OFI gives certificate for those who have successfully accomplished the requirements. Having completed the trainings, the participants might act as counsellors in conflict solving within their own institutions, being aware of the basic concepts and methodology of mediation and restorative techniques. They get also qualified for organizing classes or project weeks on conflicts and conflict solving for their students.

In the first training period we had 318 registrations from 65 schools, from which 228 participants (divided into 10 groups) started their training process in the first training module, Introduction to the Person-Centred Approach. In each training we tried to choose a location appropriate and convenient for the participants.

Trainings of the first module have finished, trainings of the second module (Conflict solving and introduction to mediation) take place between 6-24 July 2009.

 

In order to achieve the best results and a high professional and scientific level for the project, a Scientific Counsellor Board was set up in June 2009. There has been an empirical research going on, aimed at the survey of the present practice in conflict solving in vocational educational institutions; results of the research are being analysed.

 

On OFI website we have created a microsite for the project under the title Mediation, where we put information on the current state of the project, as well as information on the trainings organized. It is also possible to look at the official and public documents of the project here.

In March 2009 a green phone number dedicated to school conflicts was created in order to give help (involving professional mediators) for parents, students and teachers in problematic educational situations.