all the technology needed to participate in an online video meeting. However, while most people have the technology, we do not take for granted that they have used all the functions we use in a mediation. But most people know how to get online and join a meeting. Even where people only have a basic knowledge, mediators can support them in pre-mediation meetings with training and familiarisation to make use of the full functionality of the particular online platform. What are the advantages that parties stand to gain from utilising a virtual approach to mediation? Mediation is much less costly than litigation, but a place-based mediation may still draw participants many miles by car, train and plane to the designated meeting place for a day meeting. Not only is there the expense of travel, but also the time it takes out of the working day, and then there is the challenge of finding an early date in the diaries of several busy people. For some participants it may involve overnight stays in a hotel. By contrast, a virtual meeting can be arranged for each participant wherever they work best, whether that is the office or their home. It is also easier to synchronise slots in several diaries, sometimes using a couple of halfday sessions on consecutive days or a few days apart with adjournments or resumptions also being easier to arrange. With COP27 recently in the news, many businesses and individuals may be more conscious of working in ways that are better for the environment. A remote mediation can be the greener choice – a benefit borne out by 700 mediators worldwide having signed the Green Mediator Pledge. Mediators across the globe are stepping up to the plate to take concrete steps to reduce the impact on the climate of each mediation we conduct. More information about the Pledge can be found on www.womacc.org. EXPERT INSIGHT 51
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