Find out about the Centre
for Peaceful Solutions
The Centre for Peaceful Solutions is a registered charity committed
to changing attitudes to conflict and resolving disputes peacefully.
The Centre for Peaceful Solutions is a Professional Mediation Provider,
Accredited and Registered with the Civil Mediation Council. The fees
we earn support the work of the charity.
Vision
A world that can live in harmony with its values without the use
of physical or emotional violence
Mission
To contribute to the development of a peaceful communities, workplaces, families, businesses and organisations
To contribute to developing a mediation mindset in society
Aims
To focus on introducing non-violence and conflict resolution
to all parties living and working in marginalised, ‘hard to reach’
and disempowered communities.
To teach non-violence and conflict resolution as a proportionate
and safer response to disagreement and disputes among people
who feel excluded, unheard or frustrated.
To transform communities into a collaborative model of problem solving
To allow access to mediation and mediation training to people who would not normally know of or be able to afford it
To practice civil, employment and family mediation to the highest professional standards in order to generate fees to fund our
community work
To innovate and push back the boundaries of conflict resolution practice
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Basic principles
Building trust
If you don’t care what happens to any person you are in conflict with
or you want them to be hurt, damaged or destroyed, how can they trust you?
Finding the alternatives
Can they intelligently do anything but defend themselves against you, even if it means perpetuating the conflict?
Transforming outcomes
Finding peace does not mean being in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means being in the middle of all those things and remaining calm inside.
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Maria’s experience ranges from working with multi-national corporates
to residents on violent inner city estates as well as with local authorities, schools, families and workplaces.
Maria has made interpersonal communication skills a lifetime project. Alongside a 20-year career in marketing and advertising, she successfully developed her talent for engaging people in healthy conversations through her experiences as a Samaritan volunteer, a qualified counsellor, a Reiki Master and a community mediator. Maria has also spent time at the sharp end running her own business for 15 years and working as a stand-up comic for 5 years before becoming the chief executive of a community mediation service. She considers her most important communications role to be that of a mother to 2 young adults.
Her diverse insights into how we communicate have culminated in a unique perspective on the benefits of working through differences and interacting peacefully with people.
Maria’s vision is the creation of a global network of individuals and corporations who wish to contribute to a common aim of harmony by removing violence from communication and choosing compassionate dialogue as a means to effective communities.
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Our team is a trusted network of experienced practitioners
ranging from ‘legal mediators’ to ‘street mediators’. We provide a tailor
made resource for your particular requirement. Led and managed
by Maria and David, we work with you to establish your needs and
develop service or training strategies to fulfil your brief.
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Our Trustees
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He has also been involved in voluntary fundraising for a number of charities.
He has worked in the charity sector for over 20 years with prestigious charities such as Jewish Care and Help the Aged. He is an executive committee member of the Charity Law Association and was a founder
of the Institute of Legacy Management. The Centre for Peaceful Solutions benefits immensely from his guidance.
Has a great interest in the sector and in particular to work to ensure that disputes are resolved as amicably and smoothly as possible hence a wish to be involved in mediation and non violent communication, which can be very well achieved through involvement with this charity.
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Began her career in the early 1980’s in the entertainment business, workingin record and film companies in London and Los Angeles. She
set up her own company to produce pop music videos, arts and current affairs programming for television. Throughout the 1980’s she produced pop videos in London and Los Angeles for artists ranging from Madonna, U2 and Lionel Richie to Status Quo and Rick Astley. In the late 1980’s she worked at a journalist/producer at the Financial Times in London. Her programme in which Sir Peter Ustinov interviewed Lucianno Pavarotti was made for the BBC and was shown across Europe and
the USA.
In the 1990’s she trained in and practiced psychotherapy in west London, working both in the NHS and in private practice.
In 2006 She co-founded the PR company Only Connect Solutions,
which specialises in Corporate Social Responsibility
Currently she is pursuing her interests in mediation and restorative justice and raising her teenage son.
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Specialising in using emerging technology to create new business opportunities, his past experience includes working in a wide range
of organisations including start-ups, The National Lottery,
The Walt Disney Company and Royal Philips Electronics.
Now working as an independant consultant the role of trustee offers
a chance to return something to the community and will help to ensure this important charity has support including the deployment of secure, reliable systems and procedures.
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His Honour Roger Sanders
is a retired circuit judge once resident at Harrow Crown Court. Roger has tried many contentious cases and has gained the respect of his peers. Since retiring Roger continues to sit on many panels and committees.
Roger is a keen promoter of restorative justice and a firm believer that it has a place in the criminal justice system.
Joining the Centre for Peaceful Solutions as a trustee provides
a tangible opportunity to support a model for social change which
has the potential to reduce violent crime.
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Contact us
www.civilmediation.org
www.cmcregistered.org
Registered Charity No 1117611
Contact us by email or by phone 020 8962 9420
You can also visit www.themediationlink.co.uk | www.mariaarpa.co.uk
