Mediators are skilled at identifying presenting issues, recognising behaviour, and facilitating difficult conversations. Yet what becomes visible in conflict is often shaped by cultural, structural, and relational conditions that have developed long before a dispute reaches mediation.

Inspired by the proverb “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 25:11, KJV), this webinar considers words as vehicles of feelings, emotions, sentiments, experiences, and relational meaning. It invites mediators to read conflict as information: not merely what people say and do, but what their words and responses may reveal about the circumstances shaping conflict.

Drawing on intercultural and relational approaches to peacebuilding, the webinar explores how conflict forms, escalates, and de-escalates, and why understanding what lies beneath visible behaviour can inform more responsive mediation practice. Rather than treating disputing parties as entirely separate, it considers their distinct experiences within a shared relational environment, while recognising differences in power and responsibility.

Date: Thursday 11 February 2027
Time: 12-1 pm
Cost: Free for AMINZ members | $45 inc for non-members
Location: Online via Teams
CPD: 1

About Dr Michael Fusi Ligaliga

Dr Michael Fusi Ligaliga is a peace and conflict studies practitioner, educator, and accredited mediator. He holds a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Otago and has worked across mediation, alternative dispute resolution, intercultural peacebuilding, and policy in New Zealand, the Pacific, Australia, and the United States. His work draws on Pacific relational understandings and practical experience designing and delivering culturally responsive conflict-resolution approaches. Michael is the founder of The Vāntage Collective.