INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CENTER FOR ALTERNATIVE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (AKIK)
On December 4th 2011, the Faculty Council of the Faculty of Law of the University of Miskolc, unanimously supported the proposal to establish an “Interdisciplinary Research Center for Alternative Conflict Management and Alternative Dispute Resolution (AKIK)”. The Senate confirmed the decision of the Faculty by its resolution, therefore, on the 14th March 2012, the Faculty Council could decide on the establishment of the AKIK and the person of its President.
The Research Center operates within the organizational framework of the Faculty in order to achieve its goals, primarily with the help of topic-oriented programs.
In addition to disseminating alternative conflict management and dispute resolution techniques and procedures, its mission is to develop interpersonal and intercultural competencies and skills, lead interdisciplinary research programs, support transversal competencies, motivational and learning programs for active citizenship and sustainable development, and support particularly vulnerable groups and improving equal opportunities.
In order to achieve this end, AKIK provides professional support in the field of education for the organization of subject-specific - compulsory (e.g. “Alternative Conflict Management”) and optional subjects, LLL courses (e.g. Academy of Adults; Free University of Crime Prevention) and “General and judicial mediator (specialist)” for specialist training or e-courses).
In the recent period, many publications have appeared, in the form of curriculum, conference volumes or even articles and studies.
The research and application activity of AKIK is also significant. At the institutional level, independently won projects (e.g. “Solution as an justify”; municipal mediation model program; 0502/2008 / OBMB) or carried out as a partner (e.g. “ACTION Program for Victims and Offenders”; TÁMOP 5.6.2 / 10-1-2010-0001), domestic and international programs (e.g. “Kultursensible Konfliktvermittlung unter Einbeziehung von Roma”; HU-2011_Leo_PA-6026) indicate the results of recent years.
Among the goals defined in the Mission Statement, the organization of conferences and trainings is an important means of disseminating alternative solutions and strengthening the enforcement of interests. The events to be classified in the former category (e.g. “About survival for teachers in case of school conflicts” (Pécs), “From disciplinary proceedings to climbing - or new possibilities for managing school conflicts” (Miskolc), “Family disorders and their effects on children and for the behavior of juveniles” (Debrecen)) the Mediation Day program series stands out. From the 16th May 2008, our faculty hosted a chain of these thematic professional events every year. The series has already addressed the basic issues of mediation as well as its roots ("From the 'village court' to virtual mediation"), its intergenerational ("Z as a mess? - or young people's conflicts and new ways to deal with them"), community ("Mediation in the community and in the economy"), economic ("Advocacy and conflict management in the European Union and Hungary"), and criminal ("From state involvement to Community support - successful victim assistance practices") aspects.
From the very beginning, it was also important for AKIK to take on a social role (e.g. Miskolci Kocsonyafesztivál from 2009, Karton-Szalon, from 2011 "Szívriadó Klub"), or to appear at the "Researchers' Night" (e.g. 2010, "Sin and Punishment - or Impunity?!").
AKIK's rich international relations are also valuable in connection with new research directions, such as intercultural and intergenerational conflicts, and methodological advances, such as on-line mediation and CSDCS. The institution had built a good contacts with different organisations, like the Steinbeis Beratungszentrum Wirtschaftsmediation (Leipzig), culture.communication GbR (Hannover), RUBIKON Centrum (Prague), Mediator’s College, based in Bucharest, among others.
Contact details of AKIK: https://akik.uni-miskolc.hu/
Contact: conflict management.akik@gmail.com
In 2017, the Miskolc Regional Committee of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences established its “Alternative Conflict Management and Dispute Resolution Working Committee” chaired by Dr. Erika Varadi-Csema PhD LL.M.
The new professional organization, established within the framework of the Committee on Political Science and Law, aims to meet international, European and EU expectations by focusing on international developments in the field of conflict-solution.
With the help of the new working committee, the inclusion of alternative conflict management and dispute resolution in the citadel of Hungarian science expresses our conviction, that this is an independent scientific field, and the scientifically demanding cultivation of which in the 21st century is not only justified, but also unavoidable.
