Mediation in education: The global and national legal context, and reflections on the voice of the child/young person in mediation

GEMME Ireland is pleased to invite members and interested professionals to an event dedicated to mediation in education, taking place on 25 June 2026 under the chairmanship of His Honour Judge Geoffrey Shannon SC.

The specific focus of this event is on:

• raising awareness of mediation in education citing the international and national legal context for mediation with some examples;
• the voice of the child/young person in mediation in education and some examples where mediation has been successfully used, and perhaps not so successfully (insights gained, learnings etc).

The speakers will be:

Professor Shivaun Quinlivan, Professor of Law and expert in equality, education and constitutional law. Her presentation will focus on the broad international and national legal context for mediation in education with some examples where mediation in education has worked particularly well, and perhaps less successfully (learnings arising etc).

Dr Aisling Parkes (BCL, LLM, PHD, MATHLE, BAP, MA (Coaching Psychology)) is a senior academic at the School of Law, University College Cork and an internationally recognised expert in children’s rights. She will focus on the voice of the child/young person in mediation in education, rationale, and examples of where mediation in educational contexts involving an authentic voice for the child/young person has worked well/not so well (learnings arising etc).

The event will include presentations followed by a Q&A session and discussion. Attendance is possible both in person and online. The event will be recorded.

Registration is required for all participants. Further information about the event, together with the registration form, is available at:

https://ti.to/BarofIreland/gemme-june2026

A further GEMME event on mediation in the special education and disability context is planned for November 2026.