As a mediator, I help people to resolve their conflict.

That may be a neighbourly dispute, a disagreement in the workplace or a conflict with the government.

Or a situation in which you simply cannot work things out with each other.

As an independent mediator, I help people to talk to each other again,.

to listen to each other and to recognise each other's concerns and needs.  

This creates space to think about solutions that do justice to everyone's interests.

In my professional career it has always been my passion to bring people together.

As a negotiator for the United Nations or creator of meaningful dialogues.

Now I put that experience to use as a mediator. 

My method of mediation follows the Harvard model of negotiation. This means that we do not immediately try to find a solution based on the positions that people put forward, but rather we look for what really matters, and then creatively consider possible solutions.

Before the actual mediation starts, I hold an intake with each party individually. This can be done by phone, online or in person. Then we enter into a written mediation agreement.

The first joint session takes place at a location agreeable to both parties. This can be any location in nature or in a workspace. Firstly, both parties are given the opportunity to tell their story and listen to each other. Following,  we try to get the full extent of the dispute on the table and bring the underlying concerns, needs and (common) interests to the surface.After an inventory of interests, we brainstorm possible solutions. Finally, the parties choose the solution(s) that best meet their mutual interests.

My role as a mediator is impartial and independent: I treat parties equally and have no interest in any particular outcome. The parties are autonomous and in charge of the process; I guide the discussion and do not put forward any particular solutions. The mediation is confidential and parties enter the process voluntarily.   

As an MfN registered mediator, I am bound by the MfN mediation regulations and the MfN code of conduct.

Are you interested to learn more? Or want to know what I can do for you? Please contact me using the contact form.

Or send an email to Christa Meindersma: christa(at)meindersmamediation.com

After my law studies at the University of Amsterdam and inspired by a two-year stay in Tibet, I worked for 12 years as a legal advisor and negotiator for the United Nations (UN) in conflict areas. I led complex negotiations between warring parties and governments, including between the UN administration in East Timor and Indonesia in preparation for East Timor's independence and between Nigeria and Cameroon to implement a ruling of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. I also worked for the UN in Nepal, Kosovo and New York. 

In the Netherlands, for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I was involved in negotiations with rebel groups in Darfur, Sudan. Subsequently, I co-founded the Hague Center for Strategic Studies and was director of the Prince Claus Fund and Porticus. In the course of my work, I regularly visited conflict areas including Afghanistan, Lebanon, Gaza and Mali and organized dialogues with world leaders such as the Dalai Lama, peace negotiators like Marti Ahtisaari and international women leaders like Rabiya Kadeer. I was a member of the Advisory Council on International Affairs and a board member of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy and the European Center for Conflict Prevention. 

My work as a mediator concerns disputes between governments and citizens, international conflicts, neighbourly disputes and labour conflicts. I mediate in English and Dutch.