The Society | The Mediation Society

WHO WE ARE

We are a group of mediation enthusiasts who work under the umbrella of a not-for-profit organisation (Reg. No. TCR/TC/370/2025) registered in Kerala, India, under the Travancore–Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act, 1955.

Our vision is to inspire a culture in Kerala where people turn to mediation to resolve conflicts—early and effectively. We collaborate with stakeholders across the legal, academic, community, and professional ecosystems to advance this vision.

OUR STORY SO FAR

The story of The Mediation Society began well before its formal registration.

Our work traces back to Settle 2021, a month-long, statewide mediation-promotion campaign organised between March and June 2021. Settle 2021 brought together more than thirty independent events, including four international panel discussions, two workshops, and mediation-awareness sessions for over twenty organisations across Kerala. Conceived by a small group of mediation enthusiasts and jointly organised by MKMS and the Co-operative School of Law, with support from Mahatma Gandhi University, the Kerala State Mediation and Conciliation Centre, the Bar Council of Kerala, and the Confederation of Indian Industry, Settle 2021 became the largest and longest online mediation series in Kerala’s legal history. At a time when mediation was only beginning to gain wider attention, it introduced students, professionals, and institutions across the State to the idea and practice of mediation.

Following the enactment of the Mediation Act, 2023, we continued our efforts under the banner of the Centre for ADR Practice & Research. During this phase, our focus was on creating simple, accessible mediation-awareness resources—short video explainers on the new law, online and offline lectures across law schools and bar associations, and public discussions aimed at helping diverse audiences understand the emerging legal framework. This phase helped broaden public conversation around mediation and laid the groundwork for deeper engagement with both the law and the practice.

In 2024, our work expanded into a broader statewide initiative titled Project M for Mediation (Project M). Conceived as a celebration of mediation, Project M sought to bring mediation into mainstream public discourse through creative and participatory initiatives.

We launched the All India M for Mediation Video Podcast Contest, encouraging students to engage with the Mediation Act 2023 through audio-visual storytelling. We organised Conversations on the Practice of Mediation in collaboration with Government Law College, Ernakulam, where practising professionals shared insights from real-world mediation practice. In partnership with NUALS, we conducted the All Kerala M for Mediation Quiz Competition, sparking academic curiosity and healthy competition among law students across the State. Together, these initiatives demonstrated that mediation could be understood not merely as a legal mechanism, but as a cultural practice and a public good.

As these initiatives grew, so did the community around them. We recognised the need for an institutional structure that was inclusive, democratic, and sustainable—one that could bring together mediation enthusiasts, educators, students, lawyers, and other professionals around a shared purpose. This realisation led to the formal establishment of The Mediation Society in October 2025. The Society brings together and builds upon the work undertaken through Settle 2021, the Centre for ADR Practice & Research, and Project M for Mediation. What began as a series of independent initiatives has now taken shape as a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to fostering a culture in Kerala where mediation is seen as a natural, trusted, and accessible means of resolving conflicts.

Our journey continues—with new partnerships, evolving programmes, and a growing community committed to strengthening both the practice and the culture of mediation in Kerala.

WHAT WE DO

To build an ecosystem where mediation could thrive, we focus on three core areas: meaningful public engagement, sustained capacity building, and accessible mediation services.

01 Pubic
Engagement

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We bring mediation to the community through Mediation 360, our outreach and sensitisation programme, delivered in two layers:

# General Awareness – short, accessible programmes that help the public understand what mediation is and how it can help resolve everyday conflicts.

# Gatekeeper Sensitisation – deeper training for those whom people naturally approach when conflicts arise—lawyers, teachers, counsellors, social workers, police personnel, and community leaders—so they can recognise when mediation is suitable and guide disputants towards it.

02 Capacity
Building

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We supplement the mediation ecosystem by training mediators, mediation advocates, and other mediation professionals, and by strengthening the skills needed to support mediation across institutions and communities.

Our flagship programme, the Mediation Masterclass, is a comprehensive 100-hour training offered in three levels—Foundational, Intermediate, and Professional.

03 Mediation
Services

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We make mediation easy and affordable to access through the Mediation Grid, a network of mini mediation centres across Kerala, hosted primarily at partner law schools.

Facilitated by empanelled mediators and trained mediation professionals, these centres offer mediation and related services at a reasonable cost.

HOW WE WORK

At The Mediation Society, we channel our work through four interdependent functional verticals:

Learning & Engagement (L&E) focuses on designing learning journeys and sustaining engagement that gradually build competence, confidence, and cultural acceptance of mediation. This functional vertical operates through three interconnected segments: the Mediation Masterclass, the Society’s flagship capacity-building programme; Mediation 360, which looks outward to public and institutional awareness; and M-Conversations, which sustains the intellectual and professional life of the mediation community.
Knowledge & Communications (K&C) serves as the Society’s intellectual memory and public voice. Its role is to organise and disseminate mediation-related knowledge so that insights gained through learning, practice, and engagement are made accessible and enduring. The key functions of this vertical include curating an online mediation repository, managing the Society’s digital presence, and publishing a periodic mediation newsletter.
Mediation Practice & Services (MP&S) delivers mediation as a public service, translating mediation principles, learning, and advocacy into a structured and accessible dispute-resolution process. This vertical operates the Society’s Mediation GRID, providing physical and virtual mediation facilities along with the operational systems necessary to make mediation accessible.
Institutional Affairs (IA) functions as the Society’s governance and stewardship vertical. It is responsible for the participation, governance, integrity, sustainability, stability, and continuity of the Society as an institution, and ensures that the organisation remains credible, lawful, and capable of enduring beyond individual roles, personalities, or phases of activity.

Each vertical performs a distinct function, yet all are aligned towards a shared purpose: strengthening mediation as a credible and accessible pathway to justice. While the verticals are functionally distinct, they operate in coordination through clearly defined roles, protocols, and information-sharing mechanisms approved by the Governing Body.

Each vertical is led by a nominated team of volunteers or designated functionaries and operates under the overall oversight of the elected Governing Body.

See the Full Organisational Structure