The EUCON Model

The European Institute for Conflict Management (EUCON) has since it was founded in 1998 as GWMK e.V. developed into a leading organisation in the field of conflict management in Germany's business world. It is therefore not without considerable pride that we bear the additional title of "leading in conflict management."

EUCON sets standards for conflict resolution in business. It provides information about opportunities for employing suitable instruments for dispute resolution and offers procedural rules and clauses for inclusion in contracts and for conduct of alternative dispute resolution proceedings and regularly reviews them with potential users.

EUCON advises and accompanies conflict parties in the business world in solving both in-house conflicts and disputes with outside parties. EUCON supports conflict adversaries in their choice of the best mediators or ADR specialists suitable for resolution of each particular conflict and ensures professional conduct of the conflict resolution proceedings it supervises. Its sole criterion in this matter is what benefits the conflict parties themselves.

Ensuring quality in carrying out ADR procedures is EUCON's foremost objective that it has achieved, particularly in conducting mediation procedures, listing and selecting mediators, developing conflict resolution instruments, advanced training and the admission of members.

By means of mediation controlling, efforts are made at constant improvement of mediation procedures. In doing so, EUCON puts particular stress on transparency in the choice of mediators.

By signing the Draft European Code of Conduct for Mediators EUCON is included in the EU list of mediator associations kept by the European Commission and is bound by that code of conduct for mediators.

EUCON promotes the development and use of modern instruments of conflict management through interdisciplinary cooperation with leading representatives of the legal, economic and social sciences and by exchanges of experience with comparable domestic and foreign organisations.

EUCON realises its objectives Europe-wide by cooperating with international organisations and by establishing subsidiary organisations in Europe.

EUCON supports and promotes the interests of its members in all fields of alternative dispute resolution and offers them a platform for an intensive exchange of experience and feedback in all fields of conflict resolution.

As a partner to the business world in resolving conflicts, EUCON organises national and international congresses and makes its specialist skills available in national and European legislative projects.

The EUCON Academy provides in the context of advanced training new and better developed methods of conflict management with public seminars and lectures as well as private training courses.

The EUCON Academy certifies trained business mediators who meet its quality requirements and awards the title of "EUCON Business Mediator" after they have completed focused advanced training and passed an examination.

"In 1998 we founded the GWMK, which has since October 2006 been carried on as the EUCON Institute, in order to support business and its advisors in modifying their conflict behaviour. We are happy that this idea has found such positive acceptance and that our association has grown with its dissemination." Dr. Reiner Ponschab Founder of gwmk and Chairman of the Board of Directors EUCON - Europäisches Institut für Conflict Management e.V. (a registered association)