Kate is providing a regular update on her global scholar experience. The photos include (at the top) a photo from a "very interactive" mediation training session; the rest are from Lebanon, Beirut, where Kate is currently doing her internship.

The rest of the Basic Mediation Training at the New York Peace Institute was absolutely wonderful and built upon the skills I had learned in my Applied Conflict Resolution Skills course at the University of Bradford. The trainer, Brad Heckman, has worked in the field of international mediation as well as community mediation for the past 25 years and has great insights and techniques. I really enjoyed the training and feel more confident as I pursue international mediation as a profession.

I have just completed my first week interning with the NGO Search for Common Ground. I am really looking forward to working with them over the next 10 weeks since they do great work around peacebuilding and conflict transformation among communities in Lebanon as well as inside Syria. I am working with the Programs Department which means I help with writing grant proposals and editing final reports (which I did this week), research new opportunities and write concept papers, and help out various projects on written material. It's an ideal chance to get to know all the projects that Search in Beirut works on and learn about their approaches to conflict. Next week I'll be meeting with the team that works on mediation efforts in Syria and brainstorming on ways I can support them due to my prior work on the Syrian conflict. Really looking forward to it!