The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) has established a Community of Practice (CoP) for Mediation Professionals as a strategic platform to strengthen mediation capacity, coordination, and inclusive peace processes across the Great Lakes Region. The Community of Practice was officially launched in December 2025 in Kinshasa, on the margins of a regional capacity-building workshop for mediators and peace practitioners.
The Community of Practice builds on an already existing mediation architecture within the ICGLR. The ICGLR has constituted a regional Pool of Mediators, composed of two mediators per Member State, which serves as a core team that can be mobilised whenever mediation support is required at the national or regional level. While the Pool provides operational readiness, the Community of Practice complements it by creating a space for continuous learning, reflection and professional interaction.
The Community of Practice brings together mediation professionals and peace practitioners engaged in conflict prevention, dialogue facilitation and mediation processes. Its primary added value lies in experience-sharing, allowing members to exchange practical insights, lessons learned, and good practices drawn from real mediation contexts. Through peer-to-peer learning and collective reflection, the CoP contributes to strengthening professional standards and improving the effectiveness of mediation efforts in the region.
The Community of Practice operates primarily through an online exchange platform, which enables continuous interaction among members across borders. This digital space facilitates discussions, knowledge sharing, and access to relevant resources, ensuring sustained engagement beyond physical meetings or deployments.
Anchored in the ICGLR’s Gender-Responsive Mediation and Coordination Mechanism (GMCM), the Community of Practice promotes inclusive mediation approaches that integrate gender perspectives and encourage the meaningful participation of women, youth and marginalized groups. This approach reflects the ICGLR’s commitment to inclusive and sustainable peace outcomes.
By joining the Community of Practice, members become part of a dynamic regional knowledge network that supports mediators before, during and after mediation processes, while reinforcing regional ownership and coherence in peacebuilding efforts across the Great Lakes Region.
For more information, email to emmanuel.mali@icglr.org or simon.nibizi@icglr.org