Ever since I became active in the field of conflict resolution in 1981 and mediation in 1990, I have sought and established an on-going dialogue with other professionals in an increasing number of countries and been involved in professional networks both in Germany and abroad. Currently, I am in contact with mediators and trainers from the US, Britain, Belgium, Austria and Russia. My original interest in non-violence led to an early specialization in violence prevention in schools. Through the research for my Master’s thesis in New York and the ensuing project I conducted for the Quaker Council for European Affairs and the Council of Europe – which took me to twelve Western European countries, most notably the UK and Northern Ireland – I became familiar with a number of practical school programs. After the publication of the project report in 1989 several colleagues and I founded the European Network for Conflict Resolution in Education (ENCORE), which I was involved with until 2001.

An ensuing action research grant from the Commission for the Advancement of Women’s Studies allowed me to conduct my own project at a primary school in the multicultural district Berlin Kreuzberg, working directly with teachers and children. Inspired by the development of school mediation in the US, I began training and projects in this area in 1991. I was co-founder of the Professional Group on School Mediation in the Federal Mediation Association and a member of the Steering Committee; in this capacity, I was involved in the development of national standards for school mediation from 1998 to 2001.

Once school mediation had gained momentum in Germany, I turned to the area of community mediation. Again inspired by US and British models, I organized the first nationwide conference on community mediation in Germany, and co-founded and co-led the Professional Group on Community Mediation in the Federal Mediation Association from 2002 to 2005. In 2002 I visited six community mediation centers in London, and in 2004 observed court-related mediation programs in Atlanta, including the Atlanta Justice Center. Between 2002 and 2008, I designed and conducted various projects in Berlin, most of which were funded by the Berlin government (Immigrant Advocacy Office) or by neighborhood centers.

Very early on, I began to organize study trips as a way of continuing my own education and that of others. In 1980 I cooperated with Action Reconciliation / Peace Services to travel to Poland with German youths. In 1984 I organized a trip to the Soviet Union and in 1993 I took 21 university students to Northern Ireland to experience peace education in a conflict context directly.

Starting in the year 2000, I became one of the first accredited mediators and trainers with the Federal Mediation Association and from 2000 to 2004 I served on the Accreditation Commission.

My interest and activity in mediation in cross-border child abduction conflicts led to my involvement in the German-American cross-border Mediation Project and the project Mediation in International Conflicts involving Parents and Children started by the Federal Association for Family Mediation in 2002. I am currently serving as vice-chair of the registered non-profit association, Mediation in International Conflicts involving Parents and Children (MiKK e.V.,) which I co-founded in 2008.