The role of cultural mediator has not yet obtained any recognition or legitimization neither in Greece nor in many European countries despite the fact that most of the countries on the European territory are multi- national, especially after the massive migration flows from Far East, Middle East and Africa of the last decades. In Europe discussion on cultural mediation dates back to '80s with reference on official documents on 1990.[1]

Since 2000 various pilot projects [2] and researches on mediation have been launched and co-funded by the European Union as well as Actions promoting cultural mediation training and employment of trained cultural mediators in the field of health, family law and housing in some EU member-states, including Greece.

SONETOR [3], a multi-lateral project launched in 2011 aiming to train cultural mediators utilizing social networking software, has elaborated among others a detailed comparative user needs analysis in the fields of legislation, training, collaboration and skills definition in order to clearly define the knowledge, skills and competences that professional cultural mediators must possess. That has lead to the creation of a draft job profile for the cultural mediator which includes all knowledge, skills and competencies necessary for effective cultural mediation services.

To guarantee suitability and proficiency of the cultural mediator a legal framework is needed to recognize and legitimize the role of cultural mediator with registered professional rights. According to the Report of the International Social Service (ISS) in Berlin (2 Aug. 2006)[4] based on a survey about mediation-related process carried out in nine countries worldwide, there is no general agreed definition of the word “mediation” worldwide. Only European countries and South Africa have a relatively consistent and well-defined understanding of “mediation” compared to the other countries participating in the survey. The same report suggests there should be established a united recognized certificate for mediators in Europe.

Greece is one of the countries in Europe that have shifted from a traditionally migrant country to a host country for migrant flows in significant numbers during the last decades. Nowadays cultural mediation in Greece has become more essential than ever before. Cultural mediation is the key element to the smooth integration of migrants in the host society. Therefore it is absolutely necessary for cultural mediators and stakeholders to provide their services in conform to common standards and professional ethics.

Literature overview and experience from SONETOR have provided us with valuable conclusions regarding mediation in general and cultural mediation in particular. These conclusions have inspired us to proceed with a survey on cultural mediators training process in Greece. To that end, we made out a questionnaire divided into thematic sections in order to support our research.

REFERENCES: [1] Simone Casadei, Massimiliano Franceschetti, Il Mediatore cultural in sei Paesi europei (Italia, Francia, Germania, Grecia, Regno Unito e Spagna) ambiti di intervento, percorsi di accesso e competenze, Report di ricerca, Istituto per lo sviluppo della formazione professionale dei lavoratori (ISFOL), Italia, [2] Mediation, Guide to Good Practice under the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. [3] [4] THE HAGUE CONFERENCE ON PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW, Special Commission of October/November 2006 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, Answers from International Social Service to the questionnaire concerning the practical operation of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980, (Report), ISS Germany, Berlin, 2/8/2006.

Major research questions that led us to create the aforementioned questionnaire were on:  what education programmes are offered for cultural mediation in Greece?  is the profile of cultural mediators in Greece in conform to the draft job profile set by SONETOR?  are cultural mediators in Greece trained and qualified?  what sector do cultural mediators usually offer their services in Greece?  is there any certification on cultural mediation?  are migrants informed on their right to ask for cultural mediation services?  what is the public opinion on cultural mediation?  what are the weaknesses of cultural mediation education & training in Greece?  what can we learn from the European and international experience?  how important is to have qualified and specifically trained cultural mediators?  how can we mobilize decision- and policy-makers to launch a legal framework for cultural mediation?

The results of our survey are to be used in a primary research on the education of Cultural Mediator in Europe and in Greece. Aim of our research is to show the necessity cultural mediators be trained by a multidisciplinary curricula and the need to have the role of cultural mediator be registered with professional rights. Material: Questionnaire of 65 questions divided into 10 sections: General, Personal information, Cultural mediation at work, Education on Cultural mediation, Public opinion and the role of Cultural mediator, Migrants and Cultural mediators, Certifications, Cultural mediation and IT technology, Cultural mediation abroad, Poll on the population intentions.

We are please to present herebelow some indicative results of our survey. Note: the original research has been carried out in Greek on therefore the resulting graphs have been exported in Greek. To your convenience I will translate them on the spot, therefore I ask for your kind understanding.

Concluding, since cultural mediation is a major topic in the political agendas in Europe, as it is related to all aspects of society functioning, there is a vast area that still need to be researched in the future.

HAVE A NICE EVENING!