He said ADR was the way forward in resolving conflicts as it was fast, less expensive, private, and healing and that was why the country’s legal system had embraced the practice through Court-Connected ADR and other legal reforms, recognising its power to reduce the backlog in the courts and brought real justice closer to the people.

Speaking during the graduation ceremony of the institute at Kasoa in the Central Region, Mr Quansah said, “Today, the world needs peacebuilders more than ever. Ghana, our beloved nation, is not exempt from the pressing need for alternative, non-adversarial solutions to conflict.

“From family tensions, workplace disputes, and commercial disagreements, to community and inter-ethnic misunderstandings, our nation requires a new generation of professionals who can deescalate, resolve and restore.”

The event, which saw the graduation of 15 persons, was on the theme: "Equipped to mediate, trained to lead".

The graduates pursued programmes in the Professional Executive Certificate in ADR and the Professional Master Certificate in ADR.

Mr Quansah told the graduates that they were stepping into a landscape where their skills were not only relevant but urgently required.

ADR, he said, was more than a profession and that it was a way of life.

“In your homes, let mediation be your approach to misunderstanding. In your marriages, let dialogue replace resentment. In your workplaces, be the person who brings calm to conflict and order to chaos.

“Don’t wait for a formal case. Live the principles of mediation wherever you are. Uphold the values of confidentiality, respect, neutrality and voluntary resolution — not just in official cases, but in your daily engagements,” he said, adding; “Be a peacemaker in a world that is quick to react, quick to judge and slow to listen.

You have the tools — now use them to make a difference.”

Mr Quansah told the graduates that although they had been equipped with theories, skills, role plays, ethics and simulations, they were importantly trained to lead. 

The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of ADR Practitioners, Dr Mark Anderson, charged the graduates to be active listeners in the course of their work.

He also asked them to understand their practice as people who were neutral, and be mindful that they were facilitators, helping parties to resolve disputes.

He said to be able to resolve conflicts they had to be patient.

A court-connected ADR Mediator at the Kasoa Ofaakor District Court, Augustine Adu, congratulated the graduates on the steps they had taken.