Expansion of internal mediation pool VU

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19 April 2024

Arie Koops, director of the VU Sports Center, has started as an internal mediator with the VU Amsterdam mediation pool.

Arie represents as director of the VU Sports Center literally and figuratively movement. Arie comes from top sports where many different interests come into play and the ultimate interest is that parties achieve something together. As a conversation facilitator, what characterizes him is: being interested in what moves people and being able to get people moving.

For those who are not familiar with the internal mediation pool: mediation involves employees in conflict or with a cooperation problem talking to each other under the guidance of an independent mediator. The great thing about mediation is that you yourself can influence the resolution of the conflict. And restoration of your working relationship.

VU Amsterdam has its own internal mediators, besides Arie: Marise van Amersfoort from CIS and Geerte Faas from BJZ.  They are bound by the guidelines and quality requirements of the Mediators Federation of the Netherlands (MfN). The MfN requires the mediator to ensure that mediations always meet the requirements of confidentiality, voluntariness and independence. VU Amsterdam internal mediator statute is derived from this and sets the same conditions for the actions of internal mediators. Although internal mediators work at VU Amsterdam, they are required to keep this position separate from mediation work and do not internally account for their mediation work in terms of content.

VU Amsterdam's internal mediation pool is housed at BJZ. Geerte Faas of BJZ is the coordinator of the pool and one of the internal mediators. Please know that in the event that BZ colleagues want to talk to each other under the guidance of an internal mediator, an internal mediator working in another unit will pick it up. Read more about internal mediation here. Or contact us at[email protected].