Speech by Anastassia Makridou-Bretonneau at the Paediatric ICU Event

The text is a reflection by the mediator of Nouveaux Commanditaires on the role of the mediator.

“Hello, good afternoon.

First of all I would like to say thank you, thank you very much for your invitation. It is a good fortune, a pleasure and an honour to share with you this moment of joy that comes naturally from the completion of your collective work.

Felipe has asked me to say a few words about the role of the mediator, in the framework of this project, but also in general. I will speak, excuse me, in my ‘approximate’ Spanish, but from the heart.

I myself have been a mediator for many years in France and participated in a very intense experience in Chile. I will try to introduce you to this complex, demanding and absolutely exciting role.

I would like to use two metaphors to give an image of the multifunctional and multidirectional work of the mediator. We could say that the mediator of Concomitentes and Nouveau Commanditaires projects is like the Indian goddess Kali or a Swiss knife.

During the collective work, the mediator mobilises at the same time very diverse skills: listening, animation of meetings and internal and external relations, analysis and translation of the expectations and needs of the clients into artistic challenges, cultural engineering, economic management, communication, etc., and on and on, the list would go on and on.

With these skills, the mediator maintains, like the beautiful fire in the centre of old houses, the desire and commitment of all, monitors the quality of the dialogue and discussions, ensuring the right balance between the expectations of the commissioners and the creative freedom of the artists. These are, among others, the fundamental functions of the mediator. 

But projects are not calm rivers that flow smoothly into the sea. The paediatric ICU team has already experienced this. Doing this multi-purpose mediation also requires human qualities such as empathy and perseverance. 

Therefore, if I had to conclude by describing the role of the mediator in just one sentence, I would say that he or she is the “architect of collective trust”. A trust that allows us to break free from our individualism, to emancipate ourselves from our compartmentalised systems, to commit ourselves to something broader, more generous and shared.

Thus, Each project that is realised is a victory against immobility and fatalism, further proof that civil society can be concretely and creatively involved in public affairs, and that art is an essential actor to change our world.

The mediator is no more and no less than a humble servant of these magnificent causes. 

All my congratulations to Felipe, to all the team, to all the artists, for this tremendous work, and a big “hurray” for this powerful project. 

May the adventure continue with confidence in our capacity to be actors for a more united, freer and more democratic society.