Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County

Agnetha Hansgardh has returned to Sweden

She was the friendly voice, whenever you called the office during the days she was on duty.  She was professional, warm and up to the point. It was a job for her, but also a vocation with a deep personal commitment. She wanted to help the community with conflict resolution. Now she returned temporarily to her hometown Härnösand in Sweden. 

The wish to be a peace maker has grown in Agnetha since her early youth.  She experienced tension and squabbling which was exaggerated because people used significantly different styles of communication.  Her experience taught her to pay close attention to the role of communication styles play in enhancing conflicts. This experience was very valuable for her.

Agnetha points out that having conflicts by itself is not all negative. It relates to energy. It can provoke lively discussions and stimulate creativity. It can be accompanied by humor and relief, if the conflict is resolved. Agnetha said that the destructive element in conflicts are the grinding pain of long-term conflicts, which, if not resolved, can be stifling and consuming, not only for those directly involved, but also for those people surrounding them. 

Agnetha came to mediation after having an interesting career. Her last job was as program coordinator for the Institute of Physics. She was responsible for the Television News program. This program was providing information about new discoveries and breakthrough science to the media. But she was looking for something really fulfilling. This led her to take basic mediation training at the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution under Marvin Johnson. This was only the beginning, because it was important to her to practice, what she learned. The search brought her in contact with Linda Baron who suggested joining the Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County as volunteer, which Agnetha did. A job offer followed as part-time intake person. She also worked part-time for the National Opinion Research Center. She became a very skillful mediator and facilitator, working in the youth program, and where ever else her skills were needed. CRCMC benefitted greatly from her language skills for Spanish language intake and mediations.

Her greatest skill, however, was the intake process itself. She says, “I was amazed, how many hurdles had to be overcome before mediation can happen. It is often hard to get people to the table since those involved in an intense conflict tend to devalue the other party so much that they see it useless to sit down to talk to them.” She continues: “because many initiatives do not go all the way to mediation it is good to know that the people on the phone at least have been heard, which is often more than they have experienced before. 

"With CRCMC's facilitation support, Task Force members were able to study the issues together, discuss their viewpoints in a productive manner, and find common ground on a controversial matter. I believe that CRCMC's work made a crucial difference in this process, which ultimately promoted a sound and sustainable policy."