The Mediators’ Institute of Ireland TED Talk Club Meetings 2026 

After a wonderful run of sessions in 2025, we can now set out a new list of topics and TED Talk videos we will be discussing in the MII TED Talk Club in the first half of 2026.

As ever, we’ll be watching a TED Talk live along with the audience and then we’ll discuss its relevance to mediation and dispute resolution. And we’ll be taking questions and comments from our live audience.

For our first meeting in 2026 on 15th January at 17.00 GMT we will be watching: How do daily habits lead to political violence?

NOTE: Change of Panel Members – Michael Lang cannot join us tomorrow but his replacement is Sean O Baoill. Sean is a Mediator, Storyteller and Conflict Resolution Trainer from Newcastle Co. Down with over thirty years’ experience of working with a wide range of peace and reconciliation groups throughout Northern Ireland and Internationally.

He originally studied Community youth Work and has Postgraduate qualifications in Peace Studies, Gestalt Practice, Advanced Groupwork Skills, Community Relations, Mediation, Principled Negotiation, Facilitative Leadership, Restorative Justice and Family Group Conferencing.

Not a bad substitute, I’m sure you’ll agree. It’s like bringing on Craig Gordon for Hearts!

So, what drives someone to commit politically motivated violence? The unsettling answer lies in daily habits.

Behavioural historian Christiane-Marie Abu Sarah shares startling insights into how seemingly mundane choices can breed polarization that lead to extreme, even deadly, actions – and explains how to identify and bypass these behaviours in order to rediscover common ground.

 Join us this Thursday 15th January at 5pm GMT/Irish Time when our panel analyses why this TED Talk is relevant to mediators and anyone else concerned with conflict (not only political conflict) and conflict resolution, when they be asked questions such as:

To enable you to watch the videos in advance of our live panel discussions, we have the links to the next six TED Talk sessions set out below. Many thanks to everyone who suggested the following topics. Attendees get an hour’s CPD.

 1 How can mediators create conditions where parties experience each other as humans rather than roles, categories, or threats?

2 How can insights about daily habits inform mediation training, community dialogue design, or conflict‑prevention strategies?

 3 What micro‑behaviours in a mediation room (tone, seating, greetings, small talk) can either soften or harden group identity boundaries?

Put the dates in your diary and we hope to see you on 15^th January…

If you haven’t already registered for our TED Talk Club you can do so on clr.ie/137293 

Date	Time	Subject
Thursday 15th Jan	17.00 Irish Time	Christiane-Marie Abu Sarah: How do daily habits lead to political violence? What drives someone to commit politically motivated violence? The unsettling answer lies in daily habits. Behavioral historian Christiane-Marie Abu Sarah shares startling insights into how seemingly mundane choices can breed polarization that lead to extreme, even deadly, actions — and explains how to identify and bypass these behaviors in order to rediscover common ground.  https://www.ted.com/talks/christiane_marie_abu_sarah_how_do_daily_habits_lead_to_political_violence
Tuesday 10th Feb	13.00 Irish Time	Dan Reisel: The neuroscience of restorative justice Dan Reisel studies the biology of change, including our ability to rewire our own brains. And he asks a big question: Instead of warehousing these criminals, shouldn’t we be using what we know about the brain to help them rehabilitate? Put another way: If the brain can grow new neural pathways after an injury … could we help the brain re-grow morality? Dan Reisel: The neuroscience of restorative justice | TED Talk
Thursday 12th March	17.00 Irish Time	Jimmy Carter: Why I believe the mistreatment of women is the number one human rights abuse With his signature resolve, former US President Jimmy Carter dives into three unexpected reasons why the mistreatment of women and girls continues in so many manifestations in so many parts of the world, both developed and developing. The final reason he gives? “In general, men don’t give a damn.”  https://www.ted.com/talks/jimmy_carter_why_i_believe_the_mistreatment_of_women_is_the_number_one_human_rights_abuse
Tuesday 14th April	13.00 Irish Time	Jonny Sun: You are not alone in your loneliness Being open and vulnerable with your loneliness, sadness and fear can help you find comfort and feel less alone, says writer and artist Jonny Sun. In an honest talk filled with his signature illustrations, Sun shares how telling stories about feeling like an outsider helped him tap into an unexpected community and find a tiny sliver of light in the darkness.  https://www.ted.com/talks/jonny_sun_you_are_not_alone_in_your_loneliness
Thursday 14th May	17.00 Irish Time	The skill of self-confidence by Dr Ivan Joseph As the Athletic Director and head coach of the Varsity Soccer team at Ryerson University, Dr. Joseph is often asked what skills he is searching for as a recruiter: is it speed? Strength? Agility? In Dr. Joseph’s TEDx Talk, he explores self-confidence and how it is not just the most important skill in athletics, but in our lives.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-HYZv6HzAs
Tuesday 9th June	13.00 Irish Time	Siamak Hariri: How do you build a sacred space? To design the Bahá’í Temple of South America, architect Siamak Hariri focused on illumination — from the temple’s form, which captures the movement of the sun throughout the day, to the iridescent, luminous stone and glass used to construct it. Join Hariri for a journey through the creative process, as he explores what makes for a sacred experience in a secular world.  https://www.ted.com/talks/siamak_hariri_how_do_you_build_a_sacred_space?referrer=playlist-building_introspective_spaces