Mediation dates back to a more than 2500-year-old Chinese tradition. For Confucius, each conflict was a sign of poor education, court proceedings traditionally led to disgrace and loss of face. The aim of mediation was and still is to settle a conflict amicably so that every party can win something and none will lose face.
Mediation is particularly suited to settle conflicts within long-time and/or international business relations, across linguistic or legal borders.
I am a trained mediator, and founding and board member of the association "Mediation in den Medien – Mediation in the Media, Music & the Arts e.V." (www.mimma.de), founded in 2005; see also "Mediation in den Medien" in AfP, Zeitschrift für Medien- und Kommunikationsrecht 2003, p. 514ff. or here as PDF (in German language).