We completed two training courses this year!
In this newsletter we look back and we look forward.
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The training course "Embracing Conflict and Diversity" took place in Greece, near the Olympus, from the 26th of July to the 1st of August.
We were so privileged to stay in this beautiful place, just 80m from the beach that we could take it on to dive into the topics of privilege, diversity, conflict (resolution), mediation and restorative justice. Marcus Armstrong, the co-trainer, brought such a wide range of experience in the field of mediation, that some people in the group were inspired to imagine a new career! The passionate group of participants also shared about different topics during "Open Space" and a "World Café". The topic of refugees was also very present, as we had three people working in refugee camps. We got together for an evening, from which the intention emerged to start a pen pall project. Please have a look at this page and get in touch if you're interested.
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The training course "Connecting the dots. Nonviolent Action for the Planet, Each other and Ourselves" took place in The Netherlands, from the 11th to the 17th of September. This training was an exploration of the three dimensions of Peace Power: the personal, interpersonal and global dimension. Thanks to the co-trainer Nonty Sedibe-Sabic (picture above) we also dove into the topic of structural racism, addressing these dimensions as much as possible. We found out that it is important to acknowledge the system of racism and the fact that every person is a part of it. Realizing the wound of separation, motivated us to work on creating a culture of peace, starting with ourselves and then bringing it into wider circles. Participants created their utopia on paper and also got tools for creative strategic nonviolent actions.
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Have a look at the Learning Outcomes of Embracing Conflict & Diversity
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More outcomes of "Embracing Conflict and Diversity"can be found here.
There is another video that shows what topics we discussed as well as a dance with the Two Hands of Nonviolence.
 
The outcomes of "Connecting the dots. Nonviolent Action for the Planet, Each other and Ourselves" can be found here.
Unfortunately, the dissemination of this training didn't go as planned: We lost most of our video materials :-(. We would have loved to share our "die-in" with you, but if you're curious to know what that is, you can look at several die-ins performed by Extinction Rebellion. Nevertheless, we did save one video and have loads of pictures, so check it out!
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Finally, there are exciting things happening next year as well!
We are starting a project called "Changing the Game" to create a game and facilitation guide to implement a culture of peace in different organisations. The countries participating in this project are Latvia, Greece, Poland, the UK and (of course) The Netherlands. There will be several meetings held over the course of 24 months, so we will keep you updated about possibilities to join.
A starting point for this project could be the Peaceful Earth Game that I developed. Or it could also become something very different of course. But any way the game is a great opportunity for you to find really feasible actions you can take to contribute to a peaceful earth and be "a piece of peace".
Currently already 14 people are playing the game. To learn more about the game have a look at this page on the website.
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We hope to see you'll get more involved and become an active Peace Builder in Europe . Below some suggestions to connect to Peace Power. Stay Tuned!
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