Facilitated by Ania Mills (Poland) and Kathleen Macferran (US)

Do you want to have more peace in this world? More justice? More respect toward others? Do you want the world to consist of listening and dialogue? Do you have the courage to create such a reality?

This workshop will give you the tools to help you build a world of listening and of respecting the value of every person. You will gain resources on how to transform the system we live in, in such a way that they can support peace and dialogue.

We will be looking at how we build a world that works for all on three levels:
  • my internal state – how can I find my own power and wisdom?
  • interpersonal – how can I be engaged with others so we build trust and partnership?
  • systemic – how can individual actions impact the way we act in communities? how can we build collaboration amongst groups of people?
The impacts of those levels is profound:
  • internal – I get clarity about what matters, what my purpose is, how I can act with integrity and choice rather than just what others tell me, how I can find peace in myself;
  • interpersonal – improved trust, joy, fun, meaning in relationships that are dear to me (family, partners, co-workers) so I’m seen and known;
  • systemic – I can make a difference in the world and find meaning, contribution, effectiveness and joy by shifting patterns that hurt some people into patterns where there’s more equity and collaboration.

During those four days we will be asking questions such as:

  • How can we bring peace and respect into our families, workplaces and international relations?
  • How can we generate cooperation with people who are different from us in terms of political opinions, race, religious beliefs, customs, status?
  • How can we transform violence into peacemaking?
  • How can we nonviolently bring justice into the world?
  • How do we transform systems of punishment into systems of restoration – among families, communities, organizations and even countries?
  • How do we create systems that support listening and dialogue among people?

The prerequisite for building a world of dialogue is learning the art of listening. As Kathleen Macferran says:

“Listening is fundamental to dialogue, and dialogue is a prerequisite to change. When we listen, we love. Listening restores relationships. It brings forgiveness. It changes the world. It makes it possible to introduce great changes through the power of love, not the power of force.”

We especially invite people who:

  • are leaders of teams, groups, communities;
  • are social activists and/or are involved in NGOs;
  • are involved in education;
  • are connected to the justice system;
  • are engaged in politics;
  • want to address a social problem characterized by a poor quality of dialogue, respect, or peace;
  • want to create changes in the most basic social system – family.

The workshop will be interactive and practical. Using real life challenges, conversations, hopes and experiences, participants will work on areas in their own lives that they desire to transform and projects they wish to implement. The goal is to finish with a clear vision of what each participant wants to do and how each one wants to do it.

The workshop will be based on Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg.

To register: http://zmieniajswiat.org/en/registration/

You can read about the second workshop led by Kathleen Macferran in Poland here: http://pbpwwiezieniu.pl