Peace – Page 5

Peace Camp Workshops: A huge success!

Peace Camp is an initiative housed in the MSCU Center for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel University College. The 2016 Directing team is made up of Kaitlyn Skelly, a current University of Waterloo student going into her 4^th year of Speech Communication and Peace and Conflict Studies and Rebekah DeJong, a recent University of Waterloo Alumni of Peace and Conflict Studies.

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The Peace Camp Team is happy to share that we have completed another successful workshop season! The Peace Camp 2016 season resulted in 101 peace education presentations facilitated at 30 different schools across the region, reaching an estimated 3235 students. Throughout the hour long workshops Rebekah and I had the chance to work with youth in elementary schools ranging from Grade 3 to Grade 8. It was a wonderful opportunity to explore ideas of social justice and peace building with youth and to empower students to use their abilities to have a positive impact on their communities.

Our activities ranged from Peace Postcards that became random acts of kindness to team building activities that challenged participants to complete a bridge building task without verbal communication. Junior students experienced a Circle Process that explored the impact our words have on the feelings of those who hear them. Intermediate students tried their hand at conflict analysis to understand the root causes of problems and create solutions that turn conflict into a peace building opportunities. These activates highlighted the workshop participant’s peace building skills and demonstrated how each individual is capable of being peace builders in our communities.

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We loved seeing students experience “aha!” moments when ideas and concepts we were discussing clicked for them, especially when talking about how we can apply peace building to our everyday lives. It was exciting to witness the creative ideas students had to solve problems, express themselves and the depth of understanding for peace and compassion they demonstrated in our sessions.

Students we worked with were enthusiastic and engaged with the topics of social justice and peace building. In our feedback from teachers we were told that,

“the students were highly receptive and reflective based upon the ideas discussed”

and that they were impressed with the level of engagement their students showed while participating in the workshop. Another teacher said that “the message is positive and important and having it come from young adults is great”. Educators were pleased with the connections their students could make with local university students, “Thank you, so impressed with the many programs coming out of the University of Waterloo”. Rebekah and I are glad to hear about the positive impact this program has had on students and are grateful to the educators who welcomed us into their classrooms.

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Throughout the 2016 workshop season one of the questions students ask us most often was “Is there a real Peace Camp in the summer?”, and the answer is YES! We have a week long day camp in August for youth ages 11-14. The camp is located on the University of Waterloo Campus at Conrad Grebel University College. This summer’s theme is ‘Peace In Action’ and the goal is to show campers that whatever their interests may be, whether it is art, music, math, engineering, business or even fashion, be they can use them to pursue peace. Registration is still open and we have a few more spots available.

Click here for more information or to register for Peace Camp

Nonviolence Festival Day In The Park — 9 July 2016

Nonviolence Festival

The Nonviolence Festival Day In The Park is taking place this weekend, Saturday, 9 July 2016 from noon to 5:00pm on the island in Victoria Park, Kitchener.

There will be vendors of homemade goods, information tables for community groups, music in the gazebo, food, and games for kids (with prizes!).

Join us for this celebration of Diversity, Peace, and Social Justice, held yearly since 2005!

If you’re on Facebook let us know you’re going!

The Nonviolence Festival is one of many Peace and Social Justice organizations in the KW Peace Collective.

Nonviolence Festival invites all to join for annual Day in the Park Celebration

Nonviolence Festival

Join the Nonviolence Festival on 9 July 2016 from Noon to 5:00pm on Victoria Park Island, Kitchener for the family friendly Day in the Park celebration!

You can visit community group displays to learn about positive things happening in the Kitchener Waterloo community. There will also be local artists and vendors, live music by local artists, food with vegetarian friendly options, and a children’s activities area.

It’s a great way to engage with the community and spend a wonderful Saturday afternoon in the park.

The Nonviolence Festival has been celebrating diversity, peace, and social justice since 2005, making this year’s festival the 12^th annual Day in the Park celebration. In a world where we struggle against violence and fear, the Nonviolence Festival focuses on positive ways we can engage with those around us, working for peace and positive relationships. They define Nonviolence as ‘treating others the way you wish to be treated’ and when that principle is applied to our relationships at home, workplace and the world, we build the kind of world in which we want to live.

The Nonviolence Festival’s Day in the Park is one of multiple events held by the group throughout the year that are guided by nonviolence principles. Visit their Facebook page to stay up to date – https://www.facebook.com/The-Non-Violence-Festival-8613247145/.

Contact nonviolencefest@gmail.com for more information.

KW Peace Meeting: Thursday, 16 June 2016, 6-8pm

Hello All!

The next KW Peace potluck meeting will be June 16th 2016 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm in the Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church’s Peace and Justice room (a different room than before), 57 Stirling Avenue North Kitchener. Map Please bring a dish to share!

If you haven’t been posting your events to the KW Peace calendar, please consider checking it out! We want to advertise the KW Peace calendar to the public, so it’d be ideal to have lots of events posted. If you need help with the website, please contact Bob Jonkman – bobjonkman@kwpeace.ca

At our previous KW Peace Potluck meeting we had discussed holding a one day conference event, hosted by the members of this group and open to other group members as well as members of the public. This would be a unique opportunity to work together each other and share our work and ideas! We’re really excited about this idea, and hope that you’ll be excited too.

The focus of this event would be “Perspectives on Peacemaking,” and we invite groups to share how they are making peace in our local or global community. We define peace in the broad holistic sense, so any work that improves our community and contributes to social justice is included. The main purpose of the event would be highlighting the great work that goes on in our community, learning from each other, as well as giving people practical ways to get involved and make a difference.

Tentatively we are thinking our event would include longer presentations (30 mins to 1 hour), round table discussions, and short (2-5 min) presentations. During the longer presentations, a group or speaker might share an issue that is relevant to our community, how they address the issue, and how people can get involved. The round table discussion would have pre-selected questions that you discuss with people around you, in order to facilitate sharing of ideas and information. The short presentations would give a group an opportunity to just briefly say some kind of announcement or message they want to get out to this audience. We would also have table space available for displays or other types of publicity materials (brochures, business cards, etc)

Please let us know if you are interesting in helping with the planning and facilitating of this event, presenting a long or short presentation, or having table space for materials.

Additionally, if you are interested in participating in the KW Peace initiatives, please sign up for the KW Peace Groups mailing list.

Thanks,

Emily

Emily Mininger
PeaceQuest KW Affiliate Facilitator

Email: e.mininger@gmail.com
Phone: +1-519-568-3879
Twitter: @PeaceQuestKW
Facebook: Peacequest.ca | Facebook
Website: PeaceQuest Kitchener-Waterloo

Forty Years of Turning Swords into Ploughshares — 17 May 2016 in Ottawa

When: Tuesday, May 17, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Where: Great Hall, Christ Church Cathedral, 414 Sparks Street, Ottawa

FREE EVENT

Join us for a dialogue on working for peace, featuring presentations by Ploughshares researchers, including: Cesar Jaramillo, Branka Marijan, Sonal Marwah and Jessica West.

This item was mirrored from Forty Years of Turning Swords into Ploughshares | Project Ploughshares.

KW Peace Potluck Dinner, 6pm Thurs 7 April, Sterling Ave Mennonite Church

Our next KW Peace meeting is on Thursday, 7 April 2016 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church Fellowship Hall, 57 Stirling Avenue North
Kitchener. Map

We are again doing a potluck, so bring a dish to share and let me know if there are any dietary needs we need to be aware of.

A reminder of what we’re about: We are meeting as participants in local peace groups and social justice groups to collaborate, share, learn, and brainstorm!

To prepare for this meeting, please brainstorm some ideas of what we want the goals and/or mission of this group to be, so we can agree on a common purpose and direction.

Please let me know if you are able to attend.

Cheers,

Emily

—
Emily Mininger
PeaceQuest KW Affiliate Facilitator

Email: e.mininger@gmail.com
Phone: +1-519-568-3879
Twitter: @PeaceQuestKW
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeaceQuest.ca
Website: http://peacequest.ca

Buckeyes, Candy, Christmas, Cookies from Pixabay is used under a CC0 - Public Domain CC0 – Public Domain license.

Cross Cultures commemoration of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 31 March 2016

Greetings, here’s an update for the Thursday schedule …

there may be slight last minute variations

this is an open invitation to the entire community to participate and attend … FREE Public Event

spread the word! share with friends, community, network ..

with THREE entirely different but equally thrilling segments
9:00 am – 1:30 pm
2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm

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8:30 arrivals

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9:00 Opening Ceremonies:

· Elder Jean Becker leads indigenous opening prayer

· followed by O’Canada, in English and in French with Daniel Kelley

· Dignitaries bringing greetings

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9:30 Harold Albrecht MP on Politics and Faith

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9:40 Catherine Fife, MPP for Kitchener Waterloo

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10:00 Break:
students browse the displays

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10:15 Musical presentation of peace
(Grade 7 or 8 class) WCDSB :

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10:30 Carla Beharry
a proud Inter-Cultural Canadian, born and raised with a Guyanese Father, and a British Mother. Carla began mentoring women and girls in Guyana and Belize, 13 years ago. Her work abroad encompasses teaching sexual health & HIV education, leading women’s empowerment groups, and encouraging women to have a voice in standing up to end domestic violence. Most recently, Carla started her own mentorship group, Girls in the World, designed for teen girls in Canada to have a space to discuss gender, identity, race, self-confidence and self-worth. The groups are lead with the intention of supporting teens in rising up against discrimination, while cultivating courage, kindness, and compassion.

Carla’s talk will be an interactive forum for teens. All attendees will be given an opportunity to ask anonymous questions about culture, race, identity, and equality. We will work together, as a group to create clarity, and will work within the belief that educating children and teens, holding space for honest questions, and honouring our diverse, multicultural world is the only path to true freedom and liberation for all beings

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11:00 Student Senate will lead a panel discussion WCDSB

Politics vs Religion, The Challenges to promoting Peace and the need for Equity

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11:30 Lunch

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12:00 Lincoln Heights students WRDSB

Lincoln Heights is honoured to be joining the events for this years day to Eliminate Racial Discrimination. This is a topic that they are very passionate about and they have prepared short speeches of their opinions on this years theme Politics vs religion

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12:20 Presentation on Politics vs Religion:
a student from Resurrection will do a PowerPoint, and Blue scarf campaign

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1:00 Greetings from Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener

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1:10 Islamic School of Cambridge

six different presentation

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1:30 Wrap up activity
Game: Join the Dots, Resurrection to lead in this activity

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1:45 Students leave for buses

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2:00 Politics vs Religion panel

* Professor Norman Klassen
The Western Separation of Religion and Politics: A Paradox of Christian Humanism . . . building on his comments from last year’s discussion about the medieval Christian poet Geoffrey Chaucer: that his vision is for the togetherness of a pilgrimaging community. He gives a picture of what it means to recognize endless depths in one another: a responsibility to stay in dialogue with them. This year Professor Klassen builds on that with reference to another Christian writer, the influential novelist Marilynne Robinson. She likewise starts from the idea that “people are images of God” and ends with democracy as “the inevitable consequence of this kind of religious humanism”. Professor Klassen will ponder the effectiveness of these two writers as writers, precisely because they recognize the importance of freedom both for their characters and their readers. So freedom, including political freedom, is paradoxically bound up with a religious vision that has developed in the West as Christian humanism

* Doug Thomas
Doug Thomas is the president of Secular Connexion Séculière, a national organization that acts as a communication nexus for secular humanists, advocates for secular humanist rights in Canada, and speaks out for persecuted atheists around the world. Doug Thomas on the Subject of Politics vs Religion:

He sees the concept of “politics vs religion” as an unfortunate idea that implies that they cannot co-exist and that one must somehow supersede the other. Doug promotes the idea that democratic governments must avoid interference at the systemic level by religions, but that individuals should be able to bring their religious beliefs to the table as long as they do not insist on imposing their religion on other believers or on non-believers. At the same time, laws should avoid impeding the expression of personal belief or non-belief by individuals. The gold standard should be the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the case law developed from it by the Supreme Court of Canada

* BobJonkman
co chair, Fair Vote Canada, Waterloo Region Chapter
Bob has been advocating for electoral reform since the 2007 Ontario referendum on Proportional Representation. Bob would like to see a voting system based on Proportional Representation at all levels of government. In today’s panel discussion Bob will focus on how Proportional Representation isn’t only for political parties, but also for ethnic, religious and gender diversity

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3:00 WLU Diversity Team presentations

3:30 Brenda Halloran joins us and will be
speaking to a group of students about politics, their responsibilities, answer questions etc

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4:00 Hate Crimes Prevention Project
Coalition of Muslim Women
Sarah Shafiq
a unique grass roots project based in the Region of Waterloo, aiming to education Muslim women on how to recognize, respond and resolve a hate crime or incident. Some details on how the goal had to be modified from victim support after an incident, to educating the importance of reporting the incident to police and documenting it

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4:30 Fair Vote Canada Waterloo Region Chapter
Bob Jonkman, will expand on proportional representation and will show slides

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5:00 Colleen Sargeant James
Colleen is the co-founder and CEO of Divonify, She works with businesses to provide holistic solutions that meet global diversity and inclusion benchmarks. Colleen is committed to helping empower businesses to establish diversity and inclusion best practices and creating a corporate culture of authenticity and inclusiveness. Colleen is a dedicated member of the community, she has over ten years experience working in public administration and the not-for-profit sector. She is an active member of Zonta International, a leading global organization of professionals empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy. Colleen writes a regular blog that specializes in diversity and inclusion awareness and is a graduate of the University of Toronto

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6:00 Jane Richard
KW Right to Life is an educational prolife non profit charity, one of hundreds of like organizations across Canada that promote the value of human Life from conception to natural death.

Sketch of talk content … followed by discussion from the floor: Following the preamble of the Canadian Bill of Rights, the protection of moral and spiritual values based on the supremacy of God – the dignity and worth of the human person and the position of the family – time honoured – changing to a secular approach where people become their own moral agent – legally allowing abortion and assisted suicide on demand. – the implications on individuals and Canadian society

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6:00
PEACE CONCERT
. . . this annual general arts and culture extravaganza encompasses the broader sense of the word culture !
song, dance, instrument, drama, poetry, visual art & photography display, CD & DVD etc

including:
* Mark Evans and the band
CANOES EYE VIEW

* 2yLite Tha Titan is a Palestinian-Canadian rapper and producer who stands for social equality and freedom among all people. He has been making music for a total of 16 years and has 4 CDs released with performances in several cities in Canada. He will be performing some of his latest music from his soon to be released album “Evolve Or Dissolve”
p.s. if you are wondering, my name is pronounced Twilight The Titan

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for those who have not joined us over the years:

Cross Cultures has been organizing Waterloo Region’s full day FREE event to commemorate the

UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

for educators, students, organizations and the general public ..

PS
since March 21st this year falls on the Monday back from March Break and holy Easter week
the consensus has been that we go with March 31st instead

Please feel free to connect with me by phone or email:
looking forward to hearing from you
Gehan

—
Gehan D. Sabry
Editor / Publisher
Cross Cultures magazine (since 1991)
POB 20002 Kitchener ON N2P 2B4
Tel: (519) 748-9520
Fax: (519) 893-4259
email: crosscultures@bellnet.ca
www.crosscultures.ca

This item was mirrored from the Cross Cultures Facebook Event.

Infinite Hope – Nonviolence Festival’s 9th Annual MLK Day Celebration — Monday, 18 January 2016

Nonviolence Festival’s 9^th Annual
Martin Luther King Day Celebration
Infinite Hope
Discovering Inspiration In Ourselves & Others

Join us for a evening of reflection and planning as we highlight the positive forces in our world.

Music ⌇ Speakers ⌇ Discussion

Monday January 18, 2016 7:00 p.m.
Kitchener City Hall Rotunda
Free Admission
Donations Welcome: Articles of clothing and non-perishable food donations towards Waterloo Region Welcome Refugees

Supported by:
City of Kitchener Nonviolence Festival KW Peace

Facebook event: Infinite Hope: Discovering Inspiration in Ourselves and Others

Nonviolence Festival's 9th Annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration - Infinite Hope - Discovering Inspiration In Ourselves and Others

Download the poster (.jpg format, 2550px × 3300px, 981 kBytes)

Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives on Peace and Justice — Saturday, 5 December 2015

Found on the University of Waterloo events calendar:

Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives on Peace and Justice: Part Three

Join us for Session Three presentations by Shakil Choudhury, Educator and Consultant, Anima Leadership, Nancy Kelly, retired Lutheran pastor, and Louisa D’Amato, a news reporter from the The Record and member of the local Jewish community.

Free parking at Renison.

Host: Renison University College

Event website: SI Events

Cost: Free but registration required

Location:
REN – Renison University College Map
Room 1303
240 Westmount Road North
Waterloo, ON N2L 3G4
Canada

Welcome to the new home for KWPeace

KWPeace

Thanks to the sponsorship of Educators for Justice and the generosity of web hosting provider CCj/Clearline the KW Peace blog has moved to a new site at http://kwpeace.ca/.

An initiative of the Kitchener Waterloo Peace and Social Justice Community Symposium, the new site gives more flexibility to add things like a comprehensive calendar of all Peace and Social Justice events in the Kitchener–Waterloo area, and mailing lists for the KW Peace groups to coordinate those events.

Thank you for joining us on our new site!

–Bob Jonkman,
KWPeace Blog System Administrator.