You can develop Peace Poqwer by practicing the skills needed for a more peaceful and nonviolent world and gaining knowledge and insight, so you can provide alternatives to violence and resolve conflicts nonviolently, either on the interpersonal level or in society. Because only through peaceful means will we reach peaceful outcomes. By changing our way of thinking and acting we build the collective peace power to create a world where life flourishes.
I, Nina Koevoets, offer workshops and training courses to help build people’s Peace Power and move towards a nonviolent peaceful world, since 2015. Several trainings were implemented with the support of a Dutch NGO, “Foundation for Active Nonviolence” (SVAG), that has been active since 1966 (for a quick overview of the Dutch NGO dowload the PDF) and with the finance from the “Erasmus+” fund of the European Commission for youth education in Europe.
Here’s some more sources of information about my work:
- A one page overview of training for youth workers
- A flyer of Peace Power’s mission, vision and programs
- in Dutch: an overview of the training courses from 2015-2022, written for the Newsbulletin of SVAG.
- An episode of “Solutions to violence” radio program in which they interview me about my work and Study Guide
Training
In eight days people get an intense introduction that gives a great start to become a Peace Builder. The ‘power’ of these trainings is that they both explore violence (the problems) and nonviolence (creative solutions). Generally each training has three elements: 1. Increasing awareness of conflict and violence, 2. practicing conflict navigation and 3. developing future plans and networking for a peaceful world.
Have a look under “Erasmus+ trainings” in the menu for more information on the previous training courses that have been held since 2015. To look at what participants from 2020 said, scroll further down.
Workshops
I offer single workshops, lasting at least 3 hours. In these workshops I tap from the longer training program. They can be customized to the needs of the group. For example, one group may want to focus on Conflict Resolution Strategies, while another group may want to start a campaign. For example, at the Global Eco-village Conference in July 2017 (photo) I focused on community-building, while also introducing a few “classic” tools like the Two Hands of Nonviolence. For NGOs working with refugees, I focus on dealing with conflict and stress. Download the one page description of Peace Power workshops.
Webinars
Check-out several webinar series that I did, such as those with Rivera Sun, an author and activist from the USA (2017), or a mini-series of four (2018), or one for the Rise Ubuntu Network (2020). Check out the opportunities for online courses as well.
Study Guide
After more than 2 years of work, the Study Guide “Engaging Nonviolence: Activating Nonviolent Change in Our Lives and Our World”, by Pace e Bene Press was published in October 2019! It has three parts: 1. Exploring Nonviolent Power, 2. Nonviolence in Practice, 3. Planning and Strategy. Read more on the designated page.
How is peace possible? And how could it be achieved?
Of course one can write a whole book about this complex question. But what is not so complex is that enormous amounts of money are invested in war, while less than 1% of military spending is invested in peacebuilding (according to the Economic Forum). Moreover, when we think of peace we think of “ease and calm”, while it will need our active involvement to build peace. Skills to build a peaceful world can be gained through training and practice, so that’s why Peace Power focuses on that.
If you participate in a training you’ll learn that Peace Power can be applied on a personal, social and cultural level. You’ll get some tools to develop “peace of mind”, peaceful relations and build a culture of peace (see image – 8 areas of a culture of peace, as defined by the UN). You’ll also become more aware of the normalisation of violence: how it’s presented as ‘necessary’ and that it’s so embedded in our every-day-lives that everyone experiences different forms of violence (from physical violence, to violence inside social structures and violence in our culture -habits, stories, norms and values.) And a new world will open for you, one where you can join people that are working on increasing their emotional awareness and empathy, striving for more equity and engaging in solidarity. 
To make the cultural shift, to a culture or peace, we’ve to recognise that we inter-are, as the monk Thich Nath Hahn put it. Western culture admires independence and individuality, and contrast this with dependence and collectivism. However, instead we are inter-dependent, with each other and our environment. ML King said: “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.”
Hopefully you’re inspired to start to believe that peace is possible. That’s the first step!
Please consider contributing to my work, by following the link or use the QR code or Paypal button.
Have a look what participants learned in trainings in 2020.
Peace Power 