Peacebuilding UK and partners Odessa Mediation Group and CPCD (Chechnya) held the first international training conference “Peacebuilding and Psychosocial Assistance through the Power of Goodness project in Ukraine” from 29 June to 1 July. Our Power of Goodness partner Friends Peace Teams was represented at the conference by Nadine Hoover. We explored the ‘building blocks’ of peacebuilding work and the criteria and principles behind creating powerful stories that promote nonviolence and reconciliation through concrete, real-life acts of kindness.
We used art therapy, feedback, development of emotional intellect and relaxation techniques in our work. What are the turning points where our use of transformational power in situations of violence enables peaceful change? How do such moments feel, drawing on examples from our own lives? If we can pinpoint these moments, how can we recreate such conditions? Peace is possible if we choose it and work on it!
Through its multiplier effect, the Power of Goodness project has already touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and adults all over Ukraine and Chechnya. Five new Ukrainian stories are being edited to join the Power of Goodness pool.
