CNVC Trainer Certification

Please read this communication before proceeding to General Information

Communication About Certification - August 21, 2009

German

August 21, 2009

Dear NVC Community,

For the past three years and more, members of our network have been asking why certification was stopped (in Germany in 2006 and a complete stop in March 2007). This is an attempt to answer that question. We have deep regret about the impact on our entire NVC network of the sudden stop to certification, deep regret about falling short of our values for connection and community.

There were a number of factors involved. There was a desire by Marshall, other certification team members, and the administrative team to have the certification process more fully address the concepts of social change, spirituality, and trainers working together in community, which are all ways to become more fully aligned with the mission and vision of CNVC.

Another factor was that the number of candidates in some regions registering for certification, and thus the amount of assessor time and energy being requested, was greater than could be met sustainably by the current groups of assessors.

To start to address these factors, monthly Educational Services team meetings were begun In June of 2008. Two meetings to identify and start to train new assessors have been held – one in July 2008 in Stuttgart, Germany, and one in October 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

The Certification Team, which has been expanded to include the attendees at these trainings, has been using this opportunity to take a careful look at the whole certification process -- what has worked well, and what changes might result in the process working even better, so that it will mutually meet the needs of everyone involved.

The final certification process is now open in regions of the world where assessors are available to work with trainer candidates who were already registered before the stop to certification. As newly trained assessors become available, there will be a two-step process for opening registration. New assessors will start to work with candidates who were registered before the stop to certification. Once those connections are established between assessors and candidates, registration will open for new applicants.

When registration opens, new application procedures, as well as the names and locations of assessors will be listed on the website. Please note that the certification preparation document is still being revised; however even in its present form, it will give you a good idea of the process. We celebrate these steps, and deeply mourn the long delay in responding to the NVC community.

Warmly,

Marshall Rosenberg, Director of Educational Services and Administrative Team Member
Valentina Rosenberg, Administrative Team Member/Assistant to Marshall with Educational Services and with Certification
Rita Herzog, Certification Team Coordinator
Margo Pair, Administrative Director and Administrative Team Member/Assistant to Marshall with Educational Services and with Certification

To provide input or feedback to the Educational Services Team, please use one of our feedback forms: - If you want the input you provide to be immediately accessible by other member of our community, please use the form labeled "Public", which is located at http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=p6HBFi7KGIukI8yD0azJtAw&hl=en - If you would like your input to be visible only to the Educational Services Team, please use the form labeled "Private", which is located at http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=p6HBFi7KGIul0FQqfUJgMXw

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General Information

If you are interested in sharing NVC we suggest you consider becoming a CNVC Certified Trainer. If you are interested, please download the full Certification Preparation Packet below, and read the entire document before proceeding and before contacting the certification coordinators, listed below.

An Introduction to the Certification Process

We appreciate your interest in the procedures for becoming a certified trainer with The Center for Nonviolent Communication, and trust that what follows will meet your need for information.

The Purposes for CNVC Trainer Certification

CNVC is committed to a vision of a critical mass of people using Nonviolent Communication^SM (NVC) throughout the world. A strong community of qualified trainers will play an important role in the realization of this goal.

As you consider your decision to start on the path toward certification, we would like you to appreciate that the assessors have the clear intention to carry out their roles in a spirit of mutual respect and shared power. We share the challenge with you to engage in an assessment process within a new paradigm of partnership and "power with", rather than domination and "power over." We all have choice to interpret the certification process as coming from a domination perspective or to see it as an opportunity for partnership.

Many candidates who become aware of this choice and are able to integrate its meaning, have found transformative learning for themselves in the process. As assessors, we are constantly learning how to better contribute to a mutual process that meets everyone's needs.

We want to emphasize that the Center has a unique perspective in offering certification, and that may be different from the assumptions some candidates start with. For CNVC, certification is a validation and celebration of a new colleague joining our community. It is not a permanent credential like a diploma, but needs be renewed each year to stay in effect. In essence, it is an annual renewal of your commitment to the organization.

CNVC has two long-term goals for the certification process. One is to ensure that the next generation and succeeding generations are taught NVC in a way that preserves and protects the integrity of the NVC process. The second is to create a community of trainers who want to work with CNVC to fulfill our vision.

Certification candidates have expressed the following goals: connection to CNVC, contribution to our vision, credibility, mutual support, and personal growth.

Whether or not you decide to pursue CNVC certification, we hope that your enthusiasm for spreading and sharing NVC will continue. The “Guidelines for Sharing NVC for Individuals Who Are Not CNVC-Certified Trainers” is offered for your information. We request that you follow these guidelines, or contact your certification coordinator for further discussion.

An Overview

We are also providing you with the current CNVC Certified Trainers Agreement, so you can familiarize yourself with the guidelines that you will be asked to agree to, at the time of your pre-assessment.

We would like our certified trainers to have:

1. A strong grounding in NVC consciousness (which includes social change, spirituality, and community components),
2. A deep understanding of the NVC process, and
3. Proficient teaching skills, as well as a willingness to continue to grow in all these areas. To that end, we require of candidates at least a year of teaching NVC as a non-certified trainer, leading practice groups, working with at least three different certified trainers for guidance, along with training logs and personal NVC journals to chart progress and learnings. This will demonstrate your deepening in all three areas over a period of time.

The path to CNVC certification has three phases:

1. registration
2. pre-assessment
3. assessment

Anyone wishing to pursue the path to certification is requested to start with registration and complete each of the three phases, in sequence. The detailed procedures are described in the Certification Preparation Packet.

The Certification Preparation Packet of materials is designed to support candidates in deepening their NVC consciousness, skills, and understanding. These materials are also designed to help candidates determine their own readiness for a pre-assessment session. The packet includes information about additional fees to be paid directly to the assessor and about the completed certification fee to CNVC.

We expect these materials to be revised periodically, as we hear from all of you as to what is working well, and what is not. The current document is not a promise we are locked into. Program designs change over time -- it is a sign of growth and ongoing development -- in order to adapt to the needs of the organization and all of its members. Please check every few months for updates.

We recognize that applying for certification is a serious commitment.

Certification Preparation Packet Downloads

Each of these files is identical in content. They differ only in format. Hopefully, one of these formats will work for you.

Certification Preparation Packet 11-09 Adobe Acrobat 237.66 KB
Certification Preparation Packet 11-09 Rich Text File 207.29 KB
Certification Preparation Packet 11-09 Word Document 178.5 KB