IIT FAQ

International Intensive Training Frequently Asked Questions:

What is an IIT?

  • A residential workshop
  • An experiential workshop for developing fluency in Nonviolent Communication
  • An opportunity to learn and practice Nonviolent Communication with CNVC certified trainers
  • A safe environment for personal growth
  • A time to make deep connections
  • A group of people from different cultures working together toward transformed relationships and social systems

What will it be like?

  • Unpredictable
  • Informal
  • Challenging and supportive

How will I learn?

  • By listening to presentations about various aspects of Nonviolent Communication
  • By participating in small groups and through informal practice with other participants during meals, walks, etc.
  • By remembering the purpose of Nonviolent Communication
  • By contributing to other participants and receiving their contributions

What does an IIT cost and what do the fees include?

  • IIT costs consist of Tuition plus Accommodations (room and board and facility usage fee).
  • IIT Tuition is 1,500 US$.
  • Accommodation charges vary from one facility to another, but are never optional. Even if you do not sleep or dine at the IIT facility, there will be an Accommodation fee. This is separate from and in addition to the IIT Tuition.
  • Meals begin with dinner on the first day of the training and include lunch on the last day of the training.
  • Additional meals due to early arrival or late departure are not handled by CNVC. Similarly, CNVC does not handle arrangements for lodging before the IIT check-in time nor after the IIT check-out time. Arrangement for these accommodations, and payment for them, is the responsibility of the individual participant.
  • Transportation to and from the training location is the responsibility of the individual participant.

What is the Daily Schedule & Structure?


(Subject to Change)
8:00- 8:30 am Breakfast
9:00- 9:30 am Remembering*
9:30- 9:45 am Logistics and NVC offerings
10:00-12:00 Session One
12:00-12:45 pm Lunch

1:30-3:00 pm Session Two
3:15-5:00 pm Session Three
5:15-5:55 pm Celebrations
6:00-6:45 pm Supper/Dinner
7:30-9:30 pm Session Four

*The Remembering Sessions help participants be aware of the purpose underlying NVC. Participants who wish to share may express this remembering with a short exercise, a ceremony, poem, musical selection, a reading, etc. If you would enjoy doing so, please bring materials to contribute to the Remembering Sessions.

What is the Format and Structure?To provide participants with a choice of learning opportunities IIT’s typically operate in a manner that is similar to the principles of Open Space Technology. For more information about the principles see www.openspaceworld.org
What are the start and end times?
On (start) day 1: Dinner is served. The scheduled start of the program (first meeting) is at 7:00 pm (19:00hrs).
On (last) day 10:The last meeting ends before lunch. Lunch is still included.

What Payment options do I have?We request payment in US dollars ONLY.
We accept all credit cards (prefer visa or master card), PayPal, money orders, cheques or traveller's cheques and bank wire transfers.

How to apply for an IIT?

Check the iit schedule. Find the IIT that interests you and download an Application Packet for that IIT which contains additional information plus an IIT Application.
Fill out the application form and send it with payment to the address indicated in the Packet. Please print or type, because incomplete or illegible application forms will not be processed. Applications may be sent by postal mail, fax or email. (with email do not include your credit card info)

Applications received without payment will not be processed, unless you are applying for a scholarship and your application is accompanied by a Scholarship Request Form and is received at the CNVC office before the scholarship application deadline. (See iit scholarships on this page).

CNVC will reserve your place at an IIT based on the sequence in which applications are received at the office and processed. Payment in full is due four weeks prior to the IIT start-date. Registrations that have not been fully paid by that due-date may be cancelled by CNVC. Application forms received after the due-date must be accompanied by full payment (not just the minimum 100 US$) in order to be processed.

Once an IIT is filled, CNVC creates a waiting list. If the IIT is full when your application and payment arrives at CNVC, (1) your name is automatically placed on the waiting list in the order received, and (2) your payment is not processed. CNVC will not cash your check or run your credit card unless/until you are promoted from the waiting list and registered into the IIT. There is no guarantee that a space will open up.

CNVC will notify you of the status of your application. Notification is usually sent 1-7 days after the application is received. Please wait until your registration has been confirmed before making travel reservations.

Can I record the sessions?Please do not plan to film or record any part of any session at the IIT. Such recording often interferes with the group process or thwarts other participants' expectation of trust and privacy.
How to do advance planning for an IIT?

IITs often fill to maximum enrollment capacity weeks or months before the event. Most people who send an IIT application do receive a seat at the training: however, this is not guaranteed. Since transportation to and from the IIT is your responsibility and may be costly, please wait to book your transportation until AFTER you have received confirmation of your acceptance for the program.

What is the Waiting list procedure?

Once an IIT is filled, CNVC creates a waiting list. If the IIT is full when your application and payment arrives at CNVC, (1) your name is automatically placed on the waiting list in the order received, and (2) your payment is not processed. CNVC will not cash your check or run your credit card unless/until you are promoted from the waiting list and registered into the IIT. There is no guarantee that a space will open up.

What are the IIT cancellations and refunds policies?

In the event that an IIT does not take place, the IIT enrollee agrees that CNVC shall have no obligation to compensate the IIT enrollee above paid IIT tuition. (In such an event, CNVC may offer to reassign the payment to another IIT or CNVC Workshop, if this is the IIT enrollee’s preference.)

CNVC incurs significant expenses with every application processed, so we request that you refrain from applying for an IIT unless your plans are firm, and you are confident of your ability to attend.

In the event that you cancel your IIT application, or do not complete the registration process, CNVC will ask how you want us to handle any monies you have already sent us for the IIT. At your request, prepaid TUITION fees (minus the nonrefundable part of your payment as described below) may be donated to CNVC to defray administrative expenses, refunded, or reassigned to a specific, later IIT.

Most ACCOMMODATION charges can be reversed; prepaid accommodation fees can then be donated, refunded or reassigned as above. However, please note that some accommodation fees are irreversible. CNVC does not refund any fees incurred on your behalf that are not refundable to CNVC.

The nonrefundable portion of the Tuition payment is as following:

  • $100 if cancellation is made at least 1 calendar month before the start of the IIT
  • $200 if cancellation is made between 1 calendar month and 2 weeks before the start of the IIT
  • $300 if cancellation is made less than 2 weeks before the start of the IIT  

Does CNVC offer financial support?

CNVC gives a limited number of Tuition Reduction to IITs. Below are the criteria de tuition reduction committee takes in to consideration.

Please remember - : To be eligible for consideration, this form must be accompanied by an IIT Application Form and be received at the CNVC office three (3) full months before the start of the IIT Late applications will not be considered.

To minimize the chance of disappointing you, we would like you to know that CNVC’s tuition reduction funding is limited. We do not expect to give tuition reductions to all, or even most, of those who apply. Please note also that CNVC rarely offers reductions for room and board or transportation expenses to applicants other than those from developing countries. We use the following criteria in selecting recipients:

  1. Potential of applicant to share NVC widely, especially among populations not already reached.
  2. Economic need, especially if resulting from circumstances beyond one's control.
  3. Previous NVC training (those with more training will generally be given preference over those with less training).
  4. Connection to the CNVC community, and previous contribution to the CNVC community.
  5. Except in extraordinary circumstances, reductions are not offered to people who have previously attended an IIT.
  6. If you live in an area where there is a CNVC geographically-based project, or if you have a special affinity for or interest in one of CNVC’s theme-based projects, we suggest you notify the project leader about your scholarship application and explore the possibility of having the project leader write a letter of recommendation on your behalf. Click here is information about projects and contact information for project leaders.)

NEW! We now offer the opportunity to fill out and submit the IIT Tuition Reduction Request Form online - just click this link! Or download the form below and return it to the IIT Department by email, fax or regular mail.

Tuition Reduction Request Forms must be received by the CNVC office at least three months prior to the beginning of the training to be considered.

2010 IIT Tution Reduction Request Form in english/MS Word (.doc) (41Kb)
2010 IIT Tution Reduction Request Form in english/Adobe (.pdf) (21Kb)

Can the whole family come to the IIT?

We want the IIT to be a deep learning and personal growth experience for participants and to create a space likely to meet needs for community, trust, and emotional safety. Because of the emotional depth and intensity at an IIT and the range of issues that arise that may not be suitable for children, our policy at this point is to have only registered adult participants at the IIT sessions (i.e. not children or non-registered partners/family members). If children and family member(s) are with you while you are at the IIT, it is our request that they reside offsite. If you would like to share NVC retreat experiences with your children, there are opportunities in our network, such as family camps, in which you can participate together as a family.

A couple from Europe that had their children with them while they were at an IIT and took turns attending IIT sessions and taking care of their children who were staying offsite at a nearby hotel shared the following about their experience:
“I came to appreciate why children being on the sessions could disturb the connecting processes, because the emotional work involved was indeed very delicate many times. Just minor disturbances may be a hindrance to ones ‘listening’ to ones own and others emotional processes, I believe. But it became less of a problem in that the whole event was structured as a kind of smorgasbord of offerings, making it easy for me and my husband to take turns. But I do regret my not being able to participate more totally and fully during the nine days.”

I attended an IIT before can I attend again?

At the heart of CNVC’s mission is the goal of making NVC training available to as many people around the world as possible in order to contribute to a critical mass of people who have the skills and consciousness to support humanity’s shift to a peaceful, compassionate, and harmonious way of living on this planet. Because we want to support people that have not attended an IIT to be able to do so, we would like to give priority to these people by admitting them first and putting those who have already attended an IIT on a waiting list as a standby. We will then contact you if we have space available. It is possible, therefore, that you do not get in, or that you may not hear from us until a couple of days before the IIT starts. We regret if keeping your schedule and availability open this way would be a significant inconvenience or difficulty for you.

I still have a question?

You can connect with the IIT Department
Via email: IIT Department
Via phone: +1 505 244 4041 or 1 800 255 7696 (in the USA only)
Via fax: +1 505 247 0414
Or postal: 5600 San Francisco Rd NE, Suite A, Albuquerque NM 87109

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Posted Fri, 2009-12-18 18:09 by Web Master
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The Center for Nonviolent Communication
5600 San Francisco Rd. NE Suite A
Albuquerque, NM 87109 USA
Tel: +1.505.244.4041 | Fax: +1.505.247.0414 | US Only: 800 255 7696