Compassion in Action: 9-day Retreat in Nonviolent Communication
Join us for this residential retreat in Ireland that will help you bring nonviolence and peace into all areas of your life. In this event, you can discover skills that will help you improve the quality of your relationships, deepen your inner peace, and increase your contribution to the world.
View a welcome video from one of the trainers, Shona Cameron:
People in more than 50 countries are using Nonviolent Communication skills to transform conflict, create resiliency in their relationships, and build a world where everyone's needs matter and are met collaboratively. In this event, a team of experienced trainers will share key skills to help you apply these life-changing skills to every area of your life.
We will create a dynamic learning laboratory that will show you how to create a more compassionate and peaceful culture in your life at home, at work, and in your community by learning how to:
• speak from the heart
• practice deep, non-judgmental listening
• build self-empowerment from the inside out.
This event is a 9-day residential training designed as an "immersion experience" in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) led by a team of experienced CNVC certified trainers sharing both the core curriculum of NVC as developed by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg as well as their own unique applications.
| Basic Details |
Format: In-person, 9-day residential retreat
Language: English
Begins: Thursday, 24 February 2022 (5:00 pm)
Ends: Saturday, 05 March 2022 (12:00 pm)
Location: The Lucan Spa Hotel in Co. Dublin, Ireland
Sponsor: Center for Nonviolent Communication
Organizer: Dian Killian, Certified Trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication
Cost: See section below
Flier: Download a PDF flier
| Goals of this Training |
The purpose of this training is to give you the opportunity to live the process of Nonviolent Communication in community over an extended period of time, in order to develop the mindsets and practical tools to help you in three areas:
1. Personal and Professional Relationships
- Increase connection and closeness with the people you love.
- Speak in a way that inspires compassion and understanding.
- Initiate difficult conversations with more ease and confidence.
- Remain centered and peaceful when receiving difficult messages.
- Express and receive anger fully, safely and respectfully... yet powerfully.
- Resolve long-standing conflicts and heal painful relationships.
- Parent children from the heart and move beyond power struggles into cooperation.
- Translate criticism, judgments and blame into life-serving messages.
2. Inner Transformation
- Shift patterns of thinking that lead to depression, guilt and shame and that perpetuate pain.
- Transform anger into self-understanding, thereby increasing inner peace.
- Enliven yourself by expressing and receiving gratitude.
- Learn to embody unconditional love.
3. Contribution to others and Social Change
- Share NVC in ways that transmit and model its power to transform and inspire others.
- Create educational systems where students love learning and teachers love teaching.
- Learn to engage in effective, lasting nonviolent social change in the tradition of Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Facilitate meetings and support group decision making in a power-sharing, collaborative, and consensus-based ways.
- Support holistic and human-based workplaces
- Engage with others at work and in the community to foster openness, trust and authenticity.
- Foster restoration and harmony by mediating conflicts and helping to resolve differences among others.
While we will prioritize these three areas in the curriculum, there is also room for co-creation. There will be opportunities for you to request specific topics and applications to support you in living and sharing NVC at work, home, and in the community as well as internally in how you relate to yourself.
| The Training Team |
Each member of the team is a Certified Trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication.
Organizing Trainer: Dian Killian, Ph.D. (United States)
Dian has been a Certified Trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication since 2005 and has offered training around the world. She is a co-author of two well-loved NVC books, Connecting across Differences: How to Connect with Anyone, Anywhere, Any Time (in English, German, and Chinese) and Urban Empathy: True Life Adventures of Compassion on the Streets of New York.
Dian has worked with diverse organizations including Americorps, the United Nations Development Program, the Peace Alliance/Department of Peace campaign, New York University, and Cornell University. She is known for sharing NVC in a clear, down-to-earth, and engaging way with humor and stories. Dian, who lived and studied in Dublin for eight years, is especially excited about organizing this first-ever IIT in Ireland! Learn more about Dian.
Trainer: Donal Gannon (Ireland / Spain)
Donal is a nomadic catalyst for personal, relational and cultural transformation, striving to take steps towards a world that works for all.
Since 2003, he has been traveling extensively providing public and private training, facilitation, consultancy, system building, mediation and coaching.
In these, he uses an extensive tool kit from various modalities, to support individuals and groups to develop skills in conscious communication, effective collaboration, authentic relating, community/team building, shared leadership, as well as personal and relational healing.
He continues to collaborate as a Certified Trainer with the Centre for Nonviolent Communication, Creative Director of HeartSpace Collective, and a member of the Cultural Catalyst Network and the School of Consent and Arise to Succeed. Learn more about Donal.
Trainer: Shona Cameron (Scotland)
Shona is a psychologist, coach, and mentor and is known for her presence and clarity that supports people to find depth and integration, which she believes arises from a radical acceptance of oneself.
She began exploring Nonviolent Communication in 2003, learning from both Marshall Rosenberg and trainers around the world. Shona became a Certified Trainer in 2006 and an Assessor in 2016, currently working with English Speaking European Assessor Team.
Recognising NVC's potential for personal and social change, Shona told the head of schools where she worked that if teachers really knew the power of being in touch with their own needs, they may decide never to come back. "Great,” the person said, “then we'll have the teachers who really want to be here." Inspired, she brought Nonviolent Communication into spaces where no one knew what she was doing.
Shona authored a chapter in the book, Restorative Theory in Practice: Insights into What Works and Why and runs an online community called Words are Windows. One of her favorite learning methods is the NVC Dance Floors, which offer an embodied yet simple way to integrate NVC into our daily lives. Learn more about Shona.
Trainer: John Kinyon (United States)
John has devoted his life and career to the furthering of empathic communication and human connection around the world through the integration of consciousness and language. He has an M.S. in Clinical Psychology.
He is the co-creator of the international Mediate Your Life Training Program that is based in the work of Nonviolent Communication and integrates a mediation framework, mindfulness, and neuroscience. The training provides skills and conversation “maps” for navigating challenges and conflicts, inner and outer, in all aspects of life.
John was selected by Marshall Rosenberg (the creator of NVC) as one of five people to carry out Marshall's work as a Senior Trainer through the Center for Nonviolent Communication. Learn more about John.
| Cost |
The cost of this training includes two components: 1) Tuition; and 2) Room and Board.
1. TUITION (USD): convert to your currency
- $1,989 Early Bird (make your payment by 12-Dec-2021)
- $2,340 Standard (after 12-Dec-2021)
Discounts:
- 15% discount for Certification Candidates and repeat participants of an IIT or VIT
- 10% discount for people living in Ireland (minimum one year)
- Early Bird discount + one other discount is possible
You will pay tuition to the Center for Nonviolent Communication starting 25-November-2021 (once we have confirmed the training regarding any Covid concerns).
2. ROOM and BOARD (EURO): convert to your currency
- €963 Single Room (private room)
- €765 Double Room (you will have one roommate)
- €657 Triple Room (you will have two roommates)
Note: Rooms and types of rooms are limited and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis; we encourage you to book your housing as soon as you complete registration and payment for the IIT.
If you choose a Double or Triple room, you can choose your own roommate(s) (either someone you already know and/or are traveling with or via an IIT roommate connection page you be invited to once you register), or the hotel can assign roommate(s) for you.
You will pay Room and Board to the Lucan Spa Hotel starting 25-November-2021 (after you have paid your tuition and received instructions from us).
| Venue and Travel |
Venue: Lucan Spa Hotel
Junction 4A, N4 Westbound, Lucan, Co. Dublin. K78 X3H3 (map)
Tel: 00353 (0) 1 628 0494 Email: [email protected] Website
The Lucan Spa Hotel is an Irish family-owned hotel offering a unique, authentic experience in Irish hospitality while visiting Dublin and the East of Ireland. Owned and operated by the Colgan family for over 60 years, Lucan Spa Hotel prides itself in creating a warm and cosy atmosphere for all our guests.
See sample menus for breakfast, dinner, and vegan-friendly options. (Note: We are sharing this to give you an idea of what food will be available; specific menus will be determined on-site).
Travel
By Air:
Dublin Airport (DUB) is the largest international airport in Ireland and is just 21 km from the Lucan Spa Hotel.
Once you arrive at the airport, there is local bus service or airport shuttles that will bring you to the Hotel.
If you are traveling to the U.S. after the event, the Dublin Airport is especially convenient -- it's one of only two airports in Europe with pre-clearance services for U.S.-bound passengers, which allows passengers to have their paperwork dealt with before departure, saving time upon arrival in the U.S.
By Sea:
For a scenic train-to-ferry trip from Britain or France, use Irish Ferries' Sailrail service.
| Covid-19 Considerations |
We are living in an era in which we need to take into consideration the current situation with Covid-19. Since this event is in-person, the conditions could impact international travel and gathering in large groups.
We care for your health and safety, so we are doing our best to form a clear and inclusive Covid policy and measures, doing everything in our power to organize this safe and legal, live, in-person event.
A short summary of our IIT Covid safety measures are:
1. Before arrival
Please check the Irish State for the terms under which you can enter the country. Please limit risky travel or socialising at least 10 days prior to the event. Please take into consideration your personal comfort level as you select accommodation from single (no roommate) to double or triple (where you will share the room with one or two roommates).
2. Cancelling Due to COVID
If you cancel before arrival due to a positive Covid test, you have two options:
- Transfer 100% of tuition to a future IIT
- Receive 100% refund of tuition (minus $150 nonrefundable deposit)
For accommodation, you can receive a full refund up to seven days in advance of the IIT. Please contact the hotel directly to cancel your reservation and request a refund. .
3. On arrival
We will organize rapid SARS-CoV-2 testing for all participants on arrival, and on Day 3 or 4 of the IIT. This testing will be mandatory for all participants, trainers and organizers, regardless of your vaccination status, previous testing, or antibodies (from recovering from previous infection). You will be asked to cover the cost of testing and we will find the lowest cost approved testing available..There will be testing available on request as well.
You will be required to follow any requirements of the Irish government. See the current policies and regulations.
4. During your stay
We have made arrangements with the hotel so that we have exclusive use of meeting rooms and dining areas for our IIT. If you wish, on entering the hotel, you can use a corridor that goes directly to our meeting rooms, avoiding entering the main lobby of the hotel. In addition, we will be filling entire floors of the hotel with our participants, to foster a retreat atmosphere and limit interactions with those from outside the group. We encourage you to limit physical interaction with all non-participants, to socially distance, and use face coverings (masks) during the event. You will receive further instructions on arrival and during the event.
If you have a positive Covid test upon arrival or any time during the IIT:
- No tuition refund is available
- You can participate from your room by video to the fullest extent possible. If you have a roommate, we will reassign the roommate to other (single) accommodations.
- You will be required to follow any requirements of the Irish government. See here for up to date policies and regulations.
| Registration Process |
STEP 1: Fill out the registration form
STEP 3: Once you have filled out the form and paid your tuition, you will receive a registration code from us that you will use to book your room with the Lucan Spa Hotel.
Important! Before booking your room at the hotel, wait for instructions from us. You will need a discount code to receive our group rate and also to be included in the meal plan.
In planning your travel, keep in mind that check-in at the Lucas Spa Hotel begins at 2:00 pm and that we ask that you arrive by 5:00 pm. This is to support you in having time to check in and get settled/orientated with some spaciousness before we have dinner together and our first IIT session at 7:00 p.m. that evening.
In terms of booking return travel, the IIT will conclude with lunch on the last day; please allow ample travel time from the hotel (suggested departure from the hotel no earlier than 1:00 pm) so that you can be part of our group closing. We also recommend holding at least one day open after the IIT before going back to your usual work schedule and other commitments so that you can benefit from some rest and integration after the retreat.)
Travel Visa
If you are attending an IIT in a country other than your home country, you may need a visa. Learn more about travel and visa requirements to Ireland.
Cancellation and refund policy:
If we cancel this training, you will receive a 100% tuition refund.
A. If you cancel for a non-Covid-related reason*:
03-Feb-2022 or earlier, you have two options:
- Transfer 100% of your tuition to a future IIT; or
- Receive a refund minus a nonrefundable $150 tuition deposit
04-Feb-2022 or later, you have two options:
- Transfer 75% of tuition to a future CNVC training (we retain 25%); or
- Receive a 50% tuition refund (we retain 50%).
B. If you cancel due to contracting Covid-19:
Before you arrive on-site, you have two options:
- Transfer 100% of tuition to a future IIT; or
- Receive refund of tuition minus a nonrefundable $150 tuition deposit
After arriving on-site including any time during the training:
- No tuition refund is available
- You can participate from your room by video to the fullest extent possible. If you have a roommate, we will reassign the roommate to other accommodations.
- You will be required to self-quarantine per the regulations of the local government at a cost borne by yourself.