IIT in Aotearoa New Zealand: 9-day retreat in Nonviolent Communication
Join us for this residential retreat in Aotearoa New Zealand (11-April to 20-April-2023) 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.
This 9-day immersion experience into Nonviolent Communication (NVC) will offer learning sessions, home groups, coaching and feedback from skilled trainers, and a community environment where you can learn and practice the key skills of NVC.
Our team of Certified Trainers will share both the core curriculum of NVC as developed by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, as well as their own unique applications. We expect a group of approximately 50 to 60 people from different countries, cultural backgrounds, professions and walks of life.
People around the world 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.
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
| Basic Details |
Format: In-person, 9-day residential retreat
Language: English
Begins: Friday, 02 December 2022 (5:00 pm)
Ends: Sunday, 11 December 2022 (1:00 pm)
Location: Savelberg Retreat Centre (Nairobi, Kenya)
Sponsor: Center for Nonviolent Communication
Organizer: Irmtraud Kauschat, Certified Trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication
Register: Click this link
| Goals of this Training |
The purpose of this intensive 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, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu 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 training team is a Certified Trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication.
Trainer and Organizer: Irmtraud Kauschat (Germany)
Medical Doctor, Mediator, and Certified Trainer
Irmtraud works as a medical doctor and has given NVC training in different countries, including Serbia/Croatia, Kenya, Israel/Palestine, Ukraine, Somalia and more recently Rwanda. Irmtraud has expertise in reconciliation between warring groups like in former Yugoslavia (in 1996 especially with youth from Serbia and Croatia), in Kenya with different communities that had been affected by the post-election violence in 2007/2008, (in the Lake Victoria region through hotspots of violence like Eldoret and Nakuru in Rift Valley to a slum in Nairobi) as well as with two tribes from the north that had been at war with each other for about 30 years, with people from Israel/Palestine and Ukraine.
When she heard Marshall talk about his experiences in Israel/Palestine and Northern Ireland she was very enthusiastic about the impact NVC could have on people’s lives and her vision was to contribute to peacebuilding in a similar way. This vision has come true. Peace is a very important topic for her since her childhood when she saw ruins in Frankfurt after World War 2 and witnessed the broadcasting of the Auschwitz process in her teenage years, when she was confused about getting to know that the very same people who killed Jewish children and parents were described as loving parents themselves.
Now she is thrilled to be a trainer for the 3rd. IIT in Kenya – another vision of hers - to offer this special experience to the people she has been training and supporting for 15 years by now with NVC. She is a founding member of her local circle in Darmstadt as well as of the German speaking network: D-A-CH and served as a member of GCC (NVC Global Community Circle) and coordinator of the EAC (English speaking NVC European. African Circle). From January 2012 till October 2013 she served as a member of the CNVC board. She supported the NVC Africa Network in the founding phase.
She supports candidates on their path to CNVC certification as an assessor. Learn more about Irmtraud.
Trainer: Jane Connor (United States)
PhD Psych., Certified Trainer
Jane completed her doctoral training in Psychology and taught Psychology and Human Development for many years at the State University of New York at Binghamton. However, when she encountered Nonviolent Communication for the first time in 2003 and had the opportunity to study with Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D., the developer of Nonviolent Communication, she knew that sharing NVC around the world was the way she wanted to contribute to peace and people meeting their important needs for sustainability, nurturance, love and community.
She is co-author of the book Connecting across Differences: How to Talk to Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime which she wrote specifically to address the interests of college students and adults in NVC. She is also the co-founder of the New York Intensive Training for Nonviolent Communication and the first of the series of residential trainings on Nonviolent Leadership for Social Justice.
More recently, Jane has been sharing NVC with teachers, staff and students in Washington, DC public schools along with the principles and practices of Restorative Justice as a way to address conflict and violence in schools and in families. She had the joy of sharing NVC in Uganda, South Africa and Kenya 10 years ago and is thrilled to be able to return to East Africa and see and support the growth of trainers and the NVC community.
Most recently, Jane has returned to school again and is finishing her training to become a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She wants to be able to support the development of skills and consciousness within and between families that strengthen the capacity of people to connect based upon love, respect and caring for the needs of all. Learn more about Jane.
Trainer: Duke Duchscherer (United States)
Facilitator, Certified Trainer, and was on the Board of Directors for the MK Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence for 8 years
Facilitator Duke Duchscherer is a Certified Trainer with the International Center for Nonviolent Communication since 2000 and is a former member of the Board of Directors for the MK Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. Duke leads learning events in Nonviolent Communication and Restorative Circles to deepen his work in peacebuilding, reconciliation, trauma healing, and restorative processes. He has had the privilege of working around the world with a depth and breadth of peoples from small villages at the grassroots to governmental leaders at the United Nations on five continents. He also has taught in the Masters Peacebuilding programs at the European Peace University in Austria, the World Peace Academy in Switzerland, and Hacettepe University, Turkey.
Some of Duke’s work has included guiding trauma healing for those horribly affected by the Boko Haram activities in Nigeria. A large part of his work has focused on supporting the transformation of active conflicts such as leading a series of restorative dialogues between the Ukrainian army and the pro-Russian community where they reside near the eastern war front in Ukraine (2015); or guiding dialogue between those supporting independence for Catalonia and those wanting to remain connected with Spain; or facilitating dialogue between state-level government officials, minority/indigenous groups, and those who have been directly harmed by strikes, protests, and border closings due to the promulgation of the new Nepal constitution.
Duke has also worked extensively in the area of reconciliation, leading numerous dialogues to create understanding, healing, and clear actions between communities who have experienced severe violence. For example he has facilitated reconciliation dialogues between former Shining Path & MRTA rebels, former military, civil society leaders, and those directly harmed during the ‘time of violence’ in Peru; or between Rwandan genocide survivors and recently released prisoners who killed their families. (see the documentary In The Eyes of the Good and Together we Thrive for examples of Duke’s work). Duke really enjoys working with people from a variety of backgrounds to support them in creating understanding and seeing each other in ways that generate peace, harmony, and connection. Learn more about Duke.
Trainer: Stella Alexandrian (France)
Phd, Orthodontist, and Certified NVC Trainer
Stella is French, the granddaughter of an Armenian grandfather survivor from genocide in Turkey. She currently lives in Paris, France. In 2005, she discovered NVC because she was longing for a way to communicate with 3 teenage children, a team and a husband in a caring way, aligned with her values without breaking the connection. NVC was then a personal development tool for her.
August 2013 and 1st IIT in Kenya were a wake-up call for her. Interacting with social actors from several African countries, she realized NVC was also a tool for social change and peace. She therefore has a special relationship with Kenya. She then decided to share what she had received and became an NVC trainer and an Imago facilitator (an approach based on empathy very suitable for couples and close relationships).
Her passion is to build solid and healthy foundations to smile to life. She has been doing it for 30 years with teenager’s teeth as an orthodontist, now she does it on a relational level by bringing NVC and Imago to young adults who don't have financial or geographical access to it, knowing it will serve them all their lives. Since 2014 she developed with young Kenyans “Uelewano Initiative” bringing NVC and Imago to Kenya, to orphans, single mothers, and young couples. She has also traveled to Benin, Mali, and Liberia to train trainers working with youth exposed to violence and big social changes.
She trains couples and parents in France, Spain, and Portugal. Most recently, she launched a confessional movement with young adults called "Les Lucioles"offering free access to tools such as NVC and offering connection and support to youth sharing the same longing for awareness in their adult lives as leaders, partners, parents. As a dentist, she is very familiar with fear management and uses Tipi, Yoga Nidra, and Quantum Entrainment. Learn more about Stella.
Trainer: Matthew Rich-Tolsma (the Netherlands)
Coach, Consultant, Mediator and CNVC Certified NVC Trainer
Matthew Rich-Tolsma is an experienced and internationally respected coach, consultant, and mediator who has worked with senior leaders and their teams from a wide range of geographies and industries. He is a co-founder of PlayScapes. After training as an educator he worked with children and teachers in Africa and Asia, before moving to the Netherlands where - after a brief stint in academia - he turned his attention to working with organisational leaders. During that time he has amassed hundreds of hours of coaching experience with individuals and groups, and served for six years as an Executive Director of a UK based consulting firm which he helped to found.
Matthew has been practising Nonviolent Communication (NVC) for the last fifteen years. He has taught NVC in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, and has been a globally certified trainer since 2012. He is an active member of the Dutch NVC community, and is presently training as an assessor. Matthew originally trained with Marshall Rosenberg and others in 2007, and is an alumni of BayNVC's Leadership Programme (2008) and Parent Peer Leadership Program (2007, and in 2009 as an assistant).
Matthew's present interests involve bringing insights from applied theatre, psychoanalysis, and complex responsive processes relating to his work supporting leaders in negotiating their most messy, complex, and paradoxical conversations. In particular he is interested in working with themes around diversity and inclusion, conflict and collaboration, and power, position, and privilege in organisations. He is a passionate improvisor and a facilitator of the Theatre of the Oppressed, and has had the immense fortune to be mentored by some of the world's leading practitioners in these fields.
Matthew also has considerable experience working with children, parents, families, and educators and other professionals working with children. This forms another arm of his work with NVC. Learn more about Matthew.
Trainer: Christiane Welk (Germany)
Teacher, Mentor and CNVC Certified NVC Trainer,
Christiane worked 42 years as a teacher in primary and secondary public schools in Germany. When she got to know NVC in 2000, she focused on living NVC in her classes. Being born in the aftermath of the second world war and growing up in Berlin in the period of the cold war between East and West, she decided to use the means at her disposal to work for 'peace' - in her professional field and beyond. This includes NVC, Gestalt-pedagogy, Mediation, Restorative Circles, and Qigong.
Since 2008, she has worked together with Irmtraud Kauschat in Kenya with different communities that had been affected by the post-election violence in 2007/2008, (in the Lake Victoria region, through hotspots of violence like Eldoret and Nakuru in Rift Valley to a slum in Nairobi) and during the last years she contributes to the development of the Kenyan candidates to become certified trainers of NVC.
Now she is thrilled to be part of the trainer-team for the IIT in Kenya - another vision of hers - to contribute to the further development and dissemination of NVC to the people she had trained and partly lived with for the last 12 years. She is a co-founder and vice - board - member of the network at her local place in Darmstadt, engaged in the board of the German speaking network: D-A-CH.
She supports people as a mentor on their way to certification. Learn more about Christiane.
Assistant Trainer: Samwel Ogala (Kenya)
Chairperson of the executive board "NVC community network in Kenya," Mediator and Certified Trainer
Samwel Ogalah was born in the Western part of Kenya, in a small sub tribe called Suba. He has experienced pain, trauma, and hopelessness of being a member of a marginalized community. Samwel has been a certified trainer on Nonviolent Communication with CNVC since 2019.
He's the chairperson of the executive board "NVC community network in Kenya '' registered as Tuzungemze Amani Foundation. He's the brainchild behind the fast NVC Secondary School in Africa. He is a pioneer in teaching NVC and setting up local NVC associations in Kenya. In addition, he's passionate about building coexistence, conflict resolution, mediation and hostage negotiation.
Samwel offers a bridge between people of different understanding, experiences and perspectives.
| The Organizer Team |
Organizer: Conie Miheso Khamati (Kenya)
Conie Miheso Khamati is an CNVC certification candidate from Kenya. She is an executive member of the NVC Kenyan Network and the National Youth Guidance and Counseling Association. She has also been working with NVC Global Rising in social media support work for the past 1 year. As a counseling psychology graduate from the University of Nairobi, she is passionate about the integration of NVC in the provision of essential social services.
Her work in NVC as well as counseling targets to support youth, women and vulnerable groups, especially teenage mothers in their path towards living more fulfilled lives. She believes that women are an essential pillar of our society and therefore committed to amplifying their voice in a society where patriarchy has dominated for centuries.
Most recently, she was supporting the Cross Border Peace Initiative in conflict-stricken Turkana, Northern Kenyan alongside other trainers and stakeholders from the community. She is most passionate about supporting education of children from the Turkana region as a path towards liberation from poverty, cattle rustling and the very prominent gun culture.
You can contact Conie regarding training finances:
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone No: +254 704477431
- Facebook: Conie Khamati
Organizer: Joshua Patroba (Kenya)
Joshua started learning and interacting with NVC in 2008. He is a Certification Candidate and has had the opportunity to work closely with different trainers over the years. He creates and facilitates retreats, workshops, summer camps, and events that incorporate NVC into life-changing experiences. He led in organizing the Nairobi IIT in 2014 and 2017, and the 2021 pre-IIT. In 2014 he started a training program with university students and have had Success NVC camping events.
He has used NVC in the church setup, educational setup, family setup and in the corporate sector. He has been an assistant trainer and now he is the contact person for logistics for the IIT in Kenya in 2022. He’s worked in educational and business settings as a consultant and trainer. Joshua is an environmental expert: electronic waste recycling, policy and regulatory on environmental matters.
He also does team buildings and counseling, as well as business. Joshua is an NVC Kenya community member, and Co-founder of NVC African. His passion is to experiment with NVC outside the box, far away from the boundaries of words and language. Therefore, he likes to concentrate on intuition, empathic presence, and body language.
You can contact Joshua regarding training logistics:
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +254 727715 375
| Cost |
The cost of this training depends on where you live.
If you live in Kenya or other nearby countries such as Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South-Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and other African countries, there is a local adjusted rate that includes a sliding scale.
We are raising funds to support your participation, and we highly appreciate your support in raising funds yourself. Here are the payment instructions. Please email Irmtraud Kauschat for details about the tuition rate or email Conie Miheso Khamati for instructions about how to make the payment.
If you live in any other country, the cost of this training has two components: 1) Tuition; and 2) Room and Board (accommodations).
1. Tuition (USD): convert to your currency
- $1,989 Early Bird (make your payment between 18-Aug-2022 and 03-Sep-2022)
- $2,340 Standard (04-Sep-2022 and after)
- Special Tuition Rate: If you are a resident of Kenya or other African countries please email Irmtraud Kauschat
Discounts:
- 15% discount for Certification Candidates
- 10% discount for people who have participated in a previous IIT or VIT
(Note: only one of these discounts may apply; you may combine it with the early bird discount)
Financial assistance:
If you would want to attend this event but money is an obstacle, fill out the registration form. Once payment opens, you'll have the option to request financial assistance. We will review the first batch of applications 10 days after payment begins (18-Aug-2022). Limited spots are available for financial assistance. We may not be able to grant full or partial requests. We will review financial assistance applications regularly so that you can receive timely notice.
2. Room and Board (USD): convert to your currency
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Some room types are limited and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Room and Board prices include your room and all meals throughout the event beginning with dinner the first day and ending with lunch the final day.
Cancellation and refund policy for Room and Board:
- Through 11-Nov-2022, you can receive a refund minus a nonrefundable $150 deposit for Room and Board.
- 12-Nov-2022 and later, no refunds for Room and Board are available
For Cancellation and Refund policy on the Tuition Fee, please scroll to the bottom of this page.
Finally, before this training begins, we will ask you to make several agreements to create an environment that is safe and supportive for everyone, and that supports you in making choices for your own well being. To preview these agreements, go to this page.
| Location |
Venue:
Savelberg Retreat Centre
Address: PQ3H+C97, Muringa Rd, Nairobi, Kenya (location in Google Maps)
This unique IIT will be held at Savelberg Retreat Centre located in Nairobi. Savelberg Retreat Centre is located in Nairobi, Adams Arcade along Muringa Road, off Elgeyo Marakwet road. It’s about 6km away from the Nairobi City Centre.
It is run by Franciscan nuns who warmly welcome us. Even being close to a major road the centre itself is a quiet place with a garden where you can relax during breaks and have workshops outside (and at times meet monkeys).
Kenyan food usually includes meat (beef and chicken), at the same time Savelberg chefs will provide vegetarian (vegan food might be a bit challenging). Bread is less common than in e.g. Europe or the USA, usually there is toast bread. Please let us know if you have special food requirements, we will check what is possible.
Before the training, you will have an opportunity to tell us your food preferences. Some of the vegetables will come from the garden belonging to the retreat centre. There are 53 single rooms available (a few of them self-contained, 15 twin rooms and a few couple rooms that are self-contained.
Room Facilities:
Each self-contained room, double room, and couple room is well furnished with facilities including:
- Bathroom with shower
- Working Area
- Wardrobe
- Wireless Internet
- Large airy windows
- Mosquito-net
Learn more about the Savelberg Retreat Center
| Travel |
We recommend waiting until we confirm the training on 18-Aug-2022 before booking non-refundable travel. We will not reimburse you for travel expenses if this training does not occur.
Travel Visa
If you are coming from outside the COMESA countries, you might need to obtain a visa. Please consult the Kenyan Embassy in your country. If you need an invitation letter from us in order to apply for your Visa, email us.
General Travel Information
Please wait to purchase your travel until we confirm the training. We will make a final decision and announcement about whether this training is occurring on 18-Aug-2022.
It will be possible for you to come earlier and/or stay for some more days if you plan to go on a safari, for example in the Nairobi National Park or in the countryside.
On request there will also be an option to stay in the countryside with some of our Kenyan friends for a few days to deepen connection and to experience life in a different culture other than being a tourist. The accommodation and food will be simple, and you will be received with an open heart. Please let us know if you are interested in this additional experience via email.
Air Travel:
If you are traveling by air, we recommend the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, which is just 21 km from the venue (directions in Google Maps).
Public Transport:
Using Public Transport is not recommended. The organizers will arrange for you to be picked up (please read further for more details).
Pickup:
We can organize transport from the airport / bus stage to the Savelberg Retreat Centre for you. Once we know when and by which means you will arrive we will let you know how you can get there.
Car:
Here is the location of the venue in Google Maps.
| Covid-19 Considerations |
We are living in an era in which we need to take into consideration the current situation with Covid-19. We care for your health and safety, still valuing choice and freedom. So we are doing our best to form a clear, and inclusive Covid policy and measures, doing anything in our power to organize this safe and legal, live, in-person event. Since this event is in-person, the conditions could impact international travel and gathering in large groups.
For this reason, we will be waiting to confirm this training until 18-Aug-2022 (3.5 months before the start date) and monitoring the situation closely both before and after this date. A summary of the Covid safety measures are:
1. Before arrival
If you cancel before arrival due to a positive Covid test, you have two options:
- Transfer 100% of tuition to a future IIT; or
- Receive refund of tuition minus a nonrefundable $150 tuition deposit
For accommodation, you can receive a full refund. You can get more info also by emailing us. Please contact the IIT organizers directly to cancel your reservation and request a refund.
2. On arrival and during your stay
If you have any symptoms of flu, we will ask you to get a Covid test kit from the venue and in case the result is positive, inform the organizers immediately. In that case we will organize you a separate private room and we will be able to connect you to at least one seminar room with a computer, in case you feel well enough to participate from your room.
We will minimize contact with people outside of our group. We invite you to limit physical interaction with all non-participants and therefore there will be only our group and the staff present during the whole 10 days. We will do our best to assure safety for the whole group.
Corona information pages for more local information:
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COVID Updates - Kenyan Ministry of Health (includes more links to pages with more precise answers according to which country you are coming from)
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| Registration Process |
STEP 1 Fill out the registration form to reserve your space
STEP 2 Make your payment for tuition and Room and Board to the Center for Nonviolent Communication or locally once we have opened payments
Details:
Given ongoing uncertainties regarding travel due to COVID, we have organized the registration process for this training as described below. We want to take into account safety, flexibility, financial security, and predictability for you as a participant as well as for us, the venue, and the training team. Please read the following application process carefully.
You have 2 options:
- Pay the “Early Bird” price of USD $1,989, which will be available between 18-Aug-2022 and 03-Sep-2022). After that, we will process applications from people at the standard registration rate. Upon receipt of payment, you are invited to make your travel plans.
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If you are unable to pay our full tuition fee, you can apply for financial assistance. We will review the first batch of applications 10 days after payment begins (18-Aug-2022). Limited spots are available for financial assistance. We may not be able to grant full or partial requests. We will review financial assistance applications regularly so that you can receive timely notice.
Note: Once we open payments 18-Aug-2022, we encourage you to register at your earliest ability for both your tuition (to secure your space in the training) and room and board (to give you choice about your room type).
Cancellation and refund policy:
Refunds will be issued within 2 weeks after the cancelation.
If we cancel this training, you will receive a 100% tuition refund.
A. If you cancel for a non-Covid-related reason*:
Through 11-Nov-2022, you have two options:
- Transfer 100% of your tuition to a future IIT; or
- Receive a refund minus a nonrefundable $150 tuition deposit
After 11-Nov-2022, 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.