Nonviolence Workshops
We offer nonviolence workshops and trainings for corporations, nonprofits, hospitals, agencies, schools, and more. Request a training for your workplace or community group today.
Nonviolence Workshops
Providing nonviolence training, for small or large groups, that cultivates new trainers and innovative partnerships in Rhode Island and beyond.
Speaking Engagements
Sharing the work of the Nonviolence Institute through speaking engagements at partner organizations, schools, and events.
Nonviolence Training Request Form
Thank you for your interest in receiving Nonviolence Training. Please read below and follow the 2 steps to request a training.
Step 1: Review Training Options
Understanding Conflict: Types & Levels (2.5 hours)
We have seen more conflict and tension in personal, professional and educational settings over the last five years. We receive many requests for conflict de-escalation training. The challenge with this is that in the midst of a conflict we often are swept up by emotion and carried along our established ways of reacting. The best way to change how we operate around conflict is to shift our mindset about conflict as a whole. This means understanding conflict and recognizing that you have choices that can solve or de-escalate it. A major component of nonviolence is learning to think clearly and creatively about conflict, and its constructive alternative -- nonviolence. During this 2.5 hour training, participants will: - Demonstrate an understanding of nature of conflict. - Understand the four types of conflict so we can objectively respond to the issue. - Identify the three levels of severity associated with conflict and how conflict escalates. - Explain the responses used to de-escalate each level of conflict to a lower level. - Participate in a skit to dramatize the dynamics of conflict.
Violence Is: Exploring harm in all of it's forms (1.5 hours*)
Understanding nonviolence begins with studying the root problem. People understand violence in multiple and different ways depending on their life experiences. Many forms of violence have been normalized in our culture, making it even harder to recognize and agree. Any group that operates together on a long-term basis, be it at home, school, or work, can be considered a community. Before a community can deal with violence or harm in all of its forms, it's members have to come to a shared definition of violence. Once this happens, it is much easier for individuals and groups to identify and reduce violence in their actions, words, and environments. Violence in today's world may be normal but it should never be the accepted norm. During this 1.5 hour workshop, participants will: - Demonstrate an understanding of the broad meaning of violence by generating a list of many, varied words associated with violence. - Recognize that violence is more than physical. - Understand the Kingian definition of violence. - Raise their level of awareness of harm as a first step to healing it. *This module can be expanded to 2.5 hours to include an exploration of nonviolence and Dr. King's way of defining nonviolence.
Beloved Community: What is it and how do we build it? (2 hours)
While it is aspirational, the concept of the Beloved Community is intended to be practical rather than utopian. Early twentieth-century philosopher-theologian Josiah Royce introduced the concept of “The Great Community” which evolved over time into the “Beloved Community.” In its original and subsequent forms, it is an argument for the fundamental principles of inclusion, relationship and learning from one another. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made the term popular and gave it a deeper meaning by making it the overarching goal of nonviolence. It is a community where the level of relationships are raised to a higher and more connected level. As relationships are valued and centered, issues can be dealt with jointly in a constructive manner and projects and objectives can move forward in a more efficient way due to the heightened sense of belonging and ownership. We are all members of many communities where we live, work, and spend leisure time. How can we assess whether these communities are healthy or unhealthy? How can we be deliberate about strengthening our organizational community for the betterment of our workforce and the clients that we serve? During this 2hr workshop, participants will: - Explore and understand a working definition of the Beloved Community. - Learn the four components of the Beloved Community NVI has incorporated into the concept, which make it concrete and practical. - Understand the three levels at which these components can most effectively be applied. - Begin to assess their community’s environment against these components. - Brainstorm ways to increase the sense of community and build on what is working well.
The Six Principles and Six Steps of Kingian Nonviolence (3 hours)
Six principles and six steps provide a framework for Dr. King’s philosophy and practice of nonviolence. In his first book, “Stride Toward Freedom” he described these principles as a way of life and a frame of mind from which you can live and work. They are the core of what it means to believe in and be nonviolent. This framework is a powerful, love-centered standard of values and can serve as a decision-making guide for those who choose to adopt them. The six steps for nonviolent social change are drawn from Dr. Kings nonviolent campaigns and teachings that emphasize love in action. The steps together provide a process for problem solving and direct action that is informed and guided by the six principles. These steps are practical and strategic and can bring reason and form to any discovery process and work protocol. During this 3-hour workshop, participants will: - Learn the six principles and six steps. - Practice explaining and giving examples for each. - Explore and challenge their relevance in today’s world. Imagine ways to practically apply them in their personal and professional life. - Consider how the implications of them would affect organizational policy and culture.
