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NVC Resources on Social Change


Working for Transformation without Recreating the Past: Social Change and Nonviolence - Introduction

Audio • 1 hour • 
Audio
1 hour
Want things to change in your community, but feel frustrated or don’t know what to do? Miki’s intriguing overview of how to apply the principles of NVC to social change movements may have the exact blend of inspiration and ideas you’re seeking!

Facilitate Change: Using NVC to Create Social Change

with Dian Killian PhD and Martha Lasley
Audio • 51 minutes • 
Audio
51 minutes
Listen to this newly remastered audio with seasoned Life Coach and CNVC Certified Trainers Martha Lasley and Dian Killian, to explore how you can "be the change" in your life, to live fully in integrity with your values in your work, community, faith and social action groups.

Marshall Rosenberg's Vision of Social Change

Article • 12 - 18 minutes • 
Article
12 - 18 minutes
What could be, more often than not, overlooked when we think about or represent NVC or Marshall Rosenberg's work? This article busts some commonly held ideas and approaches to NVC. It challenges us to widen the lens of what it really means to be "life-serving", or speaking and hearing the "language of life". And it also speaks to how thinking can deepen feeling and relatedness...

Neither Rioting Nor Colluding: Powerful Speaking to Create Social Change

Audio • 1 hour, 9 minutes • 
Audio
1 hour, 9 minutes
Listen to Roxy Manning explore the barriers to speaking authentically as powerful voices for change, and practice these needed conversations about the ongoing violence in the streets of America.

Acknowledging the Impact of Identity Within Social Change Movements

with Mary Mackenzie and Roxy Manning
Article • 23-35 mins • 
Article
23-35 mins
In this transcript, clinical psychologist and organizational consultant, Roxy Manning, PhD, offers ways for us to increase our capacity to (1) See things that we otherwise wouldn't; (2) Bring more relevance to our groups, organizations and social change movements; (3) Talk openly about microaggressions: statements or (in)actions that (inadvertently) minimize, diminish or negate somebody's...

Martin Luther King Jr: Seeing the Redeeming Qualities in Others

Article • 3 - 5 minutes • 
Article
3 - 5 minutes
For us to open the door to seemlingly impossible societal changes, we need to find and transform enemy images in order to influence and collaborate with those who seem to be standing in our way. Here's an anecdote to show that this is what lead to Martin Luther King Jr's success in creating social change.

What is Leadership?

Audio • 51 minutes • 
Audio
51 minutes
What specifically is leadership? And why do so many people step back from it? Listen in as Miki shares her experience and thoughts around changing the paradigm of leadership, as well as the role – and challenges – of using NVC when working for social change.

Can the Social Order Be Transformed Through Personal Practice? - Part 2

Article • 18 - 27 minutes • 
Article
18 - 27 minutes
We can't alone (nor with lone communities) transform the hidden structures of violence and domination. Dialogue alone isn't disruptive enough. We can easily be in dialogue with Trump supporters while the planet burns up, millions are still hungry, and we go extinct. NVC seriously risks reinforcing vast inequities and abuses if we're not radically engaging systemic constraints, and impacts of...

Can the Social Order Be Transformed Through Personal Practice? The Case of Nonviolent Communication - Part 1 of 2

Article • 15 - 23 minutes • 
Article
15 - 23 minutes
By focusing on NVC process and practice without factoring in the interdependent, systemic dimension we unwittingly diminish the power of NVC. We reinforce the dominant paradigm, rather than challenging it -- making NVC one more tool for compliance. NVC principles can turn against its own purpose in cruel ways. NVC could also empower social change. We'll need our attention on this matter if we...

Moving from Fault to Cause: Looking for Systemic Solutions to White Supremacy

Article • 13 - 19 minutes • 
Article
13 - 19 minutes
We can see throughout many examples in history that when we look for "who" is at fault, and thereby seek social change through shaming that person (or that group), it tends to lead to disastrous long term consequences. Even if it works in the short term. Instead, if we want to end cycles of violence we can seek to understand systemic causes and context of individuals' behaviour. And from there,...

Opening Hearts in Israel, Palestine, India and Sri Lanka

Article • 11 pages • 
Article
11 pages
CNVC Certified Trainer Shantigarbha Warren offers a report of his recent NVC training trip to Israel/Palestine, India and Sri Lanka and clarifies how NVC can support social change in three very different contexts. Included is an exercise, based on Gandhi’s teaching.

Transforming Complaint

Trainer Tip • 1 - 2 minutes • 
Trainer Tip
1 - 2 minutes
Trainer Tip: NVC-based social change naturally emerges from “a certain kind of spirituality”, a quality of spiritual clarity. Intuitions and impulses arising from spiritual clarity are more likely to support sustainable systems. Read on for how to bring more of this in, and ways to transform your complaint into commitment.

Addressing Needs Beyond Market Economies

Article • 22 - 31 minutes • 
Article
22 - 31 minutes
Within the pandemic, limitations of our market economies are more visible. Extreme need is exposed when the economy is collapsing and so many people are without jobs. We can now see how it’s possible to direct resources where they are most needed, solely out of care and interconnection. This is a call to explore a more viable way of living, that centers relationship over transaction.

Empathic, Powerful Responses To COVID-19 Inequities

Article • 15 - 23 minutes • 
Article
15 - 23 minutes
The existing unequal risks and impacts people of certain race, class and identities face in society is magnified in these strenuous times -- especially with things such as illness, financial well being, discrimination, attacks, and death. As responsive NVC practitioners we can stand in solidarity with those who are differentially impacted. Read on for this, and additional ways to spot common...