CMU Media Archive
As the fifth feature in the 2013/14 Face2Face conversation series, CMU’s Redekop School of Business Professor Jeff Huebner leads an interactive discussion exploring everything from the financial crisis in the United States to the Eurozone debt crisis. Discussion panelists will include a value investor from Niverville and an international student from Germany who speaks about the Eurozone crisis from a citizen’s perspective.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUHZMzln7Os[/youtube]
For Marissa Rykiss, attending the Canadian School of Peacebuilding was nothing short of life changing.
The 22-year-old Winnipegger enrolled in the course “Women and Peacebuilding” at the 2012 CSOP as part of a B.A. program in Conflict Resolution Studies at Menno Simons College.
Inspired by her mother, who practices collaborative law, Rykiss wanted to pursue a career as an immigration lawyer in order to make a difference in the world by helping vulnerable people.
After finishing the course, Rykiss realized she wanted to help people in a different way. Now, she plans to pursue a Master of Arts degree in Family Therapy.
First though, Rykiss is becoming a certified yoga instructor. She wants to teach yoga and potentially open her own studio.
Rykiss says her interest in teaching yoga stems from her desire to help people develop their self care so that they can be better people and lead more compassionate, empathetic lives.
“After taking [the CSOP] course, I realized there’s so many other ways I can help people, and I don’t necessarily need to have a title like lawyer to do that,” she says. “My happiness, and the happiness of others, is more important to me than having a title like that.”
Ouyporn Khuankaew, a Buddhist feminist peace trainer from Thailand, and Anna Snyder, associate professor of conflict resolution studies at Menno Simons College, taught the course.
Rykiss says it was the way the course was taught that impacted her so greatly.
“Ouyporn had a non-traditional way of teaching where she offered guided meditation at the beginning of each day, and it just allowed us to become a bit more mindful while we were present in the class,” Rykiss says. “She is one of the most inspiring and engaging women I’ve ever met.”
When the course ended, it was emotional for Rykiss.
“I cried on the last day and was so happy that I decided to participate in that particular course,” she says. “It felt like it was meant to be. It made me ask myself why I need to be pursuing something (a career in law) that isn’t consistent with who I am, and helped me understand that where I need to be is in a more transformative pathway—helping people who can’t help themselves get to a place of awareness and mindfulness.
“It wasn’t intended in the curriculum, but that’s just what I got out of it. A lot of people who participated were put off originally by this new way of thinking, but by the end, everyone there had experienced profound change in the way they thought about learning.”
Rykiss’s experience in the course led her to pursue a practicum placement in Thailand with International Women’s Partnership for Peace and Justice (IWP), an organization Khuankaew co-founded.
Rykiss’s work in Thailand included helping with a weeklong workshop for women that IWP organized. Each day began with yoga. While Rykiss had practiced yoga before, it was during this week that she came to fully appreciate the healing nature of yoga therapy.
“I realized … how important it is for people to learn how to be better to themselves, to treat themselves better and come back to themselves through yoga and meditation,” she says.
The practicum and change in career direction would not have happened without Rykiss’s transformative experience at the CSOP.
“I’m really grateful that I was able to take a course where everything could be condensed into five days,” she says. “There are such a variety of courses [at CSOP], and [the organizers] go out of their way to find people to teach the courses who have first-hand experience with the material.
“It was a very inspiring time in my life.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHxKiAm3qdA&list=PLetwI-M-5VVkaVDfXioSUyM6eOhlQIgGg&feature=share[/youtube]
Eight renowned peacekeeping instructors highlight peacebuilding program’s sixth year
Canadian School of Peacebuilding (CSOP), an annual summer peace and justice program of Canadian Mennonite University (CMU), hosts eight renowned instructors from around the world as faculty for its 2014 school. Each instructor will teach a 5-day intensive course related to peace, justice, and conflict resolution during one of CSOP’s two sessions.
“This is CSOP’s sixth year and the program’s growing reputation, both locally and globally, has helped us recruit spectacular instructors,” says CSOP Co-Director Valerie Smith. “Similarly, CSOP has attracts participants coming from a wide diversity of cultures, professions and faith backgrounds every year. The positive impact resulting from the learning, collaboration, and interaction of our instructors and students is remarkable and encouraging. All leave the program better equipped with peacebuilding skills that can be used in the workplace, at home or in their communities.”
“We’re always amazed by our students and how the experiences they bring shape the program. They arrive ready to engage with one another. It’s incredible to see the depth of their conversations by the end of a week together,” says CSOP Co-Director Jarem Sawatzky. “Combine these eager learners and contributors with the quality and diversity of the instructors and you have the foundation for life-changing growth and development. CSOP is plugged into an ever-growing network of peacebuilders and that’s exciting.”
CSOP’s first session runs from June 16-20 and features three courses: “Peace Skills Practice,” led by Natasha Mohammed; “Exploring Indigenous Justice and Healing,” by Rupert Ross”; and “Food, Farming and Faith: Living in God’s Creation,” by Norman Wirzba.
Courses in the second session, June 23-27, feature the following: “Restorative Justice with Youth and Schools,” led by Alana Abramson and John R. Weins; “Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience,” led by Elaine Zook Barge; “De-Colonial Theology: Thought and Practice,” by Terry LeBlanc; and “Arts Approaches to Community-Based Peacebuilding,” by Babu Ayindo.
About the Canadian School of Peacebuilding
CSOP aims to educate on peace and justice issues and encourage discussion in a collaborative environment. The goal is for participants to leave these sessions with a new understanding of emerging ideas in peace studies, encouraged to take these practices into their daily living. In addition to the CSOP summer program, courses are available year-round at Canadian Mennonite University’s Shaftesbury and Menno Simons College campuses.
Through its south Winnipeg Shaftesbury campus and its Menno Simons College campus at The University of Winnipeg, Canadian Mennonite University offers one of the most comprehensive undergraduate programs in peace and conflict studies in the world.
Alana Abramson holds a Master’s degree in Criminology from Simon Fraser University and is completing her PhD on the topic of transformational learning and restorative justice. Alana has been an energetic practitioner and educator in the field of restorative justice since 1999. Alana has background with crisis intervention as well as extensive practical experience training to facilitate restorative approaches in prison, school, and community settings. She has been a sessional instructor with Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Douglas College and Simon Fraser University and has worked with various policing agencies to promote more restorative responses for community members including youth and people with disabilities
Babu Ayindo, back by popular demand, currently functions as an independent consultant in the design and facilitation of conflict resolution and peacebuilding initiatives, processes and interventions; as a researcher and trainer in arts, peace education and development communication; and as a program developer and evaluator with various organizations. He has extensive experience in applying “arts approaches” in peacebuilding in various parts of the world since the mid-1980s when he served as artistic director of Chelepe Arts (Nairobi, Kenya) and later as founding artistic director of Amani People’s Theater (Nairobi, Kenya). Babu has taught at peacebuilding institutes around the world. Babu is a Kenyan involved in the design, facilitation and evaluation of conflict transformation and peacebuilding processes for almost two decades in numerous parts of the world. He has also published several articles on arts, peace, and politics, including “Arts Approaches to Peace: Playing Our Way to Transcendence” published in Peacebuilding in Traumatized Societies.
Elaine Zook Barge is the Director of STAR: Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience, an integrated training program of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. During the 1980s and 1990s she worked in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala with Mennonite Central Committee. In her work with communities in conflict zones, Elaine experienced firsthand violence, conflict, poverty, and resilience. She facilitates STAR trainings at Eastern Mennonite University, throughout the US, and in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. She holds an MA in conflict transformation from Eastern Mennonite University’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding and a Bachelor of Science in nutrition/community development from Eastern Mennonite University.
Terry LeBlanc is Mi’kmaq / Acadian, resides in Alberta, and is in his 41st year of marriage to Bev. He is the father of Jennifer, Jeanine, and Matt. He is the founding Chair and Director of the North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies (NAIITS). Terry also teaches at George Fox University and Evangelical Seminary, and Tyndale University College and Seminary. Author of various works, Terry has won several awards for his writing. In June 2010, for his part in the creation of NAIITS, Terry became the 28th recipient of the Dr. E.H. Johnson Memorial Award for Innovation in Mission.
Natasha Mohammed has a background in International Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies. In addition to serving as a community counsellor, mediator, group facilitator and Victim Impact Worker, Natasha has taught conflict resolution skills and theory in government, community and university contexts for the past 18 years. She has also worked with participatory processes to create various learning programs, including diversity and youth violence prevention-based curricula.
Natasha has a special interest in conflict and culture. She is a founding member of Winnipeg Mosaic, a collective of local peacemakers who foster understanding of the role of religion and culture in life and conflict. Through her work in the federal Multiculturalism Program she is able to support the voices of both mainstream and marginalized communities in ways that ultimately facilitate their development and inclusion into Canadian society. For Natasha relationship is the key to peace in the world, your community, your family and yourself.
Rupert Ross, as Assistant Crown Attorney for the District of Kenora for more than 20 years, was responsible for criminal prosecutions on over 20 remote Ojibway and Cree First Nations. Between 1992 and 1995, he was seconded to the federal Aboriginal Justice Directorate where he travelled across Canada examining Aboriginal approaches to justice with special emphasis on healing programs for victims, offenders, families, and communities.He wrote two national best-selling books about his journey which radically reshaped the field of restorative justice: Dancing with a Ghost and Return to the Teachings: Exploring Aboriginal Justice. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Rupert worked as a fishing guide in northwestern Ontario, an assistant film editor in Ottawa, a road manager for a Toronto rock band, a bartender in Spain, and a ski instructor in Minaki, Ontario.
John R. Wiens recently retired as Dean of Education at the University of Manitoba. He has strong links to the education community not only in Manitoba, but across Canada. He has worked as a teacher, counsellor, work education coordinator, principal, school superintendent and university lecturer. John is an active educational leader and has served as president of the Manitoba Teacher’s Society, the Canadian Education Association, the Manitoba Research Council, and the Manitoba Educators for Social Responsibility. He also spent a number of years as the chair of the Universities’ Grants Commission and as the director of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, the Board of Teacher Education and Certification, and the Manitoba Association of School Superintendents. A few of John’s awards and achievements include: the John M. Brown Award for contributions to teacher education (1998), an honourary doctorate from Brandon University (2000), life memberships in the Manitoba Teachers’ Society, the Manitoba Association of School Superintendents, and the Canadian Education Association (2002), and the Manitoba Association of School Trustees President’s Council Award (2007). He was also awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal (2002) for service in education.
Norman Wirzba is Professor of Theology and Ecology at Duke Divinity School and Research Professor in Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment. His academic training is in philosophy and theology combined with his background in farming in southern Alberta has led him to research in agrarian studies and ecology. He teaches and writes at the intersection of these disciplines, and has published numerous books including The Paradise of God: Renewing Religion in an Ecological Age, Living the Sabbath, Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating, and Making Peace with the Land.
Global economic crises throughout the world over the past few years, what they mean for society and what the future holds are some of the topics that Jeff Huebner will explore at Canadian Mennonite University’s next Face2Face event.
Huebner, Associate Professor of International Business at CMU, will lead a discussion titled, “The European Debt Crisis and Other Wonders Hiding in the Global Economy,” on Thursday, February 27 at 7:00 PM in CMU’s Great Hall (500 Shaftesbury Blvd.). Admission is free, and everyone is welcome to attend. Face2Face is a series of conversations with CMU faculty designed to engage the community on a wide variety of current events and issues at the intersection of faith and life.
The discussion will explore everything from the financial crisis in the United States to the Eurozone debt crisis. Discussion panelists will include two participants from a course Huebner is currently teaching, “Business in the European Union”: Norm Klippenstein, a value investor from Niverville, Man. who is taking the course for personal interest; and Wil Bohlender, an international student from Germany who will speak about the Eurozone crisis from a citizen’s perspective.
In addition to rising debt rates in Canada and what that means for society, Huebner says that one of the aspects he is interested in exploring is the issue of trust, which is a core facet of Christian faith and of Mennonite communities.
“A lot of our financial system is based on trust – not only for citizens who are investing privately, but for countries like those in the European Union who are working together to use the Euro,” he says. “When something like the Eurozone debt crisis happens, trust can be shaken to the core and the question is: What happens if that trust is going to evaporate?”
Huebner, who is leading CMU Redekop School of Business students on a two-week study tour focusing on business and politics in Europe this coming April, is looking forward to the event.
“This is going to be an interesting panel discussion,” he says. “I’m excited to hear what people have to say.”
“The European Debt Crisis and Other Wonders Hiding in the Global Economy” is the fifth of six Face2Face events CMU will host during the 2013-14 school year. For the complete Face2Face schedule, please visit www.cmu.ca/face2face.
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How does current thinking in physics and chemistry affect how we experience and understand other areas of life?
That is the question Candice Viddal, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Physics at Canadian Mennonite University, explores in the fourth installment of the 2013/14 Face2Face conversation series.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV6k1Eeg170[/youtube]
by Aaron Epp
If anyone knows about the realities of war, it’s David Caceres.
Caceres, who calls Lima, Peru home, was a colonel in the Peruvian army and served his country during the 1980s and 1990s. Witnessing the atrocities of armed conflict during the Cenepa War, a 1995 border dispute between Ecuador and Peru, caused Caceres to reevaluate what he wanted to do with his life.
“War is something that no one should live,” says Caceres, who was in Winnipeg June 17-28, 2013 to study at Canadian Mennonite University’s (CMU) Canadian School of Peacebuilding (CSOP). “We should have to respect everyone’s life.”
After the Cenepa War, Caceres began working for the Peruvian army in a peacekeeping capacity. That led to a job at the United Nations, where Caceres worked for four years as a training officer. In that role, he developed military training materials for the UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
With a wide range of experiences in managing human resources, mediation, and conflict resolution at the international level, Caceres has facilitated seminars, workshops, courses, and training in Africa, Europe, Asia, America, and Latin America.
Caceres is currently the Lima District Manager for World Mediation Organization, where he consults and trains people in mediation and conflict resolution.
He is also in the process of developing the International Peace Studies Center of Peru that will help enhance the capabilities of communities and government workers to deal with conflicts in Peru so that they can resolve them peacefully.
He studied at the CSOP in June because he wants to expand his knowledge of conflict resolution.
“If you feel like being a cook, you need to have a lot of recipes,” Caceres says, adding that the CSOP instructors he learned from have given him a variety of different recipes for, or ways to approach, resolving conflicts.
“I’m putting everything in my bag and I believe I’ll use the knowledge and experiences and relationships [I made at the CSOP] so that I can do my job … in the best way.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7snGnAN42A[/youtube]
How we think about matter impacts on understanding of the world, professor says
How does current thinking in physics and chemistry affect how we experience and understand other areas of life?
That is the question Candice Viddal, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Physics at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU), will discuss during the university’s next Face2Face event. Face2Face is a series of conversations with CMU faculty designed to engage the community on a wide variety of current events and issues at the intersection of faith and life.
Titled “It’s Not Only About Atoms: Embracing the Science of Complexity,” this Face2Face conversation will take place on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7:00 PM in CMU’s Great Hall (500 Shaftesbury Blvd.). Admission is free, and everyone is welcome to attend.
“Since the ancient Greeks, the dominant conception of matter is that it consists of simple building blocks – that the whole can be described as the sum of the parts,” Viddal says.
She adds that scientists have come a long way in revealing exquisite detail about matter at many different length scales, from the incredibly small, like quarks and leptons; to atoms; to larger conglomerations of atoms such as proteins that perform a wide variety of tasks in living organisms; to genes that are the molecular units of heredity.
“Using examples from physics to chemistry, I’ll show that putting the parts back together again to describe complex systems as a whole – whether they be magnetic materials, neural networks, or even social behaviours – is proving to require new ways of thinking,” Viddal says.
“This is leading modern scientists to slowly embrace the idea that the whole may indeed be more than the sum of parts.”
Both ways of thinking about matter have had an impact on our understanding of the world around us, and ourselves.
“No one doubts that we are composed of atoms, but some say that we are ‘merely’ a collection of atoms, while others believe we are more than that – using descriptors such as mind, spirit, and heart,” Viddal says.
“I’m looking forward to exploring this dichotomy.”
“It’s Not Only About Atoms: Embracing the Science of Complexity” is the fourth of seven Face2Face events CMU is hosting during the 2013-14 school year. For the complete Face2Face schedule, please visit www.cmu.ca/face2face.