LATEST POSTS

HOW TO, CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION Nicole Gibson HOW TO, CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION Nicole Gibson

Our Emotions in Conflict: Dignity, Identity, and Humiliation

In conflict, being intentional about making the other person feel that they are being treated with dignity is a way to positively transform the situation. In other words, avoid making someone feel humiliated. French author Antoine Sant-Exupéry wrote, “I have no right to say or do anything that diminishes a man in his own eyes. What matters is not what I think of him, but what he thinks of himself. Hurting a man in his dignity is a crime.” So how do we avoid making someone feel humiliated? Read on!

Read More
Bryan Carey Bryan Carey Bryan Carey Bryan Carey

Sticky Learning: Conflict Transformation Training in Northern Ireland

Previous times that I have been invited to speak with Christian groups in Northern Ireland, I had been invited to speak primarily about a theological foundation and vision for peace and peacebuilding. This time, the request was for a more practical: How do we do it? What perspectives and skills do we need to cultivate in order to work as peacebuilders in our everyday lives and communities? 

Read More
BOSNIA, Mirela Popaja-Hadžić Mirela Popaja-Hadžić BOSNIA, Mirela Popaja-Hadžić Mirela Popaja-Hadžić

Exploring Sarajevo, the City of Trauma

There is a constant battle between the individual longing for freedom and civilisation demanding conformity and repression of instincts. And so, individuals are constantly sending subtle and not-so-subtle messages about their feelings and this restricted freedom. I had this on my mind recently as I took the trolley bus through Sarajevo.

Read More
Nicole Gibson Nicole Gibson

Where Do Peace and Justice Meet? Reflections on Peacemaking in Israel-Palestine

How can peacemaking be the thing that leads to justice, and vice versa? From a Jesus-following perspective, we can see how the methods of creativity and nonviolence that Jesus used not only disarmed the oppressors of His time and perhaps convicted them of their wrongdoing, but also gave a sense of freedom and dignity to the person being mistreated. There's something different about creative nonviolence in the ways of Jesus - it's not just about freeing the oppressed; it's also about freeing the oppressor.

Read More
HOW TO Nicole Gibson HOW TO Nicole Gibson

We Don't Always Know What We Think We Know

Sometimes we think we know what’s going on, but in reality we don’t. We assume the situation could only be as it appears on the surface, but if we look into it further, we may find we don’t know what we think we know.

Read More
HOW TO Nicole Gibson HOW TO Nicole Gibson

Crucial Conversations: How To Talk About Tough Issues

In peacemaking, we often talk about this kind of thing on a large scale, but it actually applies to everyday relationships and conversations, and that’s what makes this book such a gem. The principles in Crucial Conversations empower us to both talk about the hard things AND maintain relationship. They give us the tools to “talk openly about high-stakes, emotional, and controversial topics.”

Read More
Nicole Gibson Nicole Gibson

Perfect Fear Casts Out Love... Wait, That's Wrong

Social distancing is a major problem these days. We seem more polarized, more ready to place the "other" in the dark camp on the opposite side of an issue, political viewpoint AND religious belief. Just last week I saw a simple encounter in the grocery store parking lot escalate to an altercation where strangers were yelling at each other and demonstrating with hand gestures. While not all people resort to this level of immaturity in our interactions with others, it seems to be happening more. And I think it has infected our inter-religious engagement as well.

Read More