Advancing peace at—and beyond—Grebel
Since its opening in 2014, the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement has aspired to attract peace innovators. We aimed to become a state-of-the-art academic hub that incubates and advances collaborative, inter-disciplinary, multisector peacemaking. In my view, we have achieved this vision. We can confidently say that the Centre for Peace Advancement has become an integral program of Conrad Grebel University College, complementing stellar academic and residence programs that seek wisdom, nurture faith, and pursue justice and peace in service to church and society.
Moreover, the Centre is now firmly embedded within—and has found ways to make a distinctive contribution to—the University of Waterloo and one of the world’s leading innovation ecosystems. And, as our inspiration partner, Kindred Credit Union has been able to bring life to its purpose of inspiring peaceful, just, and prosperous communities through our local and global impacts.
There are so many amazing stories we could tell about the individuals and organizations who have been a part of this journey—stories ripped from local, national, and international headlines, stories of breakthroughs and positive impacts on communities near and far, and stories of both personal and institutional learning and growth. These stories highlight key milestones and indicators in order to illustrate how the Centre for Peace Advancement is not only a hub for peacebuilding activities, it has become a catalyst for collaboration.
Join us as we continue to pursue new opportunities to advance peace. The past few years have been remarkable, but we are just getting started!
Paul Heidebrecht,
Director, Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement