The Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement community experienced an impactful year as we entered our second decade of operation. Here are a few highlights and accomplishments from some of our Core Collaborators and Grebel Incubator start-ups.
In streets marked by division, graffiti often emerges as an unfiltered voice of resistance and reflection, yet it can often be overlooked or seen as mere vandalism or decoration. During the 2024 Eby Lecture at Conrad Grebel University College, Professor Eric Lepp invited the audience to look beyond the paint and lend an ear to the voices of those who create it.
Artist Margruite Krahn's artistic project, “Resurfacing Mennonite Floor Patterns,” highlights an overlooked aspect of Mennonite culture: women's creativity. This project showcases historic floor patterns while delving into themes of home, tradition, and gender in a changing cultural context.
The Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement is thrilled to announce the launch of Map the System 2025, a global competition developed by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University. The Map the System competition empowers students and educators to approach social and environmental issues using systems thinking, offering participants a chance to enhance their research and problem-solving skills. This is the seventh year that the Centre for Peace Advancement has facilitated this opportunity at the University of Waterloo.
Peace Week 2024 has come to a close. This year, community partners hosted 30 impactful events, including provoking art exhibits, engaging discussions, awareness walks, theatre productions, music festivals and workshops across the Waterloo Region. Take a closer look at some of the events and the impact they have had on the community.
Rachel Jenson, Faculty Relations Manager, from Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE), presented Laurel Boytim, Executive Director of The Ripple Effect Education (TREE) in the Centre for Peace Advancement, with the 2023 CEE Employer Impact Award. TREE was awarded honorable mention for the Impact on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion category. This award recognizes leadership in EDI and highlights the importance of connecting students to meaningful co-op experiences. Of the 7,000+ employers that hire UW co-op students, TREE is among a small handful of employers receiving this designation.
On Saturday, September 21, the International Day of Peace, the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement celebrated its 10th anniversary. The event not only celebrated a decade of achievements but also reignited people's commitment to advancing peace locally and globally.
The Grebel Peace Incubator in the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement has mobilized a diverse range of peace-related start-ups in the Waterloo Region over the past decade. Tech companies like GeoMate and well-known charities like Theatre of the Beat and The Ripple Effect Education (TREE) are among the thirty-two initiatives that have benefited from the incubator’s mentorship, funding, and learning community.
With the Centre’s 10th anniversary approaching on September 21, 2024, we reflect on a decade of peacebuilding at the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement. This event, taking place on the International Day of Peace event at Conrad Grebel University College, will feature impactful talks, interactive discussions, and reflections on the Centre’s transformative role in fostering global peace and collaboration.
Signs of Peace: A Retrospective of Peace Posters brings to life a fading art form that once played a powerful role in social and political advocacy. Featuring over 50 posters from organizations linked to the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement, this exhibit offers a glimpse into a genre that has somewhat vanished from the public eye.