News

This March, the Grebel Gallery welcomes one of several pop-up exhibits this term – Shared Threads. This exhibition is presented by the Irish Real Life Festival, bringing a collection of works – from knotwork to artifacts of traditional instruments. During the exhibit's launch, the artists shared their personal connections with their heritage and how it was reflected through their pieces. 

Conrad Grebel University College was buzzing with music and conversation on November 29, 2025, as friends and family of Dr. Tom Lee joined together toward a shared purpose of celebrating Tom while also fundraising for the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement.

This year’s Map the System competition at the University of Waterloo drew in a wide range of students eager to explore complex problems. With registration now closed, responses show which parts of the university students are coming from and what issues they are interested in researching. 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to compete in Map the System? Four previous participants share their experience and the impact the competition has had on them.

Ever wonder where to take your ideas on campus? The Innovation Open House showed that Waterloo has tons of places—from startup hubs to social‑impact groups to creative maker spaces—where students can get support, meet people, and turn ideas into something real.

Grebel's Paul Heidebrecht begins a new journey as he takes on a role at Project Ploughshares. 

The Fall Term Program Assistant reflects on her term as it comes to an end: new exhibits, interesting events, news features, and how peace surrounds us all. 

How can we work at a local level towards global goals for a better future? Local Futures, one of the ventures in the Grebel Peace Incubator, aims to drive a new wave of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) localization throughout Canada.

The Build Peace annual conference brings together practitioners, activists, technologists, academics, and artists from more than 75 countries to explore emergent challenges to peace in the digital era, and the innovations in peacebuilding that seek to address them. The conference will be coming to Waterloo in 2026, the first time it has been held in Canada!

How can educators from all over the world unite for the communal goal of positive social impact? The 2025 Social Impact Educator Gathering organized by Daniela Papi-Thorton was an event filled with a diverse group of educators seeking to make positive social change.