Peacebuilders inspiring peacebuilders: Centre participates in #12Days4Good

In response to Kindred Credit Union's call to generosity this holiday season, the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement got creative about how to give back to its local community.

For the past three years, for twelve consecutive days in December, the Centre has joined eleven other local organizations in participating in “acts of good” during #12Days4Good, a social media campaign led by Kindred Credit Union. The Centre kicked off the 2020 campaign on December 7 with the release of an online Peacebuilders’ Inspiration Toolkit.

The Centre recognizes the value of collaborative, interdisciplinary, multisector approaches to the advancement of peace. With community and collaboration at its core, the Centre supports a diverse group of changemakers as they work to build peace in creative ways. For its #12Days4Good deed, the Centre for Peace Advancement decided to look inward, toward the wisdom of participants, and share their insights with the wider community.

Centre staff and participants submitted pieces of literature, art, and media that inspire them, alongside short relfections, which were then compiled into a free, public resource. The toolkit contains ten recommended sources of inspiration in the form of art pieces, songs, interviews, photos, podcasts, and poems. The Centre shared this resource on social media, highlighting a few of the recommendations found in the guide.

“As a resource by peacebuilders for peacebuilders, this resource was created to encourage those who are feeling overwhelmed, disheartened, or who need nourishment for sustaining their energy in these times of widespread civil unrest and a global pandemic,” says Victoria Lumax, Centre for Peace Advancement Communications Assistant.

For this campaign, the Centre joined a group of impactful, community-minded organizations and businesses: Cambridge Art Galleries - Idea Exchange, Lunaria, MEDA - Women Empowering Women, Pastors in Exile, Sanguen Health Centre, Borealis Grille, Diva International, Community Justice Initiatives, Reep Green Solutions, Coalition of Muslim Women of KW, and Kindred Credit Union. The Centre had many pre-existing connections within this network of “Do Gooders” before the campaign began, including Lunaria and Pastors in Exile who both have participated in the Peace Incubator Program.

The Centre for Peace Advancement has positioned itself at the intersection of social innovation and civic engagement, acting as a bridge between campus and community. #12Days4Good is one of the many ways the Centre lives this out.