News

Yesterday marked the end of the 2019-2020 Map the System journey! As the Global Finals concluded with virtual cheers and applause from hundreds of audience members, the work of 3,500 teams from 52 institutions over the last few months was celebrated. This year’s Map the System competition was the biggest yet, bringing forth a new caliber of systems thinking.

Since launching in 2014, the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement has been catalyzing collaboration between peace partners across multiple sectors – from art to technology to the social sciences. While our partners have varied, one common thread in the collaboration efforts that have thrived is the prioritization of strong relationships of mutual trust. As leadership expert Steven Covey has argued, change grows at the speed of trust.

As the world continues to navigate the ever-changing circumstances of this pandemic, Waterloo’s entrepreneurial community has banded together to support students through the Pandemic Challenge.

Michelle Jackett, Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement Coordinator, reflects on the importance of artistic expressions of healing spaces in the latest edition of Grebel Now.

The University of Waterloo’s Map the System team is taking their local research to the global stage in June, following a winning presentation at the Canadian finals last week.

As the PeaceTech Living Learning Community (LLC) prepares to move online for Spring term, Grebel students are convinced that the need to integrate technology and peacebuilding is more pressing than ever. The PeaceTech LLC, a joint initiative of the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement and the Conrad Grebel University College residence program, allows students from diverse academic backgrounds to consider the impact of technology and how it can be used to advance peace.

Twenty-eight hard-working teams harnessed the power of systems thinking to map out important problems for the University of Waterloo’s second annual Map the System competition. Congratulations to Emma McDougall, Kaitlin Webber, and Sam Petrie, who won first place for their research into the socioeconomic transformation of neighbourhoods along the new light rail corridor in Waterloo Region.

The fourth floor of Conrad Grebel University College may be closed, but the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement continues to provide opportunities for changemakers to advance peace. This past month has proved, more than ever, that the Centre is more than just a space—it is an adaptable hub of innovative thinkers who are now finding creative ways to continue their work amidst a crisis.

War terminology is commonplace in the way the media and governments describe perceived threats: war on poverty, war on drugs, war on terror, and now, war on COVID-19. Aspenia Online, The Guardian, the University of Nottingham, and Higher Education Strategy Associates have all published blog posts or articles that explore the appropriateness of using this comparison, but have neglected to provide alternative language.

In what can be a disorienting and frightening time, it is encouraging to see glimmers of hope and positive action. Indeed, along with all the cancelations and changes in plans, the world needs creative and constructive responses. With the Canadian-coined term “caremongering” emerging, unprecedented levels of open data sharing, and the development of hackathons to design COVID-19-fighting technologies, there is lots going on. Indeed, the Centre for Peace Advancement has come across over thirty examples of innovative efforts to improve public health and contribute to the common good.