News

"The crisis in Syria and its spillover effects, such as the flow of refugees, are reminders that conflicts and their consequences are rarely contained to one geographic area of the world. Simply ignoring conflicts does not make them go away. Indeed, as the European governments are discovering it only leads to compounding humanitarian crises. However, it would be a mistake to see the current refugee crisis as solely a European issue to tackle.

In November of 2005, Shannon Moroney’s life changed drastically. A respected educator, proud homeowner, active volunteer and happy newlywed, her world was shattered when a police officer informed her that her then-husband Jason had confessed to the violent sexual assault and kidnapping of two women in her home.  In the years to follow, Moroney processed her own victimization while discovering what it meant to be a partner to a person who had offended sexually. 

How is it possible that an arms deal that is tainting the Canadian peacebuilding identity and has had twelve articles by Steven Chase on the cover of our national newspaper in the past year is relatively unknown by Canadian citizens?

In the theme of innovation in the Waterloo region we, at the MSCU Centre for Peace Advancement, are happy to announce that our Director, Paul Heidebrecht was featured in a local magazine this morning. Found in the Waterloo Region Record, Paul co-authored and collaborated with two other social innovators from the University of Waterloo community: Karla Boluk and Tania Del Matto. 

Waterloo is a thriving hotbed of innovation. With tech start-ups emerging daily, there is much focus on business, technology, and entrepreneurship. Adding to this concentration of ideas and change, the MSCU Center for Peace Advancement (CPA) is joining Waterloo’s innovation ecosystem with the launch of the Frank and Helen Epp Peace Incubator.

Between August 10^th and August 14^th, youth in the Waterloo Region will be discovering community through peace. The MSCU Centre for Peace Advancement’s fifth annual Peace Camp is a day camp run at Conrad Grebel University College.

Plans are underway at Conrad Grebel University College to host a Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival on June 9-12, 2016.  In addition to academic papers, workshops, and networking opportunities, the event is intended to be a festival that will include art, drama, and music on the campus of this Canadian Mennonite College.

By Jen Konkle, Conrad Grebel University College

This spring, Waterloo Region elementary school students will be discovering something normal and radical all at once: peace and justice. Peace Camp, a peace education organization at Conrad Grebel University College, will facilitate peace-building and conflict resolution workshops with elementary school students for the third consecutive year. School participation numbers have increased each year, and in May and June alone, 121 classrooms will participate in Peace Camp workshops.

We would like to congratulate and welcome the newly elected Board of Directors for the Waterloo Public Interest and Research Group (WPIRG), a partner to the CPA. This is a new and exciting time as WPIRG says goodbye to the board members who have been supporting their work over the past year, and welcomes the new ones into the fold.

You can learn more about WPIRG, as well as both their new and old board members, in this article.