About

A view from across the front windows of the 4th floor, which houses the Centre for Peace Advancement. A crowd of students on a tour stand in the lobby behind the windows.

Located at Conrad Grebel University College on the University of Waterloo campus, the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement celebrated its official opening in September of 2014. 

At the Centre for Peace Advancement, we recognize the value of collaborative, interdisciplinary, and multisector approaches to the advancement of peace. For this reason, the Centre for Peace Advancement is home to a variety of participants involved in the work of advancing peace. Our 6,000 square feet of space is occupied by a range of peace scholars from the University of Waterloo, as well as practitioners from local peace building organizations. Through forging opportunities for collaboration in the form of research, training and/or community engagement, we work to advance peace along with academics and practitioners from the University of Waterloo and beyond.

Vision

The Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement aspires to attract peace innovators; to be a state of the art academic hub that incubates and advances collaborative, inter-disciplinary, multi-sector peacemaking.

Mission

The Centre for Peace Advancement advances expansive and innovative understandings and practices of peace locally and globally by promoting collaboration among its peace partners in ways that seek wisdom, nurture faith and serve church and society.

Programs

  1. The Grebel Gallery encourages mutual learning and shared action by illustrating the integration of art, community and peacebuilding.
  2. The Grebel Peace Incubator program offers peace-related initiatives an opportunity to put wheels to their idea.  
  3. Core Collaborators advance their work by engaging in collaborative research projects and community engagement opportunities. 

Foundational moments for the Centre
  1. 2011
    1. Susan and Brent shaking hands
      November 2011

      Announcement of transformative gift from Mennonite Savings and Credit Union (now Kindred Credit Union)

  2. 2012
    1. Ground breaking for new building at Grebel
      March 2012

      Ground breaking

    2. Outside of the new Grebel building
      June 2012

      Grebel Board approves vision and mission

  3. 2014
    1. Paul Heidebrecht at opening of Centre
      June 2014

      Paul Heidebrecht named director

    2. September 2014

      Mennonite Savings and Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement opens (Now Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement)

    3. Michelle Jackett
      November 2014

      Michelle Jackett named coordinator

  4. 2015
    1. Students chat at Gallery opening
      September 2015

      Epp Peace Incubator program launches (now Grebel Peace Incubator program)

      Grebel Gallery team formed

  5. 2016
    1. Students chatting while pointing at Grebel gallery exhibit
      July 2016

      Renamed as Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement

    2. Women from Grebel Gallery exhibit
      October 2016

      Grebel Gallery Fund established

  6. 2017
    1. First cohort of Peace Innovators
      August 2017

      First cohort of Peace Innovators

    2. September 2017

      Peace Incubator Fund and Barry Bauman Mentorship Fund established 

      Annual Peace Week for Waterloo Region is first coordinated

    3. Katie Gingerich and Amy Zavitz in Incubator
      November 2017

      Epp Peace Incubator Mentorship Circle is formed (now Grebel Peace Incubator Mentorship Circle)

  7. 2018
    1. October 2018

      Facilitated UWaterloo's participation in Map the System for the first time.

  8. 2019
    1. Demine Robotics team member Jared Baribeau
      September 2019

      Inaugural PeaceTech Living-Learning Community

    2. Anniversary celebrants gather in the Centre for Peace Advancement lobby
      September 2019

      Celebrating the Centre's 5-year anniversary.

    3. Mitacs
      November 2019

      Epp Peace Incubator approved as the first social innovation incubator in Mitacs' Accelerate Entrepreneur and Entrepreneur International programs.

  9. 2021
    1. June 2021

      Epp Peace Incubator re-branded as Grebel Peace Incubator