Our centre and participants
The Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement is a dynamic space on the University of Waterloo campus, home to peace-oriented innovators, and established organizations from the regions vibrant peacebuilding field. The common goal of advancing peace collaboratively and creatively is the lifeblood of the Centre for Peace Advancements unique working community. The Centre for Peace Advancement stands as a bridge between campus and community, academics and practice, and faith and justice.
Our ecosystem
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada is a leading hub for innovation on a national and global scale. The University of Waterloo has been consistently ranked as Canada's most innovative university by Maclean's university rankings. UWaterloo operates the world's largest co-operative education program, and now supports a wide array of student entrepreneurship opportunities. In addition to being the home of countless cutting-edge tech companies, our surrounding community has nurtured significant social innovations in areas such as restorative justice, poverty alleviation, and refugee resettlement.
Events
Mennonites, Technology, and the Possibilities for PeaceTech
A conversation with Paul Heidebrecht, the Director of the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel University College, and Lisa Schirch, the Richard G. Starmann, Sr. Professor of the Practice of Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame about Mennonites, Technology, and the Possibilities for PeaceTech.
Resurfacing: Mennonite Floor Patterns (ongoing)
Drop by the Grebel Gallery between now and February to see artist Margruite Krahn's exhibit that restores and re-imagines hand painted Mennonite house barn floor patterns from the turn of the 20th century. Her work engages with the contrast of home as a sanctuary and a place that holds conflict, alongside changing traditions and practices of beauty.
News
Paint as Protest
In streets marked by division, graffiti often emerges as an unfiltered voice of resistance and reflection, yet it can often be overlooked or seen as mere vandalism or decoration. During the 2024 Eby Lecture at Conrad Grebel University College, Professor Eric Lepp invited the audience to look beyond the paint and lend an ear to the voices of those who create it.
Floored by historic beauty
Artist Margruite Krahn's artistic project, “Resurfacing Mennonite Floor Patterns,” highlights an overlooked aspect of Mennonite culture: women's creativity. This project showcases historic floor patterns while delving into themes of home, tradition, and gender in a changing cultural context.
All systems go!
The Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement is thrilled to announce the launch of Map the System 2025, a global competition developed by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University. The Map the System competition empowers students and educators to approach social and environmental issues using systems thinking, offering participants a chance to enhance their research and problem-solving skills. This is the seventh year that the Centre for Peace Advancement has facilitated this opportunity at the University of Waterloo.