This year’s 21^st Annual International Nonviolence Summer Institute was a bit different, as everything has been in the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic – we hosted an online 3-Day Introduction to Kingian Nonviolence & Conflict Reconciliation. We were pleased that 294 participants from 18 countries and 30 states joined us from varying time zones around the world. Some dedicated individuals watched at all hours of the night and early morning! We offered video recordings to those who couldn’t be able to attend each session or if they wanted to review the information again.

At the final session we honored 11 Kingian nonviolence trainers, who had previously earned Level I and Level II certification, the prestigious Level 3 certification. Level 3 is the highest tribute paid by the URI Center for Nonviolence & Peace Studies to trainers who have institutionalized or internationalized nonviolence, according to Dr. King’s final directive. The following people join the growing family of 36 fellow Level 3 recipients as they continue to bring Dr. King’s philosophy and strategies for implementing nonviolence throughout all parts of the globe.

Congratulations to the amazing recipients of Level 3 in 2020! You are all proof that nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.

1. Peter Adams, Luton, United Kingdom – Peter has worked with intercultural and interfaith relations, based at Mary’s Centre for Peace & Reconciliation in the Parish Church of Luton since 2007. The Center empowers people to live positively in multicultural and diverse communities by developing creative and innovative programs that build peace, develop understanding and train people in the required skills and the aptitudes to live a peaceable life. https://www.stmarysforpeace.org
2. Chuck Alphin, Missouri, USA – Chuck is the Executive Director of the Building Life Foundations Nonviolence Center, a training center in Kingian Nonviolence for Missouri and surrounding states. The intent is to institutionalize and internationalize nonviolence. The Center includes programs, such as job placement, G.E.D. preparation, substance abuse recovery assistance, HIV-AIDS education and awareness, transitional housing, job readiness, and life skills training for youth and adults. They encourage participants to apply Kingian nonviolence into their daily lives at home, work, and in their communities to promote the goal of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Beloved Community” through the elimination of the social ills of racism, poverty, and militarism and the expansion of social justice through nonviolent means. http://www.blfnvcenter.com/Building_Life_Foundations_Nonviolence_Center/Welcome.html
3. Rozelia Kennedy, PhD, Florida, USA – Rozelia completed a PhD in 2018 in Adult, Career & Higher Education at the University of South Florida. Her dissertation, “A Biographical Study of Bernard LaFayette, Jr. as an Adult Educator Including the Teaching of Nonviolence Conflict” which focused on the life and work of LaFayette, nonviolence and conflict reconciliation from an adult education perspective. This study explored LaFayette’s life from an early age through his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, his contributions to adult education, and his current views on social change.This study provides the most comprehensive, current, and overall picture of LaFayette’s life and contributions. Education institutions, prisons, and community agencies could benefit from the information provided in this study including information about the nonviolence conflict reconciliation training.
4. Femi Kennedy, Florida, USA – Founder & CEO of Abel’s Community Services, Inc.
5. Ihsanulla Khan, Pakistan – Ihsanulla is a Project Design and Development Manager in a non-profit humanitarian organization called Basic Education and Employable Skill Training (BEST-Pak) in Pakistan. They have worked mostly in conflict-affected areas with schools and police. Importantly, they have focused on de-radicalizing youth through job training, counseling, and nonviolence training. Peace-building has become an integral part of every project implementation. http://bestpak.org
6. Hamish Khan, Pakistan – Hamish has worked tirelessly for years in an effort to bring peace to the conflict region of Pakistan through nonviolence education. As leader of his organization, Basic Education and Employable Skill Training (BEST-Pak), he defines major goals as: 1) To provide the means for individuals to obtain basic education, 2) To provide the means for people to acquire vocational, technical, or other skills, 3) To support & assist individuals in starting a business or trade or commercial activities, 4) To engage in other development & capacity building endeavors, which are conducive to uplifting the poorest and most neglected sectors of society, 5) To promote nonviolence & peace within the region, 6) To undertake emergency & relief related support. http://bestpak.org
7. Amani Matabaro Tom, DR Congo – Amani is the founder and executive director of Action Kivu for the Welfare of Women & Children. They focus on the women and children who are the most at risk and whose wellbeing will make the biggest impact in their community. Their mission focuses on four complementary initiatives: Entrepreneur Training, Community Farm, HIV/AIDs Education, and the Congo Peace School. Following Amani’s Level II certification at the International Nonviolence Summer Institute, he founded the first Peace School in the Congo, constructing a new school building, where every teacher and student will be trained in Kingian nonviolence, learning the philosophies, strategies and practices of nonviolence. https://www.actionkivu.org/team
8. Adepeju Olaide Oti, PhD, Nigeria – Peju is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Arts & Social Sciences Education, Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria, one of Nigeria’s leading nonprofit organizations. She is the founder of the Global Youth Leadership & Girl-Child Foundation, and Convener of the Annual International Interdisciplinary Conference, she is an advocate for female human rights in education, equality and safe schools. Her personal goal is to influence policy on mainstreaming nonviolence and peace education in the school curriculum at all levels. She has over 20 years working expertise in management, teaching in schools and training with local and international NGOs, and as a consultant to the World Bank Fadama II Project. https://www.gylgfoundation.org
9. Arthur Romano, PhD, North Carolina, USA – Arthur is an Assistant Professor at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University, Korea Campus. He is a scholar-practitioner whose research and applied interests include global educational movements, the use of transformative and experiential education in communities affected by violence and nonviolence education. He is teaches courses on identity & conflict resolution, and peace education. Arthur’s PhD research utilized complexity theory to examine pedagogical innovation in the field of international peace education. He has designed and implemented experiential educational programs in Asia, Africa, and Central America on peace and conflict resolution related themes. He co-developed the Diversity Matters Now workshop series, which explores issues related to identity and peace-building in colleges and universities across the US. https://carterschool.gmu.edu
10. Leban Serto, PhD, Manipur, India – Leban is the Coordinator for the Centre for Education that explores Gandhian, Kingian and Peace content and methods. He teaches nonviolence courses at St. Ann’s College in Assam as well as working with students of the Manza Baptist English, bringing nonviolence into their curriculum. In addition, he has recently presented four papers from the course, “Gandhian Philosophy and Rural Development” at Tripura University.
11. Rich Tarlian, Rhode Island, USA – Rich is a retired captain of the Providence, RI police force. He has trained hundreds of people in Kingian Nonviolence in Rhode Island and abroad for two decades.