{"id":30692,"date":"2023-07-05T11:53:05","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T15:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/?p=30692"},"modified":"2023-07-05T11:53:40","modified_gmt":"2023-07-05T15:53:40","slug":"uri-celebrates-new-class-of-nonviolence-summer-institute-graduates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nonviolence\/2023\/07\/05\/uri-celebrates-new-class-of-nonviolence-summer-institute-graduates\/","title":{"rendered":"URI celebrates new class of Nonviolence Summer Institute graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

June 27, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media Contact: Kevin Stacey<\/a> 401-874-4104<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in its 24th year, the International Nonviolence Summer Institute teaches nonviolence strategies derived from the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KINGSTON, RI. \u2013 June 27, 2023 \u2013 Graduates of the International Nonviolence Summer Institute at the University of Rhode Island have gone on to lead peace and nonviolence training efforts everywhere from Boston to Bangladesh. The institute recently celebrated its 24th graduating class, awarding nonviolence certification to 33 people representing 12 U.S. states and 7 countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nonviolence Summer Institute teaches a set of nonviolence principles derived from the philosophy and strategies of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., including how to organize and mobilize to peacefully address violence and social justice issues. Graduates are equipped to implement these principles in their communities and teach them to others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a ceremony held June 16, Skip Mark, an assistant professor of political science at URI and director of the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, encouraged the new graduates to take what they\u2019ve learned to make positive change in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo each and every one of you who has completed the rigorous nonviolence training program, I extend my deepest congratulations,\u201d Mark said. \u201cYour commitment to personal growth, understanding, and compassion has set you apart as ambassadors of peace and agents of change. By embracing the principles of nonviolence, you have taken an active role in shaping a world that is free from the chains of hatred, discrimination, and injustice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The principles of Kingian nonviolence are outlined in King\u2019s essay \u201cA Pilgrimage to Nonviolence.\u201d They include nonviolence as a form of courage, community and relationships as a means to head off violence, and ways of attacking systems that perpetuate injustice rather than people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since its founding in 1999, the URI Summer Institute has certified more than 1,000 people in Kingian nonviolence. This year\u2019s graduates included educators and activists from Australia, India, Liberia, Tibet and elsewhere around the world. U.S. participants included a team of Peace Warriors from North Lawndale College Prep School in Chicago, faculty from universities in Wisconsin and Texas, as well as staff from URI. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe program was really helpful as a model of how to form the \u2018beloved community\u2019 that King wrote about,\u201d said Brian Scannell, a teacher at the Hawthorne Waldorf School in Ghent, New York. \u201cI loved that the training was interactive and experiential and that the trainers took time to get to know the students.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jean Nsabumuremyi, director of the Multicultural Student Services Center at URI who received his level 1 certification, said the instruction will help greatly in his work.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt allows me to see that we have a better alternative to respond to hate and violence,\u201d he said.  \u201cThe Kingian principles I learned in the program can support how we teach and educate our students to respond to injustices on campus, in the country, and around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thupten Tendhar, a certified nonviolence trainer who works at the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, said that the Summer Institute\u2019s global reach makes it one of the leading Kingian nonviolence training programs in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cURI-trained peacebuilders are actively training in Nonviolence and Peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Nepal, Nigeria, India, Liberia, Haiti, the UK, Italy, Senegal, and many more countries around the globe,\u201d Tendhar said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark said he\u2019s confident that this year\u2019s class of trainers will continue that tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe journey towards peace is not an easy one,\u201d he told the graduates. \u201cIt requires courage, resilience, and an unwavering belief in the power of nonviolence. But through your dedication and determination, you are driving meaningful change in your communities, inspiring others to follow in your footsteps and become catalysts for transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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