Participant Profile
By Beth Downey Sawatzky Lessons in Responsibility Sometimes, when you discover a good thing, one taste is just not enough. For Erin Yantzi, a third-year student at the University of Waterloo, transferable degree credit from a CSOP intensive was just too good not to come back for seconds. The double Anthropology and Peace Studies major […]
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By Beth Downey Sawatzky On Staying Strong Marian De Couto, a Toronto native, lived for several years’ time in the city's chapter of L'Arche—a mixed community of people with various disabilities, as well as people generally considered “able”—exploring what she calls “applied solidarity.” This was the same interest that ultimately drew her to Christian Peacemaker […]
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By Aaron Epp CSOP an eye-opening experience for veteran Alberta lawyer Bob Aloneissi sees conflict in a whole new light after attending the 2016 Canadian School of Peacebuilding. “I was the kind of person who didn’t like conflict – I thought it meant court litigation,” he says. Now, Aloneissi doesn’t think conflict is so bad. […]
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By Aaron Epp CSOP embodies ‘dialogue-based posture’ the church needs to take, B.C. pastor says When pastor Lee Kosa was renegotiating his contract with his church’s board last year, he didn’t want more money. What he asked for instead was more time off and the opportunity to travel to Winnipeg to study at the 2016 […]
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By Beth Downey Sawatzky God has no flag At a time when the fears and antipathies defining global politics revolve so closely around religious violence and conflict, peacebuilding that strives to unite religious groups is more relevant than ever. This year, one CSOP student in particular distinctively embodied such bridge-building passion: Zahid Rohman is a […]
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By Aaron Epp CSOP massively energizing for Canadian peacebuilder working in the Philippines When it comes to peace work in the Philippines, Darnell Barkman is on the front lines. Barkman and his wife, Christina, are Mennonite Church Canada Witness Workers, giving pastoral leadership to PeaceChurch Philippines, an Anabaptist church they helped plant in Metro Manila. […]
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By Aaron Epp CSOP helps parliamentary aid from Nigeria advocate for women’s rights Violence in the home, sexual harassment at school and work, rape and defilement, enforcement of gender-biased laws, harmful traditional practices – these are some of the things women in Nigeria face. Through her role as an assistant in Nigeria’s parliament, Folake Aderibigbe […]
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By Aaron Epp Iranian graduate students discover new ideas at Canadian School of Peacebuilding Did you know that the 2015 Canadian School of Peacebuilding (CSOP) took place during Ramadan? Three of its students were very aware of this. Ali Shakeri, Mohammad Reza Hozourbakhsh, and Mohammad Rida Barteh traveled from their home in Qom, Iran to […]
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by Ellen Paulley What does the Bible teach about justice? How can these teachings be applied in the church and wider society today? Can a compassionate and restorative justice serve the world? These are some of the topics discussed in the 2015 Canadian School of Peacebuilding (CSOP) class, Justice of God:Questions of Justice in the […]
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By Ellen Paulley Beverely Stewart has explored her longstanding interest in peace and justice by taking courses at the Canadian School of Peacebuilding over the last few years. This year she participated in Women and Peacebuilding, taught by Ouyporn Khuankaew and Ginger Norwood. “I’ve always liked the idea that this [CSOP] is called peacebuilding,” says […]
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