{"id":1822,"date":"2011-06-30T13:01:01","date_gmt":"2011-06-30T18:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/?p=1822"},"modified":"2011-08-16T10:34:16","modified_gmt":"2011-08-16T15:34:16","slug":"canadian-school-of-peacebuilding-welcomes-international-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/2011\/canadian-school-of-peacebuilding-welcomes-international-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian School of Peacebuilding Welcomes International Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diversity enriches classroom, community experience<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
CSOP Student Olivier Imbabazi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since it first launched in June 2009, CMU\u2019s Canadian School of Peacebuilding (CSOP) has welcomed a diverse group of students from across Canada and U.S., and such countries as the Philippines, Palestine, Cameroon, Rwanda, Russia, Switzerland, and Australia.<\/p>\n

First-time CSOP student Olivier Imbabazi, founder of the Kenya-based non-profit Hope and Action for Africa (HAFA), travelled from Kenya to CMU to take the Non-Violent Action Strategies for Social Change course in June 2011.<\/span><\/p>\n

CSOP offers a selection of five-day peacebuilding-related courses over three weeks for professional\/personal development or academic credit each June. Courses are open to anyone 21 years or older.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur vision is to gather peacebuilders from around the world,\u201d says Valerie Smith, CSOP co-director with Wendy Kroeker. \u201cWe want to serve existing networks and organizations working at peacebuilding. When we gather a diverse group of students, it enriches conversations and experiences in the classrooms and connections within the CSOP community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Imbabazi learned about the school online through his work with HAFA, which is a sponsor of the CSOP.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven that Africa has gone through many violent conflicts and wars, it desperately needs change through non-violent strategies to peacebuilding,\u201d says Imbabazi of his reason for taking the course taught by George Lakey, a renowned professor, author, and peace activist. The ultimate goal of the course was to help participants become more skilled and effective in organizing non-violent actions.<\/p>\n

For Imbabazi, who plans to attend CSOP again, this was his first time not only at CMU, but also in Canada. \u201cMy experience was wonderful\u2014wonderful class, classmates, professors, and community,\u201d he shares.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents, international or local, often talk about their time at CSOP as a significant experience that changes their lives,\u201d says Smith. \u201cAnd students who come from other countries to Canada for the first time often share about how their stereotypes of Westerners are broken.\u201d<\/p>\n

While CSOP welcomes students worldwide, many international students face significant barriers to attending. For example, this year, CSOP received more than 300 applications\u2014the majority of them international\u2014but many were unable to attend due to issues with finances and visas.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause international applicants often face financial challenges or are denied visas, it\u2019s always exciting for us when someone is able to come,\u201d says Smith. Imbabazi applied late and was waiting for visa approval the weekend before Lakey\u2019s course started; he arrived a day late, but was still able to soak in the majority of the course.<\/p>\n

Back home, Imbabazi will continue working with HAFA, which serves and works with refugee communities and vulnerable groups in Kenya. He plans to initiate a \u201cSponsor a Child\u201d program and organize more peacebuilding training, especially in communities affected by conflicts and wars.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll focus on how changes can be made not with guns, but with non-violent actions,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

For information about the 2012 Canadian School of Peacebuilding, including courses, instructors, and banquet details, visit www.cmu.ca\/csop later this summer.<\/p>\n

Canadian Mennonite University, through Menno Simons College (CMU\u2019s campus at The University of Winnipeg) and through its south Winnipeg Shaftesbury campus, offers one of the most comprehensive undergraduate programs in peace and conflict studies in the world. Located in Manitoba, CMU has over 1,700 students at its two campuses and enrolled through its Outtatown discipleship program. CMU is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.<\/p>\n

Written by Carla Lowe for CMU
\nPhoto: \u00a0CMU
\n<\/em>
\nFor CSOP information, contact:
\nCSOP Co-director Valerie Smith
\ncsop@cmu.ca<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>;<\/em> Tel. 204.487.3300 Ext. 316
\nCanadian School of Peacebuilding at CMU
\n500 Shaftesbury Blvd.
\nWinnipeg, MB R3P 2N2
\nwww.cmu.ca\/csop<\/span><\/p>\n

For CMU information, contact:
\nNadine Kampen, CMU Communications & Marketing Director
\nnkampen@cmu.ca<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/span>;<\/em> Tel. 204.487.3300 Ext. 621
\nCanadian Mennonite University
\n500 Shaftesbury Blvd.
\nWinnipeg, MB R3P 2N2
\nwww.cmu.ca
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Diversity enriches classroom, community experience Since it first launched in June 2009, CMU\u2019s Canadian School of Peacebuilding (CSOP) has welcomed a diverse group of students from across Canada and U.S., and such countries as the Philippines, Palestine, Cameroon, Rwanda, Russia, Switzerland, and Australia. First-time CSOP student Olivier Imbabazi, founder of the Kenya-based non-profit Hope and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":220,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[25,5],"tags":[28],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1822"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1822"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1862,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1822\/revisions\/1862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}