Peace Education and Action Center
Sarasota, Florida
PEACenter Programs
Peace Studies Lecture Series
The Peace Studies Lecture Series is an ongoing project that brings to the community esteemed advocates for Peace and Nonviolence. The PEACenter has hosted Colman McCarthy, John Dear, Dr. Will Tuttle, Paul Loeb, and Dr. Charles Webel. Future lectures will appear in the Upcoming Events section of the PEAC website.
Programs for Youth
The Center will help young people learn to settle conflicts nonviolently, and give them opportunities to express their ideas and concerns positively, through the arts, including spoken word, writing and music.
A. Violence Prevention Curriculum - Trained staff will work with young people in after-school or residential programs or in the juvenile justice setting to help them understand the roots of violence and develop alternatives to violence.
B. Annual Youth Peace Summit - A gathering of young people to express their ideas and concerns, through the arts, including spoken word, writing and music.
Conflict Resolution Training
Conflict is a normal and essential part of life. However, conflicts may sometimes become violent and destructive. The ways we deal with human differences and with conflict can divide us, and inhibit our ability to confront and solve problems. We believe that human beings can learn to deal with interpersonal and inter-group differences. In fact, developing the skills to settle or transcend our differences is essential to creating a world where people live together in peace. Our workshops help participants develop an understanding of conflict and the skills needed to resolve disputes in a peaceful, nonviolent way. They offer experiential training and practice in the theory, skills, and techniques of conflict resolution. Our workshops emphasize five themes: affirmation, bias awareness, communication, cooperation, and problem solving. We will offer programs for children, workplaces, community groups and parents.
Peer Mediation Training
Peer mediation trains groups of student leaders to help other young people resolve conflicts in a private, structured setting. Student mediators meet with other young people who have a dispute, listen to their concerns, and guide them through a process to help them resolve the problem. Peer mediation techniques can be used in any community of young people - schools, Sunday schools, community or recreation centers, or youth groups. Peer mediation benefits an entire school or youth center community. Student mediators learn powerful skills. The students who use the services get support in solving disputes and learn the value of settling their own problems. Teachers and other adult staff are relieved of the burden of solving disputes for their students. The whole community enjoys reduced tension and stress because everyone knows there is a constructive, respectful option available for settling disputes.
Diversity Training
Our myriad differences and commonalities impact every aspect of who we are in both our personal lives and our professional lives. Participation in diversity training can assist each of us to reflect on our backgrounds, question our assumptions, and develop the skills we need to thrive in an increasingly diverse society.
Adult/Community Education
Classes on Nonviolence
‘Solutions to Violence’ is an eight session class developed by Colman McCarthy, founder of the Center for Teaching Peace in Washington, D.C. It uses classics in peace and justice literature to teach peacemaking. The Center will offer this course twice a year to interested parties. The class will also be made available online using a combination of the Web site, e-mail and discussion boards.
Community Education Center and Resource Library
The Education Center will serve as a gathering place and education center with exhibits informing visitors of the causes, consequences, and the prevention of violence. This is done through short video presentations, art exhibits, as well as a variety of print materials. The Peace Center’s message will be portable so that it can be taken to schools, civic and church groups. This facility will also be used as a meeting place, performance space and for classes/workshops.
The Resource Library will be a multimedia resource library open to the public. It will include books, curriculum, video and audio recordings and internet access for research on nonviolence. The Center will also maintain a directory of peacemakers and local/state organizations working to build a culture of peace.
Coordinate Annual Season of Nonviolence Events
A Season for Nonviolence, January 30 - April 4, is a national 64-day educational, media, and grassroots campaign dedicated to demonstrating that nonviolence is a powerful way to heal, transform, and empower our lives and our communities. Inspired by the 50th and 30th memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this international event honors their vision for an empowered, nonviolent world.
Fee-based/Inservice Trainings
Nonviolent CommunicationTraining
Workshops, training and mediation will be offered by facilitators trained in Nonviolent Communication.
Diversity Training
Our myriad differences and commonalities impact every aspect of who we are in both our personal lives and our professional lives. Participation in diversity training can assist each of us to reflect on our backgrounds, question our assumptions, and develop the skills we need to thrive in an increasingly diverse society.
Family and Community Violence Prevention
Some of the types of programs that might be included in the Center’s community-based violence prevention efforts include positive youth development programs, mentoring programs and Alternatives to Violence programs for prisoners in our area.
The Peace Studies Lecture Series is an ongoing project that brings to the community esteemed advocates for Peace and Nonviolence. The PEACenter has hosted Colman McCarthy, John Dear, Dr. Will Tuttle, Paul Loeb, and Dr. Charles Webel. Future lectures will appear in the Upcoming Events section of the PEAC website.
Programs for Youth
The Center will help young people learn to settle conflicts nonviolently, and give them opportunities to express their ideas and concerns positively, through the arts, including spoken word, writing and music.
A. Violence Prevention Curriculum - Trained staff will work with young people in after-school or residential programs or in the juvenile justice setting to help them understand the roots of violence and develop alternatives to violence.
B. Annual Youth Peace Summit - A gathering of young people to express their ideas and concerns, through the arts, including spoken word, writing and music.
Conflict Resolution Training
Conflict is a normal and essential part of life. However, conflicts may sometimes become violent and destructive. The ways we deal with human differences and with conflict can divide us, and inhibit our ability to confront and solve problems. We believe that human beings can learn to deal with interpersonal and inter-group differences. In fact, developing the skills to settle or transcend our differences is essential to creating a world where people live together in peace. Our workshops help participants develop an understanding of conflict and the skills needed to resolve disputes in a peaceful, nonviolent way. They offer experiential training and practice in the theory, skills, and techniques of conflict resolution. Our workshops emphasize five themes: affirmation, bias awareness, communication, cooperation, and problem solving. We will offer programs for children, workplaces, community groups and parents.
Peer Mediation Training
Peer mediation trains groups of student leaders to help other young people resolve conflicts in a private, structured setting. Student mediators meet with other young people who have a dispute, listen to their concerns, and guide them through a process to help them resolve the problem. Peer mediation techniques can be used in any community of young people - schools, Sunday schools, community or recreation centers, or youth groups. Peer mediation benefits an entire school or youth center community. Student mediators learn powerful skills. The students who use the services get support in solving disputes and learn the value of settling their own problems. Teachers and other adult staff are relieved of the burden of solving disputes for their students. The whole community enjoys reduced tension and stress because everyone knows there is a constructive, respectful option available for settling disputes.
Diversity Training
Our myriad differences and commonalities impact every aspect of who we are in both our personal lives and our professional lives. Participation in diversity training can assist each of us to reflect on our backgrounds, question our assumptions, and develop the skills we need to thrive in an increasingly diverse society.
Adult/Community Education
Classes on Nonviolence
‘Solutions to Violence’ is an eight session class developed by Colman McCarthy, founder of the Center for Teaching Peace in Washington, D.C. It uses classics in peace and justice literature to teach peacemaking. The Center will offer this course twice a year to interested parties. The class will also be made available online using a combination of the Web site, e-mail and discussion boards.
Community Education Center and Resource Library
The Education Center will serve as a gathering place and education center with exhibits informing visitors of the causes, consequences, and the prevention of violence. This is done through short video presentations, art exhibits, as well as a variety of print materials. The Peace Center’s message will be portable so that it can be taken to schools, civic and church groups. This facility will also be used as a meeting place, performance space and for classes/workshops.
The Resource Library will be a multimedia resource library open to the public. It will include books, curriculum, video and audio recordings and internet access for research on nonviolence. The Center will also maintain a directory of peacemakers and local/state organizations working to build a culture of peace.
Coordinate Annual Season of Nonviolence Events
A Season for Nonviolence, January 30 - April 4, is a national 64-day educational, media, and grassroots campaign dedicated to demonstrating that nonviolence is a powerful way to heal, transform, and empower our lives and our communities. Inspired by the 50th and 30th memorial anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this international event honors their vision for an empowered, nonviolent world.
Fee-based/Inservice Trainings
Nonviolent CommunicationTraining
Workshops, training and mediation will be offered by facilitators trained in Nonviolent Communication.
Diversity Training
Our myriad differences and commonalities impact every aspect of who we are in both our personal lives and our professional lives. Participation in diversity training can assist each of us to reflect on our backgrounds, question our assumptions, and develop the skills we need to thrive in an increasingly diverse society.
Family and Community Violence Prevention
Some of the types of programs that might be included in the Center’s community-based violence prevention efforts include positive youth development programs, mentoring programs and Alternatives to Violence programs for prisoners in our area.
Peace Center News
Upcoming Events
Friday, Mar 19 at 1:00 pm
Friday, Mar 19 at 4:00 pm
Sunday, Mar 21 at 11:00 am
Wednesday, Mar 24 at 4:00 pm
