Pre-empting conflict
Since we formed in 2016, we have found that some elements that contribute to conflicts emerge consistently, so it seems wise for us to dedicate some energy to creating learning opportunities around these elements. In addition, the lack of certain structures for support within the NVC network and beyond also creates tension and stress.
The pre-empting conflict thread of our work involves:
- Building community and trust within the NVC UK network
- Creating a cultural shift to notice and make space for feedback
- Encouraging NVC facilitators and teams to create feedback systems so feedback can support growth
- Encouraging NVC facilitators and teams to build in enough support and supervision for their work
- Creating a culture of noticing when tension arises and paying attention to it
- Encouraging self-reflection as a tool for self-responsibility, learning and growth
- Creating a culture of connecting across differences
- Creating a culture of willingness to walk towards each other when in conflict
- Creating a culture of support to walk towards each other when there is tension
- Encouraging organisers of each practice group, regional gathering, summer camp or NVC event to create agreements about how they will respond to tension when it arises.
- Encouraging NVC trainers and businesses to ensure they have a complaints procedure and a clearly communicated response to complaints about their services.
- Offering a listening service for support in how to build and resource your local agreements
- Providing training in Building Restorative Systems, both online and face to face, in various formats
- Providing training in Conflict Transformation skills
- Encouraging awareness of how systems impact human relationships
- Encouraging ongoing learning around power and privilege
- Encouraging ongoing learning around trauma and the impact it has on lives and relationships
- Encouraging ongoing learning around boundaries and consent
- Encouraging the creation of an ethics code for NVC UK
Transforming conflict
Another part of our work is supporting conflict transformation when it emerges in the NVC-UK network. We focus on supporting trainers and local networks to set up their own conflict transformation systems through offering training, and then on triage and facilitation of conflicts that need more support.
What does the Transforming Conflict thread of our work involve?
- Offering a ‘triage’ and listening service for when your local agreements need more support
- Creating and staying in communication with a Pool of facilitators from within the NVC network to host restorative processes.
- Offering, facilitating or finding practitioners for restorative processes, when other resources have been exhausted.
- Encouraging the development of systems of support for NVC conflict practitioners
- Continuing to reflect on how conflict manifests so we learn and grow and better support others.
- Evaluating our effectiveness
Find out more about our vision for an NVC-UK Conflict system ….