Have you ever brought up climate change in a conversation and were left feeling frustrated, powerless, or ineffective? In today’s polarized world, it can be hard to have genuine conversations about the things that matter to us with people who may disagree with us or who may be disinterested—especially when they are people we love.
By practicing our dialogue skills and communicating with curiosity and compassion, it is possible to have these conversations in a way that builds peace and connection rather than creating conflict and disconnection.
Join us for a virtual workshop to learn concrete conversation skills you can put into practice anywhere—whether with your family at Thanksgiving dinner, with members of your church, or with your government representatives.
The workshop will be facilitated by Jes Stoltzfus Buller, a peacebuilder, trainer, and author of Peaceful Practices: A guide to healthy communication in conflict. Participants will engage on the following topics:
How to invite diverse ideas and opinions using curiosity
How to focus on what matters by uncovering feelings, needs, and values below the surface
How to listen together for insights and deeper questions
How to seek to understand rather than persuade
You can join as an individual or as part of a small group, such as your family, Sunday School class, or university class. All ages and skills levels are welcome!
Jes Stoltzfus Buller lives in Sincelejo, Colombia, with her husband, Willian Murillo, and children Belén (6) and Moses (4). For the past eight years, she served as the Peace Education Coordinator for MCC U.S. Previous to that, she worked in local peacebuilding, community development and regional networking through a Colombian Anabaptist organization on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia. Jes holds a double major in Sociology and Bible, Religion, Philosophy from Goshen College as well as a Master of Arts in Transformational Leadership and Graduate Certificate in Conflict Transformation from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University. She is currently working as an independent conflict transformation and restorative justice consultant, as well as supporting a local peacebuilding organization in Colombia. She has experience facilitating group dialogue, managing collaborative projects in peacebuilding and training children, youth and adults in skills of conflict transformation and trauma healing.