Thirty two Filipinos and Kosovans gathered in a small Alpine village in Bavaria, Germany in November 2007 to learn NVC and explore its relevance in the Philippines, welcomed by a fresh fall of snow which set a stunning, uplifting background for their work together.
Hosted by Gitta Zimmermann and the Karl Kubel Foundation, participants were drawn mainly from the Southern Visayan region of the Philippines, but also included participants from Luzon province. It was a diverse group of professionals from a range of disciplines, including senior government officials of police, Dept. Social Services, directors and field workers from non-government and faith-based organisations and senior academics from a major university. Participants from aid agencies in Kosovo also attended. The group included five Catholic priests, two nuns and others of various faiths including Muslims, Christian and Sufis.
Participants were invited predominantly for their ability to benefit existing programs for such groups through using NVC and also as people of influence who can cascade change downwards and outwards through their organisations. Two participants were from the Balay Mindanaw Group which has now been using NVC as part of there Peace Training Program for military officers for two years, following a training by Art Burroughes in 2005.
As the seminar deepened over six days, all participants seemed touched by the power of NVC and its relevance to their own lives and their particular organizations. Deep attachments formed between people who were previously strangers. We heard comments like "I became real," "I discovered myself." or "I can forgive now." The trainers were particularly moved by the healing resulting from the dialogue between senior policemen and a participant traumatised by arbitrary imprisonment. At the end of the program, participants started to focus on how they might use what they had learned to support change in their communities. A documentary film about the program is in production and we hope to be able to show it on national television here.
It is too early to identify the impact of this program on participants. However, requests have already been received from the Philippines National Police to explore introducing NVC into all 17 of their regional police training schools as a core unit of training, as well to enhance existing restorative justice programs for rehabilitation of police officers found guilty of corruption. Also, field workers involved with refuges for recovering prostitutes requested development of an NVC based protocol for working with victims of trauma. Prison missions are seeing NVC as a promising tool for supporting prisoners in dealing with the appalling conditions of Filipino jails, maintaining prisoners' hope for the future and integrating them back into their communities. Some of the priests saw an opportunity to use NVC to achieve a more cooperative use of power within church hierarchies.
As the participants returned to their homes spread widely across the Philippines, particularly in the Visayas, a further program "Empathy Action" will continue to support them in their ongoing learning, ensuring that the seeds sown will germinate, and that the impetus for growing NVC in Philippines is sustained. This program will also be directly involved in using NVC to directly address systemic issues in the belief that change is ultimately only achieved through changing social, economic and political systems, and through changing oneself.
CNVC trainer Art Burroughes, resident in Cebu, Southern Philippines, will be leading this initiative and has established links and media support from a major TV network. An NVC office has been established in Cebu.
The Philippines is a developing country which suffers from many issues resulting from political instability, economic inequalities and meteoric population growth. This includes endemic corruption, people-trafficking and abuse of the rights of women and children and minority groups.
Karl Kubel Foundation for Children and Family supports projects for the most neglected children and teenagers in the Philippines and Kosovo. In the Philippines they provide direct help through special rehabilitation and reintegration projects for street kids, former prison kids and sex enslaved children as young as twelve. On Mactan Island, a school has been set up beside a garbage dump. Teachers accept the stench of garbage because it is the only way to get children of those whose livelihood is scavenging some basic education. JPIC-IDC from whom many participants were drawn is directly involved in fighting people-trafficking. In Kosovo projects include healing post-war traumas as well as reconciliation and freedom work.
Participation in this workshop was free. It was exclusively financed by donations and took two years in preparation involving collaboration between the various organisations involved and international trainers and assistants from Australia, Switzerland and Germany. The team of trainers and assistants included Andreas Basu, Art Burroughes, Edith Copp, Gitta Zimmermann and Claudia Wieland.
The opportunities in the Philippines for NVC to directly support change are enormous. However to sustain the growth of our NVC program we need your financial support. If you would like to help please send your donation now to the following account:
Donations can be directly paid to the following account:
Recipient: Karl Kübel Stiftung für Kind und Familie
Bank: Sparkasse Bensheim
Account No.: 50 50 000
Bank Code Number: 509 500 68
Intendet Purpose: NVC-workshop Philippines
The Karl Kübel Foundation will send a donation receipt to every donor.
Art Burroughes (NVC certified trainer, Hakomi therapist and director of Empathy Action Philippines) and Gitta Zimmermann (NVC trainer, not yet certified; initiator and organizer; financing in cooperation with a foundation)
For more information or offers of support contact Dr Gitta Zimmermann@t-online.de or Art Burroughes at: art@eqtraining.com.au or phone (63) – 9286116944.