Today, the Centre for Nonviolent Action celebrates its 28th birthday! \ud83e\udd73<\/p>\n
We\u2019re practically the same age, and yet I\u2019ve learned so much from it over these past few months through the Training of Trainers in Peacebuilding.<\/p>\n
The rollercoaster of open space for discussion, reflection and self-reflection began back in April. Since then, I have come to view many things differently. With a lot more patience and understanding.<\/p>\n
I no longer run from the silence, I\u2019ve learned to embrace it before it embraces me.<\/p>\n
I no longer fear the opinions and fears of others, because I know they have every right to them.<\/p>\n
I no longer run from conflict, I see it as part and parcel of interpersonal relationships.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t run from criticism either, but I can tell when it\u2019s well-intentioned and I know how to use it myself.<\/p>\n
I am also prepared to take a deeper look at myself and my actions, own up to mistakes and find the strength to continue.<\/p>\n
The entire process is almost impossible to describe in words, but the feeling is that the methods used opened up a space that could make changes in ways of thinking and attitudes visible and tangible. Often without a word, with just a sign, a glance or a twinge of bodily discomfort that announces the process of self-reflection and change.<\/p>\n
For years I\u2019d been hearing about CNA\u2019s Training of Trainers and the benefits it had for many friends and acquaintances in the peacebuilding community. I often thought they were exaggerating and overstating the role of this training in their lives. However, after five months of being involved in the training myself, I feel everything they were talking about. And much more.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s still plenty of work to do, so I\u2019m both happy and sad that we\u2019ll only have one more ten-day meeting before the end of the year.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sad, of course, because the Training of Trainers is ending, but I\u2019m happy that the process of change does not end with it.<\/p>\n
The acquired knowledge and skills still need to be honed and applied in practice.<\/p>\n
So, Happy Birthday to the Centre for Nonviolent Action! Thank you for being here! \ud83e\udd73<\/p>\n
(Posted on Slobodan Blagov\u010danin\u2019s Facebook page on 5 September 2025. Republished with the author\u2019s permission.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For years I\u2019d been hearing about CNA\u2019s Training of Trainers and the benefits it had for many friends and acquaintances in the peacebuilding community. I often thought they were exaggerating and overstating the role of this training in their lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244274,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2678],"tags":[],"formats":[],"class_list":["post-244619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-experiences-of-cna-trainees"],"dsm_author":{"name":"CNA","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/001c58f9a9375cd7a14b6eae525480247faec2d57e40f35fd39d4df68ae9f5d1?s=96&r=g","archive_link":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/en\/author\/cna\/","biodata":""},"dsm_categories":[{"term_name":"experiences of CNA trainees","term_id":2678,"term_link":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/en\/category\/experiences-of-cna-trainees\/"}],"dsm_attachment_categories":[],"dsm_featured_image":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-100x67.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-1000x667.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-768x512.jpg","large":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-scaled.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-1536x1024.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-2048x1365.jpg","et-pb-post-main-image":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-400x250.jpg","et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-1080x675.jpg","et-pb-portfolio-image":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-400x284.jpg","et-pb-portfolio-module-image":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-510x382.jpg","et-pb-portfolio-image-single":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-1080x720.jpg","et-pb-gallery-module-image-portrait":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-400x516.jpg","et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth-large":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-2880x1800.jpg","et-pb-image--responsive--desktop":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-1280x854.jpg","et-pb-image--responsive--tablet":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-980x653.jpg","et-pb-image--responsive--phone":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-480x320.jpg","full":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/20250408_NNV_06990-scaled.jpg"},"dsm_comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244619"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":244628,"href":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244619\/revisions\/244628"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244619"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/formats?post=244619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}