June 17, 2025
Last November, I attended a week-long SCI training course in Antwerp, Belgium on community peace-building. As a ‘peace activist’ I was interested in the topic andlooking for ways in which I could build on my experience and knowledge in how I could best impart the ideas of building peaceful communities to the various community groups that I am involved in.
Over 30 participants from across Europe and further a field attended the course that was presented by adult educators, Goska Tur & Natalie Jivkova. Both have long experience of presenting training as peace educatorsfor SCI.
The course was very intensive and covered many different topics, i.e. ‘different aspects/understanding’ of peace, how to effectively communicate the ideas of peace. We even had time to enjoy some social activities – exploring the central district of Antwerp and some people went on an excursion to Ghent.
The overall experience was very positive for me. I really enjoyed working with the group and getting to know different cultures better. I was grateful for the valuable contributions made by participants from theBalkan states – an area of Europe that I had very little knowledge about.
I will be presenting a synopsis of the training course to a “Monthly Meetup” of Voluntary Service International (VSI) in the coming months.
I would highly recommend attending an SCI training/seminar with VSI as it is a unique opportunity to meet new people and learn new skillsin a supportive environment.