Scholarship and Fellowship Opportunities

We realize the economic difficulties that some people face. Several varieties of scholarships are available to help those in need.

Apply early if you are in need of a scholarship. Our matching scholarships are offered on a rolling basis as long as funds are available, but the deadline for our dedicated scholarships and fellowship opportunities is fast approaching on January 15, 2017.

Please fully read the description of a scholarship or fellowship before applying. If you are not eligible or you miss the deadline, your application will not be considered.

Matching Scholarships

This scholarship will cover the training and lodging fees for an additional session of SPI. To be eligible, you must be able to cover all transportation costs as well as the training and lodging fees for at least one SPI course. This scholarship is awarded on a rolling basis until the fund is exhausted. Participants applying after the fund is exhausted will be placed on a waiting list and will be contacted if a cancellation occurs and funds become available. Please note that the participant must pay their other course fees prior to the set deadline or the scholarship will be canceled. For more information, click here.

Dedicated Scholarships

Each year, SPI receives donations with defined parameters to bring individuals from specific areas of the world or who are engaged in specific types of work. The qualifications for each scholarship differ, as does what is covered. Please make sure you fit the parameters of the scholarship before you apply or your scholarship application will not be considered. The deadline for applying to all dedicated scholarships is January 15, 2017. For information on dedicated scholarships available at SPI 2017, click here.

Winston Fellowship

This all-inclusive fellowship (including all travel costs) will be awarded to one international or indigenous participant for SPI 2016. It is intended to train individuals who do not yet have much experience in the field of peacebuilding and could benefit from training in an international environment. In addition to being new to the field of peacebuilding, an applicant must also arrange to do at least a six-week internship with an organization in their home country after SPI.

The Winston Fellowship covers participation for three sessions of training at SPI, including all visa fees, course and materials fees, lodging, a stipend for food and books, and transportation from your home to SPI and back. Please note that the deadline for applying for a Winston Fellowship is January 15, 2017. For more information, click here.

New at SPI 2017

The following courses will make their first appearance at SPI 2017:
(click the course title for more information about the course)

Globalization — Source of Destructive Conflicts or Durable Peace
Understand how the various forms of globalization contribute to economic, political, cultural, religious, ecological, and military conflicts. Discuss roles for individuals and communities in transforming globalization into a force for durable global peace.

Conflict Coaching

Explore ways to coach, support, challenge, and encourage key leaders faced with difficult and protracted conflict situations requiring them to promote or support system change in collaborative and constructive ways in support of their interests, needs, and goals.

The Transforming Power of Identity and Dignity

Understand the positive and negative roles and transformative power of identity and dignity within complex conflicts, violence, and trauma.

Social Media that Matters

Learn social media techniques of video, photography and audio construction, interviewing and message framing to build connections and enhance the impact in your community and world. Using equipment as simple as a smartphone, practice creating visual/sound experiences that form the basis for community engagement and interaction.
 

Deliberative Processes for Systemic Change

Learn how to design and facilitate processes that enable diverse groups to discover innovative and effective responses to complex challenges faced by organizations, communities and social movements.

Circle Processes
Gain skills to lead a process that brings together victims, offenders, family, community members, and others to have difficult conversations and respond to acts of violence or crime. Explore the foundational values and key structural elements of the circle process and learn to design and conduct circles.
 

Peace Education

Discuss the education that is needed for the elimination of direct and indirect forms of violence. Explore strategies to reduce violence such as bullying, implicit bias, ethnocentrism, physical fights, or institutional discrimination in schools, the workplace, and the community.

Strategies for Trauma and Awareness (STAR) for PK-12 Educators

This specialized version of STAR, Level 1 will increase awareness of the impact of trauma on students, teachers, and support staff. Participants will gain skills to support people and systems through traumatic situations.

For more information on these and all other courses at the 2017 Summer Peacebuilding Institute, click here.

Peace Education with Ed Brantmeier

“I may not have the specific answer for you, but I have a good process for you to discover your own answers to troubling violence and creating peaceable futures”.

Ed Brantmeier, PhD, is teaching Peace Education, June 12 – 16, 2017, at the 2017 Summer Peacebuilding Institute. This course is part of a series of courses at SPI 2017 that address the elimination of direct and indirect forms of violence in our schools, the workplace, and our communities.  Participants in this course will explore methods for addressing bullying, bias, physical violence, and institutional discrimination and explore violence reduction strategies that work in local and wider contexts.

Take this course by itself or as part of a series of courses being offered to explore ways to decrease violence in society. Other applicable courses in this series include but are not limited to:

• Restorative Justice
• Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience
• The Transforming Power of Identity and Dignity
• Deliberative Processes for Systemic Change

While open to all participants with an interest in working towards the elimination of violence, this course is specifically set in the last session of SPI so that K-12 teachers, counsellors, and administrators can participate.

Click here to read an interview with Ed Brantmeier where he discusses:

• What drew him to SPI
• What knowledge and skills people will gain by taking his course
• The intentionality and humility he sees in those that teach at and attend SPI
• How peace education fits not only for educators but for all people interested in decreasing violence in society

SPI Community Day in Harrisonburg, Virginia

A little taste of SPI is coming to Harrisonburg on February 17, 2017!

If you live in Harrisonburg, Virginia, we invite you to join us for the second Summer Peacebuilding Institute Community Day on February 17, 2017.

Join us for an engaging training and workshop series that aims to enhance facilitation, peacebuilding, and organizational tools for your work in the community.  Training on community organizing, collaborative leadership tools, trauma resilience, and more will be offered in workshop formats.

This one day experience is modeled after the Summer Peacebuilding Institute and is a chance for local leaders to gain practical tools to take back and strengthen their organizations and the community as well as enjoy networking opportunities and experience some of what the Summer Peacebuilding Institute has to offer.

Registration is $50 and includes the following:

• Practical training workshops
• Morning coffee and pastries
• Catered lunch and presentation
• Waiver code for the $50 SPI application fee

Click here to register

(Space is limited, so register early)