Peaceful Families, Peaceful World, a joint project of BayNVC and the international Center for Nonviolent Communication, was founded in 2001 to support the transformation of parenting practices so that families throughout the world can experience compassion, connection and peace. Our project arises from a desire to contribute directly to the wellbeing of parents and children, as well as from the recognition that our parenting in large part shapes the adults of the next generation. Since our long-term vision is a world where everyone's needs matter and people have the skills for making peace, working to transform parenting practices is of paramount importance.

The Peaceful Families, Peaceful World Project offers numerous programs and services aimed at supporting the transformation of parenting practices and consciousness, including:

• introductory, intermediate and advanced level series and workshops for parents
  
  
• family camps
  
  
• audio and written materials on parenting with NVC
  
  
• personal coaching, teleclasses and training programs to support leaders who are sharing NVC with parents (including the Parent Peer Leadership Program)
  
  
• the NVC parenting yahoo group, a worldwide, online forum for empathy, practice and connection around parenting with NVC
  
  
• a growing network of peer leaders who are sharing their understanding of NVC with parents in their communities across the U.S., Canada, and to a lesser extent in other areas around the world.

National and international trainings, workshops, and opportunities for parents and families:

• For a listing of NVC family camps in the U.S. and Europe, go to the "find a training" page on the CNVC website, and select the topic "family camps."
  
  
• The 2007-2008 Parent Peer Leadership Program is a nine-month training program aimed at nurturing and developing peer leaders who are committed to sharing NVC with parents in their communities, especially where there are no NVC trainers. Our upcoming program runs from August 2007 to April 2008.
  
  
• To explore resources for learning in your area, look for trainers and local NVC supporters or read about other training opportunities. If there are no trainers in your area, see learning nvc without a trainer. If you would like to organize a parenting workshop in an area without a trainer, contact the Peaceful Families, Peaceful World Project at nvcparenting@mindspring.com.

Online groups, written and audio materials on parenting with NVC

• The parenting resources page on the CNVC website lists a wealth of resources for further learning, including titles, descriptions and ordering information for books, articles and audio materials.
  
  
• Inbal Kashtan's newly released CD, "Connected Parenting: Nonviolent Communication in Family Life," is available through BayNVC.

Recent Highlights 2006-2007

• Leadership Development: Through the training, guidance and support offered in our pilot Parent Peer Leadership Program, twenty new leaders have begun sharing NVC with parents in communities across the U.S. and Canada. See below for further details and celebrations. Inbal also offered support to several NVC trainers who started or are planning to start camps in their areas and/or who are offering workshops or conference presentations for parents.
  
  
• "Connected Parenting: NVC in Family Life," a CD recording of a workshop Inbal Kashtan led in 2004, was released in March 2007.
  
  
• 2006 Family Camps: Our two family camps in California drew a total of 140 participants and assistants, including 79 children and 51 adults. Additional family camps took place in Washington state in the U.S., in Denmark and in Germany. More family camps are planned for the summer of 2007.
  
  
• Parenting workshops and immersion programs: Over 300 adults were reached through Inbal Kashtan’s programs in the Bay Area, ranging from introductory level series to a 9-month immersion program for intermediate level learners.
  
  
• "Parenting From Your Heart," Inbal Kashtan’s booklet, is now available in French, German, Spanish and Swedish.
  
  
• Worldwide connections: The NVC parenting yahoo group continues to grow, and now has approximately 1,000 members from all parts of the globe.
  
  
• Funding: BayNVC continues to support the Peaceful Families, Peaceful World Project with money from its annual fundraiser. Participants in the PPLP invite participants in their series to make financial contributions back to the program to support more emerging leaders in the following year’s program.

Parent Peer Leadership Program Celebrations

We are full of celebration about the successful completion of the pilot year of our newest program, the Parent Peer Leadership Program (PPLP). The PPLP is a 9-month program for NVC practitioners who want to acquire the experience, skills and support to share NVC effectively with other parents. During the 06-07 pilot year, twenty peer leaders from the U.S. mainland, Hawaii and Canada participated in this program. While many people who are inspired by NVC and who would like to share it with others choose not to do so (for a variety of reasons), 100% of the participants in the pilot program are or will be sharing NVC by the end of 2007. This is a huge celebration for us, attesting to the power of the model of supported peer leadership we have developed, and giving us hope about the potential for reaching many more parents around the world.

Below are just two of many celebrations shared by program participants.

How can you contribute to this Project?

• Donate to this project. Financial contributions will make it possible to replicate our programs throughout the U.S and the world, thereby supporting the spread of NVC among families and contributing to the social transformation we believe is possible.
  
  
• Keep us informed of ways that NVC is contributing to your family's life. This will assist us in collecting and disseminating information about how NVC is meeting families' needs, and may be used, with your permission, in a book on NVC and parenting.
  
  
• Let us know about books, resources or groups that you believe would contribute to this project.
  
  
• If you are aware of funding sources for working with parents — individuals, corporations or foundations — that may be interested in our work, please let us know.
  
  
• Do you have other ideas about how you may want to contribute to the project with time or other resources? We would be happy to hear from you.

Dancing at Family Camp

Enjoying the Healing Waters of Sulphur Spring

Parents and children, building a human pyramid
at BayNVC's Family Camp, July 2005