Methods and Programs

Transforming conflicts through peacebuilding initiatives
Conflict transformation training based on moral, spiritual, and cultural values equips community leaders with skills to constructively address conflicts. Participants develop locally-applicable curricula and share approaches of mediation and peacebuilding with their constituencies. More than 500 leaders participate in Plowshares conflict transformation seminars each year in the U.S. and overseas.

Uniting diverse groups around common goals
Plowshares fosters increased communication and collaboration to build new relationships and social capital among individuals who do not customarily work together. Such alliances often constitute the basis for ongoing systemic change. In the past ten years, Plowshares has provided networking options for 2,000 leaders internationally and 3,000 national decision makers.

Deepening global understanding through international immersion experiences
Traveling seminars expose leaders to the developing world and inspire application of creative approaches to social problems in North America. Participants build mutually beneficial international relationships and return as more engaged members of the global society. Since its inception, Plowshares has introduced more than 800 North American leaders to the visions and challenges of nations in transition.

Supporting local organizations and alliances that cultivate sustainable change
Plowshares equips and develops partner organizations to become effective agents of social change in their communities and to build local ownership of Plowshares initiatives. Plowshares helped partners establish seven centers of conflict transformation in U.S. cities from Hartford to Los Angeles, as well as programs in China, Indonesia, South Africa, and Uganda.

Developing innovative approaches to conflict and peace education
Plowshares generates new ideas and approaches and disseminates these to others in the peacebuilding and education fields through research and writing. Examples include a dozen books by the Evans, diverse local case studies, human rights research, and the Peace Skills curriculum for community mediators now published in English, Spanish, and Indonesian.

Increasing domestic awareness of global interdependence
Plowshares staff provide speaking, teaching, and preaching opportunities to educate civic and religious groups. Faith-based approaches emphasize global interdependence, visions for global peace, and training in peacebuilding and the case method.