Special Message from Dr. LaFayette
We recognize the potential to create a statewide model for nonviolent education here in Rhode Island that can be replicated elsewhere. The Center thus commits itself to help initiate a movement to make education and practical applications in conflict reconciliation and societal reconciliation available to all segments of the state of Rhode Island. Geographically compact with an ethnically and religiously diverse population, Rhode Island can become a forerunner of what Martin Luther King envisaged as the "beloved community". The Center is working with schools, law enforcement, mental health and civic organizations in Rhode Island, and will offer support to other centers both nationally and globally, as a part of an emerging planetary network, working for nonviolent societal change and reconciliation. The Center at URI administers an international movement to establish nonviolence centers in eight regions of the world. It collaborates with other organizations which share the same goals. The URI Center organizes conferences where educators and trainers come together to share ideas, strategies, programs, research findings and related projects in the advancement of nonviolence and peace in the global community. The conferences especially emphasize leadership training. Students have the opportunity to network with members of other centers, to participate in the International Collegiate Organization for Nonviolence (ICON), to take courses relevant to nonviolence in several disciplines, and to receive supervision for internships related to nonviolence training, community service, and peace-building. Conferences sponsored by the URI Center may also host meetings of the Association of Kingian Nonviolence Educators and Trainers, a professional organization for certified Kingian nonviolence trainers, and of the student organization ICON.