“Our survival as a species depends on our ability to recognise that our well-being and the well-being of others are in fact one and the same.”
About Peace Talks
Peace Talks was born out of our shared love for Compassionate Communication (Nonviolent Communication/NVC) and our desire to share it as widely as possible as a way to support deep transformation in people, families and communities. We have a vision of a peaceful, playful world where people are empowered to speak truth with love, to change patterns and systems to better care for everyone’s needs, and to care for one another with compassion. We love to work alongside people, families and communities to help them to apply the principles of Compassionate Communication in their daily lives and to create sustainable communities of support. We have a particular passion for working with parents to help them build connected, peaceful relationships with the children and young people in their lives. We offer workshops, mediation and private sessions online and in person in Ōtepoti/Dunedin.
For our upcoming offerings and workshops, see www.peacetalks.nz. We would LOVE to hear from you if you have any questions about us or about how we might be able to support you: peacetalksnz@gmail.com
About Jorinde
I live along the coast, north of Dunedin. I have a 13 year old daughter and a son, age 10. I grew up in The Netherlands and came to explore New Zealand when I was 18. I fell in love with Chris (now my husband) and the country, and moved to New Zealand a few years later. We love tramping and camping together as a family. In 2018/2019, I can proudly say that we have walked the length of New Zealand every step of the way. a snippet of our story has been documented here: https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/the-longest-walk/
I studied Education and Philosophy when I unexpectedly discovered that I was pregnant. This started me on a precious journey of parenthood. I still feel blessed for the midwife I found who offered me copious amounts of reading materials that I devoured, about birth and young children. I loved the learning and awareness I gained about attachment parenting and my own upbringing… and enjoy continuing to explore.
Questions around schooling came up for me early on. I discovered I lost my love for learning (knowing what I was passionate about) somewhere along the way in my many years of attending schools. I found the books by John Holt, “How children fail” and “How Children Learn.” Slowly I came to understand that there was an alternative to school: Life-learning… Me and my partner then made the choice to not send our children to school.
I discovered Nonviolent Communication (NVC) in 2015, when I invited trainers from around the country to offer workshops in Dunedin. I started a NVC Practice group a couple of years later and followed many trainings with Yoram Mosenzon in the last 2.5 years. I feel sooo incredibly nourished in NVC communities, where realness can BE, where all my parts are welcomed.
At the beginning of 2022, I decided to register for the NVC Certification process, a 3-5 year learning journey. I feel a bit shy to say it, but if there is such a thing as a ‘calling’ then sharing NVC is my ‘calling.’ I do not see myself as an ‘expert’ or as someone who has mastered (or will ever master) the challenge of parenting, but rather as someone who is passionate to keep learning, practising and sharing this amazing way of being in the world.
About Sally
I have always longed for a world where there is more peace, compassion and care for all people and greater harmony between us and our living planet. I’ve had a strong desire to figure out ways that my little life could contribute to this transformation and have expressed this desire in various ways over time: as a political advisor, a researcher, as a mother and through involvement with a variety of not-for-profit organisations and community groups.
I have been passionate about learning, researching, writing and teaching about human relationships since 2007 when I returned to university as an adult student to study Clinical Psychology. Shortly after gaining a PhD in neuropsychology, I came across an online recording of Marshall Rosenberg presenting an NVC introductory workshop. I was enthralled by the simplicity of his model, how deeply it resonated with my understanding of how people work, and the rapid changes that occurred in my life and relationships from beginning to practice and integrate the principles and consciousness of NVC.
At the start of 2022, I embarked on a 3-5 year process of certification as an NVC Trainer and co-founded Peace Talks with Jorinde Rapsey (www.peacetalks.nz) where we offer NVC training, courses, one-on-one sessions and mediation in Ōtepoti/Dunedin and online. Along with a committed team from within the NVC community in Aotearoa, I am also actively involved with the Empathy Angels project which seeks to offer free NVC empathy support to anyone who needs it.
I am passionate about sharing NVC as a way to deepen our connection, compassion and empathy with those around us, particularly with children, so that we can truly hear the needs beneath their words and behaviour. I have found NVC to be one of the best and simplest ways to restore harmony, create real understanding and find solutions that work during challenging times. I am also passionate about NVC as a way to empower ourselves within communities to change oppressive patterns and systems and bring about change in the world around us.
I’m a mother of three children (aged 8, 11 and 13) who bring much joy and light to my life. My children have been my greatest teachers about the nature of life and human relationships. Within our homeschooling/life learning family, we have shared struggles with neurodiversity and mental health. Through my children’s patient tuition, I am developing a wealth of experience on the day-to-day practicalities of living and breathing NVC in family life and I love sharing this with others.
Connect with us
Please go to our website (www.peacetalks.nz) or email us (peacetalksnz@gmail.com) for information about our courses and workshops, to sign up to our newsletter, or for information about other ways we might support you. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram.