CofC fourth annual Peace Initiative focuses on the power of connection
February 2, 2022
We could all use a little more peace in our lives. However, in these chaotic times that can be difficult – but not impossible – to achieve. The College of Charleston’s fourth annual Peace Initiative, Feb. 7-11, 2022, aims to shed light on how we can come together to strengthen and renew our connections to each other and ourselves to find a little more peace.
“The Peace Initiative this year is about promoting connection during a time in history where individuals are often feeling isolated and separated from others,” says Rhonda Swickert, psychology professor, director of the College’s Mindfulness Initiative and faculty advisor for the College’s Meditation Club. “Events will focus on ideas for renewing and strengthening our connections within our community and the physical world around us during this time of global upheaval and fragmentation.”
The week-long series of events, titled “Peace Initiative 2022: Promoting Connection in a Fragmented World,” will tackle a variety of topics from public health factors and COVID-19 to ancestral connections to growing connections with others from different backgrounds and perspectives. Sponsored the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Department of Psychology and the Office of Institutional Diversity,
All Peace Initiative events, both virtual and in-person, are free and open to the public.
“Our hope is that these events will provide an opportunity for individuals to explore new ways of seeing the world and themselves that allows for the understanding that while there may be differences that divide us, we share more in common with others than we know,” says Swickert. “Focusing on what we share in common is good for us as individuals, it is good for our communities and it is good for all life on this planet because it promotes a sense of empathy, compassion and love.”
The take-home message is that we are better together than divided and that finding common ground may give us a path to creating a more peaceful world.
Zoom links for virtual events may be accessed by registering through eventbrite.
