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Center for Dialogue and Conflict Transformation

“WELCOME FROM THE DIRECTOR”

As the African quote reminds us, “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” The Center for Dialogue and Conflict Transformation seeks to engage with LCC students, staff, local and international researchers, practitioners, activists, and communities to promote and strengthen a culture of peace both locally and globally.  We invite you to join us on our journey towards building peace.

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Naomi Enns
Director, Center for Dialogue and Conflict Transformation

Purpose statement

LCC’s peace center, grounded in Christian faith, offers opportunities for building bridges of trust, transforming relationships, and equipping communities. The center aims to strengthen, transform, and sustain servant change agents towards the creation of a more just and peaceful world. Opportunities for gathering and growing together strengthens the LCC ethos of non-violent peacebuilding guided by 4 pillars articulated below. These pillars advance our understanding and action towards peace in local and global pathways through dialogue, trainings, and action. The Center is a catalyst for strengthening communities in nonviolent social change, generous hospitality, and holistic justice to promote the greater common good of our society.

Conflict Transformation & Resilience

We work with people to transform conflict on personal, interpersonal, community and societal levels by building bridges of trust, fostering reconciliation, and strengthening resiliency. Through respectful engagement we equip communities to live justly and nurture a sustainable peace. 

Applied Research & Dialogue

We work with students and researchers in the areas of conflict and peace studies and promote events that stimulate dialogue on critical issues that impact our world.  The goal is to invite students, international researchers, and others to connect academic research to practice.

Action, Advocacy & Awareness Raising

We challenge a culture of oppression, promote actions which pursue justice, increase understanding and engagement in human rights issues, and strengthen positive service and citizenship. We use dialogue, learning events and workshops to empower communities to live generously.

Peace, Dialogue & Trainings

We foster an awareness of the cycles of violence and provide tools to nonviolently engage conflict, oppression, and trauma. We use human encounters to transform relationships, expand our understanding and actions toward peace, and nurture health and healing towards a more just and peaceful world.

Staff

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Ieva Rūkė

CDCT Coordinator

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Naomi Enns

Director, Center for Dialogue and Conflict Transformation/ Instructor

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News and Events

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Peace Encounters: With Muted Voices

2025-04-09

Social Cohesion Through Poetry and LanguageIn a world where words are often silenced, an evening  hosted  by the Center for Dialogue and Conflict Transformation of  “Peace Encounters: With Muted Voices”  invited participants into a space where language becomes resistance, and poetry becomes a pathway to peace.This event at LCC International University in April focused on the powerful legacy of Ukrainian poets of the 1960s: Vasyl Symonenko, Vasyl Stus, Lina Kostenko, Serhiy Zhadan — voices that, though muted by Soviet repression, continue to resonate across time. Many of these poets faced persecution, censorship, and imprisonment for their work. And yet, through hardship and silence, they crafted poems that spoke of identity, dignity, and the human spirit. As a Psychology Junior student mentioned “Even when voices are muted, poetry speaks.”Together, we listened to and analyzed short works from this courageous generation of writers. In doing so, we explored how literature — especially in times of oppression — becomes a vessel of truth, a keeper of culture, and a tool for peacebuilding.An IRD freshmen reflected on the event stating that   “Language holds the power to heal, to resist, and to inspire.”In every line written under pressure, there is resilience.In every verse, the refusal to be erased.In every shared word, the possibility of peace.

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Sacred Bubbles: Art, Faith, Peace

2025-03-19

By Peace Intern Sofia Bashynska.The Sacred Bubbles Peace Learning Journey Conference, held on March 1, 2025, brought people together  from diverse backgrounds and cultures for a thought-provoking journey of discovering peace in the modern world. During the event, put on by the Center for Dialogue and Conflict Transformation at LCC International University,  participants engaged in reflections, artistic expressions, and discussions about how faith, art, and peace shape fragmented societies today. They collectively explored how these thematic  ‘bubbles’  intersect to create meaningful pathways toward peace in the public spheres in a world that is boiling.  The conference opened with Dr. Gilija Žukauskienė and the Peace and Movement LCC Group. Their performance “Ripples” set the stage for a meaningful dialogue. Later, professionals presented their research in the fields of faith, art, and peacebuilding. Participants then shared a time of collective and creative inquiry together and new networks were built towards social healing- as we looked at ways in which these areas can envision and create  a just and interdependent future that works for all of us. . After Douglas Enns’ presentation “How Can the ‘Sound of Silence’ Reverberate Healing Peace in a Noisy & Traumatized World?” one of the participants noted, “In such a noisy world that never stops, we need to relearn to enjoy the silence”.  A professor  in LCC’s communication department , Oleksandra Smoliar,  shared her tattooing journey, highlighting that body art is also a tool for personal storytelling. Dr. Yelyzaveta Glybenchenko from Ukraine introduced her research on augmented reality design in guerrilla peacebuilding, demonstrating how digital tools can challenge traditional narratives of peace.  At the end, participants were invited to a Harvesting Time, where they shared final reflections about the day. Many expressed a sense of connection and inspiration during the event. “This was not just an event-it was an experience of shared hope,” one sophomore student participating summarized. Sacred Bubbles created a collaborative space where diverse voices, ideas, and creative expressions came together on a learning journey to pursue peace.
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Conference "Sacred Bubbles: Art, Faith and Peace"

March 1, 2025

Join us in exploring creative paths to transformative change and their ripple effects . This one-day learning journey conference will bring together scholars, artists, community activists, and practitioners to explore how art, vision, and spirituality can serve as powerful tools for peacemaking in an increasingly fragmented world. Often seen as sacred bubbles, how might their ripple impacts be threads that weave society and communal life? Through a dynamic blend of academic inquiry, research, creative workshops, and collective movement that engages in exploration of burning issues and group engagement, we aim to explore how we can localize learning and inspire new forms of agency within communities facing conflict and disarray. Participants will have a unique opportunity to connect, create and collaborate towards a more peaceful world.

Call for papers > Schedule >

Registration

To register for Sacred Bubbles: Art, Faith, Peace Learning Journey you need to complete an online registration form by February 24th.  

The conference will be at LCC International University, Klaipeda, Lithuania.  Registered Participants will receive further information . 

Payment

Fee covers materials, 2 breaks and meal.

Registration Fee for Participants – 50 Euros (Students – 15 Euros).

Past events

The opening conference for the center offered 3 strands of critical thinking on the theme of narratives, the place of storytelling and their role in healing and building a democratic society. Be engaging with our heads, hearts and hands we nurtured our walk together towards peace.

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Countless people around the world have experienced and been affected by wars, violence, and genocides. We recognize that the wounds that were inflicted by these events affect each society differently. Wounded societies share many of the same questions. How can we overcome historical legacies, remember truthfully, and find hope for the future? How can we bridge the gap between victims and perpetrators, friends and perceived enemies, using language as a tool for reconciliation? How might we heal divisions in fragmented societies?

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Trainings

Dialogue for peaceful change

Through interactive activities and scenario-based learning, participants will explore key topics such as the conflict continuum, biology of conflict, mediative communication skills, and managing organizational change. The training offers a unique opportunity to develop valuable skills for fostering positive change in personal and professional settings. Participants may register for the full program or choose to attend a single module (Module 1 must be taken before Module 2).
Module 1 January 30-31
Module 2 February 1-2

Registration

Registration fees
  • External Participants 300 ($150 per module).
  • External Institutions with 2 individuals registered we apply a 50% discount for the second employee.
  • LCC Staff  - 100 Euro/ 50 Euro per Module.
  •  LCC Student Fee: 30 Euro /15 Euro per Module.

Registration deadline January 27th.

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