Blogs

A Parliament Roundtable Addressing Knife Crime

17th April 2023

On Wednesday 29th March, Brunel University students, who have been working with Initiatives of Change Sustainable Communities Programme as part of their Global Challenges degree over the past six months, concluded an aspect of their final year studies at the Houses of Parliament with a roundtable discussing knife crime in…

75 Years of Stories, A New Publication by IofC Switzerland

13th April 2023

76 years ago, a derelict hotel in Montreux, Switzerland overlooking Lake Geneva, was bought by families and individuals associated with The Oxford Group, turning it into an international conference centre. Just over 75 years later, on April 7th 2023, IofC UK was happy to host the launch of recently published…

Purity - A Force for Good

8th March 2023

Women and girls are having a tough time. Whether things have got worse in this generation or not is hard to say but more and more evidence of their mistreatment is coming to light. Every day we hear reports of women being humiliated, discriminated against, harassed, touched inappropriately, physically assaulted…

How can Peace be Achieved in the Korean Peninsula?

6th March 2023

On Thursday 23 February, Initiatives of Change UK, along with Relational Peacebuilding Initiatives, hosted the launch of Michael Schluter’s new book ‘No Other Way to Peace in Korea? A Practical Path to Reunification’ at Greencoat Place.   An audience of diplomats, scientists, peacebuilders, clergy, academics, musicians, authors, and activists gathered at…

Amanda Clements: Key Thoughts from HERE Conference

16th February 2023

At the end of last year, Amanda Clements, Curriculum Developer for our Refugees as Rebuilders Programme attended the Hub for European Refugee Education (HERE), a two-day Conference in Nottingham, which brought together researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and third-sector organisations to engage in critical conversations on refugee education. The event focused on Refugee…

Kahramanmaras Earthquake: Farid Rashid Recalls Effects in Syria

12th February 2023

Farid Mohammad Rashid, one of our RRB™ trainers, shares an account he has gathered from news reports and close sources of the effects in Northern Syria as a result of the earthquake that occurred in the early hours of 6th February.  At 4:17am, a new chapter of suffering started in…

Re-Builders of Education

27th January 2023

On Tuesday 24th January 2023, Refugees as Re-Builders™ (RRB) held a special ‘ Lunch and Learn’ event at Greencoat Place, IofC UK’s Centre in London, to mark UNESCO’s fifth International Day of Education. The event inspired guests with two astute RRB alumni projects that are now enabling positive change in…

Guru to the World - Dr Ruth Harris Speaks on Vivekananda

24th January 2023

Author, Dr Ruth Harris, discusses her new book which follows the spiritual journey of celebrated Indian Monk “Vivekananda is a renowned name in India, yet virtually unknown to the rest of the world.”   Swami Vivekananda was an Indian Hindu monk, spiritual leader and reformer who was born in 1863…

Beyond the Numbers: A Deeper Dive into Knife Crime in London

18th January 2023

Sustainable Communities aim to tackle knife crime with the help of Brunel University students. Undergraduates from Brunel University have started their final year work on one of the most serious and continually rising issues in the Capital – knife crime.   The University’s final year Global Challenges students have partnered with…

What Price Democracy?

14th December 2022

This article is an opinion piece that follows on from an article written in April 2022. To live a fulfilling life, two elements amongst others are essential. One is to have a purpose that motivates you; and you need a values-framework so that you make decisions that are in line…