Values
Values describe the ideals we strive to embody in everything that we do. Together our values create a model by which we can celebrate our successes, as well as a standard by which we hold ourselves accountable for our decisions and behavior.
Values provide stakeholders with clear understanding of our character as an organization. Not everyone who engages in our programming and supports our work must embody these values all of the time, but we invite them to consider how these values may be applicable or useful in their own lives, and how they see Peace it Together’s work as a reflection of these values. Having trouble seeing our Values below? Click here for a plain text version.
Integrity and Accountability
Consistently acting in accordance with our beliefs and doing what we say we will do is essential to earning and keeping the trust of our stakeholders. We are accountable for the impacts our programs have on all our participants, in all the communities in which they work, and to all stakeholders involved in our work.
We communicate our goals, practices and impacts honestly, while honouring confidentiality when required. We hold ourselves and each other accountable, and welcome our stakeholders and others to do the same.
Critical Awareness
Critical awareness enables individuals and organizations to look clearly at themselves and the world around them. Situated critical awareness enables people to locate themselves in relation to others and the systems that govern those relationships, with special attention to notions of fairness, equality and empowerment. Engaging in honest reflection is crucial to improving our work and our relationships with others.
We continuously educate ourselves about the conflict we address in our work, and our work itself. We engage in critical reflection, as individuals and as an organization, and use this consciousness to guide our actions. We empower our participants and other audiences to do the same. A sense of critical awareness is reflected in all aspects of our work.
Creativity
Creativity involves disrupting pre-existing patterns or identifying new connections amongst them, in order to generate something new in a purposeful way. Creative processes (such as film production and facilitated artistic exercises) allow us to understand and explore paradox, a common element of conflict. There is value in both the process of creating and creative products themselves.
We take creative approaches in everything we do, and offer spaces in which our participants and other audiences can explore their own creativity and creative approaches to conflict transformation.
Openness
The ability to be curious, suspend judgment and embrace discomfort when engaging with difference allows people to take valuable risks, creating spaces where they can share, hear and consider valuable new perspectives, and truly understand and relate to one another.
We speak truthfully from our own specific experiences and informed by our unique cultural, social, political and religious identities. We listen actively and compassionately so that we might understand others’ experiences and perspectives. We facilitate spaces where others are empowered and encouraged to do the same.
Courage
Conflict transformation requires brave determination and often demands sacrifice so that individuals and groups can create new realities together. It also involves acknowledging, being accountable for, and learning from mistakes. Engaging in and staying committed to such processes can be difficult when the outcome is unknown, and/or in the face of disapproval or disparagement from others.
We take responsible risks, pushing each other and ourselves beyond our comfort zones. While we welcome the opportunity to integrate constructive criticism into our work, we are not discouraged by uncritical reproach or denunciation, and remain steadfast in the pursuit of our goals.
