New Training Institute Philadelphia Training Centre A new centre for training in nonviolent action and leadership development is planned to open in Philadelphia, PA, USA, in late 1991. George Lakey and Barbara Smith will direct the institute. Although most of the participants will be from the US, the institute expects that non-US activists will participate as trainers and as trainees. The centre will assist people to bring out their individual strengths in leadership. Nonviolent action will be approached on strategic and theoretical levels as well as tactical skills. Features of the centre * Training in cultural diversity, so people can work more effectively with people different from themselves, and create organizations which encourage diversity. * Attention to personal blocks which often prevent the application of new skills to situations back home, including difficulty in managing stress. * Experiential education, including case study methodology, lab and field work, group and individual exercises, to go well beyond the traditional lecture and discussion format. * Training for trainers will be offered from time to time, including diagnosis of strengths and areas for growth, use of videotape for feedback, new tools and techniques, practise, peer review, coaching from directors, and state-of-the-art learning theory. Values The main values of the centre are: cultural diversity, participatory democracy, liberation from 'isms' which divide us (racism, classism, sexism, etc.), personal transformation, nonviolent struggle, ecological balance, world community and economic justice. These are values which guide our centre, not measuring rods by which we judge each other's 'political correctness'. How can non-US people use the institute? * They can propose a specific learning program, for example: five weeks for six activists from a country to learn four things. * They can propose an individual study program that will include participation in the institute's ongoing workshops. * They can request to participate in the institute's workshops as available. Write to George Lakey, 4719 Springfield Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143, Fax (215) 386 0489.