Erasmus+ training course · Valmiera, Latvia · 24 August – 3 September 2026 – KALM International Trainings
31 youth workers and educators · 6 countries · Nonviolent Communication and Restorative Circles
The challenge
When something goes wrong in a group of young people, most schools, youth centres and organisations reach for the same tools: find out who is at fault, give a consequence, move on. It’s fast. But the people involved often walk away angry, and the relationship stays broken.
Youth workers see this every day. Many of them want another way to handle conflict, one that repairs relationships and includes everyone affected. Few of them have ever had the chance to learn one in practice.
What we did
Seed of Hope with Restorative Circles brought together 31 youth workers and educators from Italy, Czechia, Greece, Poland, Bulgaria and Latvia for an intensive training course in Valmiera, Latvia. The project was coordinated by KALM International Trainings, and Creatosphere was the Bulgarian partner organisation.
Over the course, participants learned and practiced two connected approaches:
- Nonviolent Communication (NVC): a way to name feelings and needs, so people can hear each other through conflict.
- Restorative Circles: a structured process that brings everyone affected by a conflict together to understand what happened and agree on how to repair it.
The programme moved from building trust in the group, to practising empathy and listening, to holding real restorative circles.
My role
I was part of a team of three trainers, with CNVC trainer Aleksandra Gołaszewska leading the practice and CNVC candidate Marija Cirule, president of KALM International Trainings.
What changed
By day five, a group of strangers had built real trust, enough to sit in a circle and talk honestly about conflict.
What happened next
Participants went back to their youth centres, schools and organisations in six countries to bring restorative practices into their own communities.
Want to know more about restorative circles? Read what restorative circles are and how to run one.
Bring this to your team
Do you work with young people, students or a team where conflict keeps coming back? I run trainings on Nonviolent Communication and restorative approaches for schools, youth organisations and teams.
🇪🇺 Seed of Hope with Restorative Circles was supported by the Erasmus+ Programme and JSPA Latvia, organised by KALM International Trainings with partners from Italy (Youth4Youth), Czech Republic (NVC Brno, z.s.), Greece (Humanlinks), Poland (Fundacja Krok do Przodu) and Bulgaria (Creatosphere).