CICR Hosts ESPERE Forgiveness & Restoration Workshop

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." — Martin Luther King Jr

On July 10-12 and 17-19, the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution (CICR), in partnership with ForGiving ForRestoring Canada, hosted the Forgiveness & Restoration (ESPERE) workshop.

Developed by Fundación para la Reconciliación in Colombia, the ESPERE (Schools of Forgiveness and Reconciliation) methodology emerged from communities affected by decades of armed conflict. Since 2002, it has reached more than 2.2 million people in 23 countries, earning international recognition, including UNESCO's Education for Peace Prize, for its contribution to peacebuilding.

Over two immersive weekends, participants engaged here at CICR in a courageous process of reflection, dialogue, learning, and personal growth, exploring forgiveness not as forgetting or excusing harm, but as a transformative path toward greater freedom, compassion, and peace.

The workshop challenged many common misconceptions: forgiveness is not forgetting. It is not condoning injustice. It is not giving up accountability or requiring reconciliation. Rather, forgiveness is a liberating process, refusing to let the offence control us.

This distinction is particularly relevant for conflict resolution practitioners. Restorative approaches do not replace justice; they deepen it by recognizing that true justice also involves restoring dignity, rebuilding relationships where appropriate, and interrupting cycles of harm.

Conflict resolution is not only about reaching agreements or resolving disputes. Lasting peace requires addressing what often remains beneath the surface: unresolved hurt, anger, resentment, fear, and the desire for retaliation. The ESPERE program describes these as the "subjective causes of violence" – forces that, if left unaddressed, continue to fuel conflict long after an event has ended.

This perspective resonates deeply with CICR's Third-Party Neutral (TPN) approach. Throughout our training programs, we encourage practitioners to look beyond positions and behaviours to understand the deeper needs, emotions, identities, and relationships shaping conflict.

Whether facilitating difficult workplace conversations, mediating community disputes, or supporting dialogue between polarized groups, practitioners know that sustainable peace requires more than solving today's problem, it requires transforming how people relate to one another.

It is in this spirit that we are deeply grateful to everyone who participated in this inaugural workshop and to our partners at ForGiving ForRestoring Canada for bringing this internationally respected peacebuilding methodology to Canada.