Some impressions of the general assembly and the annual conference “conflicts for resources" in September 2013
The Association
The Centre for Training and Networking in Nonviolent Action – KURVE Wustrow is a non-profit association supported by its members, who meet at least once a year for the annual General Meeting.
The association constitutes the framework and basis for all of the activities KURVE Wustrow unfolds with the assistance of her staff in the head office in Wustrow. The energy, goals and basic principles of her founders, and all those who remained faithful to her over the many years, are the drive and supervision for everything that is being done here.
The management board, which has been selected by the annual general meeting for the duration of two years, consists of three honorary active members, who currently consult each other in the head office every two month.
For the work to remain alive and relevant to society the association needs people, who bring ideas, critique and support – as well as assume responsibility. We need members in the association and the management board.
Consider whether such a commitment might be a personal enrichment for some time!
Contact us! vorstand(at)kurveuwustrow.org
Review
1979 First call to establish a Centre for Training and Networking in Nonviolent Action
January 1980 Establishment of the Association in Hannover
June 1980 First General Meeting
March 1981 The General Meeting decides that the Centre for Training and Networking in Nonviolent Action (then called BuBgA) should be based in the district of Lüchow-Dannenberg
July 1981 Purchase of the house at Kirchstr. 14 in Wustrow
1982 First annual program, amongst others a basic course in social defense
March 1982 Land register entry – Owners: Udo Emse-Albers, the Hertle family, and the association 1/3
1983 Margrit Albers leaves, the Hertle family moves out
January 1984 The association is the sole owner of the house in Kirchstraße
1985 New logo of KURVE, valid until today
June 1985 GM decides to call the Centre for Training and Networking in Nonviolent Action simply and shorter “KURVE Wustrow” (curve Wustrow)
1986 Two technical-related fires in the house
1986 KURVE Wustrow is mentioned in the constitutional report
1987 KURVE participates in the foundation of the “Bundes für Soziale Verteidigung (BSV)” (Federation for Social Defense)
October 1987 The house is registered as a cultural heritage
1988 Workcamp of the Social Peace Service under the leadership of Dieter Schaarschmidt
1989 Withdrawal of Wolfgang Hertle from KURVE work
1989 Foundation of Nonviolent Action Wendland (nonviolent direct action group, who met in KURVE Wustrow)
1990 trainings take place in the new federal German states after unification
1990 Blockade campaign “Gorleben bebt” (Gorleben trembles) is being initiated and coordinated by Katja Tempel out of the KURVE house
1991 celebration: mayor of Wustrow visits KURVE Wustrow for the first time
1991 Beginning of the work on conscientious objection, Working- and Direct Action Group for a “military service free Republic of Wendland”, disruptive actions at battle reenactment in Göhrde
1991 Introduction of the KURVE Board
1992 Editorial of the magazine “Graswurzelrevolution” (Grassroots Revolution) at KURVE Wustrow
1993 Foundation of the first KURVE training collective
1993 KURVE Wustrow begins Anti-Racism-Programs: Democracy from below
1993 First training for Peace Brigades International (PBI) at KURVE Wustrow
1994 Balkan Workcamp
1994 The Buddhist peace project „Bodhiraja Fondation“ in Sri Lanka is accepted as a support project
1994 KURVE Board is abolished
1995 15-year celebration
1995 „International Training for Nonviolence in the Context of War and armed Conflict“
1995 KURVE Wustrow organizes „Ausrangiert!“ (Scrapped!) with public Monday gatherings on the Castor train track
1996 Setting-up of AGDF-outpost
1996 House search in connection to the “Ausrangiert!”-action
1996 Voluntary service: Start of admission through the Voluntary Ecological Service program and sending through the European Volunteer Service (EVS)
1996 Peace work in Palestine commences
1997 First Gorleben International Peace Team undertakes human rights observation during the Castor-transport
1997 KURVE Wustrow begins receiving volunteers through the EVS program and becomes EVS-preparatory organisation
1997 Foundation of KURVE-field office in Sarajevo, later Centre for Nonviolent Action (CNA), Hamburg and New York
1998 Together in a conciliar process with the Ecumenical Service and the Voluntary Volunteer Service of the church province Saxony, a qualifying program for peace workers is offered on a part-time basis (until 2001)
1998 Withdrawal from the BSV. Reaction to different positions on the Civil Peace Service (CPS)
1998 Awarding of peace prize “Sievershäuser Ermutigung” (Sievershäuser Encourachement)
1999 Foundation of Polish field office “Zakret Wroclaw” (KURVE in polish), which becomes independent in 2001
1999 Foundation of the peacebuilding unit
1999 First international peace workers are in Turkey and East Timor, still without funding from the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
2000 Big financial crisis
2000 Closing of KURVE office in Hamburg
2001 Renewed foundation of KURVE training collective following the Training of Trainers
2001 Following the events of 11.9. publication of the newsletter “Gewaltfreies Handeln” (nonviolent action) and running of the postcard campaign: „Im Gleichschritt geradeaus? Jetzt abbiegen!“ (Marching lock-step ahead? Turn now!)
2001 Guard and pray: anti-war vigil with the INKOTA network and the Gethsemane Church in Berlin
2002 Farewell to Hagen Berndt after ten years of working together
2002 International peace worker in Macedonia and Kenya
2002 KURVE peace caravan fails: Attempt to link the CPS and the Bombodrom resistance
2003 Start of a series of organizational development processes
2004 Konflikt, Initiative und Diskussion: „KURVE braucht Bewegung“
2004 Establishment of TK Windrose out of the KURVE training collective
2005 Foundation of the KURVE peace foundation
2005 First workers‘ council
2006 Sending of volunteers suspended due to financial reasons
2006 Development of Youth Power Project as an alternative to the international youth work
2007 Training in nonviolent conflict transformation for refugees who have experienced violence, in cooperation with IPPNW; first KURVE documentation
2008 Resumption of sending volunteers, this time through the weltwärts-Program
2008 Fire at KURVE Wustrow, one office burns out entirely, the police states that it probably was arson only one year later
2009 Design and organisation of the thematic area of “nonviolence and conflict management” at the German Social Forum in Hitzacker
2009 Change in the name of the association to “KURVE Wustrow - Centre for Training and Networking in Nonviolent Action”
2010 The GM decides to form a working group on ecology, which, among other things, shall figure out compensation for the generated flight prices
2010 Organization of the Wendland part of the anti-nuclear-human chain from Kümmel to Geesthacht
2010 30-year anniversary is being celebrated with a summer party and annual General Meeting, together with foreign partners and members of the association
2010 Coordination of direct action trainings against the Castor transports, in cooperation with “X-tausendmal quer” (X-thousand times across)
2011 gorleben365 – one year campaign against the exploratory nuclear waste repository in Gorleben, together with “X-tausendmal quer”
2012 The climate protection project proceeds with a seminar series for former volunteers
2013 In the framework of the Civil Peace Service international peace worker are going to Myanmar for the first time
2013 In addition to the autumn series, four practitioner trainings on civil, nonviolent conflict transformation now also take place during springtime
2014 A big Partner Meeting takes place with 40 peace and human rights activists from our partner organisations in Myanmar, Nepal, Palestine, Israel, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo