"The goal in life is to laugh all our laughter and cry all our tears. Whatever is revealed to us, it is life that is revealed in it, and it is always a gift to connect with it." ~ Marshall Rosenberg

At the same time, I dream of a world in which the needs of every human being matter and we are aware in our connection with each other that all human beings share the same needs. At the same time, it is important for me to support people living in economically less privileged countries to gain access to NVC.

I got to know NVC at a time when I was moving from primary school to secondary school as a teacher. I was confronted with pupils who had almost given up on themselves, were not very enthusiastic about school and, because they came from other countries, the German language was a foreign language to them. In this phase, it was a great support for me to be able to name their needs and to see that they understood these words and I could connect with them.

Born and raised in post-war Berlin and the time of the Cold War between East and West, the time of fascism that had not yet been processed and dealt with, I initially experienced a lot of violence as a child and became very despondent. As a teenager, I was angry and ashamed about what happened in Germany during the Nazi era and experienced - also in my own family - how badly being a "conveyor" can affect you.
As an adult, I was able to reconcile myself with my history - also thanks to empathetic therapists - and at the same time I realized that I would use the means at my disposal to work for 'peace' - in my professional field and beyond.

Through Gestalt pedagogy and Non-Violent Communication, Qigong, I got the means and the strength to implement this, really with the attitude of love, the awareness that everyone fulfils a need by doing something that I also share, to approach others and see how we can fulfil our needs together and find strategies that are enriching for us. It helps immensely to have a social network, to experience connection in common action and common vision, in which we experience community, sometimes even to the point of togetherness, and to develop structures there that are life-serving.

For me, this is not only true at the local level - but I would also like to see this connection at the national and international level and contribute what I can to it. With this background I have been engaged in Kenya since 2008, I have been there every year but 2021 and 2022 because of Corona, have contributed to the training there, have trained teachers, was engaged in two IITs, and am now working as a mentor for people from different African countries who want to be certified.