My first encounter with Nonviolent Communication (NVC) was in 1998 during a three-month training for peace activists. Even then, the concept of NVC resonated deeply with me, as I had previously been involved in mediation and met inspiring individuals who supported our peace efforts after the war. However, it wasn’t until 2007, when I met the remarkable team of Nada Ignjatović-Savić and Katharina Sander at Lebensgarten, that I truly experienced the transformative power of NVC. For five days, these two women—each unique in temperament and character—taught us how to introduce NVC into schools. From that point on, mediation and NVC became inseparably intertwined for me, forming the foundation for numerous peacebuilding and community projects in which I volunteered and worked with the Center for Peace in Osijek until 2011, when I co-founded a mediation center with three colleagues.

Currently, I dedicate most of my energy and time to school and peer mediation. Recognizing the crucial role of NVC in mediation, I translated Marshall Rosenberg’s book Nonviolent Communication: The Language of Life into Croatian in 2006. Since then, each participant in our mediation trainings receives a copy of the book as part of their introduction to NVC.

In 2021, I co-founded the Politics of Nonviolence with five other peace activists. This organization focuses on peace education and action, striving to build the capacity for nonviolence and nonviolent action within local communities in Croatia. This year, our efforts include organizing dialogue forums and facilitating discussions on important and sometimes controversial topics relevant to our community.

Being part of a community that applies, promotes, and spreads NVC is essential to me. From my experience, I know that when NVC serves as the foundation, it elevates relationships, peacebuilding, and community-building activities to incredible levels.

I live and work in Osijek, Croatia.