Gert Skoczowsky-Danielsen

Perhaps it was the bullying at the new school I started at when I was ten that gradually planted in me a longing to escape and find my way out into the world. At sixteen, I received a scholarship to the International Baccalaureate school United World College in the United States, and a completely new world opened up — quite literally. There, I was one of 200 students from more than 70 countries, and questions of identity, conflict, and peacebuilding took on a whole new meaning. With a newfound passion for languages, intercultural understanding, and conflict management, I set aside my plans to study medicine, volunteered as a human rights observer in Guatemala, and then pursued a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Spanish. Since then, I have earned a master’s degree in International Relations, Peace, and Conflict Resolution, trained as a mediator, and worked for the United Nations in seven countries. I was kidnapped in Yemen in 2012, and during the twelve days I spent in captivity I came to understand the extraordinary power — and magic — of empathy. I was first introduced to Nonviolent Communication (NVC) in 2002 through my work at the Center for Peacebuilding and Conflict Management (CCM), and in 2005 I met the founder of NVC, Marshall Rosenberg, in Brazil. I had the privilege of training with him for 23 days, and after more than 70 days of formal courses and many additional years of practice and study, I became Norway’s second certified NVC trainer in 2018. Over the years, I have facilitated courses and practice groups in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Yemen, Lithuania, Nepal, South Africa, Thailand, and Germany, and have also worked as a high school teacher and as a mediator in the Norwegian Conflict Resolution Services. Today, I offer courses, individual guidance, practice groups, and online programs in Nonviolent Communication — also known as compassionate or empathic communication or “giraffe language” — in Norwegian, English, Spanish and Portuguese. My work primarily serves teachers and educators, youth workers, healthcare professionals, and family members of people living with dementia. One of my greatest passions is supporting learning, conflict transformation, empathy, and psychological safety for children, young people, and adults alike. I am here to contribute — and to make a difference.