Since its inception in 2010, GCC has sought to serve the Athens, Georgia community and beyond, working in collaboration with our community partners to build a just and equitable community. From the beginning, the primary focus of our work was teaching conflict skills to help children, youth and adults embrace conflict as a natural part of life and an opportunity to learn and grow.
Over the years, we have honed the focus of our work to build peace with justice by advancing restorative practices within communities, schools and institutions.
Today, GCC’s work is advanced by a dedicated core leadership team, a committed Board of Directors, school-based restorative coordinators and a collection of GCC-connected experts and collaborators.
Our Impact
Whether it be in schools, in the criminal legal system, in communities or in workplaces, GCC supports long-term culture change, toward a culture of respect, mutual support and accountability. Our vehicle for culture change is through promoting restorative practices, and helping build systems and structures that are equitable and serve the needs of all members of the community, particularly the most vulnerable and historically marginalized.
GCC supports culture change by engaging in long-term relationships, measuring impact over time. Restorative Practices are not a quick fix. Unjust and inequitable structures and systems have taken generations to build, and the dismantling of these systems and structures, and “building the new in the shell of the old” must be engaged with a patient urgency. As John Lash often says, “the work is too urgent to rush.”
Also, as we seek to measure impact, we recognize the importance of developing new metrics to measure culture change progress via the implementation of restorative practices. For instance, many of the metrics used in schools, like Out-of-School Suspension, In-school Suspension and Office Referrals, are focused on measuring punitive discipline and negative behaviors. Developing systems to track the transition to a restorative culture and the effectiveness of restorative approaches are essential to support the building of the culture that we seek.
GCC invites you to our 15th Anniversary Community Celebration, which will take place on Sunday, April 27, 2025 at 5pm at Terrapin Brewery, 265 Newton Bridge Rd, Athens, GA. Bring family, friends, and take a load off! This year’s Community Spring Celebration features awesome music, step dancers, birthday cake, great drink and food options, with plenty of family-friendly activities that attendees of all ages will enjoy. This is a FREE, family-friendly, and inclusive event!
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The Georgia Conflict Center Presents Community Conversation #3 Rebuild. Community Conversation #3 Rebuild will take place on Saturday,April 26th, from 2-4 p.m. at UUFA (780 Timothy Rd, Athens, GA 30606) from 2-4 pm. Rebuild will be an interactive/engaging panel discussion that addresses ways that we can rebuild relationships with those who have caused harm and restore them to the community in a more holistic way, as well as explore how not to lose sight of structural and systemic harm in the process. Our panelists will be: Delvin Davis, from the Southern Poverty Law Center, Jennifer Elkins, from the UGA School of Social Work, Matthew Fayoyin, from Clarke Middle School, and Sherlisa Praylo, from the Mediation Center of Savannah. This event is free and open to the public. The Georgia Conflict Center is inviting you to participate in an upcoming series of community conversations entitled: Reflect. Reckon. Rebuild. This program proposes a series of three community conversations that seek to engage and activate the local Athens-area community with regards to the impact of criminal justice involvement and the pursuit of more just and equitable ways of dealing with harm and wrongdoing. GCC will utilize the Peacemaking Circle Process as a tool for promoting democratic dialogue, truth-telling and collective action, particularly prioritizing underrepresented stories and experiences. Sign up link coming soon!
