Cultivating Compassion for Sustainable Peace: Introducing Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT)® for Leaders

Group Submission Type: Workshop

Description of Session

Purpose of the Workshop
Education holds transformative power in addressing conflict, division, and inequity; yet, peace is not only the absence of conflict—it is also the mindful practice of compassion to alleviate the suffering of people around us, creating an experience of safety, security, love, kindness, and so forth.
This workshop positions compassion not as an abstract virtue but as a sustainable practice for peacebuilding. To the participants, CBCT® developed by Centre for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics at the Emory University, Atlanta, US, would be introduced as a secular, evidence-based methodology offering an inward-out approach to cultivating compassion. Beginning with resilience and self-compassion, CBCT gradually extends the circle of concern outward—to peers, communities, and ultimately to all humanity—supporting both personal well-being and collective efforts toward peace by recognizing interdependence.
Cultivating compassion through this stepwise progression offers learners a unique opportunity to shift their perspective. They learn to see beyond natural “self vs. other” distinctions and see common humanity. This shift fosters a constructive emotional landscape where states such as fear, resentment, or anger can give way to empathy, patience, and care. In this way, the workshop argues, compassion is both a pedagogical practice and a peacebuilding strategy.

Learning Objectives
1. Understand the CBCT framework, its pedagogical model, and the science behind compassion training.
2. Experience CBCT practices, including greater access to nurturing moments, attention training, self-compassion, extending the circle of concern, and fostering kindness.
3. Understand compassion training as a means of transforming emotional responses from afflictive to constructive states, thereby contributing to peacebuilding.
4. Recognize compassion as a resource for leadership development, policy effectiveness, and systemic reform in education.


Expected Outcomes:
• A deeper understanding of compassion training as both the Science of compassion and practice.
• First-hand experience of CBCT techniques for personal transformation
• Strategies to embed compassion into pedagogy, teacher training, and policies.
• Practise tool for fostering constructive emotional states that promote well-being.

Delivery Plan and Outcomes (2 hours 45 minutes)
• Introduction (15 minutes): Overview of workshop objectives; positioning CBCT within peace education and leadership development.
• Understanding Science of Compassion (15 minutes):
• What is Compassion and why is it needed?
• Can it be cultivated? And how?
• Experiential Practices (75 minutes): Guided CBCT sessions
• Deepening the value of receiving nurturance and the motivation to be a source for others.
• Practicing self-compassion.
• Expanding the feeling of gratitude towards the many people who benefit us through awareness of interdependence.
• Applications in Education Systems (30 minutes):
• How CBCT strengthens classroom climates and improves relationships among students, peers, and communities.
• Applications for administrators and officials: using CBCT as a tool for leadership development, conflict management, and shaping equity-driven policies.
• Strategies for integrating CBCT practices into teacher training, professional development, and systemic reforms.
• Closing & Action Planning (30 minutes): Consolidation of insights, commitments to next steps, and resources for continued practice.

Methodology: -
The training methodology integrates reflective activities, case studies, guided meditation, facilitated reflection, and discussions to create an engaging, experiential, and comprehensive learning environment.

Sub Unit

• Book Launches and Workshops / Workshop

Chair

• MONAL JAYARAM PODUVAL, PIRAMAL FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION LEADERSHIP

Workshop Organizer

• Anshu Dubey, PIRAMAL FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION LEADERSHIP

Presenter

• Meghadeepa Chakraborty, PIRAMAL FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION LEADERSHIP

Discussant

• Abhidha Seth, PIRAMAL FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION LEADERSHIP