Summary
The best way to resolve conflict is through open discussion and communication.
At the Point of View International Retreat and Research Center (POV), we’ve created an atmosphere in which people feel free to have honest conversations about issues on which they disagree. POV’s spaces are welcoming, engaging and supportive, and we encourage and expedite collaborative problem solving.
Our facility, set on 120 acres of pristine wooded land in Lorton, Virginia, is dedicated to peacebuilding practice, teaching, and research.
Source: Website
OnAir Post: Point of View Retreat
About
Source: Website
Point of View is dedicated to peacebuilding practice and learning. We bring research and theory to the practice of conflict resolution, and conflict resolution to the global community.
We’re here to help.
Conflict is inevitable, but it need not be disruptive. We believe conflict can be transformed to opportunities for positive social change, connection, and collaboration. We also believe that anyone can learn skills to be a peacebuilder in their own organization or community.
Drawing on the Carter School’s long history of experience in conflict resolution, POV provides customized in-person and online training and facilitation support to local, national, and global organizations and communities.
POV’s diverse roster of trainers and facilitators will work with you to design a program or process to meet your specific needs and goals, such as through:
Inter- or intra-group facilitation to help work through differences and find a workable solution;
Introductory or advanced workshops and trainings to strengthen conflict resolution, problem solving, and effective communication skills;
A tailored process to hone in on your objectives or strategy, to build community, or to foster a healthy organizational culture;
Restorative circles and reflective processes to support healing and reconciliation; and
Workshops or seminars in such areas as gender inclusive peacebuilding, engaging youth in conflict resolution, interfaith dialogue and working with religious actors in peacebuilding, decolonizing knowledge, and additional subjects based on the research expertise of our faculty.
Sessions may take place online or in person, through multiple-day events or just over a few hours, depending on what works best for your unique needs and goals. Programs can take place at POV, on any Mason campus, online, or offsite at your own location.
POV’s tranquil and rural location offers a respite and ideal setting for reflective thinking and productive interactions, transformative connections, dialogue, and reconciliation. Yet its proximity to the nation’s capital provides an opportunity to benefit from the region’s vast informational resources as well as to serve its civic and business associations, federal agencies, universities, and the international community.
Please contact us if you are interested in training, facilitation, or other programmatic support or partnership, or fill out our reservation form if you have a specific event or activity in mind.
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History and Vision
A ‘Civilian Camp David’ just outside Washington, D.C.
In 2000, Edwin and Helen Lynch gave the Carter School their family home and 120 acres of surrounding property overlooking Belmont Bay in Mason Neck, Virginia, to build a retreat and research center that creates positive change for the world.
Point of View is a space for peacebuilding, practice, teaching, and research. It serves as a resource for everyone in the Carter School, Mason, our partners, and the world community.
The Lynches spent their lives in Northern Virginia; Edwin had a career in real-estate development and farming. Helen was an artist and active volunteer. They were married for 68 years, and had four children and many grandchildren.
The Lynches were the Carter School’s earliest champions, establishing our first endowed chair in honor of Edwin’s parents Minnie and Vernon Lynch and a scholarship endowment named for distinguished professor John Burton. In 1995, Edwin was awarded the Mason Medal, the highest honor conferred by the university. We are grateful for their belief in the Carter School and the potential for more resilient societies.
Our vision is to serve as a “civilian Camp David” providing space and support to groups and communities to transform destructive conflicts, heal, and reconcile.
Elected leaders of the Commonwealth of Virginia recognized the Carter School as the pre-eminent leader of the academic field and invested in the construction of a day facility at POV. Becoming a reality through a shared vision between the Carter School, philanthropic partners, community leaders and elected officials, the next phase of POV’s development includes capital construction for residential cottages. Overnight accommodations will give groups and participants the opportunity to intensively work together and immerse in the tranquil, serene space. Our plans include three cottages with a total of 27 bedrooms, shared living room spaces, and kitchens.
