Metta Center For Nonviolence

The Metta Center for Nonviolence is a learning community dedicated to the understanding and practice of nonviolence. Based in Petaluma, California, it helps people develop, sustain and deepen their commitment to nonviolence, no matter what the odds.

The Center encourages people in all walks of life to discover their innate capacity for nonviolence and to cultivate its power for the long-term transformation of themselves and the world, focusing on the root causes of dehumanization and ultimately all forms of violence. It aims to make the logic, history and yet-unexplored potential of nonviolence more accessible to activists and agents of cultural change, which ultimately includes all of us. Its work draws on research, lived experience and global traditions.

Metta was co-founded in 1983 by Michael Nagler, professor emeritus of Classics and Comparative Literature at UC Berkeley, who serves as its president and founder. Stephanie Van Hook is executive director, and a board of directors supports the work. The Center holds Special Consultative Status at the United Nations via ECOSOC. Its logo is the charkha, or spinning wheel, a symbol of the nonviolent legacy of Mahatma Gandhi.

Through conversations, films, courses and educational resources, the Center explores how nonviolence can transform conflict and strengthen communities. Stephanie Van Hook and Michael Nagler host Nonviolence Radio, a show and podcast with guests from neuroscience, scholarship, peacebuilding and activism. Metta's resources include The Third Harmony, offered as a book, a film and a cooperative board game, which also anchor its retreats and workshops. It also offers a short animated story for children and a set of practices for developing nonviolence.