Nonviolent Action and Strategies for Social Change (NOVASC) is a service organisation providing technical and practical skills for negotiation, mediation and nonviolent action. It works through training activities and intervention/accompaniment in specific situations. Its vision of social change is of a process led by organisations representing people who are marginalised, poor, excluded, mistreated, alienated; its work is to strengthen such organisations and to contribute its specific skills into their strategising.

NOVASC's work is done primarily in Zimbabwe, but also in contact and exchange with Africa and global partners.

Objectives:
- Strengthening organisations that represent people who need changes to happen, so that they have the skills to make those changes happen without violence, for example by negotiations, and the skills to cope with violence that may be unleashed against them;
- To build a national network of mediators drawn from many relevant sectors of society;
- To share experiences and dilemmas of dealing with conflicts, disputes, negotiations, deadlocks, and the use of violence, so as to contribute to a national dialogue towards tolerance and dynamic peace;
- To contribute to policy formulation and governance practice in relation to social dialogue, negotiations and national process.

Activities:
- Provided training to more than 200 student peace activists/educators in 2002.
- Works in close collaboration with the Zimbabwe United Residents Association (about 35 members in the country, 10 in bigger towns, for which they would like to set up a network of communication), who are very involved in learning skills of negotiation, mediation, non-violent strategies and action.
- Assisted in the establishment of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, which also has a network of monitors. In addition to reporting on incidents of violence, the ZPP try to create opportunities for dialogue and prevention of the escalation of violence or the initiation of new violence.
- Worked with the Zimbabwe Election Support network to make the monitoring of the preparations for elections possible.

Contact:
Mr. John Stewart
Coordinator
NOVASC
9 Routledge St., Milton Park
PO Box CY 369 Causeway
Harare / Zimbabwe

Phone: +263 4 72 21 68
Fax: +263 4 70 31 22
Email: afsc@ecoweb.co.zw
CC: novasc@ecoweb.co.zw