C-Space

Services

Conflict doesn’t have to be destructive. Whether you’re looking to resolve a dispute or develop your communication strategies, c-space will help you find uniquely personalized creative solutions.

Work with Niki 1:1 to develop skills and strategies to deal with any conflict in a healthy and constructive way.
Work through an interpersonal or group conflict with a neutral third party. Facilitated conversations will help you uncover creative solutions and bring an end to the conflict.
A heart-centred approach for larger groups to have difficult discussions, build community, and resolve disagreements. Cultivates compassion and builds trusting relationships.
Learn how to communicate more effectively, raise concerns, and mediate conflicts. Develop compassionate listening skills and discover how conflict can create opportunities.
We believe in a holistic and embodied approach to conflict. Learn mindfulness and meditation strategies that can help you de-escalate difficult situations, ground yourself, and find inner stillness.
Larger societal issues can increase anxiety and tension within our various communities, and leave us feeling divided and vulnerable. Our caring, meaningful and productive conversations transform conflicts and increase mutual understanding and respect.

Meet the Team

Founder and CEO
Nearly everything Niki Landau does is informed by her practice of deep listening. With over 25 years' experience in conflict management, Niki has mediated family and community conflicts, participated in international grassroots peace-building and dialogue delegations, and has entered organizations at the highest levels to help resolve disputes. She regularly works with Canadian post-secondary institutions, helping faculty, staff and students to have difficult conversations, and to develop skills and processes to address difficult conflicts.
Niki was the Co-ordinator of In-House Training at St Stephen’s Community House Conflict Resolution Service in Toronto. A member of Mid-East Citizen Diplomacy’s (now the internationally-recognized TCLP) first multi-faith peace-building delegation to the Occupied Territories and East Jerusalem in 1999, she then joined their inaugural Compassionate Listening Facilitator Training.
The use of theatre in exploring conflict is ancient practice, and Niki, a professional actor and playwright, often uses theatre practice to develop empathy and dispute resolution skills. With Paul Lampert, she co-led mask workshops with Palestinian and Israeli teenagers at Peace Camp Canada, and recently co-created a mask show for Kahanee, a community-building organization in Winnipeg, MB. Niki melded the two disciplines in her award-winning play about conflict and dialogue in the Middle East, Territories.

Director of Strategic Communications and Advocacy
Bashar Al Shawwa approaches peacebuilding through the lens of shared responsibility, believing that sustainable solutions emerge when communities work together across divides. Trained as both an engineer and a conflict resolution specialist, he has spent over a decade working at the intersection of advocacy, sustainability, and political affairs in the Middle East and Canada.
His work has taken him from grassroots peacebuilding in the Middle East to leading national efforts in Canada to counter polarization and build bridges across communities. As Director of Strategic Communications and Advocacy at C-Space Group Conflict Resolution, he designs and leads initiatives that address hate and promote inter-community understanding.
Bashar previously served as Water Diplomacy Specialist at Swim Drink Fish, where he led the "Water for Peace" initiative, using shared water resources as a foundation for dialogue and cooperation. He was also Advocacy Manager at the Nobel-nominated EcoPeace Middle East, where he engaged policymakers and civil society to advance regional environmental peacebuilding.
With degrees in engineering and conflict resolution, and fluency in Arabic, English, and Russian, Bashar brings a unique blend of technical insight and diplomatic skill to his mission: fostering sustainable peace through shared responsibility and mutual respect.

Mindfulness Coach / Conflict Resolution Associate
Paul is an ordained Zen Buddhist chaplain. He has been a practicing Buddhist for over 20 years. Paul completed his chaplaincy training at the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2021 and received ordination from Abbot Roshi Joan Halifax in 2024. Paul has been doing chaplaincy work in the Correction Services Canada (CSC) prison system since 2017. At CSC he leads meditation sessions and discussion groups with inmates. Paul also has led meditation circles in university settings to students as well as faculty and regularly teaches meditation online. Additionally, Paul has been interning with Niki Landau as a mediator on a number of interpersonal and organizational conflicts. He is very interested in bringing the chaplaincy and Buddhist perspectives to mediation work.
Paul has over 40 years’ experience as a theatre maker: director,actor, producer and dramaturg. Over the years he has worked in professional theatres in Canada, the UK, USA, Spain, Austria, Sweden, Germany, China and Cuba. One of his favorite theatrical “tools” is mask, which he has used both as a pedagogue and a creator. Paul has combined his two “hats” (theatre and chaplaincy) with projects such as co-leading (with Niki Landau) workshops for Palestinian and Israeli teenagers at Peace Camp Canada and, more recently, co-directing a new play about dialogue in polarized times, using theatre masks.

C-Space Conflict Resolution Intern
Diane Flacks is a practicing facilitator, as well as an internationally recognized playwright, author, and journalist. Recently, she was Compassionate Listener for York U’s Facing Backlash symposium and is training to be a CL Facilitator with the highly-regarded Compassionate Listening Project. Diane is also studying relational therapy and conflict resolution through Terry Real’s RLT institute. Diane was CBC radio’s national parenting columnist for 8 years, and leads “Getting Unstuck” writing groups at the Tarragon Theatre, allowing space for writers to hear and wrestle with diverse perspectives on often polarizing issues. Her background in theatre and tv writing, and as a featured columnist for The Star, Globe and CBC radio has given her a solid foundation in storytelling, empathy, imagination and role-playing, as well as a keen listening ear, deep curiosity and a desire to facilitate debate and resolution. These embedded skills have prepared and propelled her into conflict resolution work. Diane believes strongly in the power of theatre and communication to connect us and allow us to share our humanity. Since Covid, she has been engaged in Buddhist meditation and philosophy.
For more information about Diane’s creative work, please visit www.dianeflacks.com