Kindness Festival 2025 – Forgiveness and Kindness: An Exploration

Forgiveness is a powerful tool for overcoming resentment and easing the pain of the past. But what motivates people to forgive—kindness, bravery, or foolishness?

For the past twenty years, Marina Cantacuzino, founder of The Forgiveness Project charity, has been collecting, curating, and sharing real stories of forgiveness and compassion to explore what it takes to create a more humane world. These stories—from both victims and perpetrators—highlight the transformative power of forgiveness in healing broken hearts and mending relationships, yet also reveal the complexities and controversies surrounding it.

In this lecture, Marina will shift her focus to examine the role of kindness in the path to forgiveness and why it is a skill we might all benefit from cultivating.

🔎 Why This Lecture Matters

While many of the stories Marina has encountered involve extreme human experiences, the lessons she has learned are just as relevant to everyday life. This lecture will be of interest to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of both themselves and the world around them.

📖 About Marina Cantacuzino

Marina Cantacuzino is an author, broadcaster, podcaster, and former journalist. In 2003, in response to the invasion of Iraq, she began collecting stories of people who had endured trauma and injustice yet chose forgiveness over revenge. This led to the creation of The F Word exhibition—which will be displayed in Frome during the 2025 Kindness Festival—and the founding of The Forgiveness Project, a charity that helps break cycles of harm and promotes compassion, empathy, and forgiveness.

She has co-created The Forgiveness Toolbox, produced and hosted The F Word Podcast, and in 2024, her second BBC series, Forgiveness: Stories from the Frontline, aired on Radio 4, with a third series currently in development. Her latest book, Forgiveness: An Exploration (2022), will be available for purchase during the evening.

The event will be chaired by Simon Keyes, former Professor of Reconciliation and Peacebuilding at the University of Winchester.

📅 Event Details

Doors open: 6:30 PM

Lecture begins: 7:00 PM

Refreshments: A paying bar will be open before the lecture and during the break.