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Jody Williams – Righteous Indignation with Sparkle
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jody Williams discusses what has fueled her activism for over 30 years and her latest passions around stopping gender violence and killer robots. Tell me how you got started. My first protest was against US involvement in Vietnam and it awakened me to a different understanding of my country, the US. […]
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jody Williams discusses what has fueled her activism for over 30 years and her latest passions around stopping gender violence and killer robots. Tell me how you got started. My first protest was against US involvement in Vietnam and it awakened me to a different understanding of my country, the US. Then I floundered for a decade after university trying to figure out what to do with myself, knowing I wanted to do something that would change US policy. Finally, when I was 30 years old, in February of 1981, I was handed a leaflet about the US intervention in El Salvador and the title was “El Salvador—Another Vietnam.” If it hadn’t had the word “Vietnam” on it, I would have thrown it away and who knows where my life would have gone. But it did, and I read it, and I was horrified that we were intervening again. Not with “boots on the ground” as they say, but we were spending millions and millions and millions of dollars in Central America to support dictatorships and/or to overthrow the Sandinistas. And it made me angry. I started volunteering and 32 years later, here I am, still a grassroots activist. What interests you most about what you’re doing now? I’m the chairwoman of the Nobel Women’s Initiative which is six of us who received the Nobel Peace Prize and we have come together to use whatever influence and access we have by virtue of the prize to promote and spotlight the work of women around the world working for sustainable peace with justice and equality. Within that effort, we launched in May 2012 a campaign to stop rape and gender violence in conflict which obviously is a very difficult endeavor. And then in April 2013, I was part of the launch of a campaign to stop killer robots which would be fully autonomous (operating on their own), lethal, offensive (attacking, not just defending) robots that would be able to go out on their own and kill you. And I want to know what are the morality and ethics of people who think it is OK to cede the power of life and death in war to a machine. What keeps you going? What has taken me through my “career” as an activist is a fundamental righteous indignation at injustice. It really bothers me that people think it’s OK to take advantage of others. It makes me righteously indignant, not angry. I’m not an angry peace activist. I’m a righteously indignant and sexy peace activist. [Interviewer: “You’re especially sexy in your sparkly top.”] I fell in love with sparkles when I was four. I took tap dancing and I had a tutu and it had blue sparkles around it and since then I have been a sucker for sparkles. What’s been your biggest accomplishment? Certainly the Mine Ban Treaty which happened with others. All of us who worked so diligently to help governments and militaries recognize the illegality of that weapon and ban it. Along with that, another part of that accomplishment has been the example of ordinary people seeing a problem, not waiting for anyone to tell them it needed to be taken care of, and coming together and creating a campaign and working together toward an objective and succeeding. I think that accomplishment really inspired and emboldened people who want to make a difference to see that it can be done. But it has to be “we” not “me.” If it’s “me” it ain’t going anywhere. If it’s “we working together,” I absolutely believe we can change the world. Biggest challenge? Sometimes keeping my mouth shut! I can be pretty aggressive. But I’ve gotten a little less aggressive in my older age. Who or what inspires you? Ordinary people who get up off their ass and work for change. The famous ones, the ones who it’s expected of, usually they fail because they are about “I” instead of “we.” I care about all the people who no one will ever know who are struggling to survive and are also working with other people to make the situation better for everybody. That amazes me—that there is that much fortitude and human resilience. I don’t know how I would be in that circumstance. I’m privileged, coming from the US with a loving family with all the things I’ve had in life. I don’t know what I’d be if I lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo or any other of a gajillion other places where I’ve been but where I would not want to live. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1244" style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;" src="http://www.peaceissexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Jody-Williams-2-224x300.jpg" alt="Jody Williams" width="224" height="300" srcset="https://www.peaceissexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Jody-Williams-2-224x300.jpg 224w, https://www.peaceissexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Jody-Williams-2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://www.peaceissexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Jody-Williams-2.jpg 1704w" sizes="(max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px" />Why is peace sexy to you? What does “Peace is Sexy” evoke for you? Because peace is about changing our world. It’s not about just stopping war. People who think that peace is just about stopping war are fairly clueless about what it takes to create sustainable peace. And creating sustainable peace with other people who share that idea is exhilarating. When you work with people that really believe that there is such a thing as human security, as opposed to national security, which is just the security of the state apparatus and are willing to work for that, how hot is that? Rather than going to a 9 to 5 job that you can’t stomach and waiting until 5 o’clock to go home and have a cosmo (the drink, not the magazine). By the way, have you ever had a ginger cosmo? I’ve only had one and it was outstanding. You have to make your own ginger vodka though. What is a simple thing you do to create peace? What is something you do everyday? I’m a peace activist, so I communicate with people all the time. Maybe what I post on my Facebook page is how I create peace everyday. I don’t post things like “Oh, last night I had a magnificent dinner and now I’m having a mani-pedi.” I post articles about the things that are fundamentally important to deal with. I sometimes post pictures of animals that I think are gorgeous. But everyday trying to help people look beyond the bullshit media that they see and understand that a lot of serious work is going on in the world and it’s not about “Oh my god! They got divorced!” I don’t know who “they” are, since I don’t watch TV. It’s like “Oh my god, Angelina Jolie just adopted all of Africa! Again!” So what? And pretending that crap is news makes me crazy. Where would you like to see your passion go in the next 10 years? 20 years? 100 years? I want to be able to ban killer robots before they even hit the planet. I want our campaign to stop gender violence to make a significant contribution to diminishing violence against women in all walks of life.
Zak Ebrahim – Choosing the Path of Peace
His father is a convicted terrorist, but Zak has chosen to be a peacebuilder. Tell me how you got started. Because of my life story I had been introduced to fanatical ideologies that drive people to commit acts of violence. My own father chose to pursue a life of violence instead of a peaceful life […]
His father is a convicted terrorist, but Zak has chosen to be a peacebuilder. Tell me how you got started. Because of my life story I had been introduced to fanatical ideologies that drive people to commit acts of violence. My own father chose to pursue a life of violence instead of a peaceful life with his family. His name is El Sayed Nosair and he co-masterminded the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993. The attack killed six people but was meant to kill many, many more. Before the 1993 bombing my father began training me at age 7 to shoot automatic weapons at shooting ranges. I was being groomed to follow in his footsteps. These memories were huge burdens for a young man to carry. Besides being ashamed of what my father had done I also felt broken. I was unable to live a normal life because of what he had done. My family had to change their names to protect themselves from the communities in which we lived. In fact my name isn’t really Zak Ebrahim. I’d changed it to hide who I was. I was born Abdulaziz El Sayed Nosair but chose the name Zak in order to keep my old nickname “Z”. Unfortunately, it was harder to hide than we’d thought. There were death threats against the sons of Nosair. I moved 20 times by the time I was 19 years old. I spent many years trying to escape my father’s shadow. Finally in my mid 20s I had my first serious relationship and I opened up to my girlfriend about my true identity. Sharon and I had many talks about how I could make a difference with my story. One night while watching TV a stark realization crept in…I realized most times we hear about the Middle East or people of Arab decent it’s usually related to some form of extremism. It was then that I realized that I had an obligation to tell my story. Not only to get the message out about breaking down these stereotypes but also to hopefully inspire others to choose peace. I thought I could show people that even if you were raised in violence that doesn’t mean you are fated to continue that cycle. There was a time when I was paralyzed by fear and unable to gather the strength to take the next step. Sharon made me feel like I had the strength to overcome that fear and go public with my story. What interests you most about what you’re doing now? The thing that interests me most is how many people are out there every day trying to find peaceful solutions to humanity’s suffering. There are committed souls working everyday to create a world where we are not measured by how much we have, but how much we give. These people often do it with little or no acknowledgment. Their dedication and perseverance is astounding to me. The fact that I get to interact with those people on a daily basis is very special to me. What’s been your biggest accomplishment? Biggest challenge? Hmmm…biggest accomplishment? That’s tough. Telling my story has been a surreal experience. Sometimes people tell me how moved they are that I was able to renounce my extremist ideology, that they take inspiration in my ability to overcome, those are unique experiences. More often than not, I just feel like a normal person sharing my story. The idea that I might change the way people think for the better, that is incredibly humbling and easily my greatest accomplishment. My biggest challenge was finding the strength to stand up and speak in the first place. One example was being invited to speak to several hundred FBI Counter Terrorism agents. Throughout my life my family would receive periodic visits from just those sorts of agents. They’d come by to ask questions and check up on us. Finding the strength to get up in front of that crowd and share my story felt like a pretty significant accomplishment. It was a great experience! Who or what inspires you? Well, in my travels, I have had the incredible honor of meeting peace-makers from all over the world. It is from those people that I derive my inspiration. One of the first things that struck me when I first began speaking was the range of people brought together by this common goal of peace: famous people, moms and dads, students, artists, teachers, the rich, and the poor. From the outside it’s difficult to appreciate just how much work goes in to promoting the cause of peace. I am lucky that I get to see this process firsthand. Why is peace sexy to you? What does “Peace is Sexy” evoke for you? Violence is ugly. It’s that simple. It’s weak. As human beings, violence is sometimes the first thought that comes to mind when engaged in conflict. By overcoming that attitude we can use our minds instead of our fists. Peace is Sexy means standing out in a crowd. Blazing your own path when you realize the roads you’re used to lead to the same old destinations. It means moving forward with new ideas that may take you places you never thought you’d go. To me it means living life with purpose. What is a simple thing you do to create peace? What is something you do everyday? I try and approach the relationships I have with people by using one of the simplest lessons my mother taught me growing up. “Treat others as you would like to be treated.” It’s amazing what a simple lesson like that can do to affect your daily life. How would you like Peace is Sexy to make a difference in what you are up to? Finding unique ways to draw attention and encourage participation in the peace making process has always been extremely important. I think Peace is Sexy does that and more. Not only does it draw attention to the important issues, but it does so in a provocative way that causes people to reframe the entire concept of peace. Thinking outside the box has always been a great way to find new and exciting solutions to the problems we face. That is something all peace advocates can make use of. Where would you like to see your passion go in the next 10 years? 20 years? 100 years? I am currently being filmed for a documentary by Off Center Media about my coming out with my life story. In the short-term I’m hopeful that by sharing my story I can show people that where we come from isn’t nearly as important as where we’re going. In the long-term though, I hope by working with others breaking down stereotypes and promoting non-violent conflict resolution we can encourage a cultural revolution; that a person’s race, sexuality, or religious background has less to do with our character than the environment we live in. Is there anything else you want to tell us? Being a peace maker is easily the most gratifying thing I could have done with my life. It gives me direction, hope, and the constant reminder that so many people are out there working toward the same objective. It shows that together we can accomplish any of the goals we set for ourselves. More than anything I would like to share that feeling with as many people as I can. I am my best self when I am advocating for peace. It gave me a sense of self worth that I don’t think I would have found anywhere else, certainly not in such abundance. Doing what makes you happy…that is sexy. More information at: http://zakebrahim.com
A few years ago, I was traveling in Congo and got to thinking, “What are the most peaceful countries in the world?” I really got curious about that question and started doing some research on it, but couldn’t find anything. And I thought if a business man like me can’t find the answer, then there […]
A few years ago, I was traveling in Congo and got to thinking, “What are the most peaceful countries in the world?” I really got curious about that question and started doing some research on it, but couldn’t find anything. And I thought if a business man like me can’t find the answer, then there must be a niche that can be filled. So I started the Global Peace Index as a way to easily identify and rank countries according to their peacefulness. What interests you most about what you’re doing now? Well, I think the thing which interests me the most in the work I’m doing today is that I can actually see the effect: people are starting to see that there is economic value to peace and that concepts are starting to develop. What we’re doing is breaking new ground. I get a real sense of satisfaction and positive energy from seeing work that is original actually start to get traction. What’s been your biggest accomplishment? I’m not even thinking that way. It’s like we’re a quarter of the way down the road. It’s hard to think of my own accomplishments because there are so many people working in this area. So when I look at changes, I can’t say, “Well, that’s what I’ve done.” What I have done is create an institute, the Institute for Economics and Peace, which has solid international recognition. The institute is viewed as credible and the work is rigorous. The real accomplishment will be getting people to understand that there is real material value in improving peace and that we don’t actually know so much about peace. When people go study in a Peace and Conflict Studies program, 90% of what they’re studying is conflict. Peace is something different. It’s something we don’t know a lot about. That’s the other message I’m trying to get through. But I can’t say that it’s the work I’m doing; it’s the work of many, many people. Biggest challenge? The main challenge is getting the right structures and the organizational capability so that we can grow. But that’s true for any business that you’re trying to scale. Even though this is a non-profit organization and it’s non-partisan, I’m bringing in a lot of my business principles and background to play in terms of how we organize, how we go about developing products, concepts of marketing, quality of material and the organizational and reporting structures. Who or what inspires you? I do what I like to do. That might sound slightly selfish, but in a lot of ways, if you pick things that you want to do and are motivated to do, you generally pick things that you’ve got skills in and because you like to do it you are willing to put a lot of time and energy into it and you tend to do it well. Why is peace sexy to you? The attraction about peace is that if we look at the better angels resting in our souls, that is the better part of humanity. If we look at the people who have inspired humanity through out the ages, they’ve all been dedicated to peace: Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus Christ. The ones who have inspired humanity the most are the ones who have dedicated their lives to creating a better, more peaceful world. How would you like Peace is Sexy to make a difference in what you are up to? It’s got a really good focus on branding, being able to get some crisp concepts of peace and trying to work out how to put them into a language that is attractive to ordinary, every day people. That’s what I like. Where would you like to see your passion go in the next 10 years? 20 years? 100 years? I don’t think about the future. I’m not a deep thinker. I live in the present. I believe that if you do the right thing in the present, the future takes care of itself. If you worry too much about the future, it’s a waste of mental energy. That doesn’t mean that you don’t have a strategy about what you’re doing–that’s different–but your strategies are always being revised, they’re always changing. It’s a bit different if you’ve got a business with a few billion dollars of turnover, but peace is embryonic, it’s developing, so if you get too focused on the future, you miss opportunities in the short term.
May We All Live in Harmony: World Peace Music Playlist
To show that peace is alive and kickin’, Peace is Sexy presents this World Peace Music playlist which includes all new music (i.e. from this millennium and not the 1960s) or lesser heard covers of classics. We’ve included some artists that have already been featured on Peace is Sexy like emma’s revolution, Colby and Awu, […]
To show that peace is alive and kickin’, Peace is Sexy presents this World Peace Music playlist which includes all new music (i.e. from this millennium and not the 1960s) or lesser heard covers of classics. We’ve included some artists that have already been featured on Peace is Sexy like emma’s revolution, Colby and Awu, Queen Rose, Emmanuel Jal, MC Yogi; some big names like U2, Jack Johnson, Rihanna and Lauryn Hill; and some artists that you may not have heard yet, but who have a powerful message. It’s an open playlist that you can watch and listen to here: There is lots of music that promotes peace that we aren’t aware of yet, so if you have a contribution to this playlist, please send us a link to the video in the YouTube comments or here:http://www.peaceissexy.net/contact/ Peace on! You are also welcome to share it on your various networks and media channels.
Muslims and Islam Are NOT the Enemy of the West
An open letter to Westerners by Guest Contributor Matthew Johnson Dear Westerners: Muslims and Islam are not the enemy of the West. I wish this statement was without controversy, but with the rising tide of Islamophobia (i.e. irrational fear of Muslims) in the United States and elsewhere, it is clear that it is not. There […]
An open letter to Westerners by Guest Contributor Matthew Johnson Dear Westerners: Muslims and Islam are not the enemy of the West. I wish this statement was without controversy, but with the rising tide of Islamophobia (i.e. irrational fear of Muslims) in the United States and elsewhere, it is clear that it is not. There are many out there who cling tightly to the ‘Clash of Civilizations’ propaganda or otherwise insist that there is a notable difference between Islam and other religions, Muslims and the rest of us, and so on. I deplore you to reject this falsehood in the spirit of the holidays and think beyond your immediate family to the human family, which includes more than a billion Muslims who are not going anywhere. In fact, the United States and its allies should allow more to come and seek refuge from the violence their policies helped create, which would, in turn, provide ISIS with fewer potential recruits. This is not just my opinion. It is shared by a French journalist named Nicolas Henin, who spent almost a year in ISIS captivity in Syria, as well as by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. The best response to inhumanity is humanity. Shutting the door on Muslim refugees will only strengthen the so-called Islamic State itself, which needs more soldiers, clerics, and believers — if it is to be successful. There is no reason to fear a threat to Western values and civilization if those values are no longer deemed valuable and that civilization is no longer civilized. For all the warranted condemnation of ISIS coming from the West, I am eager for the day when Westerners take a long, hard look at themselves and question why ignorance, fanaticism, and violence are wrong when the actors are Muslim but acceptable when they are Christian or Jewish or irreligious. Vile rhetoric that incites hatred and fear of all Muslims is no better than blanket condemnations of Western culture and values. As an insightful question posed by a college student in the recent Republican debate implied, it is dubious how a Donald Trump administration would set itself apart from ISIS or any like-minded extremists by seeking to murder noncombatant ISIS family members. Remarks made at this debate make it seem as if the United States is at war with an entire civilization and that mass civilian deaths are inevitable. If I were not so concerned about NSA surveillance, I would carefully research the statements of ISIS leaders and likely find a similar sentiment. This is certainly how the Western media and policymakers portray ISIS. The important point is that there is little honest commentary on what makes us better than those we seek to destroy with our highly advanced weapons and even less on fighting terrorism without violence, which is not only possible but increasingly necessary. One idea is to fund, promote, and participate in exchange programs between Muslims and non-Muslims. Soliya is one shinning example. While the war between ISIS and the West grabs the headlines, there is a different war buried in the middle of the broadsheet. Battle lines have been drawn in the United States, France, and elsewhere between those who hold fast to democracy, pluralism, and human rights while accepting that perfect security is impossible and that practicing self-control is far safer than attempting to control others — and those who lack mirrors and do not reflect on whether their actions match their values. In short, all of us need a (metaphorical) mirror in our Christmas stocking. Peace and love, Matthew This article originally appeared on the Writing on the Wall blog.
by Robert J. Burrowes, contributor As the world continues to engage in various commemorations in relation to World War I, Australia approaches the centenary anniversary of a defining event in the nation’s history: ANZAC Day. On 25 April 1915, and for many days after, Australia suffered savage losses at Gallipoli in Turkey. Sometimes when we […]
by Robert J. Burrowes, contributor As the world continues to engage in various commemorations in relation to World War I, Australia approaches the centenary anniversary of a defining event in the nation’s history: ANZAC Day. On 25 April 1915, and for many days after, Australia suffered savage losses at Gallipoli in Turkey. Sometimes when we reflect on war, we talk about sacrifice for a good cause. Other times, we talk about the cost, in lives or liberties lost. Occasionally, we talk about the horror. Sometimes we talk about the gains, nationally or internationally, for freedom and democracy. And rarely, we analyse the causes of war and lament that one day we might end it. When I reflect on war, I think of my uncles and great uncles, and my father and mother (both veterans of World War II) and I know what I want to do. But briefly first, some history. My great uncle, Thomas Ince Farrell, was a soldier in the 16th Battalion of the Australian Infantry (AIF) in World War I. He was killed in action at Pope’s Hill, Gallipoli ‘on or about’ 2 May 1915. Another great uncle, Leslie Burrowes, was a trooper in the 10th Light Horse Regiment of the AIF in World War I. He was wounded in action three times at Gallipoli and died prematurely some years after the Great War, a psychologically broken man. He was undoubtedly suffering from what today would be called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He survived the horrors of war to live with them psychologically for the rest of his difficult and shortened life. My father had two brothers: his older brother, Robert, and his twin brother, Thomas. Both were killed in World War II. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2467" src="http://www.peaceissexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Bob-Burrowes-18Feb1918-1Jul1942-221x300.jpg" alt="Bob Burrowes 18Feb1918 - 1Jul1942" width="221" height="300" srcset="https://www.peaceissexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Bob-Burrowes-18Feb1918-1Jul1942-221x300.jpg 221w, https://www.peaceissexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Bob-Burrowes-18Feb1918-1Jul1942.jpg 272w" sizes="(max-width: 221px) 100vw, 221px" />Bob was a soldier in the 34th Fortress Engineers of the Australian Imperial Force. He was captured during the fall of Rabaul on 22 January 1942, held prisoner and half-starved at the Malaguna Road camp until he was put on the Japanese prisoner-of-war ship ‘Montevideo Maru’ in late June. On 1 July 1942, the unmarked and unescorted ‘Montevideo Maru’ was torpedoed off Luzon by the ‘USS Sturgeon’. The ship sank in six minutes. All 1,053 Australian prisoners of war were killed: it was Australia’s largest single loss of life in a single incident during the entire war. In his final letter home, written while he was a prisoner, Bob wrote ‘Get Jim out if you possibly can.’ But it was too late. Bob’s brother Jim had already joined up and been assigned to M Special Force; he served as a coastwatcher in Papua New Guinea. After the war he married Beryl, a veteran of the Women’s Australian Air Force (WAAF). Jim and Beryl ‘made’ me, as Dad sometimes jokes. My father’s twin brother Tom was a wireless air gunner on a Beaufort Bomber (popularly but irreverently known as ‘flying coffins’) in the RAAF’s 100 Squadron. He was shot down over Rabaul on his first mission on 14 December 1943. His plane was never found. In 1966, the year I turned 14, I decided that I would devote my life to answering two questions: Why are human beings violent? How can this violence be ended? I also decided to act on the basis of what I learned by seeking answers to these two questions. This is more than a life passion: It is why I live. If you like, you can read what I have learned in the past 49 years, particularly with the help of my beloved Anita. It is summarized in a document that I called ‘Why Violence?‘ You can also join a worldwide effort to create a world without violence by signing the online pledge of ‘The People’s Charter to Create a Nonviolent World‘. A world without violence might not be possible, but we humans are always undertaking things that look impossible at first glance. Besides, my parents always taught me to ‘Try. Try again.’ I still do. And, at 92, they are still my greatest supporters. About the author: Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?‘ He can be contacted at flametree@riseup.net and his website is: http://robertjburrowes.wordpre ss.com
by Alice Richmond, Delivery Manager Last month (October 2015), I spoke at a conference in Barcelona on the topic of communicating peacefully with teams and clients. Often the phrase “Peace in Tech” is referring to promoting technology that reduces the need for aggressive and peace disturbing manufacturing processes for hardware. It is so easy to […]
by Alice Richmond, Delivery Manager Last month (October 2015), I spoke at a conference in Barcelona on the topic of communicating peacefully with teams and clients. Often the phrase “Peace in Tech” is referring to promoting technology that reduces the need for aggressive and peace disturbing manufacturing processes for hardware. It is so easy to look at tech as a thing that is a physical entity, a gadget or a phone. Using earth damaging and conflict inducing compounds in the creation of our hardware is not the only thing that causes conflict in tech. Often we need to look much closer to home, to the individuals working within these industries. I have been working on client facing teams since I graduated university. Exposed to lots of face to face communication, I have naturally developed and learned skills that have improved me as an individual and been able to specialize in this with training courses. But what happens when someone doesn’t have this training and is required to work in a team made up from people around the world. How do they communicate their needs, feelings and thoughts? Soft skills, like communication can be overlooked especially in the tech industry. Some individuals graduating university with extremely high qualifications in Maths, Computer Science and Physics are left struggling with communication. A close friend of mine once said to me “It’s OK graduating with a first in Maths, but try having a difficult conversation or going to a job interview.” I was surprised by this sentence, and that she herself had suffered from a lack of core communication skills. Recently with the release of Drupal 8, an open source web product there has been a surprise delay. Many of us were brain storming why this could have been the case. One friend of mine mentioned there had been incidents of decisions about the product not being made because of so many disputes. These disputes were lengthy and reading the tickets it was clear that individuals were struggling to make themselves heard, muted and trapped behind a computer screen. The issue queues became a melting pot for animosity, unhappiness and frustration from a group of amazing people who hold the fantastic mental capability of creating a hugely important product but who struggled to communicate with one another. My speech was aimed to provide people with the tools that we are not taught at school, ways in which you can find a voice and for it to be heard peacefully and constructively. By highlighting ways in which we can approach those difficult conversations with a non judgmental attitude and an open mind. Encouraging people, to open up their video conferencing and speak to their counterparts “face to face” and to communicate what they needed and felt based on ideas by Marshall Rosenberg. Drupal is built by a community distributed around the world, those individuals create amazing products. “Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing” – Rollo Mae. I would like to think working together in an environment free of conflict, which is supportive and open would increase individuals productivity. A community rests on people feeling a sense of belonging to thrive, and without a community there would be no Drupal. My vision is to make the world a more peaceful and happier place one person at a time, so that, inspiring people, can carry on making inspiring products and change the world for the better. About Alice Richmond: I am a Londoner, a neuroscientist, Uxer and Delivery manager at Wunder UK. I specialize in communication with colleagues and clients to promote a positive interactive culture. My inspiration is Marshall Rosenburg and have been studying his work for around a year now. Recently I spoke a a tech conference to help invoke a change of dynamic in the tech industry.
40+ World Leaders Joining Global Oneness Day – Just Around Corner
Have you seen the names of the world leaders, scientists, entertainers, spiritual leaders, activists and business leaders who are part of Global Oneness Day this year? Global Leaders pick and choose what programs they will participate in and an extraordinary number are gathering on Global Oneness Day, Saturday, October 24th, 2015 to celebrate this “Earth […]
Have you seen the names of the world leaders, scientists, entertainers, spiritual leaders, activists and business leaders who are part of Global Oneness Day this year? Global Leaders pick and choose what programs they will participate in and an extraordinary number are gathering on Global Oneness Day, Saturday, October 24th, 2015 to celebrate this “Earth Day” for an awakened humanity. All of the speakers who are gathering are volunteering their time. They include: Iyanla Vanzant, Michael Beckwith, Gary Zukav, Marianne Williamson, Ken Wilber, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Jean Houston, Ervin Laszlo, Neale Donald Walsch, Panache Desai, Nassim Haramein, Dean Radin, Doreen Virtue, Patricia Cota-Robles, Stephen Dinan, Matt Kahn, and a video recording created for this occasion by Desmond Tutu. There are over 40 speakers gathering in total. Why is this day important? It is a day to explore how we are separate from nothing. On this day, we see We Are All One with the Divine and each other and we model it. It is a day of at-ONE-ment. It is a day to talk about living in Oneness in practical ways, to revere and nurture life as the prime value. Global Oneness Day is a call to expanded consciousness, an invitation to conscious creation. This day calls us to serve life first, to pre-serve the Earth, nature, humanity and all of life’s diversity. In short, it is an impactful day that has enormous opportunity to change our lives and the world for the better! If you’ve been yearning for greater spiritual health for you and your family and you’d like to explore how we can become part of a critical mass that is life enhancing, life supporting and life sustaining you don’t want to miss this free event (that also includes a free 48 hour replay of the entire event). Will you join leaders from all over the world (and co-sponsors like Peace is Sexy) in calling for an awakened humanity? Click here to see the Global Oneness Day program and speakers. This 12 hour program is amazing and it’s on a Saturday so you can listen-in more easily. There are fourteen programs and all of them are complimentary. You will definitely want to see the speakers on each panel. I encourage you to reserve your spot now for this unparalleled event. See you there!
#youth4peace – Redefining Youth as Peacebuilders
There is a widespread perception that youth are trouble makers. Economists believe a large youth population to be problematic for a country. Police forces (notably in the US) distrust youth and often target youth. Youth are considered to be particularly susceptible to violent extremism. And even governments consider youth as too young and inexperienced to […]
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2424" src="http://www.peaceissexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Amman-Youth-Participants-300x225.jpg" alt="Amman Youth Participants" width="300" height="225" srcset="https://www.peaceissexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Amman-Youth-Participants-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.peaceissexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Amman-Youth-Participants.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />There is a widespread perception that youth are trouble makers. Economists believe a large youth population to be problematic for a country. Police forces (notably in the US) distrust youth and often target youth. Youth are considered to be particularly susceptible to violent extremism. And even governments consider youth as too young and inexperienced to have any kind of value added in political participation. But there is a movement that is gaining traction to cast youth not as trouble makers, but as peace makers. And there is evidence to back it up. According to the 2015 Global Peace Index, “Poverty and youth bulges are typically considered risk factors for urban violence. However these factors were found not to be statistically significant in this study.” Indeed, the Global Forum on Youth, Peace and Security which occurred on August 21 and 22 in Amman, Jordan was a watershed moment for shining light on how youth contribute to peace. The forum comes on the heels of Jordanian Crown Prince al Hussein bin Abdullah II, at the age of 20, being the youngest person to chair a UN Security Council meeting. Appropriately, the April 2015 session focused on discussing youth participation in peacebuilding and countering violent extremism. The high point of the Global Forum was the adoption of the Amman Declaration which begins with the following: We, young people from around the world, gathered here in Amman, Jordan on 21-22 August 2015 at the Global Forum on Youth, Peace and Security, express our commitment to live in a peaceful global society. Today, with more young people than ever globally, it is a demographic imperative to include us in working to achieve stability and security. […] With this Declaration, we present a common vision and roadmap towards a strengthened policy framework to support us in transforming conflict, preventing and countering violence and building sustainable peace. This Declaration was developed by youth and is the outcome of an extensive consultation process with young people from all over the world to ensure an inclusive and integrated approach. The Amman Declaration then builds upon existing frameworks including the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Guiding Principles on Young People’s Participation in Peacebuilding. It goes on to list four key pillars for implementation and list specific action items under each one: Youth Participation and Leadership in Issues of Peace and Security Youth Preventing Violence and Building Peace Gender Equality Young People’s Socio-Economic Empowerment While the Global Forum is a highly visible event, it barely encapsulates the decades of work that the conference’s organizers, Search for Common Ground, United Network of Young Peacebuilders and UN Peacebuilding Support Office, let alone all the other actors in the field, have put into peacebuilding and empowering youth. Nor does it show what has been happening since the Forum: participants sharing the Amman Declaration in their home countries, teams monitoring the implementation of the declaration, the effort to get a UN Resolution passed based on the contents of the Amman Declaration and all the programs that youth peacebuilders continue to implement around the world. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-2426 size-medium" src="http://www.peaceissexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Amman-Yousef-Assadiq-e1441288630960-240x300.jpg" alt="Amman - Yousef Assadiq" width="240" height="300" srcset="https://www.peaceissexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Amman-Yousef-Assadiq-e1441288630960-240x300.jpg 240w, https://www.peaceissexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Amman-Yousef-Assadiq-e1441288630960.jpg 310w" sizes="(max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px" />Some of those youth-focused and youth-led peacebuilding programs were highlighted during the Global Forum. Participants heard from Yousef Assadiq, a young Norwegian who converted to Islam, became radicalized and now works to de-radicalize Muslims in Norway and prevent them from joining ISIS. Seventeen year-old Brenda Torres Garcia discussed her work with the National Movement of Children in Colombia and Victor Ochen shared his story of going from a child refugee in Uganda to an advocate for reconciliation and inclusion. Perhaps one of the greatest achievements of the Global Forum on Youth, Peace and Security was to bring together not only youth and policy makers, but also youth from around the world who might not otherwise have the chance to exchange and learn from colleagues. For some, this was the first time they traveled outside their country. But now, thanks to the Facebook groups and listserves that have been created, they are highly plugged into a global youth-led movement for peace. Search for #youth4peace on Twitter and on Facebook to see what participants themselves and doing and saying about the Forum and the Amman Declaration.