tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21560518007428462442024-03-12T19:29:13.747-07:00Nipissing University Peace Research InitiativeAgents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-67239423344889070912015-05-01T09:42:00.001-07:002015-05-01T09:42:17.048-07:00Expressions of PeaceYesterday afternoon the last 6 Agents of Peace Vines were released to Vine and Twitter. As much as this concludes the original actions of the project, to disseminate 'peace' into something as small and concise as possible, it still leaves a whole other aspect of action to take. Spreading these definitions of peace as widely as possible.<br />
So far the Vines have been generating some interest but not as much as I think they should based on the content being tackled. These clips have been designed to create a discussion and discourse on our notions of peace and what peace means to different people.<br />
Questions are going to be raised because of these Vines.<br />
Is peace just the absence of war?<br />
Is peace managing to collateral damage from war?<br />
Is peace harmonious discussion and living between differing cultures?<br />
Is peace the realization of individual human potential?<br />
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Ultimately...what is peace?<br />
Further, in what way does peace take place? In what context?<br />
World Peace?<br />
Community Peace?<br />
A Peaceful Country?<br />
Peaceful Lives/Life?<br />
How broad is Peace? How individual is it?<br />
Does peace for one person mean suffering for another? Can that be avoided?<br />
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There is every possibility of filling the rest of this post with questions on peace but that is the point of the Vines. These questions need to be examined even if it is only for 6 seconds at a time. The best way to generate topical discussions on these questions is to pass around the Vines on Twitter and Facebook. Send an email to a friend or pull a clip up on your phone and ask someone what they think of it.<br />
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Create the space for peace.<br />
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Here are links to the last 6 Peace Vines as well as a link to the NUPRI Vine page where all the past Vines are located.<br />
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John Schram <a href="https://vine.co/v/e75iOrKO79T" target="_blank">https://vine.co/v/e75iOrKO79T</a><br />
Daryl Copeland <a href="https://vine.co/v/e75MWFBu7O1" target="_blank">https://vine.co/v/e75MWFBu7O1</a><br />
Patrick Dennis <a href="https://vine.co/v/e75Krq0B6xp" target="_blank">https://vine.co/v/e75Krq0B6xp</a><br />
Ronit Yarosky <a href="https://vine.co/v/e75u2a2A2Hd" target="_blank">https://vine.co/v/e75u2a2A2Hd</a><br />
David Tal <a href="https://vine.co/v/e7iLAJtTnTH" target="_blank">https://vine.co/v/e7iLAJtTnTH</a><br />
Jessica Wilson <a href="https://vine.co/v/e7i3BQuPmMY" target="_blank">https://vine.co/v/e7i3BQuPmMY</a><br />
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NUPRI Peace Vines <a href="https://vine.co/u/1139616947906945024" target="_blank">https://vine.co/u/1139616947906945024</a><br />
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Peace,<br />
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RandyAgents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-56065127378779494652015-04-09T06:37:00.001-07:002015-04-09T06:37:44.293-07:00The Question of PeaceSpring is finally making itself known. Early in March it felt like the seasons were beginning to change but it ultimately turned into a game of hide and seek. There would be hints of Spring only for Winter to drop a few inches of snow. That seems to be in the past though as the snowbanks are significantly smaller and the warmer mornings are becoming more and more apparent. Its nice to have to debate on wether I should take a coat or if a hoodie will suffice for the day.<div>
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In the last few weeks a number of new Peace Vines have been sent out into the world. Since the last update vines from Ian McKay, Yannick Tona, John Ralston-Saul, Fidraus Kharas, Tuula Fai and Faye Blais have been looped a total of 82 times. It sounds small compared to some vines which hit several million loops in a matter of days. There isn't an expectation that one of the Peace Vines is suddenly going to go viral and overnight the whole page is going to detonate. Most of the people who have millions of views on vine are ordinary people who post on a regular basis and who build a following and a viewership one vine at a time. In order to do this there has to be continuous and regular content being put up to sustain the followers attention. At some point a post will trigger something within the collective viewership and a sensation is born.</div>
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Largely Vine is about the simplicity and ease of sharing. It is a small bite sized piece of content that someone can view quickly several times and take time to consider over a cup of coffee. A viral Peace Vine would be a wonderful thing but there is an awareness that compared to most of the other content on Vine the AoP vine project is an outlier. Not that that is discouraging, quite the opposite, it is encouraging to the point of trying to find a way to ensure a viewership is built that recognizes the space this vine project is trying to create.</div>
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A short time ago it was mentioned two integral members of the NUPRI had released a new book. <i>THE QUESTION OF PEACE in Modern Political Thought</i> by Toivo Koivukoski and David Edward Tabachnick has received its first review both the Chapters/Indigo website and Amazon.ca. Congratulations to both of them on pushing the discourse on peace and the question of peace in the modern sense. An awareness of what peace means, as varied as the definition can be from one individual to the next, is important to understand. This is in large part what the Peace Vine project is attempting to do. Each of the Vines represents an individual understanding of Peace and not all of them may be the same but it is an opening for others to step in and consider each of these definitions as a portion of the larger idea of peace.</div>
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Check out the Vines:</div>
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<a href="https://vine.co/u/1139616947906945024" target="_blank">https://vine.co/u/1139616947906945024</a></div>
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Check out the Book:</div>
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<a href="http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-question-of-peace-in/9781771121217-item.html?ikwid=the+question+of+peace&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0" target="_blank">Chapters/Indigo</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Question-Peace-Modern-Political-Thought/dp/1771121211/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1428585997&sr=8-11&keywords=the+question+of+peace" target="_blank">Amazon.ca</a></div>
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Check out Twitter:</div>
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<a href="https://twitter.com/NUPRIPeaceAgent" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/NUPRIPeaceAgent</a></div>
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Peace,</div>
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Randy</div>
Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-63468326505013047012015-03-13T08:07:00.004-07:002015-03-13T08:07:55.633-07:00A Broader Understanding through Vine3 new Peace Vines involving Eryl Court, Cheshmak Farhoumand-Sims and Danielle David were released today.<br />
So far a total of 13 Peace Vines are now out, floating the internet and hopefully providing thought about what peace is and what it means to anyone and everyone who encounter the definitions.<br />
I has occurred to me that as varied as these Vines can be they are all striving for the same thing just in a different capacity. Understandably, there is only so much that can be said in a 6 second window. This is exactly the point. If you were to take the enormous category of<br />
"peace" and cut it down to one breath what would it look like?<br />
This is what these Vines are intended to do.<br />
You may not agree with some of the definitions, you may agree with all of them or none. The perspective of this project is to create a space where you ask yourself about your definition of peace. Do you define your peace differently than Romeo Dallaire? Do you agree with Eryl Court? If you define it differently then why? How has your experiences shaped what peace to you means? How has it shaped what you feel world peace should look like? Is it done through diplomacy or something else? Is peace only the absence of war or is it something more specific like the ethical treatment of the disenfranchised members of society? Is it economic peace and if so what does it entail? Is it Democracy? Is it Socialism? Is it Communitarianism?<br />
Our Peace Vines are intended to be the beginning of a greater discussion. This can only happen by viewing, sharing and talking about each of these definitions and finding how they fit into your perspective of peace and others understandings of peace.<br />
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<a href="https://vine.co/u/1139616947906945024" target="_blank">NUPRI Vines</a><br />
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Please share these posts. Comment on them. Discuss them with others.<br />
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Peace,<br />
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Randy<br />
<br />Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-87392728922590044482015-03-06T08:10:00.001-08:002015-03-12T07:09:37.955-07:00Spring into PeaceI feel like we've reached the point where Spring finally feels like it is on the way to arriving. With the last week and a half being exceptionally cold it is a welcome relief to finally see some nicer weather. That isn't to say the cold has disappeared and all the snow is melting but it doesn't seem like it is that far off compared to last week.<br />
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Leading into this sense of Spring NUPRI is proud to announce the release of a new book by Dr. Toivo Koivukoski and Dr. David Edward Tabachnick titled The Question of Peace in Modern Political Thought. It is a collection of essays devoted to, as the title suggests, the question of peace. At this point I have only had a chance to skim the collection but there is a lot that has immediately grabbed my attention as far as contributors and titles involved. It also should be noted that along with editing the collection Dr's Koivukoski and Tabachnick are also contributors. They have also gathered together work from other Nipissing faculty such as Herminio Teixeira and David Borman. With some perspectives looking at Hegel, Spinoza, Heidegger, Arendt, Rousseau and Kant (among many others) this is a collection I look forward to getting some time to sit down and immerse myself in.<br />
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More information and for purchasing options you can follow the below link to the publisher's website:<br />
<a href="http://www.wlupress.wlu.ca/Catalog/koivukoski-tabachnick.shtml" target="_blank">The Question of Peace in Modern Political Thought</a><br />
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In addition to the release of a new book NUPRI has released another 3 Vines concerning the definition of peace. Today's Vines include Brandon Salo, Althea-Marie Rivas and Bill Bhaneja. All of these and more can be found on the NUPRI Vine page (as well as on the Twitter page).<br />
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<a href="https://vine.co/v/OE7a5u1pZHO" target="_blank">Brandon Salo Vine</a><br />
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<a href="https://vine.co/v/OEWl2J2eQ01" target="_blank">Althea-Marie Rivas Vine</a><br />
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<a href="https://vine.co/v/OEW9tXgB2nq" target="_blank">Bill Bhaneja Vine</a><br />
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More Vines will be out next week. Until then please share what is on our Vine page as much as possible. The more people these definitions reach the greater a discussion we can have about what peace is and what it means to each of us as individuals.<br />
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Peace,<br />
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Randy<br />
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<br />Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-17036667152916358192015-02-26T09:51:00.000-08:002015-02-26T09:51:01.279-08:003 New AoP Vine's ReleasedI am happy to announce 3 more Vines have been released over on the NUPRI Vine channel (simultaneously posted to Twitter). The new Vines showcase definitions of peace from:<br />
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- Saul Arbess, co-chair of the Department of Peace Initiative (Victoria BC chapter).<br />
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- Marc Kielburger, co-founder of Free the Children with his brother Craig. Marc is a major proponent in the creation of We Day which is based on the belief that every young person has the power to change the world.<br />
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- Peter Singer, a trained health professions who has spent the last decade working to finding creative solutions to many of the world's most pressing health problems. He is a professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto.<br />
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There are plenty more Peace Vines to come in the following weeks.<br />
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Our primary goal with these distilled versions of the "definition of peace" is to generate a discussion on the broader topic of peace. As more Vines are released you will see greater overlap in definitions, in a few cases almost word for word mirroring. This is not done intentionally. My work in trimming videos found on YouTube to fit the 6.5 second Vine format is merely to grab the clearest definition of peace put forward by the interviewee.<br />
The choice of interviewee for the Vine project was partially random and partially based on name recognition.<br />
It also must be noted the Vine project, at this point, does not encompass the entire 'Agents of Peace' archive it is a sampling of what is contained on the YouTube page and on the drives the project is housed on.<br />
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Thoughts and discussion are always welcome regarding the Agents of Peace project and the current Vine spin-off.<br />
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Peace,<br />
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RandyAgents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-192046931330968552015-02-12T08:22:00.001-08:002015-02-12T08:22:19.022-08:00Expanding HorizonsThe Vine format has become incredibly popular in the short time it has been around (2 years). It provides short snippets of storytelling that can be watched, digested and shared incredibly quickly. It is truly amazing how something so short can create an impact and in such a clever and concise way.<br />
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Over the last few months NUPRI has been working to expand its horizons and its presence on the internet and across the study of peace. Vine is seen as an ideal format to help promote and quickly expand the horizons of peace. The limited nature of Vine forces us to synthesize the the clearest definition of peace from the numerous accounts we have in our archives.<br />
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This is the true challenge of Vine. How do you create something that is crystal clear in its message? How do you create something that is, at most, 6.5 seconds long from a definition that might run for over 2 minutes?<br />
In some cases the definition is clear. The subject might have a definitive moment in defining peace and so it is a simply audio grab.<br />
In other cases it is challenging. Sometimes it requires splicing between several different accounts of peace in order to bring the clarity Vine forces you into.<br />
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NUPRI is kicking off its Vine presence with 4 videos from Romeo Dallaire, Megan Campbell, Gordon Teti and Nestar Russell.<br />
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<a href="https://vine.co/u/1139616947906945024" target="_blank">https://vine.co/u/1139616947906945024</a><br />
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This is only the first few of a number that will begin appearing over the coming weeks. The intention is to start by releasing a few at a time with the hope that they will generate discussion on the topic of peace and how it is defined. Over the coming weeks you may notice some similarities in certain definitions. These first few are deliberately designed to provide 4 different aspects of peace but even in their difference there are some similarities.<br />
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Once more are released we are looking at setting up a narrative by collecting several different definitions together to allow for a sustained commentary on them.<br />
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If you are intrigued by the Peace Vines I encourage you to spend some time on the NUPRI YouTube Channel. Track down the original videos to understand the larger and deeper meaning behind each definition. Feel free to respond and provide your own commentary.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLfYrK9caWyOpf7GG5MdKOQ" target="_blank">NUPRI YouTube Channel</a><br />
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Please share the Vines. The more people we reach the greater the discussion we can have.<br />
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Peace,<br />
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RandyAgents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-78986378978043364992014-11-14T08:00:00.000-08:002014-11-14T08:00:06.918-08:00Amnesty International: Write for RightsThis is a heads up, a call if you will, for the upcoming Amnesty International: Write for Rights event taking place on December 10th, 2014.<br />
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Over the last couple of months the Nipissing University Amnesty International Community Action Circle has organized several letter writing campaigns, which I have had the pleasure of attending. They are informal events involving both students and faculty (though anyone else who wishes to join is fully welcome). We spend time writing letters to various governments requesting an end to acts of torture against an individual, alternately we may write letters to someone who has been wrongly imprisoned as a sign of support for their cause.<br />
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December 10th this year is the annual Write for Rights event run by Amnesty International. The NU Community Action Circle has plans to run a large event open to everyone and anyone who is interested in writing to make a difference. There will be several causes to direct your letter(s) to, all paper, envelopes and stamps will be provided.<br />
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One of the reasons for engaging in a letter writing campaign is because of the tangibility of it. Sitting down and taking time to write something that is a physical representation of yourself is a drastically different experience than typing it up on a computer with a keyboard. With the increasing movement of the world into the digital realm letters and letter writing is becoming a obsolete art. Taking the time to put a physical effort into a letter carries more weight both physically and mentally than sending an e-mail.<br />
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There are still a few details to work out with the local Write for Rights event, they will be posted as soon as they are available.<br />
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To be added to the NU Amnesty International mailing list or for more details on this or any future event you can contact the event organizer Dr. Sarah Winters at: sarahw|at|nipissingu|dot|ca. I would include in the subject line "Amnesty International".<br />
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For more information on the larger event and to make a pledge to be involved in the campaign follow this link: http://www.writeathon.ca/<br />
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If you are interested in other ways to become involved with Amnesty International you can check out their Canadian website here: http://www.amnesty.ca/<br />
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Hope you see you December 10th.<br />
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Peace,<br />
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RandyAgents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-31206489146087822062014-10-23T11:14:00.003-07:002014-10-23T11:16:55.727-07:00Look for the helpers<!--StartFragment-->
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During this difficult and uncertain time the Nipissing
University Peace Research Initiative would like to extend its deepest regrets
to all the people and families affected by the events of the last few days.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The words of television icon Mister Rogers are perhaps the
most profound and important at a time like this, “When I was a boy and I would
see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers.
You will always find people who are helping’”<o:p></o:p></div>
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The helpers do not do it for recognition; they do not do it
for praise or money. These men and women help because it is the human thing to
do. The world is full of people who want to help no matter how small or how
great the situation. It is not just the doctors, nurses and first responders
but also the friends, neighbors, shopkeepers and volunteers who are there ready
to jump in when things go wrong.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Peace,<br />
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NUPRI</div>
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Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-63906948235096514222013-05-21T10:03:00.002-07:002013-05-21T10:03:16.095-07:00Focus on Peace EducationA number of our interviewees for the Agents of Peace project have made note of a lack of peace education as an obstacle to building and sustaining a peaceful society. Increasingly universities across Canada and the United States are offering programs related to Peace and Conflict Studies, particularly at the graduate <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">level. It is notable that the investment in Peace education has been dubbed a fear response to international crises - particularly relating to terrorist activities witnessed in the past decade. This explains the focus of many of the already existing programs on violent conflict management. Regardless of the impetus for the increasing focus on peace studies, we choose to celebrate it. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So here is a list of a couple programs across Canada and the United States that focus on Peace studies. (This is certainly not a complete list of all related programs; if there are some missing that you think are notable, please let us know!)</span><br />
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rutgers University - </span><a href="http://www.ncas.rutgers.edu/peace-and-conflict" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - Newark, NJ, USA</span></span></li>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This interdisciplinary programs</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> is based in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and is oriented to the social bases of conflict and cooperation, of war and peace. Social dimensions include topics of migration, economic development, envi</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ronmental degradation, inequality, education, race, ethnicity, religion, and gender.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Royal Roads University - </span><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.royalroads.ca/prospective-students/programs/peace-conflict-management" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BA in Justice Studies, </span></span></a></span><a href="http://www.royalroads.ca/prospective-students/programs/peace-conflict-management" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Master of Arts in Disaster and Emergency Management,</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.royalroads.ca/prospective-students/programs/peace-conflict-management" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"> Conflict Analysis and Management, and</span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.royalroads.ca/prospective-students/programs/peace-conflict-management" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"> Human Security and Peacebuilding</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Victoria, BC, Canada</span></span></li>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The school offers interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate programs that respond to the increasing demand for leadership in humanitarian assistance, social reconstruction and conflict management. Their programs are directed towards working professionals or those looking for a career in peacebuilding.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">University of Waterloo - </span><a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/master-peace-conflict-studies/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Masters of Peace and Conflict Studies</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - Waterloo, ON, Canada</span></span></li>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Recogni</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">zing conflict as an inescapable part of the human experience, and a potential vehicle for positive change at local, national, and international levels, this master’s degree offers a unique approach to peace education in which dynamic, sustainable, and creative solutions to conflict can be imagined, tested, and applied.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">University of Toronto, Munk School of Global Affairs - </span><a href="http://munkschool.utoronto.ca/trudeaucentre/programs.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">BA in Peace, Conflict and Justice Studies</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - Toronto, ON, Canada</span></span></li>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Peace, Conflict and Justice program confronts some of humanity's most complex challenges. It offers an undergraduate B.A. degree that emphasizes the integration of practical and theoretical knowledge, the interdisciplinary nature of peace and conflict studies, and the value of incorporating research into undergraduate education.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">University of Texas at Austin - </span><a href="http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/bdp/programs/crps/requirements" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Certificate in Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - Austin, TX, USA</span></li>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bridging Disciplines Programs allow you to earn an interdisciplinary certificate that integrates area requirements, electives, courses for your major, internships, and research experiences. The Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies BDP offers you the opportunity to both study and promote conflict resolution in interpersonal, institutional, societal, and global contexts. Students in this program will explore the causes and consequences of various forms of violence, as well as the conditions of peace. In addition to gaining a more sophisticated understanding of peace and conflict, students will also learn about and practice skills necessary for the peaceful resolution of conflicts.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">University of Manitoba - </span><a href="http://umanitoba.ca/colleges/st_pauls/mauro_centre/peace_conflict/phdprogram/PACS_index.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - Winnipeg, MA, Canada</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Ph.D. Program in Peace and Conflict Studies provides a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to prepare students to pursue independent research aimed at analyzing and resolving the complex issues facing the global milieu of peace and conflict using a variety of conflict resolution, social justice, and peace studies tools, processes, and methods.</span></span></li>
</ul>
</ul>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">So there you are! There are plenty of programs across Canada and the US that offer programs in peace and conflict studies. Increasingly, programs are also focusing on the idea of Peace Itself, rather than peace as conflict management. This is an exciting time for peace research and education in North America and we are happy to be a part of it!</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">For more information about peace studies or to learn about Conflict Resolution training with our partners at CIIAN you can comment, send us a message on Facebook, email nupri.johanna@gmail.com or nupri.lieann@gmail.com or visit us on youtube at <a href="http://Youtube.com/peacefulagents">Youtube.com/peacefulagents</a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Peace,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">NUPRI</span></div>
Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-38014899549302044532013-05-15T10:38:00.003-07:002013-05-16T08:26:23.508-07:00The geography of hate (This is a response to USB researchers' Twitter "Hate Map", written by NUPRI's research assistant, Johanna Fraser)<br />
<br />
A recent map created using twitter posts as reference points for understanding where and how much hate exists in the United States has recently been brought to light. The map, <a href="http://users.humboldt.edu/mstephens/hate/hate_map.html#" target="_blank">which can be found here</a>, uses hateful speech--homophobic, anti-disability, and racist twitter posts--to show the so-called "geography of hate" in America. Researchers--led by Dr. Monica Stephens at Humboldt State University--use the map to geo-tag the origins or hateful speech on twitter based on negative references to particular keywords--queer, fag, cripple, and dyke being examples.<br />
<br />
The map has, in my opinion, rightly, received a lot of heat for the possibility of presenting a flawed or misleading view of the general views of individuals living in particular regions. The data used to create the map was collected from an aggregation of all Tweets posted between June 2012 and April 2013 that used the "hate" keywords. These tweets were then screened by students to classify them as either positive or negative and only those deemed negative by the screeners were used to create the map.<br />
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On a very basic level this project seems to make an interesting point about hate in America, particularly hate on the internet in America. However, besides the obvious problem with relying on subjective student understandings of what constitutes positivity or negativity in relation to hate speech, the map has a deeper and more harmful impact.<br />
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That is, while it is important to draw attention to hate it is also, as silly and optimistic as it sounds, it is also important--if not more important--to draw attention to love.<br />
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North Americans, I propose, are infatuated with darkness. Numerous papers in the last decade have focused on this aspect of the modern psyche. While it is not necessarily a new phenomenon in the history of humanity--Greek tragedy certainly presents us with a dark image on par with modern art and film--it is becoming more and more acceptable for people, particularly in our neck of the woods, to focus on the darker side of life. In casual conversation about the merits of this or that week's top box-office hit the common thread is that movies are better when they are more realistic; and what makes them more realistic in our eyes? Well, a film can be said to be realistic when it presents us with the darker underside of humanity--that part of us that exists in all of us but which we hide--our darker side. Thinkers have been quick to claim that this explains our generation's obsession with Vampires, Werwolves and Zombies. These mythical creatures present us with a more "realistic", if metaphorical, view of human nature. Inside all of us is a monster. Perhaps that is why we love True Crime television shows, why our favourite characters are the anti-heros, the Dexter Morgans, the Hannibal Lecters, and even more banally, the drug-addicted Jackie Peytons and rude and uncompromising Dr. Houses.<br />
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Works like Dr. Stephens' "hate map" do the same thing that modern art and popular culture do to us. It presents us with a distorted understanding of reality. It shows us where hate is strongest, but ignores where, even within those boundaries of, for example, anti-queer speech, love exists. On first glance, for example, it would appear that the entire Mid to Far Eastern U.S. is rife with racism. When one first clicks on the "racist" option the entire right side of the map lights up a glowing bright red--indicating, according to the creators, the "most hate". A swift double click, though, and you find that within the glowing red glob there are in fact only a few counties and regions that contain within them large numbers of hateful Tweets, double click again and you find that in fact there are only a few towns, some of which are quite sparsely populated that still glow red, the rest of the map left either a light or dark blue indicating "some hate" or--more commonly--not lit up at all.<br />
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My question, then, is whether we might find out that in those non-lit up places, or in the light blue shaded areas, or even in the middle of the most frighteningly and brightly red towns we might find, if we cared to look, the most powerful sentiments of love. We have, as I noted already, a tendency to look on the dark side. We think it is realistic to presume that the United States is hateful, racist and homophobic. That's what we see on the news and in films and in popular culture and that is the image which is presented to us by researchers like the ones as HSU that created this map of the geography of hate. But it is not the truth. The world is not a dark place. It is a place with both light and dark and sometimes, if you know where to look, or if you even just care to open your eyes to it, you will find that the light has a way of outshining the darkness in the same way that when you are in a dark room the light from the hallway finds it way in through the crack at the bottom of the door.<br />
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So, my message of peace for the day is to find the light in even the darkest of places and Tweet, post and talk about that instead. Perhaps, then, researchers can create a map highlighting the Geography of Love.<br />
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Peace,<br />
<br />
Johanna<br />
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<br />Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-37042645619546394662013-05-10T11:12:00.002-07:002013-05-10T11:12:14.575-07:00Shirley Farlinger's 25 easy (and not so easy) ways to promote peace<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Shirley Farliner, a fellow Agent of Peace, to whom I had the absolute privilege of speaking to about peace in late 2011 past away this past winter. Shirley was an absolute fire-cracker of a woman. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">She was for many years a volunteer editor for, and contributor to, Peace Magazine, a member of Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, Science for Peace and Pugwash. And to the very end she was a board member of the International Institute of Concern for Public Health. She ran federally for the Green Party in its early days and later for the</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="caps" style="letter-spacing: 0.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">NDP</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. Shirley was also the first woman president of the Toronto Eglinton Rotary Club and a past president of the University Women’s Club of Toronto.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After our interview in 2011 Shirley sent NUPRI a letter outlining 25 simple ways in which individuals can promote peace in their every-day lives, in their communities, in the nations and in the world. We though that in honour of her we would share these with you. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dear NUPRI,</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Since talking to you about peace I have though of so many more things that can and are being done for peace by individuals and groups.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<ol>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Wear a peace t-shirt or button</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Sign your letters "peace" instead of "yours"</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Visit the UN and take the tour</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Urge your mayor to join "Mayors for Peace" </span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Go on all suitable peace walks</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Protest outside companies producing military goods</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Get your town, province, country declared a "Nuclear Free Zone" (Ontario is!)</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Get rid of war toys and label play areas "war toy free"</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Support campaigns to end nuclear weapons, cluster bombs, etc. </span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Help publicize peace events--hand out leaflets</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Write letter to the editor</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Write a poem, story, or book!</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Join or start a "Raging Grannies" group</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Visit www.peacewomen.org</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">LEarn about Security Council Resolution 1325, passed unanimously in October 2000 mandating the inclusion of women in all peacemaking, war prevention meetings</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Put on my play, "The 1325 Key to Peace", a comedy (don't know where we can find this now)</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Promote peace films</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Vote for like-minded politicians</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Run for office</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Link ecology, climate change and peace (the military causes large CO2 emissions in wars, training and research)</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Maintain your own ideals even in the face of criticism</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Set up a Peace Garden in your school, university or workplace with a bench for negotiating conflicts</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Sign onto the various petitions on the web relating to peace. Number count. </span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Contact refugees at your school or elsewhere and hear their stories</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Never give up. Remember you are doing the most important work in the world</span></span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"> Peace,</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;"> Shirley Farlinger</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">We hope that this list will inspire you to get out there and live your peace. Shirley did until she could do it no more. Now its your turn.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Peace,</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Johanna Fraser</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 20px;">Research Assistant, NUPRI</span></span></div>
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Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-6045840060738468412013-04-19T08:39:00.000-07:002013-04-19T08:39:26.417-07:00My Experience Working For NUPRI and My Definition of Peace <!--StartFragment-->
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> My name is Nick Hathorn, I am in my fourth year at
Nipissing University in the Political Science program and I am currently a
research assistant here at NUPRI. My first formal encounter with NUPRI
happened at the end of the 2011-2012 school year when I was approached to
partake in NUPRI's first ever intimate conversation on the problem of peace
with a friend and fellow student of mine. In February of 2013 I was
approached by NUPRI to take over the position of their research assistant,
which involved combing through the many enlightening interviews that NUPRI has
conducted over the years. While working on these interviews I was
presented with a plethora of thought provoking and thought challenging
definitions of peace and the obstacles of peace. This post will discuss
how my working with NUPRI has changed and supported my definition of peace
through the various interviews they have conducted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> In the intimate
conversation on the problem of peace that I took part in last year I was asked
what does peace mean to me as an individual. At the time I took peace to
mean inner peace. My definition then was that people needed to be first
and foremost at peace with themselves and who they are as an individual.
I believed and still do believe that if people are insecure with who they
are, their ways of life, and their beliefs, it is more difficult for the
insecure person to accept any beliefs or ways of life other than their own as
valid or legitimate (Nick Hathorn and Matthew Welwood, Intimate Conversation on
the Problem of Peace, April 21 2012, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMNjOjVlm5g">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMNjOjVlm5g</a>).
When working on the interviews conducted by NUPRI I discovered that other
individuals shared my idea of inner peace such as Claude Desjardins (Interview
with Claude Desjardins, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-h4y9SME1E&list=PL5B9E20CABF823A88&index=3"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-h4y9SME1E&list=PL5B9E20CABF823A88&index=3</span></a><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Claude believes that this state of inner
peace is achieved by having a balance of the masculine and feminine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that Claude may be on to something
here, there is no doubt that the masculine has long been dominant in society and
could be very well be the cause of many conflicts in our societies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However I stand by my claim that inner peace
is achieved by accepting who you are, how you live your life, and in your sets
of beliefs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that many conflicts
(not all) can be boiled down, in essence to insecurity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When an individual or even
a country is insecure they have a tendency to otherize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An insecure person for example who is not
secure in their religious beliefs may feel threatened by other existing
religious beliefs and as a result will turn a person with those other beliefs
into an other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I mean is that human
beings throughout history have often defined themselves through what they are
not, this is what it is meant by othering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Romans for example identified who they were by comparing themselves
to the other, in the case of the Romans it was the Gauls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every trait that Romans saw as being well
un-roman was attributed to the Gauls, traits like cannibalism, savagery, lack
of law and order, which turned the Gauls into a sort of monster that Romans
could point their fingers at and say we are roman because we are not like
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When people or a state otherizes
a group, they are indirectly claiming that the way in which these people live,
who they are, and what they believe is barbaric and by extension is not a
legitimate way of life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It is this practice of
othering that has led to wide spread racism, cultural intolerance, and
prejudices that have been plaguing human societies for thousands of years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Countless atrocities have been committed on
the claim that a certain group of people were different and other than
ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Crusades for example
where many thousand of individuals killed and died in the name of a peaceful
god, was justified on the basis that Muslims and their different beliefs were
in someway wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So long as people and
states are insecure the practice of othering will always be prevalent in
society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is my belief that unless
this practice of othering comes to and end we will never be able to achieve a
lasting sustainable peace for all peoples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Brennain Lloyd (project coordinator for Northwatch) in her interview
with NUPRI also claims that one of the greatest obstacles to peace is the
practice of othering (Interview with Brennain Lloyd, August 19 2011, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UrZJlwlLHU&list=PL640AB1163E63F093&index=3"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UrZJlwlLHU&list=PL640AB1163E63F093&index=3</span></a><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This insecurity occurs not
just on the level of the individual but also on the level of the state and as a
result can be found within foreign policies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The United Sates foreign policy, especially under the Bush doctrine,
reflected their insecurity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a result
much of America’s foreign policy is governed by what is referred to as
preemptive warfare or preventative warfare (both of which in my opinion are
really just the same thing).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Preemptive
warfare like that of Iraq is meant to repel or defeat a perceived threat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The insecurity of the United States in my
opinion has always stretched back to Pearl Harbor where the American’s were
attacked without warning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the
wealth and military power of the United States, Pearl Harbor has left a
permanent scar on their security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
scar I feel has put the United States in a state of paranoia and insecurity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The whole aim of preemptive warfare in my
opinion is to prevent an attack on the U.S. by striking first and dictating
where and how the war will be fought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This scar was further deepened after the events of 911, which caused the
Bush doctrine and preemptive warfare to become the crux of American foreign
policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The United States due to these
two events led the States to becoming so insecure that they began to use
preemptive warfare as an excuse to attack the Middle Eastern barbarian that was
created out of American insecurity after the events of 911.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even when there was concrete proof that Iraq
did not in fact have WMD’s, America’s insecurity still led them to engage in a
long a bloody war for no reason other than insecurity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shirley Farlinger in her interview with NUPRI
claims that we will never have a peaceful world unless countries like the
United States change their foreign policy (Interview with Shirley Farlinger,
July 20 2011, </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL113A5E8749A29457"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL113A5E8749A29457</span></a><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">After going through the
interviews conducted by NUPRI and being exposed to a plethora of definitions, I
have become more secure in my own definition of peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During these interviews many brilliant
definitions have been given, for example peace with the environment, global
peace, domestic peace, action vs. non-action, and each and every one of them is
a valid definition of peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I have
truly learnt here at my time with NUPRI is how multifaceted peace really
is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My definition is merely one of many
and is perhaps just a small part to the multifaceted puzzle that is peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of these interviews do not discuss peace
in terms of inner peace, instead people like David Tal claim that peace is the
permanent dismembering of militaries and being able to have open communications
with other nations (Interview with David Tal, March 2 2011, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQim-DRi7r4&list=PL814AA21B25FD9721">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQim-DRi7r4&list=PL814AA21B25FD9721</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While David’s definition in terms of military
dismembering is quite different from my own does not make it any less valid due
to peace being multifaceted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The open
communication part of his definition however I feel is directly connected to my
definition of peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Open and honest
communication between different cultures or peoples with different beliefs can
only be achieved when both (or all) parties are secure within themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A person or a state that is insecure in its
beliefs and way of life will be unable to accept opposing viewpoints.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If an insecure person or state cannot accept
opposing beliefs or ways of life, open and honest communication cannot be
achieved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If honest and open
communications cannot be held between people or states then we will never come
to any sort of consensus as to how to coexist peacefully with one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">States like individuals need to
accept other cultures, ideas, lifestyles, and beliefs in order to coexist
peacefully with one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
acceptance comes from being secure with ones own lifestyle and beliefs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once a state or person is secure in their own
beliefs and ways of life, an open and honest dialogue can then be had to
discuss how to overcome the many other obstacles to peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So long as states and individuals remain in a
state of insecurity the practice of othering will always be around and as a
result we will be unable to ever create a peaceful society or even begin a
dialogue about achieving peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inner
peace, accepting who you are and then being able to accept others, is the first
step of many in achieving a true sustainable peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Special thanks to Dr. Koivukoski of Nipissing University’s Political
Science Department for this amazing opportunity to work along side him and aid
him in the Agents of Peace Project that NUPRI has been working on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-74432573113609172382013-01-31T10:50:00.001-08:002013-01-31T10:50:57.070-08:00Reflecting on CIIAN Intro to Conflict Resolution workshopJanuary 18th was a great day for NUPRI, Nipissing and CIIAN; it was the day of our first cosponsored workshop on Conflict Resolution Attended by individuals from the Nipissing faculty, administrative staff, Bachelor of Education program, Arts and Science students from multiple fileds, as well as local community members, it was, to say the least, a fantastic success.<br />
<br />
Evan Hoffman, director of CIIAN (the Canadian International Institute for Applied Negotiation) shared with attendees a myriad of useful tip, tidbits and mechanism for use in dealing with conflict on a personal level, professionally and internationally.<br />
<br />
Those who attended benefited from Dr. Hoffman's first hand experience as a negotiator and researcher in places like Guinea-Bissau and Nairobi, as well as domestically.<br />
<br />
The highly interactive workshop offered attendees the opportunity to participate in group and one on one role playing exercises in order to learn through practice some of the key aspects of negotiation and conflict resolution, whether as a participants in a conflict or as a negotiator, attempting to mediate conflicts.<br />
<br />
I had the pleasure of attending this workshop as a representative of NUPRI and Nipissing University's Political Science program. Some of the greatest lessons I learned through participation in Dr. Hoffman's unique role playing exercises were how easy it is to fall into the habits of defensiveness and aggressiveness, and how important it is to maintain open and effective communication. Putting all the cards on the table, so to speak, makes negotiating difficult subjects far simpler and makes coming to peaceful resolutions more manageable.<br />
<br />
Speaking to other attendees after the workshop revealed that the experience had galvanized in more than a few the drive to pursue further studies, whether through similar workshops or graduate education, in the field of mediation, negotiation and conflict resolution. This is the best possible that NUPRI, Nipissing and CIIAN could have hoped for through offering a workshop such as this one.<br />
<br />
For those who were unable to attend this workshop--never fear. NUPRI's continued partnership with CIIAN is certain to yield more workshops and programs of this sort offered at Nipissing in the future. Until then, getting in contact with NUPRI can offer a unique oppotunity to learn about peace practitioners and the like in Canada, and more precisely, our community. Visit our youtube page to see videos of interviews with agents of peace: <a href="http://youtube.com/peacefulagents">youtube.com/peacefulagents</a><br />
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If you would like to learn about CIIAN and any future workshops they will be offering throughout the province, visit <a href="http://www.ciian.org/" target="_blank">ciian.org. </a><br />
<br />
Until next time,<br />
<br />
Peace,<br />
<br />
Johanna<br />
(Research Assistant, NUPRI)Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-49716897346943780052012-11-23T11:33:00.000-08:002012-11-23T11:35:05.681-08:00Conflict resolution in practiceA recent conference at Nipissing University hosted in partnership with CIAAN instigated a discussion into conflict resolution and the possibility of translating individually-based resolution strategies into the context on international armed conflict.<br />
<br />
When the subject of conflict resolution and prevention is breached it is often in the context of international armed conflict. A most apt example would be the Gaza conflict--a timely topic on everyone's mind at the moment. A conflict that has raged on for many years, culminating in violent acts, murders, and threats, is certainly one definition of conflict itself. On the other hand, conflict can be far less bloody and yet equally dangerous to the individual. Given this, it is pertinent for us to understand what we mean when we speak of conflict. Further, it incites a need for us to understand how conflicts can be effectively managed in order to not cause more harm.<br />
<br />
Conflict, commonly understood, occurs when individuals or parties perceive that, as a consequence of a given disagreement, there is a threat to their needs, interests or concerns. Conflict then, does not necessarily exclusively pertain to state/international bodies. Rather, conflict is an almost inherent part of the human experience. As such, could it be possible that the tools we use to resolve personal conflicts can be used to resolves ones of an international/transnational nature? More succinctly put: can conflict resolution practices utilized in personal conflict situation translate into an international context?<br />
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In the 1970s Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann identified five main styles of dealing with conflict that vary in their degrees of cooperativeness and assertiveness. They argued that people typically have a preferred conflict resolution style. However they also noted that different styles were most useful in different situations. They developed the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) which helps you to identify which style you tend towards when conflict arises.<br />
<br />
Thomas and Kilmann's styles are:<br />
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></strong>
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Competitive:</strong> People who tend towards a competitive style take a firm stand, and know what they want. situations.<br />
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Collaborative:</strong> People tending towards a collaborative style try to meet the needs of all people involved.<br />
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Compromising:</strong> People who prefer a compromising style try to find a solution that will at least partially satisfy everyone.<br />
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Accommodating:</strong> This style indicates a willingness to meet the needs of others at the expense of the person's own needs.<br />
<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Avoiding:</strong> People tending towards this style seek to evade the conflict entirely.<br />
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The idea behind this theory is that once you understand the different styles, you can use them to think about the most appropriate approach (or mixture of approaches) for the situation you're in. You can also think about your own instinctive approach, and learn how you need to change this if necessary.<br />
<br />
Ideally you can adopt an approach that meets the situation, resolves the problem, respects people's legitimate interests, and mends damaged working relationships.<br />
<br />
This i<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">s not the only way to approach conflict resolution, though. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Conflict resolution often must be sensitive to culture</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. In homogenous cultural contexts, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">successful conflict resolution usually involves fostering communication among disputants, problem solving, and drafting agreements that meet their underlying needs. In these situations, conflict resolvers often talk about finding a </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">mutually satisfying solution for everyone involved.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> However, in heterogenous cultural context this approach may be ineffective.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> Indeed, it is still important to find "win-win" solutions but the process of finding that solution is a little more rocky. In these contexts, direct communication between disputants that explicitly addresses the issues at stake in the conflict can be perceived as very rude, making the conflict worse and delaying resolution. Rather, it can make sense to involve religious, tribal or community leaders, communicate difficult truths indirectly through a third party, and make suggestions through narratives and the like. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Now, the idea that such processes can translate into a broader, international context is contentious. Groups like our partners at CIAAN operate under the assumption that mediatory activities and communication can lead to peaceful resolution in the context of violent conflict, but their results have been mixed. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It is a question that then must be left open to experience to answer. Mediation certainly seems helpful, and many scholars and practitioners would agree that it preferable to the alternative. T</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">his is not to suggest that every intractable conflict can be mediated. Many conflicts may be too intense, the parties too entrenched and the behaviour too violent for any mediator to achieve any desirable outcome. In many cases, a conflict only ceases to become intractable when there is a major systemic change. How then can we distinguish between conflicts that can be mediated and those that cannot? When should mediators enter an intractable conflict?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">These questions have been answered in many different ways in the past. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Jacob Bercovitch, a professor of international relations in the Political Science Department at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, offers a very helpful list to understand which conflicts can be mediated and when mediators are appropriate, cited below. But this list is certainly not the only perspective offered on the subject. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We are interested to know what you think on the subject. Is mediation the answer? And, can we use the same tools that we use for personal conflict in the context of international armed conflict? </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sanserif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sanserif; font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">1. Mediators can engage in an intractable conflict only after a thorough and complete analysis of the conflict, issues at stake, context and dynamics, parties' grievances, etc. Intractable conflicts are complex and multi-layered. A mediation initiative is more likely to be successful if it is predicated on knowledge and understanding rather than on good intentions only. A good analysis and a thorough understanding of all aspects of the conflict are important prerequisites for successful mediation in intractable conflicts.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">2. Mediation must take place at an optimal or ripe moment. Early mediation may be premature and late mediation may face too many obstacles. A ripe moment describes a phase in the life cycle of the conflict where the parties feel exhausted and hurt, or where they may not wish to countenance any further losses and are prepared to commit to a settlement, or at least believe one to be possible. In destructive and escalating conflicts, mediation can have any chance of success only if it can capture a particular moment when the adversaries, for a variety of reasons, appear most amenable to change. Timing of intervention in an intractable conflict is an issue of crucial importance, and one that must be properly assessed by any would be mediator.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">3. Given the nature and complexity of intractable conflicts, successful mediation requires a co-ordinated approach between different aspects of intervention. Mediation here requires leverage and resources to nudge the parties toward a settlement, but also acute psychological understanding of the parties' feelings and grievances. The kind of mediation we are talking about here is mediation that is embedded in various disciplinary frameworks, ranging from problem-solving workshops to more traditional diplomatic methods. No one aspect or form of behavior will suffice to turn an intractable conflict around. Diverse and complementary methods, an interdisciplinary focus, and a full range of intervention methods responding to the many concerns and fears of the adversaries, are required to achieve some accommodation between parties in an intractable conflict.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">4. Mediating intractable conflicts require commitment, resources, persistence, and experience. Mediators of high rank or prestige are more likely to possess these attributes and thus are more likely to be successful in intractable conflicts. Such mediators have the capacity to appeal directly to the domestic constituency and build up support for some peace agreement. Influential, high ranking or prestigious mediators have more at stake, can marshal more resources, have better information, and can devote more time to an intractable conflict. Such mediators can work toward achieving some visible signs of progress in the short term, and identify steps that need to be taken to deal with the issues of a longer term peace objectives. Influential mediators can work better within the constraints of intractable conflicts, and more likely to elicit accommodative responses from the adversaries.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">5. Mediation in intractable conflicts is more likely to be successful when there are recognizable leaders within each party, where the leaders are accepted as legitimate by all concerned, and where they have considerable control over their territory. An intractable conflict between parties with competing leaders and constituents (e.g. Northern Ireland) can prove very difficult to deal with. Where there are recognizable leaders, each from the mainstream of their respective community, and where each embodies the aspirations and expectations of their respective community, provides mediators with individuals who may have a serious impact on official diplomacy. Where there are competing leadership factions, state institutions, and governance capacity are all too uncertain, and the chances of successful mediation decline sharply.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">6. Mediation in intractable conflicts is more likely to be effective if there are no sections in each community committed to the continuation of violence. Such parties are usually described as spoilers. Spoilers in such a context have much to lose from a peaceful outcome and much to gain from the continuation of violence. Their presence and activities constitute a major obstacle to any mediation effort.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">7. Where an intractable conflict involves a major power, or major powers have interests (vital or otherwise) at stake, it is very unlikely that mediation will be attempted, and if attempted, very unlikely that it will succeed. The involvement of major powers in any capacity in an intractable conflict poses too serious a constraint on any mediation effort. A major power involvement in an intractable conflict provides a clear indication of the difficulty of initiating any form of mediation.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">taken from: http://beyondintractability.colorado.edu/essay/med_intractable_conflict/?nid=1295</span><br />
<br />Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-7248529525373743902012-10-03T10:26:00.002-07:002012-10-03T10:26:28.896-07:00Virtually Campaigning for PeaceHere at NUPRI we'v just kicked off our Post-Its for peace campaign. Here's the idea: grab a sticky note, write down what comes to mind when you hear the word "Peace", stick it up in an unexpected place, snap a picture, upload it to our Facebook page or onto twitter (@NUPRIPeaceAgent).<br />
<br />
In the world of online networking and virtual fundraising/awareness campaigns it is important to consider the effectiveness of virtual communication in building meaningful, reciprocal relationships. At the same time, however, we begin to question the necessity of meaningful reciprocal relationships when virtual fundraising and awareness campaigns are so seemingly effective in the absence of mutual trust and reciprocity.<br />
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We would like to know what you have to say about virtual relationships. Can we foster peace via the web? Or is any peace that we achieve virtually non-transferable to concrete reality?<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading!<br />
<br />
Peace,<br />
<br />
<br />
the NUPRI teamAgents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-88583269239198578452012-09-28T11:14:00.001-07:002012-09-28T11:14:22.071-07:00Guerilla PeaceBen Hoffman, PhD, the director of CIIAN and author of the Guerilla Peace Handbook writes that peace-building must be pursued with the same vigor and tenacity that guerilla fighters use to achieve their goals. The peace guerilla must "wage peace"at the grassroots level, as well as on a larger scale in order to prevent violence and promote immediate and sustainable peace.<br />
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In October (the 12th, to be precise) Ben Hoffman will be at Nipissing University's Muskoka Campus to discuss what we can do to promote peace at home and abroad in his presentation entitled "From Bracebridge to Bagdad". Leading up to this even we find it pertinent to begin a more in depth discussion of what exactly peace is in our own specific contexts and in the context of the broader spectrum of reality--whether it be peace in the community, peace on a national scale or global peace. And once we know what peace is (or at least have some sort of individualized operational definition), how can we seek to promote or, as Ben Hoffman puts it, wage peace at these different levels.<br />
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So, what would it mean to be a guerilla fighter for peace?<br />
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In the Peace Guerilla Handbook, Hoffman explains why he uses the term "guerilla" to describe wagers of peace. He writes that the peace guerilla differs from the war guerilla in objective only. Their tactics must be similar - the guerilla must operate often in secret ways, using limited resources to achieve their goal through strategic thinking and collaboration. The waging of peace is, similar to guerilla warfare, a coordinated effort of subversive tactics to get at the root of the problem - to seek out those things which are obstructing peace and eliminate them.<br />
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We want to know what you think? Can and should peace be pursued in this manner? If not, why not?<br />
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<br />Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-18155535264766379432012-07-24T09:05:00.000-07:002012-07-24T09:12:05.796-07:00NUPRI at Piebird B&B: Nature and PeaceHuman beings, as far as I can tell, tend to find a great deal of peace in nature. In fact, I would even go so far as to say this little tidbit is indisputable. But why is it that we find so much peace in nature?<br />
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Last week NUPRI went on the road and visited Piebird Bed and Breakfast, owned and operated by a lovely couple, Yan and Sherry. As soon as you step onto their property you are struck by the beauty and the peacefulness of their lifestyle. Yan and Sherry are Vegan animal lovers who grow most of their own food (this includes the food they feed to their B&B guests) and live with and care for a herd of goats, some chickens and some very happy cats. </div>
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We asked them why they think that people feel at peace at Piebird and the answers they gave resonated with beautiful truth. The land, they explained, has a sort of magnetism. Nature is a vibration. We are connected to the earth. The land is happy and it attracts happy people. </div>
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Is this the case? We are certainly from nature, originally. But for the most part, human beings are no longer <i>of </i>nature, so to speak. If we find so much peace in nature, if we are meant to live alongside nature, then why have human beings spent so many centuries and put so much effort into building homes that protect us and shield us from nature? Why do we live in 'concrete jungles'? Why do we cut down trees just to grind them up and glue them back together to form furniture and paper and disposable cups? </div>
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These are the questions that we at NUPRI are ruminating on this week as we reflect upon our time at Piebird with Yan and Sherry and their animal friends. </div>
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Here are some clips from the interview, so you can ruminate on them too:</div>
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<br /></div>Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-52500740854885789772012-06-12T09:38:00.002-07:002012-06-12T09:38:55.918-07:00NUPRI Funnies!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Nipissing Universitiy Peace Research Initiative's first NUPRI Funny - Nupri Fun Facts #1</div>
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Enjoy and share!</div>Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-33968780113416766122012-05-15T10:40:00.001-07:002012-05-15T10:44:36.891-07:00Peace and ConflictAn interview with Metta Spencer, a woman long active in the peace-building field, inspired a discussion about peace and conflict. It is common for us to say that where there is conflict there can not be peace. Of course, we are not talking about armed conflict here -- it does seem to go without saying that armed conflict and peace can not coexist. We are, however, discussing conflict in the sense of disagreement, of argument, of debate.<br />
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For some of our Agents of Peace it is clear that conflict of this kind can not lead to peace; for example, Frankie James, an environmentalist, writer and artist, argues that Canada is in a state of conflict, especially over the oil sands and environmental protection, and that Canada is not, therefore, a peaceful country. However, even here we see Frankie James insisting that despite this conflict, the existence of a third party with representatives from every interest group could mediate these conflicts and indeed lead to a more peaceful society. So, perhaps she does not mean that conflict can not exist if a society is to be peaceful; rather, a society must deal with its conflict in an organized and all-encompassing manner.<br />
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But, to the question at hand, can conflict and peace coexist? Does conflict necessarily make a society less peaceful? Metta Spencer tells us that she can not imagine a society without conflict, and in fact she does not have any desire to. Conflict, for Metta, is essential. Without conflict, life would be boring.<br />
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Indeed, we can all see why this would be true. Perhaps we are geared towards conflict. Perhaps it is in our nature. Dr. Ian McKay tells us, and Ben Hoffman (author of the Guerilla Peace Handbook) agrees, that peace is the natural state of being for humans. So, why do we seek out conflict?<br />
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There is some suspicion that while peace is the natural state of being for humans, it is not the "peace of the graveyard", in Kant's words, that we are seeking. Rather it may be that the peace we seek is one that allows for conflict and disagreement and constant moving forward. Human beings exist in action. As Aristotle explains, the human being lives to act and all virtue is grounded in action. One can not simply study peace and the ways of peace and then find that they have mastered it. Rather, peace is something that must be worked for and towards and that when achieved does not lead to inaction.<br />
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Somewhat in line with Aristotle, Chantal Mouffe, in <u>On the Political,</u> discusses politics as a discipline of action. She is advocates for a society which transforms naturally occurring antagonisms into agonism. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">The “political” for Mouffe necessarily encompasses a struggle whereby contesting groups with opposing interests compete for hegemony.
Rather than being the rational conversation of modern liberalism, politics
involves a battle where a recognizable “we” fight against a likewise
identifiable “they.” Mouffe scorns the pervasive idea in post-Cold War political theory which sees actors existing in a post-political world. The ignorance of antagonism can not lead to peace -- in other words, you can not fix what you think is not broken. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Mouffe insists that, an agonistic
model will actually lead to a more safe and peaceful society, is in part because competing parties are allows an arena in which to discuss their differences. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Mouffe argues for a pluralism that recognizes real
difference, while ensuring that every player is subject to the same set of rules. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Is this type of politics of peace plausible? Can we find peace by recognizing difference, embracing conflict? What would a society like this looks like?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">We would love to know what you have to say. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Peace,</span><br />
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To listen to the interviews with Ian McKay, Metta Spencer and Frankie James, <a href="https://vimeo.com/user5852962" target="_blank">visit us on Vimeo</a>.Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-68710484592656037162012-05-07T10:14:00.001-07:002012-05-07T10:14:41.626-07:00Speaking Truth to PowerI have been thinking a lot about the idea of speaking truth to power. Inspired by an interview I did with Dr. Susan Roll of St. Paul University in Ottawa, I began looking into the actions of individuals in times of war who were willing to stand up for their beliefs in spite of great threat to their lives and livelihoods for doing so.<br />
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A poignant example of someone who spoke truth to power is Sophie Scholl. Susan Roll wrote and presented a paper on this incredible young White Rose member for a conference on Women as Peacemakers last November.<br />
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Sophie Scholl, a 21 year old German woman, along with other member of the White Rose movement in Germany (which included her school friends, her brother and many others), created leaflets outlining the many lies told by the German government regarding its actions overseas, particularly their treatment of Jewish peoples in Poland. In many cases the leaflets began "as you already know...".<br />
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Sophie and her friends were saying something that everyone already knew, but they were willing to say it out loud--something that the majority of German (and indeed Global) society feared doing.<br />
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Sophie was executed for her involvement in the White Rose in February of 1943. Before her death she was cited as saying, "So many people have died for this war. It's about time somebody died against it."<br />
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But Speaking Truth to Power does not necessarily have to be done at risk to one's life. Regardless of the circumstances, it is often very difficult to speak the truth--for fear of resentment, for fear of offending someone, for fear of exclusion. As Susan Roll told me in our interview in November "some truths are too important to be polite about".<br />
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So, can speaking Truth to Power lead to a more peaceful society. Certainly we in Canada see our ability and right to free association, to protest, to vote, as key in maintaining a peaceful society. But what of a country that seen as such an embodiment of peaceful society culture? Is speaking truth to power in the United States seen as peace-producing/maintaining? What about Israel? What about North Korea?<br />
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In fact, even in the time of the Shoah, those who spoke truth to power faced death, or worse (and yes, there are worse things). Sophie died because she stood up for what she believed in. Is this the way to peace?<br />
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Surely there are more subversive ways to attain peace that do not put lives at risk.<br />
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But if lives are already at risk, then what is one life against thousands?<br />
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What do you think? Must we always speak truth to power? Are some truths too important to be polite about?<br />
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And can speaking truth to power lead to peace?Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-3341224821487928232012-04-03T10:23:00.000-07:002012-04-03T10:23:11.641-07:00Poverty and Conflict<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A question comes to mind: does poverty breed conflict? The Global Peace Index shows us that poverty does not actually have a direct impact on the peacefulness of a country. For example, while the United States is often hailed as one of the most rich countries in the world (despite their enormous deficit) they are 82nd on the list. To put this into perspective, Canada is 8th. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So why do we always hear that common tale, that where there is poverty there will be crime? </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We can always look back to Thomas Hobbes who claimed that without the protections of society human beings would revert to the state of nature - doomed to live a nasty, poor short and brutish life. But surely, even this is not evidence enough to support the claim. Hobbes was talking not about poverty breeding conflict; rather, he thought that lack of government produced violence. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thomas Homer Dixon sheds a little more light on this subject. He claimed that environmental scarcity has the potential to cause great conflict. Lack of agricultural land, water scarcity and the depletion of ozone all factored into his argument. He claimed that d</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ecreasing supplies of physically controllable resources might provoke inter-state "simple-scarcity" conflicts or "resource wars". Further, large population movements caused by environment stress might induce "group-identity" conflicts such as ethnic clashes and finally, scarcity could simultaneously increase economic deprivation and disrupt social institutions, causing "deprivation conflicts" reflected in civil strife and insurgency.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some might cite the uprisings in North Africa as an example of poverty and scarcity leading to conflict, but where successful, the goals and the means to attaining that goals were peaceful. So what is the answer? What is the relationship between poverty and conflict.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">What do you think? </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Visit our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/peacefulagents" target="_blank">youtube page</a> for more interviews like this one. </span></span><br />
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</span></span>Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-6738163473018486872012-03-21T16:02:00.001-07:002012-03-21T16:11:06.956-07:00Update on the Zimbabwe 6 trial<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yesterday the 6 Zimbabwean activists (including our friend, Eddson Chakuma) arrested last February for watching videos of the Arab Spring were found guilty of conspiracy to incite public violence (a step down from the original charge of treason). Today they were sentenced to 240 hours of community service, charged a $500 fine and given a 2 year suspended custodial sentence. Basically this means that they are on probation for 24 months (12 months to ensure they complete their community service and 12 to ensure that they do not commit a similar "crime"). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We are lucky that Nyazamba (the prosecutor in this trial) did not get <i>his </i>way. Yesterday in court he claimed that the 6 would have faced death by stoning in ancient times, citing the bible. He said that those who disobeyed Moses face the most sever punishment and said "this case reminds me of that story in the bible whereby those who revolt against authority are swallowed up by the earth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Despite the relatively lenient sentence - no doubt better than old testament stoning or the alternative 10 years in prison - this conviction and sentence are an affront to justice. Amnesty International representatives say that the decision to convict and sentence these activists for simply organizing a video screening is a setback fro freedom and expression in Zimbabwe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The evidence against the Zim 6 throughout the trial as sparse and unreliable and the ongoing nature of the trial in spite of this suggests someone higher up is pulling the strings. This was clearly a political conviction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Their lawyer has filed an appeal for both the conviction and sentence with the provincial court and if the court does not show them favour they plan to take it to the High Court. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For more information about this trial visit <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/21/zimbabwe-six-sentenced-watching-arab-spring-video">Human Rights Watch</a> or our other blogs about Eddson and the trial (to your right).</span><br />
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</span>Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-11969138320922840952012-03-20T10:06:00.000-07:002012-03-20T10:06:45.774-07:00The environment and peaceGoing along with our nature theme I have been thinking about the connection between the environment and peace. This is an extension, I believe, of our relationship between Nature and Peace...and how our nature is shaped by our treatment of animal and plant food sources.<br />
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As noted previously, our our relationship with animals and plants which provide us with food is one of great disconnect. We treat them as though they are objects which in turn shapes us into objects.<br />
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The situation is similar in our relationship with the environment. Much like we treat food producing animals and plants as resources, we tend to treat other natural elements as resources as well. Beyond our raping of the oil sands, and destruction of ancient forests for fuel, we must consider the small, every-day ways in which we treat "nature" (here, referring to the outdoor, natural environment) as a resource for our consumption and similarly as ours to destroy as we please.<br />
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How can we truly be at peace when we constantly define ourselves in opposition to the environment in which we live?<br />
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What do you think? Is our relationship with the environment peaceful? If not, how can we make it more peaceful?<br />
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I won't try to answer this question but rather, as before, tell you my first step. Today, instead of taking the bus home I will walk. And rather than ignoring everything and remaining in my mind for the 70 minute walk I will attempt to deconstruct my surroundings - taking into account those elements which can viewed as destructive, violent or non-peaceful and those which <i>are</i> peaceful in order to better understand the human relationship to the outside world.Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-27367628574616165892012-03-16T10:09:00.000-07:002012-03-16T10:09:08.906-07:00The contents of peacePeace is a loaded word. It seems to encompass a whole spectrum of human (and non-human) needs and desires. These in many cases include: happiness, coexistence, human security, shelter, compromise, clean water, communication, agreement, inner peace, knowledge and many more.<br />
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<object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F39119348&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F39119348&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/nupri/firdaus-kharas-on-peace">Firdaus Kharas on Peace</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/nupri">NUPRI</a><br />
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<object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F39118933&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F39118933&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/nupri/metta-spencer-on-peace">Metta Spencer on Peace</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/nupri">NUPRI</a><br />
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Here, Firdaus Kharas, an award winning film maker, and Metta Spencer, a writer, academic and activist explain what peace does and does not contain. One thing is clear for both Kharas and Spencer: peace is more than the absence of war.<br />
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What do you think? Is the defintion of peace as the absence of war outdated? Is it somehow an anachronism in our intellectually, economically and technologically advanced society? And if it is outdated, then do you agree with these two Agents of Peace as to the contents of peace itself?Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156051800742846244.post-62483081451470691152012-03-08T05:38:00.003-08:002012-03-08T09:12:43.926-08:00Gender equality and the road to peace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">In honour of IWW and IWD:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieaco5OtipTXulcH06w-5y1gmimtWJ_pbE3KTSL69GhVOrWJuKGknK1-ZmiTGPeJGVCEmUu5FSdfUKnamv16d4vwdis6ST1G5CA_kFYWkt1-14BZKehwubpkfiCAF3GJLYQD9-AqbKYw/s1600/blogforiwd.new2_.logo_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieaco5OtipTXulcH06w-5y1gmimtWJ_pbE3KTSL69GhVOrWJuKGknK1-ZmiTGPeJGVCEmUu5FSdfUKnamv16d4vwdis6ST1G5CA_kFYWkt1-14BZKehwubpkfiCAF3GJLYQD9-AqbKYw/s320/blogforiwd.new2_.logo_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In November of 2011 I had the pleasure of visiting Ottawa for the Women as Peacemakers Conference at St. Paul University. While there I interviewed a number of amazing, interesting and vibrant women working for peace. Some were educators, others activists, others artists, therapists, mothers, daughters... the list goes on. The one thing that resonated throughout the whole event was this; women's equality is paramount to attaining the goal of global peace. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I honour of International Women's Day I would like to share with you the definition of peace given by one of our wonderful interviewees - educator, academic and activist, Cheshmak Farhoumand-Sims - and urge you to consider the implications of this definition on the plight for global gender equality. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F39118382&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F39118382&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object> <a href="http://soundcloud.com/nupri/cheshmak-on-peace">Cheshmak on Peace</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/nupri">NUPRI</a><br />
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For more interviews like this one <a href="http://www.youtube.com/peacefulagents">visit us on youtube</a>.<br />
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According to Cheshmak Farhoumand-Sims and most of the other agents of peace we have interviewed, gender equality and social justice are key to achieving peace. Please leave your comments below.<br />
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A side note: our Eating on a Budget with a Conscience Challenge ended today. Be sure to check out the submissions and testimonials!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/1XGV7NFeNTY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Agents of Peacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173787229477111869noreply@blogger.com0