Johan Galtung singing…

Tomorrow evening we will have the immense honour to host Prof. Johan Vincent Galtung. I thought it would nice to hear him sing a song. This song is very special. It is for french people very famous, it is the famous anti-militaristic ode: Le Déserteur, by Boris Vian, 1954. Galtung himself was jailed for six…

Forest Whitaker launches peace network in Torit

27 June 2014 – A non-violence initiative launched by UNESCO special envoy Forest Whitaker in Eastern Equatoria State today signaled hope and a brighter future for all South Sudanese, Governor Louis Lobong Lojore said in the state capital Torit today. Speaking at the launch of the Youth Peacemaker Network, which seeks to harness the potential…

the cost of passage

THERE ARE MORE REFUGEES THAN EVER IN 2014, AND THEIR MODE OF TRANSPORT IS NO MORE SOPHISTICATED THAN IT WAS HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO. ON WORLD REFUGEE DAY, GALLING PHOTOS DOCUMENT WHAT IT TAKES TO STAY ALIVE WITH HUNDREDS OF OTHERS ON A BOAT MEANT FOR ONLY A FEW. By Elizabeth Griffin   They were…

Dialogue vs. Debate – what really is the difference?

During the Nobel Peace Price Forum this year, after His Holiness the Dalai Lama delivered his inspiring speech, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to ask him a question: “How would you describe the world today in just one word?” He replied with the priceless response: “It’s complicated”. Living in this complicated world, people…

lets play a game

   What is your name?  What does your name mean?  Who gave you your name/who named you?  How do you feel when you hear your name?  How do you feel when someone says your name in a bad way?  What is your pet name at home and do you…

do you want to make a change? think before you do….

Each year I watch kids grow and blossom in a safe situation, with caring, well-trained adults who encourage them to share, explore, and, in the words of a colleague, “fall in love with each other”.  However, at the end of the program, we send them back to a world which not only are they unprepared…

23 Reasons Why Everyone Should Live Abroad At Least Once

1. Celebrating your holidays from home with a group of friends who’ve never experienced it (such as having Thanksgiving dinner in France or the Fourth of July in Japan) is way too fun to pass up. 2. Having friends to visit on both sides of the ocean gives you something to always look forward to,…

The Look of Repression and Freedom | Blog Post | Freedom House

The Look of Repression and Freedom | Blog Post | Freedom House.

A giant art installation targets predator drone operators

In military slang, Predator drone operators often refer to kills as ‘bug splats’, since viewing the body through a grainy video image gives the sense of an insect being crushed. To challenge this insensitivity as well as raise awareness of civilian casualties, an artist collective installed a massive portrait facing up in the heavily bombed Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa…

Cooking Up A Tasty Lesson On War And Peace

iStockphoto   It’s often said that the closest interaction many Americans have with other countries’ cultures is through food. That kind of culinary diplomacy is particularly common in Washington, D.C., where immigrants from all over the world have cooked up a diverse food scene. Now one scholar-in-residence at American University is using the city’s food…