Peace and ethics Archives

Tech and Peace

26 November, 2013 by sky Leave a Comment

As many as 10 years ago, the term “ICT for Development” or ICT4D came into popular use. It was based on the premise that information and communication [ICT] technologies could be used as a cornerstone in economic and human development.

The efforts have been rangy — from the “One Laptop per Child” project to projects where cellular (phone) technologies would be used to bring health education and services to remote communities. (See also OLPC on Wikipedia.) OLPC is a particularly good example of the ICT4D genre because over the years it has brought a large number of its computers to children, but has not achieved the broad success sought for the project by its founder, Nicholas Negroponte, co-founder of the M.I.T. Media Lab. i’ve written

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Women of Tibet- is an Emmy-Winner

28 May, 2009 by sky 1 Comment

Rosemary Rawcliffe and I met a few years ago. She had been working on her Women of Tibet trilogy for just a couple of years.

In 2005 or 2006 we ran into each other again at the Tibetan settlement in Dharamsala, India, and we were soon talking about ways we might help students learn to use video and film to preserve the stories of the older Tibetan refugees and, for that matter, their own stories! [Read more…]

A National Peace Academy

29 April, 2009 by sky Leave a Comment

In the newsletter of The Dalai Lama Foundation for March, 2009, we announced that the second stage of a process leading to the founding of a U.S. National Peace Academy had been concluded at Case Western Reserve University. At this 3-day event, in a process called appreciative inquiry, a group of over 170 people explored the dimensions of the potential academy, and formed working groups that will bring this dream into reality.

Dot Maver and Mike Abkin visited the Foundation shortly thereafter, and they described, on camera, the Academy and some of the aspects of its founding. We have integrated these interviews into our Many Paths to Peace learning modules at The Dalai Lama Foundation’s online Learning Zone. [View the interviews online. If you’re not registered for the Learning Zone, you can click guest when asked to log in.] [Read more…]

WiserEarth- Finding organizations you can work with

29 April, 2009 by sky 2 Comments

WiserEarth is an online community space connecting the people, nonprofits and businesses working toward a just and sustainable world.

WiserEarth is another example of online technology being used to support the greater good. WiserEarth was inspired by Paul Hawken, Executive Director of the Natural Capital Institute, which sponsors the project. In their words:

What has been missing is a map and directory of our network that includes the resources for communication and cooperation; in essence, an infrastructure through which to coordinate our efforts. WiserEarth…provides a way for us to become better connected and more effective at working together.

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Chatting our way to World Peace

16 March, 2009 by sky Leave a Comment

When I made my first trip to Dharamsala, India, in 2005, to see this hub of activity of the Tibetan exile community and the home of the Dalai Lama, I was hosted by Thubten Samdup. “Sam” is founder of the Canada Tibet Committee and an activist in the exile community. He lives in Montréal. When he’s not traveling, that is.

One of Sam’s recent projects (it’s a couple of years old now) involves a group of Chinese-speaking (reading and writing as well) Tibetans who live in Dharamsala and spend their time chatting with people inside China. About what it is to be a part of the Tibetan culture and how it relates to the rest of China. It’s an actual project with financial supporters and employees, and you can contact me if you’re interested in helping support it. Sam also spends a lot of time in the Tibetan exile settlements in the rest of India, but that’s another story.