#peacebuilding — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #peacebuilding, aggregated by home.social.
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It’s in the Blood
In 1539, a fugitive former-priest-turned-Anabaptist, in his seminal work “The Foundation,” penned the following words:
“Christ is our fortress; patience our weapon of defense; the Word of God our sword. …Iron and metal spears and swords we leave to those who, alas, regard human blood and swine’s blood of well-nigh equal value.”
So said Menno Simons, principal leader of the Protestant sect which then became known as the Mennonites.
More than 500 years later, his words still resound with a mighty truth.
At the risk of sounding morbid, it has to do with blood.
While Menno specifically refers to the difference between human blood and that of an animal, his larger point is the “value” we place on the blood of another.
My point is quite simple.
Killing will not end through education, conflict resolution, or disarmament, though all of these are important and can help. Killing will end only when there is a fundamental shift in the mind and heart of those who kill.
For how can you kill someone if you believe that their blood is just as valuable as your own?
Let’s call it – for lack of a better term – bloodism.
The other – their humanity, life, blood – is somehow less than I, and therefore, their humanity, life, blood, is not as valuable as my own. It becomes quite easy then to justify killing the other, ie. spilling his/her blood.
The directors of death throughout history from every nation, tribe and religion have understood and disseminated this concept quite well. A person (and those like him/her) is described as having the wrong beliefs, the wrong skin color, the wrong gender, the wrong age, the wrong station in life, the wrong land, the wrong possessions, the wrong clothing, the wrong language —- the wrong blood. These others are not as valued as you are, the leaders of the macabre scream, though they couch their speech in terms such as vigilance, freedom, history, security, and truth.
Then the killing begins.
The Nazis did it to the Jews. Israelis do it to the Palestinians. Hutus did it to the Tutsis. Shiite do it to the Sunni. Palestinians do it to the Israelis. Sunni do it to the Shiite. Muslims do it to the Christians. Christians do it to the Muslims. This country does it to that country. That neighborhood does it to this neighborhood. This race does it to that race. That religion does it to this religion.
And any one of a million other combinations.
STOP!
Do not allow your mind and heart to be filled with bloodism.
We are made in the image of God.
ALL of us.
And that divine DNA resides in the very marrow of our bones and flows through our veins.
It’s in the blood.
July 28, 2014
#anabaptist #AnabaptistTheology #Antiwar #Blood #Bloodism #ChristOurFortress #ChristianEthics #ChristianPacifism #ChristianReflection #Discipleship #DivineDNA #enemy #enemyLove #faithAndViolence #HereAreSomeWordPressTagsThatFitThePostMennoSimons #HumanBlood #humanDignity #imageOfGod #imagoDei #ItSInTheBlood #JesusAndNonviolence #killing #kingdomOfGod #LoveYourEnemy #MennoSimons #mennonite #MennonitePeaceWitness #Nonviolence #Patience #peace #peaceTheology #Peacebuilding #Peacemaking #reflection #religion #SacredLife #SermonReflection #TheFoundation #theologyOfPeace #thoughts #Violence #war #WarAndPeace #WordOfGod #Writing -
It’s in the Blood
In 1539, a fugitive former-priest-turned-Anabaptist, in his seminal work “The Foundation,” penned the following words:
“Christ is our fortress; patience our weapon of defense; the Word of God our sword. …Iron and metal spears and swords we leave to those who, alas, regard human blood and swine’s blood of well-nigh equal value.”
So said Menno Simons, principal leader of the Protestant sect which then became known as the Mennonites.
More than 500 years later, his words still resound with a mighty truth.
At the risk of sounding morbid, it has to do with blood.
While Menno specifically refers to the difference between human blood and that of an animal, his larger point is the “value” we place on the blood of another.
My point is quite simple.
Killing will not end through education, conflict resolution, or disarmament, though all of these are important and can help. Killing will end only when there is a fundamental shift in the mind and heart of those who kill.
For how can you kill someone if you believe that their blood is just as valuable as your own?
Let’s call it – for lack of a better term – bloodism.
The other – their humanity, life, blood – is somehow less than I, and therefore, their humanity, life, blood, is not as valuable as my own. It becomes quite easy then to justify killing the other, ie. spilling his/her blood.
The directors of death throughout history from every nation, tribe and religion have understood and disseminated this concept quite well. A person (and those like him/her) is described as having the wrong beliefs, the wrong skin color, the wrong gender, the wrong age, the wrong station in life, the wrong land, the wrong possessions, the wrong clothing, the wrong language —- the wrong blood. These others are not as valued as you are, the leaders of the macabre scream, though they couch their speech in terms such as vigilance, freedom, history, security, and truth.
Then the killing begins.
The Nazis did it to the Jews. Israelis do it to the Palestinians. Hutus did it to the Tutsis. Shiite do it to the Sunni. Palestinians do it to the Israelis. Sunni do it to the Shiite. Muslims do it to the Christians. Christians do it to the Muslims. This country does it to that country. That neighborhood does it to this neighborhood. This race does it to that race. That religion does it to this religion.
And any one of a million other combinations.
STOP!
Do not allow your mind and heart to be filled with bloodism.
We are made in the image of God.
ALL of us.
And that divine DNA resides in the very marrow of our bones and flows through our veins.
It’s in the blood.
July 28, 2014
#anabaptist #AnabaptistTheology #Antiwar #Blood #Bloodism #ChristOurFortress #ChristianEthics #ChristianPacifism #ChristianReflection #Discipleship #DivineDNA #enemy #enemyLove #faithAndViolence #HereAreSomeWordPressTagsThatFitThePostMennoSimons #HumanBlood #humanDignity #imageOfGod #imagoDei #ItSInTheBlood #JesusAndNonviolence #killing #kingdomOfGod #LoveYourEnemy #MennoSimons #mennonite #MennonitePeaceWitness #Nonviolence #Patience #peace #peaceTheology #Peacebuilding #Peacemaking #reflection #religion #SacredLife #SermonReflection #TheFoundation #theologyOfPeace #thoughts #Violence #war #WarAndPeace #WordOfGod #Writing -
Décroissance et obligation de puissance : pourquoi la transition exige un autre imaginaire politique
La décroissance est incompatible avec l’obligation de puissance. Pour le montrer, il faut nommer le conflit, rendre visible le coût de la puissance, ouvrir un horizon de décision collective et penser l’ONU comme sas de transition, non comme souveraineté de substitution. #Degrowth #Peacebuilding #Commons #UN #Transition La formule mérite d’être prise au sérieux :…
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Décroissance et obligation de puissance : pourquoi la transition exige un autre imaginaire politique
La décroissance est incompatible avec l’obligation de puissance. Pour le montrer, il faut nommer le conflit, rendre visible le coût de la puissance, ouvrir un horizon de décision collective et penser l’ONU comme sas de transition, non comme souveraineté de substitution. #Degrowth #Peacebuilding #Commons #UN #Transition La formule mérite d’être prise au sérieux :…
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Renoncer à la puissance : la condition d’une sortie durable de la crise biocidaire
Une solution durable paraît difficilement compatible avec le maintien des logiques de puissance militarisée, extractive et hégémonique. Le corpus converge ici : la crise est structurelle, la puissance aggrave les risques existentiels, et la rupture doit être politique autant que matérielle. #ClimateJustice #Degrowth #Disarmament #Commons #Peacebuilding L’idée centrale est simple : il…
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Renoncer à la puissance : la condition d’une sortie durable de la crise biocidaire
Une solution durable paraît difficilement compatible avec le maintien des logiques de puissance militarisée, extractive et hégémonique. Le corpus converge ici : la crise est structurelle, la puissance aggrave les risques existentiels, et la rupture doit être politique autant que matérielle. #ClimateJustice #Degrowth #Disarmament #Commons #Peacebuilding L’idée centrale est simple : il…
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Sortir de l’autonomisation : quand une tutelle ne vaut que si elle prépare sa propre disparition
La sortie d’une tutelle ne peut jamais être imposée de l’extérieur : elle appartient aux peuples sous tutelle. Pour qu’elle devienne possible, il faut des conditions de sécurité, d’autonomie matérielle, de réallocation vers les communs et surtout une rupture réelle avec la logique de puissance. #Peacebuilding #Commons #Degrowth #Autonomy #Transition L’étape de…
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Entrer dans l’étape du gel : la condition politique d’une sortie de la logique de guerre
Avant le désarmement, il faut rendre possible le gel : cessez-le-feu, sécurisation, désescalade, neutralisation des moteurs de guerre et réallocation vers les communs. Le vrai enjeu n’est pas seulement d’arrêter les armes, mais de sortir de l’obligation de puissance. #Degrowth #Disarmament #Peacebuilding #Commons #Transition Entrer dans l’étape du gel, c’est déjà rompre avec l’idée…
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Tutelle ONU, désarmement et décroissance : organiser la sortie de la dépendance militaro-capitaliste
La tutelle ONU n’a de sens que comme sas de transition : geler la guerre, alléger l’appareil militaire, réallouer les moyens vers les communs et décroître hors de la logique de puissance. L’enjeu n’est pas de mieux gérer la violence, mais de s’en déconnecter. #Degrowth #Disarmament #Commons #UN #Transition #Peacebuilding Du principe aux étapes Si l’on veut rendre…
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Tutelle ONU, désarmement et décroissance : organiser la sortie de la dépendance militaro-capitaliste
La tutelle ONU n’a de sens que comme sas de transition : geler la guerre, alléger l’appareil militaire, réallouer les moyens vers les communs et décroître hors de la logique de puissance. L’enjeu n’est pas de mieux gérer la violence, mais de s’en déconnecter. #Degrowth #Disarmament #Commons #UN #Transition #Peacebuilding Du principe aux étapes Si l’on veut rendre…
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Builder
For Nelson (May 16, 1944-July 13, 2005)
If I would have my life to live over again,
I would find an old stone wall in disrepair
and I would spend my days seeking the tumbled
down stones hidden in the grass.By day I would rebuild the wall. At night I
would lie in its lee. I would not be afraid
of the snakes and rodents disturbed from
their dark places in the cracks between the
stones where they sleep.And when my life came to an end and the wall
was as yet unfinished, I would not moan. I
would lay myself down against the rocks and
let my body fade away into a place of rest in
the cracks between the stones.March 11, 2005
(Reposted on the anniversary of my dear friend’s passing)
#2005 #acceptanceOfDeath #Aging #belongingToTheEarth #bodyToDust #communionWithTheLand #cracksBetweenStones #deathAndRest #dryStoneWall #Eulogy #grassAndWeeds #hiddenStones #Humility #impermanence #Legacy #lifeReflection #meditativePoem #mementoMori #Mortality #Nature #naturePoetry #oldField #peaceInLabor #Peacebuilding #poem #Poems #POETICAORAREContemplativePoetryPrayers #rebuilding #reflectivePoetry #Rest #ruralLife #rusticLandscape #secondChances #snakesAndRodents #stoneWall #unfinishedWork #Violence #Walls #weatheredStones #Writing -
Builder
For Nelson (May 16, 1944-July 13, 2005)
If I would have my life to live over again,
I would find an old stone wall in disrepair
and I would spend my days seeking the tumbled
down stones hidden in the grass.By day I would rebuild the wall. At night I
would lie in its lee. I would not be afraid
of the snakes and rodents disturbed from
their dark places in the cracks between the
stones where they sleep.And when my life came to an end and the wall
was as yet unfinished, I would not moan. I
would lay myself down against the rocks and
let my body fade away into a place of rest in
the cracks between the stones.March 11, 2005
(Reposted on the anniversary of my dear friend’s passing)
#2005 #acceptanceOfDeath #Aging #belongingToTheEarth #bodyToDust #communionWithTheLand #cracksBetweenStones #deathAndRest #dryStoneWall #Eulogy #grassAndWeeds #hiddenStones #Humility #impermanence #Legacy #lifeReflection #meditativePoem #mementoMori #Mortality #Nature #naturePoetry #oldField #peaceInLabor #Peacebuilding #poem #Poems #POETICAORAREContemplativePoetryPrayers #rebuilding #reflectivePoetry #Rest #ruralLife #rusticLandscape #secondChances #snakesAndRodents #stoneWall #unfinishedWork #Violence #Walls #weatheredStones #Writing -
Storm Surge
In the end,
will you be faithful?
That is question.When the storm has come and gone,
when what you thought was precious has been stripped away,
when you sleep in darkness wondering if the lights will ever come back on,
when your life in the flash of lightning reverts back to the everyday of your sisters and brothers in the warzone,
when your plane to those destinations is grounded by the thunder’s roar?Will you awake to new resolve for justice?
Will you spend less time before the screen and more time present to loved ones and those in need of it?
Will you leave the ground to alight among the troubled?
Will you listen to them?Will the power that comes on be in you,
through you,
glowing out through your eyes,
electrifying,
filling you with a compassion so compelling
you become a wire
among many
channeling
love and peace
to the world?June 2, 2015
#awakeToJustice #BelovedCommunity #channelingLove #ChristianReflection #compassion #compassionInAction #ContemplativeWriting #darknessAndLight #faithfulLiving #groundedPlanes #innerPower #Justice #Listening #loveAndPeace #Peacebuilding #PeaceGrooves #powerOutage #presence #propheticPoetry #renewal #resolve #ScreenTime #serviceToOthers #SocialJustice #soulWork #spiritualElectricity #SpiritualReflection #stormImagery #ThePowerOfLove #thunderstorm #warzone -
Storm Surge
In the end,
will you be faithful?
That is question.When the storm has come and gone,
when what you thought was precious has been stripped away,
when you sleep in darkness wondering if the lights will ever come back on,
when your life in the flash of lightning reverts back to the everyday of your sisters and brothers in the warzone,
when your plane to those destinations is grounded by the thunder’s roar?Will you awake to new resolve for justice?
Will you spend less time before the screen and more time present to loved ones and those in need of it?
Will you leave the ground to alight among the troubled?
Will you listen to them?Will the power that comes on be in you,
through you,
glowing out through your eyes,
electrifying,
filling you with a compassion so compelling
you become a wire
among many
channeling
love and peace
to the world?June 2, 2015
#awakeToJustice #BelovedCommunity #channelingLove #ChristianReflection #compassion #compassionInAction #ContemplativeWriting #darknessAndLight #faithfulLiving #groundedPlanes #innerPower #Justice #Listening #loveAndPeace #Peacebuilding #PeaceGrooves #powerOutage #presence #propheticPoetry #renewal #resolve #ScreenTime #serviceToOthers #SocialJustice #soulWork #spiritualElectricity #SpiritualReflection #stormImagery #ThePowerOfLove #thunderstorm #warzone -
Well, yes ... #peace is when a critical mass of socially empowered people have enough and do not desire more. Not feeling we have enough and desiring more is when we impact the climate >>
Integrating #climate adaptation and #peacebuilding capacity development in climate and conflict-affected communities - ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378026000403
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Well, yes ... #peace is when a critical mass of socially empowered people have enough and do not desire more. Not feeling we have enough and desiring more is when we impact the climate >>
Integrating #climate adaptation and #peacebuilding capacity development in climate and conflict-affected communities - ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378026000403
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The EU remains committed to supporting the #peacebuilding efforts of 🇸🇹São Tomé and Príncipe.
Today's 🇪🇺statement @UNPeacebuilding
➡️https://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/un-new-york/eu-statement-%E2%80%93-un-peacebuilding-commission-s%C3%A3o-tom%C3%A9-and-pr%C3%ADncipe_en
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https://nitter.net/EUatUN/status/2065517186756510112#m -
🆕 New on Digital Peace: “We all have a stake in our technological future”: Mark Coeckelbergh on democracy, AI, and religion
📖 Read now: https://digital-peace.org/mark-coeckelbergh-on-democracy-ai-and-religion/
#DigitalPeace #TechForGood #Peacebuilding -
🆕 New on Digital Peace: After the Noise, AI as a Development Issue
📖 Read now: https://digital-peace.org/after-the-noise-ai-as-a-development-issue/
#DigitalPeace #TechForGood #Peacebuilding -
A Day for the World to Say Sorry
From Australia’s National Sorry Day Toward an International Day of Truth, Repentance, and Repair
A PeaceGrooves Reflection
There are words so overused that they risk becoming weightless. Sorry is one of them. We say it when we bump into someone in a hallway, when we answer an email too late, when we make an insignificant mistake. Yet there are times when sorry is not small at all. There are wounds so deep, so deliberately inflicted, and so long denied that the speaking of sorrow becomes an act of public truth.
Australia’s National Sorry Day, observed each year on May 26, is such a day. It remembers the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children forcibly removed from their families, communities, languages, and cultures under government policies now associated with the Stolen Generations. The date marks the anniversary of the 1997 tabling of the Bringing Them Home report, the landmark national inquiry that gathered testimony from survivors and documented the devastation caused by these removals. The report called not only for recognition of what had happened, but for apology, healing, reparations, family reunion, access to records, and measures ensuring such violations would never recur.
National Sorry Day did not begin as a sentimental holiday….
Read the full essay at PeaceGrooves.
#AboriginalAndTorresStraitIslanderPeoples #AnabaptistPeaceWitness #Australia #buildingAJustFuture #colonialism #globalPeace #Healing #historicalMemory #IndigenousJustice #InternationalSorryDay #NationalSorryDay #Nonviolence #Peacebuilding #PeaceGrooves #publicApology #Reconciliation #rememberingThePast #reparations #Repentance #RestorativeJustice #SocialJustice #StolenGenerations #truthAndReconciliation -
A Day for the World to Say Sorry
From Australia’s National Sorry Day Toward an International Day of Truth, Repentance, and Repair
A PeaceGrooves Reflection
There are words so overused that they risk becoming weightless. Sorry is one of them. We say it when we bump into someone in a hallway, when we answer an email too late, when we make an insignificant mistake. Yet there are times when sorry is not small at all. There are wounds so deep, so deliberately inflicted, and so long denied that the speaking of sorrow becomes an act of public truth.
Australia’s National Sorry Day, observed each year on May 26, is such a day. It remembers the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children forcibly removed from their families, communities, languages, and cultures under government policies now associated with the Stolen Generations. The date marks the anniversary of the 1997 tabling of the Bringing Them Home report, the landmark national inquiry that gathered testimony from survivors and documented the devastation caused by these removals. The report called not only for recognition of what had happened, but for apology, healing, reparations, family reunion, access to records, and measures ensuring such violations would never recur.
National Sorry Day did not begin as a sentimental holiday….
Read the full essay at PeaceGrooves.
#AboriginalAndTorresStraitIslanderPeoples #AnabaptistPeaceWitness #Australia #buildingAJustFuture #colonialism #globalPeace #Healing #historicalMemory #IndigenousJustice #InternationalSorryDay #NationalSorryDay #Nonviolence #Peacebuilding #PeaceGrooves #publicApology #Reconciliation #rememberingThePast #reparations #Repentance #RestorativeJustice #SocialJustice #StolenGenerations #truthAndReconciliation -
🆕 New on Digital Peace: EU AI Act Military Gap: Europe’s Regulatory Dilemma
📖 Read now: https://digital-peace.org/eu-ai-act-military-gap-europes-regulatory-dilemma/
#DigitalPeace #TechForGood #Peacebuilding -
IHRC calls for accountability and peaceful resolution in Israel-Palestine conflict, emphasizing human rights, mutual understanding, and adherence to international principles. Urgent need for good faith actions and comprehensive peace plan. #Diplomacy #Peacebuilding
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IHRC calls for accountability and peaceful resolution in Israel-Palestine conflict, emphasizing human rights, mutual understanding, and adherence to international principles. Urgent need for good faith actions and comprehensive peace plan. #Diplomacy #Peacebuilding
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Some forms of peace are built for the cameras. Others are built to survive the morning after.
This piece reflects on the difference between political spectacle and the harder, slower work of building trust, legitimacy, and durable peace.
https://associationredefine.substack.com/p/peace-for-our-time?r=6l8ed8
#Multilateralism #Peacebuilding #Diplomacy #CivicIntelligence #InternationalRelations #Democracy #Geopolitics #Substack
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Some forms of peace are built for the cameras. Others are built to survive the morning after.
This piece reflects on the difference between political spectacle and the harder, slower work of building trust, legitimacy, and durable peace.
https://associationredefine.substack.com/p/peace-for-our-time?r=6l8ed8
#Multilateralism #Peacebuilding #Diplomacy #CivicIntelligence #InternationalRelations #Democracy #Geopolitics #Substack
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🆕 New on Digital Peace: Palantir’s Manifesto Is A Threat To Democracy
📖 Read now: https://digital-peace.org/palantirs-manifesto-is-a-threat-to-democracy/
#DigitalPeace #TechForGood #Peacebuilding -
🆕 New on Digital Peace: The Cost of Becoming an AI Superpower
📖 Read now: https://digital-peace.org/india-artificial-intelligence-hidden-costs/
#DigitalPeace #TechForGood #Peacebuilding -
Today is International Day of #Multilateralism and #Diplomacy for #Peace!
However, at a time of #ArmedConflicts escalating in #Ukraine, the #MiddleEast and #Sudan, #UN coordinated #peacebuilding #funding from member states has shrunk since 2022.
#PeaceFinance #war #conflict #ArmedConflict #SDGs #SDG16 #GlobalGoals #2030Agenda
Data source:
https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/content/secretary-general-peacebuilding-funding-dashboard -
Today is International Day of #Multilateralism and #Diplomacy for #Peace!
However, at a time of #ArmedConflicts escalating in #Ukraine, the #MiddleEast and #Sudan, #UN coordinated #peacebuilding #funding from member states has shrunk since 2022.
#PeaceFinance #war #conflict #ArmedConflict #SDGs #SDG16 #GlobalGoals #2030Agenda
Data source:
https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/content/secretary-general-peacebuilding-funding-dashboard -
🆕 New on Digital Peace: Is AI Harming Our Children? The Growing Risks for Young People’s Mental Health and Cognitive Development
📖 Read now: https://digital-peace.org/effects-ai-young-people/
#DigitalPeace #TechForGood #Peacebuilding -
The two-week US-Iran ceasefire is already fraying. With fresh strikes in Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz closed again, can this fragile truce survive the week? Dive into the details of the escalating Middle East tensions here.
#USIranCeasefire #MiddleEastTensions #StraitOfHormuz #GlobalSecurity #LebanonStrikes #ForeignPolicy #Geopolitics #PeaceBuilding #InternationalRelations #ConflictResolution
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The two-week US-Iran ceasefire is already fraying. With fresh strikes in Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz closed again, can this fragile truce survive the week? Dive into the details of the escalating Middle East tensions here.
#USIranCeasefire #MiddleEastTensions #StraitOfHormuz #GlobalSecurity #LebanonStrikes #ForeignPolicy #Geopolitics #PeaceBuilding #InternationalRelations #ConflictResolution
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🆕 New on Digital Peace: Bitcoin is an Energy Hog: The Trouble with Cryptocurrency
📖 Read now: https://digital-peace.org/cryptocurrency-energy-impact/
#DigitalPeace #TechForGood #Peacebuilding -
🆕 New on Digital Peace: The Hidden Cost of Conversational AI: The Social Disconnect
📖 Read now: https://digital-peace.org/conversational-ai-social-impact/
#DigitalPeace #TechForGood #Peacebuilding -
🆕 New on Digital Peace: Discourse, Power and Digital Democracy (1)
📖 Read now: https://digital-peace.org/digital-democracy-collective-intelligence/
#DigitalPeace #TechForGood #Peacebuilding -
🆕 New on Digital Peace: AI in Education: Questioning the Algorithmic Super Teacher
📖 Read now: https://digital-peace.org/ai-in-education-questioning-the-algorithmic-super-teacher/
#DigitalPeace #TechForGood #Peacebuilding -
🆕 New on Digital Peace: How Grassroots Opposition is Challenging Data Centers
📖 Read now: https://digital-peace.org/how-grassroots-opposition-data-centers/
#DigitalPeace #TechForGood #Peacebuilding -
In der aktuellen Ausgabe von #RockHard wird der von mir mitherausgegebende Band "Meta/Metal. Open Questions in Metal Studies" lobend besprochen. Für das Buch habe ich einen Essay über " #HeavyMetal as #Peacebuilding" beigesteuert. #MetalStudies #MetalResearch #Metal #Science #CriticalTheory
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🆕 New on Digital Peace: Europe’s Unfinished Response to Information Warfare
📖 Read now: https://digital-peace.org/europe-information-warfare-response/
#DigitalPeace #TechForGood #Peacebuilding