The Global Heritage Fund (GHF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of endangered, cultural heritage sites.  In an interview, one of the GHF’s founders, Jeff Morgan, explains the GHF’s mission.  Morgan understands the importance of such places, not only as cultural landmarks, but also as sources of information and subjects of education.  There should be more people like him.

I lived in Bogota, Colombia when I was young. I visited Santa Marta, where I saw extensive poverty with thousands of people living in the dirt outside Baranquilla with little to eat. Little has changed since and it made me realize I should focus on the poorest countries with the largest sites. How do you bring people out of poverty?

At the same time you’ve got amazing heritage sites that are just being decimated. I am especially interested to help those in deep systemic poverty use their own heritage to provide economic and cultural heritage revitalization.

You’ve got the best development opportunity for poor countries sitting right in your hand, and most governments just think, “Oh, heritage, that’s high culture that’s not real human development.”

They miss the long-term potential and they don’t invest… It is always a distant priority, despite the major potential to bring hundreds of millions of dollars to a poor country which will enable development, schools, hospitals and roads.

for more information, you can visit www.globalheritagefund.org

It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it. –Daw Aung Sun Suu Kyi

This woman is amazing.  He name is Aung San Suu Kyi, and she is the daughter of General Aung San–founder of the modern Burmese army and negotiator of Burma’s independence from the United Kingdom.  She drew much of her political inspiration from India’s Mahatma Gandhi, especially with regards to her policy of non-violence.  Her Buddhism also influenced her politics.

Suu Kyi rallied for a new democracy in Burma, as a military junta had taken over.  However, in 1988, she was put under house arrest, being told that they would free her if she left the country and never returned.  She refused to leave, even though her two sons and her husband remained out of the country.

In 1990, the military junta, led by General Than Shwe, held a general election in which the National League for Democracy won with 82% of the votes.  Aung San Suu Kyi, being the party’s prime candidate, would have assumed Prime Ministership, but instead, the junta nullified the election results.  This created a huge international outcry, but Suu Kyi remained in her home, under arrest.  She spent 14 of the next 20 years under house arrest, but during those times she was out of house arrest, she never left the country, knowing that she would not be allowed to re-enter.

She has received many peace prizes, notably the Nobel Peace Prize she received in 1991, for her non-violent and peace-promoting practices.  The Nobel committee stated:

happy st. patrick’s day!

well this is interesting…

After countless attacks on how detrimental an effect the Internet, or rather, social networking, has had on people, it is unexpected to see that the Internet may be a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Endorsed by companies such as Google, MTV Networks, and Microsoft, the Internet for Peace (I4P) was nominated by WIRED Magazine.  Supporters and “ambassadors” range from the Vice President of Paraguay, Luìs Federico Franco Gómez, to Shirin Ebadi, 2003’s Nobel Peace Prize recipient, to designer Giorgio Armani.

In a press release, I4P stated, “the basic idea is that, being available to everyone and conveying messages of sympathy and humanity, the Internet really is a great tool for democracy”.  I’m not gonna lie, I kind of like where they’re going here…

If you support the campaign, here is some info on how to join.  You can also go to the website to see the various media they have related to the subject.  What do you think about the Internet winning the Nobel Peace Prize?  Do you think it’s a good idea?   Comments are appreciated.

below is I4P’s mission, as seen on www.internetforpeace.org:

We have finally realized that the Internet is much more than a network of computers.
It is an endless web of people. Men and women from every corner of the globe are
connecting to one another, thanks to the biggest social interface ever known to humanity.
Digital culture has laid the foundations for a new kind of society.
And this society is advancing dialogue, debate and consensus through communication.
Because democracy has always flourished where there is openness, acceptance,
discussion and participation. And contact with others has always been the most
effective antidote against hatred and conflict.
That’s why the Internet is a tool for peace.
That’s why anyone who uses it can sow the seeds of non-violence.
And that’s why the next Nobel Peace Prize should go to the Net.
A Nobel for each and every one of us.

In the next week or so, we are going to offer Matt Taylor’s book, The Lantern and the Crane on peaceisdisarming.com.

be on the lookout for it soon!

I just got this from a friend of mine from UC-Santa Barbara.  He graduated the year after me in Film Studies.  Looks like what he’s doing is really great and hopefully it will turn out fantastic.  Go to his website for more info.  Or read what he has to say, below.

Friends & Colleagues,

As some of you already know, I am currently traveling around the world filming a documentary. The project itself, entitled “People of Change,” is focused on humanitarian and environmental non-profits and their invaluable work to assist less privileged populations, further benefiting our entire global community. Brazil, Spain, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Tanzania, South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Australia and Easter Island (Chile) are the countries I will be visiting along the way. Indeed, there are several people dedicated to social and environmental causes around the world; yet, their efforts remain mostly anonymous. Such works must be exposed and further serve as an example and inspiration to us all.

“People of Change” is currently being distributed through the Internet (a combination of texts, pictures and videos). This project has been one of my professional goals for the past five years and the public response thus far has been immensely gratifying.

I would greatly appreciate if you could take a moment to check out the website and spread the change.

www.fernandosapelli.com

People of Change - Behind the Scenes #01 from Fernando Sapelli on Vimeo.

The U.S. Marine Corps have figured out an interesting way to get information.  I say interesting for two reasons: it is non-confrontational and involves women from both the US and Afghanistan.

The new strategy used by the Marine Corps involves groups of four to five women accompanying the teams of men going on patrols in the Helmand Province of rural Afghanistan.  Their mission is to attempt to gain the trust of Afghan women, who have more influence than one would expect.  If they win over the women, the Marines hope to gain the trust of the rural population as a whole.

The tactics: engagement.  Because Afghan women are culturally off-limits to outside men, it has been difficult to get information from them, as female Marines have not been able to go on patrols full-time until now.  These “engagement teams” will meet women in their homes (after getting permission from the house’s elder), and begin a conversation with them by asking basic questions, trying to get as much information as they can.

Gaining the trust of the general population by beginning with the women is not the only reason that the engagement teams are there.  Women are also a great source of information, as they exchange news from one village to another when they meet at communal places, like wells.  They can carry intelligence involving the political dynamics of their community, and more importantly, information on insurgents and the Taliban.

Speaking with the women is also a great way to get information on how to improve the communities.  “If the population has told you that their biggest problem is irrigation and your unit does something about it, that’s a huge success,” said Marina Kielpinski, the instructor of the team’s program.  (She also said, “If you have a pony tail, let it go out the back of your helmet so people can see you’re a woman.”)

The strategy is a part of General Stanley A. McChrystal’s campaign for Afghan hearts and minds.  He says that “you cannot gain the trust of the Afghan population if you only talk to half of it”.

I read about this issue in the New York Times.  Their article, by Elisabeth Bumiller, is here.

Send me your comments! What do you think of the new strategy?  Will it work?  What are the risks involved?  Would love to hear your opinion.

In Fall 2005, my Junior year at UC-Santa Barbara, I attended Semester At Sea for my semester abroad. The people I went to school and around the world with for 3 months were some of the most intelligent and broad-minded people I’ve ever come into contact with.  Many Semester At Sea alumni go on to do really amazing things, one of note being Andrew Briggs, who attended the program in the Spring semester, 2002.  An avid traveler in his undergrad years, Briggs travelled to countries such as Bolivia and Kenya.  It was there that his notion of social responsibility grew into something he wanted to incorporate into his life.  In 2006 he resigned from teaching and moved to Uganda to do research, and then founded his organization, Freedom in Creation (FIC) in 2007.

Freedom in Creation artist, Nyeko Ben Ivan from Freedom in Creation on Vimeo.

Freedom in Creation, based in Uganda, has three major missions for war-affected or at-risk communities:  to provide Therapeutic Art Activities, International Education, and Fresh Water/Water & Hygiene Sanitation Training.  These three things empower such communities with the psychosocial care that FIC provides, and ultimately, FIC hopes, lead to peace.

The international education that FIC provides does not only go out to the less fortunate.  FIC also teaches people in the US about what they do and how they help, showcasing the artwork created in their Art Therapy sessions.  They’ve visited numerous Elementary and High Schools across the country, engaging American students in collaborative art projects with their Ugandan counterparts. (See picture below.)  By spreading awareness of the injustices around the world, the FIC, along with the people they have touched, can foster peace in a turbulent, conflict-ridden country.

Below are the dates and locations for future FIC Art Shows.  Comment if you have been to any or if you end up going!  Pictures are more than welcome, too.

MARCH 2010 
February-May 2: FIC exhibit “The Story of Freedom”  at the Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, NC

APRIL 2010
February-May 2: FIC exhibit “The Story of Freedom”  at the Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, NC
April 22: Lecture at Queen’s University, Charlotte, NC

For more information, please visit www.freedomincreation.org

Below are more videos from the FIC website.

Freedom in Creation Child Artist Komokech Richard from Freedom in Creation on Vimeo.

Freedom in Creation kids testimonies from Freedom in Creation on Vimeo.

for more information, go to www.peaceoil.org

more on this later, but i just wanted to post about them.  they provide clean water to underdeveloped countries, and i think that what they are doing is really fantastic.  in fact, i read today in Invisible Children’s blog, that the two charities would be partnering together to do their part in rebuilding Port Au Prince, Haiti.  so awesome.