Beyond Intractability: A Free Knowledge Base on More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict
Introduction:
Though she doesn't use the world per se, peacebuilder Elise Boulding highlights the important role of women, children, and artists in the peacemaking process.
This rough transcript provides a text alternative to audio. We apologize for occasional errors and unintelligible sections (which are marked with ???).
A Holistic Picture of Peacemakers
Elise Boulding
Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Dartmouth College and Former Secretary General of the International Peace Research Association
A: Always remember that there are
two groups that maybe won't be called upon in ways they could be. One is women,
and the other is children and young people.
I have learned so much over the
years about children and young people's creativity in problem solving, things that they
have picked up in their own ways. I was thrilled a few
months ago, when a colleague of mine conducted a Peace Day in Hartford,
Connecticut. More than half of the people there were school-age children or
college students. Normally, gatherings like that are mostly adults. The whole
thing had been created by a planning committee, in which David Adams of the
Culture of Peace Program at UNESCO had been the advisor for the planner. He had said, "Make sure to get
young people on the planning committee," and that is what made the difference. So always remember that if you don't
have all generations present — and especially remember women and children — in any
situation that you are working for, then important
participants are missing. Also, I would say that the role of music and the arts
is beginning to creep in all over the place. Peace poets, peace musicians, and
so on. These are all reminders of what the human spirit needs. Anything
that has to do with peacemaking needs that. Also, have fun. Give a chance for
play life and recreation. If
we just get totally serious, it gets too heavy.
The point of nonviolence is to build a floor, a strong new floor, beneath which we can no longer sink. A platform which stands a few feet above napalm, torture, exploitation, poison gas, A and H bombs, the works. Give man a decent place to stand. -- Joan Baez
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The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess, Co-Directors and Editors c/o Conflict Information Consortium(Formerly Conflict Research Consortium), University of Colorado Campus Box 580, Boulder, CO 80309 Phone: (303) 492-1635; Fax: (303) 492-2154; Contact