Evelin's 2019 picture documentation

2018 pictures | 2017 pictures | 2016 pictures | 2015 pictures | 2014 pictures | 2013 pictures | 2012 pictures | 2011 pictures | 2010 pictures | 2009 pictures | 2008 pictures | pictures until the end of 2007

This picture-blog is meant to document Evelin's efforts and whereabouts and share them with the HumanDHS network [read more].
See a brief legal note with regard to the permission to upload pictures with people other than Evelin.

The year starts at the bottom of this page and the most recent pictures are at the top.


December 5 – 6, 2019, Sixteenth Workshop on Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict, representing the 34th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies (HumanDHS), titled "Can We Teach Dignity? Becoming Lifelong Apprentices of Dignity from Childhood Throughout All Ages" at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City


Picture of all of us on Day One of the workshop (we forgot to take a group photo on Day Two, so sorry!)

Still photos:
We so much thank Anna Strout for taking such lovely photos!
The still photos come in several web galleries:
• Thursday, December 5, 2019: Please click here to see all of Anna Strout's 217 photos of Day One
• Thursday, December 5, 2019: Please click here to see all of Evelin Lindner's 101 photos of Day One

• Thursday, December 5, 2019: Please click here to see all of Anna Strout's 138 photos of the Public Event

• Friday, December 6, 2019: Please click here to see all of Anna Strout's 277 photos of Day Two
• Friday, December 6, 2019: Please click here to see all of Evelin Lindner's 99 photos of Day Two


Videos:
Thank you so much, dear Gaby Saab, Ana Ljubinkovic, Fatma Tufan, and Claudia Thimm for stepping up and doing such wonderful video-taping!
Please be aware that these are all unedited videos. Please note that many videos are uploaded on YouTube as "unlisted," others as "public." Please let us know whether you would like to change these settings for your videos or leave them as they are now. And please let us know if any links do not work, or if there are mistakes in the text in the comments field! Thank you!

We Always Ask for Permission to Post Photos and Videos (2018)
Linda Hartling Always Invites Dignity Feedback (2018)

Day One:
• 01.1 Linda Hartling Opens with a Song (Chipamong Chowdhury's recording)
• 01.2 Linda Hartling Opens with a Song
• 02 Linda Hartling Welcomes All Participants
• 03 Danielle Coon Welcomes All Participants
• 04 Linda Hartling Introduces the Appreciative Frame of the Workshop
• 05 Phil Brown Invites to Get to Know Each Other
• 06 Bill Baird Introduces Himself
• 07 Gaby Saab and Evelin Lindner Share Their Experiences from the Amazon
• 08 David Yamada Introduces the Dignilogue Format
• Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1: Claudia Cohen (unfortunately, her contribution was not recorded)
• 09 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1: Michael Perlin with Heather Cucolo
• 10 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1: Tony Gaskew
• 11 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1: Avi Shahaf
• 12 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1: Monty Marshall
• 13 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1: Dialogue
• 14 Announcements
• 15 The DignityNowNYC Group Presents Itself
• 16 Rick Slaven, Director of Dignifunding
• 17 Organizing of the Co-Created Dignilogues
• 18 Diane Perlman Explains her Gift
• 19 Evelin Lindner and Michael Britton Offer Guidelines for the "World Dignity University (WDU) Message to the World"
• 20.1 WDU Message: Just Dance!
• 20.2 WDU Message: Just Dance!
• 21 WDU Message: "International Center for Assault Prevention"
• 22 WDU Message: "Violence Prevention"
• 23 WDU Message: "Circle of Courage and Hope"
• 24 WDU Message: "Conceptualizing Dignity"
• 25 Fred Ellis Contributes with His Art
• 26 Announcements for the Public Event
• 27 Michael Britton Announces His Don Klein Lecture
• 28 Closing Comments on Day One

Public Event:
• 29 Fred Ellis Performs with His Students
• 30 Thank You, Dear Fred Ellis and Students!
• 31 Betty Reardon, the Mother of Peace Education, Honors Us with Her Presence
• 32 Gaby Saab and Evelin Lindner: "Can We Teach Dignity? Lessons from the People of the Amazon"
• 33 Contributing Dialogue on Dignity Rights
• 34 Fred Ellis Performs Closing the Public Event

Day Two:
• 35 Carolyn Lin Introduces Herself
• 36 Katherine Stoessel Introduces Herself
• 37 Brian D'Agostino Introduces Himself
• 38 Stephen Post Introduces Himself
• 39 Curt Lamb Introduces Himself
• 40 Keenan Powers Introduces Himself
• 41 Cassandra Langer Introduces Herself
• 42 Irene Javors Introduces Herself
• 43 Angélica Walker Introduces Herself, see also Angélica Walker Offers the Gift of Art
• 44 Announcements by Linda Hartling, Rick Slaven, and Evelin Lindner
• 45 Acknowledging Claudia Thimm's Generous Gifts
• 46 David Yamada Invites Everyone to Join in Singing "What A Wonderful World"
• 47.1 Michael Britton's Don Klein Memorial Lecture (Chipamong Chowdhury's recording)
• 47.2 Michael Britton's Don Klein Memorial Lecture
• 48 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: Janet Gerson
• 49 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: David Yamada
• 50 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: Danielle Coon and Jaspar Leahy
• 51 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: Lucien Lombardo
• 52 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: Chipamong Chowdhury - Bhante Revata
• 53 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: Stephen Post
• Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: Aura Sofía Díaz (unfortunately, her contribution was not recorded)
• 54 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: Dialogue
• 55 Announcements: Preview of the Remaining Schedule
• 56 Fred Ellis Contributes with His Art
• 57 Gay Rosenblum Kumar Introduces Herself
• 58 Vincent Lyn Introduces Himself
• 59 Shahid Khan Introduces Himself
• 60 Claudia Cohens' Family and Friends Introduce Themselves
• 61 Honoring the Careholders
• 62 Beacon of Dignity Award for Anna Strout
• 63 Beacon of Dignity Award for Ana Ljubinkovic
• 64 Beacon of Dignity Award for Fatma Tufan
• 65 Beacon of Dignity Award for Gaby Saab
• 66 Beacon of Dignity Award for Shahid Khan
• 67 Beacon of Dignity Award for Anastasia Sarantos Taskin
• 68 Beacon of Dignity Award for Denyse Kapelus
• 69 A Beacon of Dignity Certificate for Each Participant
• 70 Claudia Cohen Receives the Human Dignity (Half!) Lifetime Commitment Award
• 71 Organizing the Co-Created Dignilogues
• 72 Fred Ellis Is Sharing His News
• 73 WDU Message: "Dignity Exchange"
• 74 WDU Message: "Transcending Political Humiliation"
• 75 WDU Message: "Climate Change and Dignity"
• 76 WDU Message: "Dignity as a Process: Can Dignity Be Taken Away?"
• Honoring Anna Strout (unfortunately, this precious moment was not recorded)
• 77 Honoring Gaby Saab
• 78 Closing the Workshop (Chipamong Chowdhury's recording)
• 79 Closing the Workshop
• 79.1 Closing the Workshop: Adair Linn Nagata
• 79.2 Closing the Workshop: Martha Eddy
• 79.3 Closing the Workshop: We Sing "Some Say Love" for Rick Slaven
• 79.4 Closing the Workshop: Ariel Lublin
• 79.5 Closing the Workshop: Janet Gerson
• 79.6 Closing the Workshop: Shahid Khan
• 79.7 Closing the Workshop: Martha Eddy
• 79.8 Soprano Audrey Hurley Introduces Herself
• 79.9 Soprano Audrey Hurley Sings
• 79.10 Closing the Workshop: Ariel Lublin
• 79.11 Closing the Workshop: Carolyn Lin and Taiji
• 79.12 Closing the Workshop: Linda Hartling and Evelin Lindner
• 79.13 Closing the Workshop: We Sing "What a Wonderful World"

"Messages to the World" for the World Dignity University (WDU) Initiative:
Day One, December 5, 2019
• 20.1 WDU Message: Just Dance!
• 20.2 WDU Message: Just Dance!
• 21 WDU Message: "International Center for Assault Prevention"
• 22 WDU Message: "Violence Prevention"
• 23 WDU Message: "Circle of Courage and Hope"
• 24 WDU Message: "Conceptualizing Dignity"
Day Two, December 6, 2019
• 73 WDU Message: "Dignity Exchange"
• 74 WDU Message: "Transcending Political Humiliation"
• 75 WDU Message: "Climate Change and Dignity"
• 76 WDU Message: "Dignity as a Process: Can Dignity Be Taken Away?"

WDU Guidelines: "Please give a very brief introduction into what the group was about – two or three sentences only (please avoid a recap of your conversations) – and then, please use the majority of the time to explain the 'message to the world' that grew out of your dialogues, please formulate the 'call to action' that your groups wants to communicate to the world!"
Evelin Lindner and Michael Britton Offer Guidelines for the "World Dignity University (WDU) Message to the World" (2019)
Evelin Lindner Explains the Concept of the "Dignivideos - Messages to the World" (2017)
Michael Britton Explains the Concept of the "Dignivideos - Messages to the World" (2017)

Gifts to the Workshop
• 80 Fr. Yesupadam Bobbili Offers the Gift of Art
• 81 Angelica Walker Offers the Gift of Art



Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City!
• Please click on the picture above or here to see more photos.

Linda Hartling & Morton Deutsch & Evelin Lindner
Linda Hartling and Evelin Lindner are the conveners of the annual workshops at Columbia University, together with honorary convener Morton Deutsch. He convened the first workshop in 2003, and he has been its honorary convener until his passing in 2017. We wish to honor his memory by conducting this workshop also in the future.
• The photo with Morton Deutsch was taken in 2014. Please click on the pictures above to see it them larger.

Welcome to all participants in the morning of Day One

Still photos:
• Thursday, December 5, 2019: Please click here to see all of Anna Strout's 217 photos of Day One
• Thursday, December 5, 2019: Please click here to see all of Evelin Lindner's 101 photos of Day One

Videos:
• 01.1 Linda Hartling Opens with a Song (Chipamong Chowdhury's recording)
• 01.2 Linda Hartling Opens with a Song
• 02 Linda Hartling Welcomes All Participants
• 03 Danielle Coon Welcomes All Participants
• 04 Linda Hartling Introduces the Appreciative Frame of the Workshop
• 05 Phil Brown Invites to Get to Know Each Other
• 06 Bill Baird Introduces Himself

• 07 Gaby Saab and Evelin Lindner Briefly Share Their Experiences from the Amazon (more in the evening!)

Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1 on Day One of our workshop

Honorary Convenor: Morton Deutsch
Moderators: David Yamada and Adair Linn Nagata
Seating Manager: Rick Slaven
See here a Summary of Our Dignilogue Format for you to download

Contributors:
•  Claudia Cohen
•  Michael L. Perlin and Heather Cucolo
•  Tony Gaskew
• Avi Shahaf with Nira Shahaf
•  Monty Marshall

Still photos:
• Thursday, December 5, 2019: Please click here to see all of Anna Strout's 217 photos of Day One
• Thursday, December 5, 2019: Please click here to see all of Evelin Lindner's 101 photos of Day One

Videos:
• 08 David Yamada Introduces the Dignilogue Format
• Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1: Claudia Cohen (unfortunately, her contribution was not recorded)
• 09 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1: Michael Perlin with Heather Cucolo
• 10 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1: Tony Gaskew
• 11 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1: Avi Shahaf
• 12 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1: Monty Marshall
• 13 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1: Dialogue

• 14 Announcements
• 15 The DignityNowNYC Group Presents Itself
• 16 Rick Slaven, Director of Dignifunding
• 18 Diane Perlman Explains her Gift

Turning Ideas into Action session on Day One of our workshop, in our Co-Created Dignilogues # 1
facilitated by Phil Brown and Linda Hartling (Video)

Still photos:
• Thursday, December 5, 2019: Please click here to see all of Anna Strout's 217 photos of Day One
• Thursday, December 5, 2019: Please click here to see all of Evelin Lindner's 101 photos of Day One

Videos:
Evelin Lindner and Michael Britton Offer Guidelines for the "World Dignity University (WDU) Message to the World" (2019)
Evelin Lindner Explains the Concept of the "Dignivideos - Messages to the World" (2017)
Michael Britton Explains the Concept of the "Dignivideos - Messages to the World" (2017)

• 17 Organizing of the Co-Created Dignilogues

• 20.1 WDU Message: Just Dance!
• 20.2 WDU Message: Just Dance!
• 21 WDU Message: "International Center for Assault Prevention"
• 22 WDU Message: "Violence Prevention"
• 23 WDU Message: "Circle of Courage and Hope"
• 24 WDU Message: "Conceptualizing Dignity"

• 25 Fred Ellis Contributes with His Art
• 26 Announcements for the Public Event
• 27 Michael Britton Announces His Don Klein Lecture
• 28 Closing Comments on Day One


Public Event on Day One of our workshop, titled, "Can We Teach Dignity? Lessons from the People of the Amazon" Thursday, December 5, 2019

Still photos:
• Thursday, December 5, 2019: Please click here to see all of Anna Strout's 138 photos of the Public Event

Videos:
• 29 Fred Ellis Performs with His Students
• 30 Thank You, Dear Fred Ellis and Students!
• 31 Betty Reardon, the Mother of Peace Education, Honors Us with Her Presence
• 32 Gaby Saab and Evelin Lindner: "Can We Teach Dignity? Lessons from the People of the Amazon"
• 33 Contributing Dialogue on Dignity Rights
• 34 Fred Ellis Performs Closing the Public Event
Scrim
Michael Britton gave the Don Klein Memorial Lecture on Day Two of our workshop.
Michael uses Don's metaphor of a scrim, a transparent stage curtain, where one believes that what one sees is reality only as long as the light shines on it in a certain way: see Don's explanation.

Still photos:
• Friday, December 6, 2019: Please click here to see all of Anna Strout's 277 photos of Day Two
• Friday, December 6, 2019: Please click here to see all of Evelin Lindner's 99 photos of Day Two

Videos:
• 35 Carolyn Lin Introduces Herself
• 36 Katherine Stoessel Introduces Herself
• 37 Brian D'Agostino Introduces Himself
• 38 Stephen Post Introduces Himself
• 39 Curt Lamb Introduces Himself
• 40 Keenan Powers Introduces Himself
• 41 Cassandra Langer Introduces Herself
• 42 Irene Javors Introduces Herself
• 43 Angélica Walker Introduces Herself, see also Angélica Walker Offers the Gift of Art
• 44 Announcements by Linda Hartling, Rick Slaven, and Evelin Lindner
• 45 Acknowledging Claudia Thimm's Generous Gifts
• 46 David Yamada Invites Everyone to Join in Singing "What A Wonderful World"

• 47.1 Michael Britton's Don Klein Memorial Lecture (Chipamong Chowdhury's recording)
• 47.2 Michael Britton's Don Klein Memorial Lecture
Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2 on Day Two of our workshop

Honorary Convenor: Morton Deutsch
Moderators: Michael L. Perlin and Janet Gerson
Seating Manager: Rick Slaven

Contributors:
•  Janet Gerson
•  David C. Yamada
•  Danielle Coon with Jaspar Leahy
• Lucien Lombardo
•  Chipamong Chowdhury (family name), or Bhante Revata (monk's name in the monastic communities)
•  Stephen Post
•  Aura Sofía Díaz

Still photos:
• Friday, December 6, 2019: Please click here to see all of Anna Strout's 277 photos of Day Two
• Friday, December 6, 2019: Please click here to see all of Evelin Lindner's 99 photos of Day Two

Videos:
• 48 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: Janet Gerson
• 49 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: David Yamada
• 50 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: Danielle Coon and Jaspar Leahy
• 51 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: Lucien Lombardo
• 52 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: Chipamong Chowdhury - Bhante Revata
• 53 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: Stephen Post
• Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: Aura Sofía Díaz (unfortunately, her contribution was not recorded)
• 54 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2: Dialogue

• 55 Announcements: Preview of the Remaining Schedule
• 56 Fred Ellis Contributes with His Art
• 57 Gay Rosenblum Kumar Introduces Herself
• 58 Vincent Lyn Introduces Himself
• 59 Shahid Khan Introduces Himself


Recognitions, Remembrances, and Awards,
on Friday, December 6, 2019, Day Two of the 2019 Workshop of Humiliation and Violent Conflict!
Claudia E. Cohen received the Human Dignity Lifetime Commitment Award!

Still photos:
• Friday, December 6, 2019: Please click here to see all of Anna Strout's 277 photos of Day Two
• Friday, December 6, 2019: Please click here to see all of Evelin Lindner's 99 photos of Day Two

Videos:
• 70 Claudia Cohen Receives the Human Dignity (Half!) Lifetime Commitment Award

• 60 Claudia Cohens' Family and Friends Introduced Themselves Earlier

Recognitions, Remembrances, and Awards,
on Friday, December 6, 2019, Day Two of the 2019 Workshop of Humiliation and Violent Conflict!

Still photos:
• Friday, December 6, 2019: Please click here to see all of Anna Strout's 277 photos of Day Two
• Friday, December 6, 2019: Please click here to see all of Evelin Lindner's 99 photos of Day Two

Videos:
• 61 Honoring the Careholders
• 63 Beacon of Dignity Award for Anna Strout
• 63 Beacon of Dignity Award for Ana Ljubinkovic
• 64 Beacon of Dignity Award for Fatma Tufan
• 65 Beacon of Dignity Award for Gaby Saab
• 66 Beacon of Dignity Award for Shahid Khan
• 67 Beacon of Dignity Award for Anastasia Sarantos Taskin
• 68 Beacon of Dignity Award for Denyse Kapelus
• 69 A Beacon of Dignity Certificate for Each Participant
• 72 Honoring Fred Ellis (Video)

Turning Ideas into Action session on Day Two of our workshop, in our new Co-Created Dignilogues # 2

Still photos:
• Friday, December 6, 2019: Please click here to see all of Anna Strout's 277 photos of Day Two
• Friday, December 6, 2019: Please click here to see all of Evelin Lindner's 99 photos of Day Two

Videos:
• 73 WDU Message: "Dignity Exchange"
• 74 WDU Message: "Transcending Political Humiliation"
• 75 WDU Message: "Climate Change and Dignity"
• 76 WDU Message: "Dignity as a Process: Can Dignity Be Taken Away?"
Closing our workshop on Day Two

Still photos:
• Friday, December 6, 2019: Please click here to see all of Anna Strout's 277 photos of Day Two
• Friday, December 6, 2019: Please click here to see all of Evelin Lindner's 99 photos of Day Two

Videos:
• 78 Closing the Workshop (Chipamong Chowdhury's recording)
• 79 Closing the Workshop
• 79.1 Closing the Workshop: Adair Linn Nagata
• 79.2 Closing the Workshop: Martha Eddy
• 79.3 Closing the Workshop: We Sing "Some Say Love" for Rick Slaven
• 79.4 Closing the Workshop: Ariel Lublin
• 79.5 Closing the Workshop: Janet Gerson
• 79.6 Closing the Workshop: Shahid Khan
• 79.7 Closing the Workshop: Martha Eddy
• 79.8 Soprano Audrey Hurley Introduces Herself
• 79.9 Soprano Audrey Hurley Sings
• 79.10 Closing the Workshop: Ariel Lublin
• 79.11 Closing the Workshop: Carolyn Lin and Taiji
• 79.12 Closing the Workshop: Linda Hartling and Evelin Lindner
• 79.13 Closing the Workshop: We Sing "What a Wonderful World"

December 4, 2019, board meeting with our dear Linda, who was leading the meeting as lovingly as always, also with dear Rick Slaven, our Director of Dignifunding! Please see also Good News December 2019.
December 4, 2019: As many know, Evelin lives globally, and whenever she receives a gift in one part of the world, she takes it to another part of the world and look for a worthy recipient for that gift. She calls this the "circle of love gifts." When she has found a worthy recipient, she tries to take a picture of them and send it to the giver of the gift. In that way, not only is her global life a bridge-building endeavour, also the gifts that she carries help build more bridges. It is also a "footprint" of her path through the world.
These photos memorize our circle of love gifts with dear friends at the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR) at Teachers College of Columbia University in New York City!
• Please click on the pictures above or here to see more photos.
Three WONDERFUL annual lunch meetings – always sacred time spent together – with Beth Fisher-Yoshida on December 13, 2019 (left), with Claudia Cohen on November 22, 2019 (middle), and with Danielle Coon on December 4, 2019 (right). Beth Fisher-Yoshida was the Associate Director of the MD-ICCCR for many years, until Claudia Cohen took over, followed by Danielle Coon. Beth is now the Co-Chair of the Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity AC4. Claudia is engaged as a community educator, directing community-based anti-racism educational programming and interracial dialogues in New Jersey.
• Please click on the pictures above or here to see them larger.

Wonderful meetings! From left: How wonderful it was to also be with Kathy Goodman on December 13! And with Hazel Reid on December 11, 2019, during the TC Holiday Party! A loving thank you!
• Please click on the pictures above or here to see them larger.

December 2, 2019: A big THANK YOU so Josh Fisher and The Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4), for their IMPORTANT work! How wonderful it was for me to reconnect today!
Dear Josh, thank you so much for your gift of seeds from the Society for Technology & Action for Rural Advancement (TARA), a social enterprise set up in the year 1985 at New Delhi, India, an "incubation engine" of the Development Alternatives Group which has been providing development solutions in India and elsewhere.
• Please click on the pictures above or here to see them larger.
Our dignifriends at Teachers College deserve our deep gratitude for their unwavering support for our Workshop on Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict all the way back to 2003 when Morton Deutsch convened the first workshop!
I am so glad that I had a chance to reconnect with you on November 25, 2019!
Top row from left: Kofi Asare (media), Corine Best Campbell (facilities), Charlott Macek (MD-ICCCR), and Jennifer Govan (Gottesman Libraries).
Bottom row: And on December 10, 2019, I made my "post-workshop thank-you" round! Thank you so much, dear friends at TC for your wonderful ongoing support! Anna Olivo (catering), Kofi Asare and his colleagues (media), Yeremy Chavez and his colleagues (security), Kevin Waldron (facilities), and Sandra Afflick and Audrey Hurley (registrar).
• November 25: Please click on the pictures above or here to see more photos.
• December 10: Please click on the pictures above or here to see them larger.
How wonderful it was to reconnect with Alba Taveras (left), Liz Hernandez (middle) on November 25, and Joe Levine (right) on November 25 and 26!
Thank you so much, dearest Alba, for so lovingly supporting our dignity work since 2003, when you worked with Andrea Bartoli at SIPA.
Another thank you to you, dear Liz, for your support for our dignity work since you worked with Morton Deutsch at at the ICCCR.
Dear Joe, how can we thank you for being such a loving human being! I am very grateful for your kind invitation on November 26.
• Please click on the pictures above to see the photos larger.

November 30, 2019: What a privilege to know you, dearest Adair, and to celebrate our 15th anniversary in your New York home!
Do you remember our time together in Tokyo, when you were so gracious to invite me to share our dignity work with your students at Rikkyo Univrsity in Tokyo!? 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007! Thank you so much for being such a loving core pillar of our global dignity work! I can't wait to see you write about your rich experiences! Yes, "Ba no Kuuki wo Yomu" (場の空気を読む) means “understanding the situation without words” or “sensing someone’s feelings”, a very important concept for understanding Japanese culture....


November 23, 2019: Thank you so much, dearest Janet and David, for hosting a wonderful DignityNowNYC get-together!
I am deeply grateful!
• Please click on the pictures above or here to them larger.

November 22, 2019
How wonderful it was for me to be back at the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR) at Teachers College of Columbia University in New York City!
This year, we will have the 16th Workshop on Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict – dear Peter, do you remember, you were with us in the very first workshop that dear Morton Deutsch convened on July 7, 2003! Also this year, people from all corners of the world will travel to our event.
Our profound gratitude goes to you, dear Peter Coleman and Danielle Coon, for hosting us also this year! What a great way to honor our dear Mort, and what a gift to all those who wish to bring more dignity into this world.
And what a joy to meet with you for the first time, dear Andy Chan!

A BIG thank you to you all for your amazing support for our shared path toward more dignity in the world!


Dearest Claudia, thank you so much for inviting me again! This was our 10th annual lunch together, imagine, and it is always a sacred time spent together!

• Please click on the pictures above or here to them larger.




A warm thank-you to you, dear Malvern Lumsden, for joining us all the way from Norway in Hamelin from 17th to 19 December 2019!
• Please click on the picture above to see it larger.



It was enriching for me to attend these interesting November 2019 events at Columbia University (from left):

• Global Imagination after Versailles: Alternative Histories of Science in Modern Eastern Europe,
at the East Central European Center at the Harriman Institute, Thursday, November 21, 2019.
With:
Eugenia Lean, Director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute; Associate Professor of Chinese history, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University,
Katherine Lebow, Professor of Modern History, University of Oxford,
Małgorzata Mazurek, Associate Professor of Polish Studies, Department of History, Columbia University,
Joanna Wawrzyniak, Associate Professor at the Institute of Sociology, University of Warsaw.

• Inventing the Future: Zero Carbon Fuels and Climate Restoration,
at the Center on Global Energy Policy and Columbia University’s Earth Institute, November 22, 2019.
A lecture by David Keith, PhD, Professor of Applied Physics at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.

• James Baldwin, William F. Buckley and the Civil Rights Revolution,
at Morningside Heights Campus, Pupin Hall, November 26, 2019.
A lecture by Nicholas Buccola, Professor of Political Science, Linfield College, and author of The Fire is Upon Us: James Baldwin, William F. Buckley, and the Debate Over Race in America.

• Peter B. de Menocal, Director, Center for Climate and Life Dean of Science, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Thomas Alva Edison/ConEd Professor Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences,
Lecture at Horace Mann, Teachers College, December 2, 2019.

• Please click on the pictures above to them larger.




How wonderful to reconnect with Amy Silverman at her Connection Movement event in New York City on November 25, 2019!
How great that the golden grass earrings from the Amazon found their way to her!
• Please click on the picture above to see it larger.


November 2019:
I admire the workers in New York City!
• Please click on the pictures above or here to more photos.


Newfoundland looks like a wonderful painting from above... This is the flight from Amsterdam to New York City on November 18, 2019.
• Please click on the photo above or here to see more pictures.


33rd Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies, in Marabá and Belém, Pará, Brasil
28th August – 7th September 2019
'Cultivating Good Living Amazon: Nurturing Solidarity with Mother Earth'

Hosts, Conveners, and Coordinators:
baron
Manoela Souza and Dan Baron
Directors of the Transformance Institute: Culture & Education
and its AfroRaiz Youth Collective of the 'Rios de Encontro' (Rivers of Meeting) project in the Community University of the Rivers in Marabá, Pará, Brasil
See Rios de Encontro: Towards a Good Living Amazon (Flying River Tour)


Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet
Directeur général at Humana Comunicação & Tradução, and Director at HUMANA COM & TRAD
See Instituto Humana, Belém, Pará, Brasil


Gabriela Rodrigues Saab Riva
Human Rights Law and Environmental Law (USP)
Specialist in the Right to Water as a Human Right, Researcher of HumanDHS, São Paulo, Brasil

Still photos:
We thank Dan Baron, Gaby Saab, and Evelin Lindner for sharing their photos with us!

Day One, 28th August 2019
• Please click here to see the pictures of the visit to the Câmara Municipal de Marabá, Prefeitura de Marabá, the City Hall of Marabá or the Marabá City Council
• Please click here to see the pictures of the end of the day in a restaurant overlooking the river Tocantins in Marabá

Day Two, 28th August 2019
• Please click here to see the welcome from the AfroRaiz Collective of young artists
• Please click here to see the Escola Irmã Theodora, a public school in Marabá
• Please click here to see the dialogue session at the Federal University of Southern and Southeastern Pará (UNIFESSPA) with students and teachers of the Law of the Land

Day Three, 30th August 2019
• Please click here to see photos of the interview in Radio Correio 92.1 with Dan Baron, Evelin Lindner, and Gabriela Saab
• Please click here to see evening photos at the House of Rivers in Cabelo Seco
• Please click here to see photos of the Circle of Love Gifts (see also a little video)

Day Four, 31st August 2019
• Please click here to see all 38 photos of our journey to the fishing community on the island Praia Alta in the Tocantins river
• Please click here to see all 90 photos in Vila Praia Alta
• Please click here to see all 33 photos in Tauiry

Day Five, 1st September 2019
• Please click here to see all 39 photos of our journey to the Assentamento (Settlement) de Nova Ipixuna
• Please click here to see all 18 photos of the recording session
• Please click here to see all 29 photos of our time in Nova Ipixuna
• Please click here to see all 42 photos of our way back from Nova Ipixuna to Marabá

Day Six, 2nd September 2019
• Please click here to see all 14 photos of this day in Marabá

Day Seven, 3rd September 2019
• Please click here to see all 57 photos of the flight from Marabá to Belém
• Please click here to see all 8 photos of the little shop in the airport of Belém that gave a good overview over the riches of the Amazon
• Please click here to see all 10 photos of our first meeting in the Belém part of our conference

Day Eight, 4th September 2019
• Please click here to see all 20 photos of our visit to the Federal University of Pará (UFPA)
• Please click here to see all 95 photos of our journey to the Instituto Humana on Mosqueiro Island
• Please click here to see all 7 photos of the organic farm that Sandro brought us to
• Please click here to see all 29 photos of our conference at the Instituto Humana of Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet, see Evelin Lindner's contribution 'Encontre e conecte! Please Meet and Connect!', and Kamolrat Intaratat's contribution (recorded on 7th September)
• Please click here to see all 12 photos offered to us by Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet to introduce his Instituto Humana to us, see the wonderful film that Sandro created about his work

Day Nine, 5th September 2019
• Please click here to see all 8 photos of the Recanto da Preguiça / Lazy Sloth Corner
• Please click here to see all 4 photos of the way to Belém
• Please click here to see all 3 photos of the breakfast of Belém
• Please click here to see all 13 photos of the streets in Belém
• Please click here to see all 25 photos of the Museu Goeldi
• Please click here to see all 12 photos of the Kayapo exhibition
• Please click here to see all photos of the interview with Marlucia Martins
• Please click here to see all 13 photos of the Resto do Parque
• Please click here to see all 17 photos of the way to the Palaco Capanagem
• Please click here to see all 13 photos of the event with Deputado Dirceu Ten Caten
• Please click here to see all 5 photos of the centre of Belém

Day Ten, 6th September 2019
• Please click here to see all 93 photos of the boat journey from Belém to the island of Combú
• Please click here to see all 21 photos of the chocolate atelier on the island of Combú
• Please click here to see all 38 photos of the Saldosa Maloca restaurant on the island of Combú
• Please click here to see all 10 photos of the 'Street River' graffiti project on the island of Combú

Post-conference
• Please click here to see all 18 photos of the Praça da República in Belém on 8th September
• Please click here to see all 42 photos of the Ver-o-peso market in Belém on 9th September
• Please click here to see all 10 photos of the ubiquitous 'cable salad' also in Belém (3rd – 9th September 2019)
• Please click here to see all 38 photos of the flight from Belém to São Paulo on 10th Septembe

Videos:
Thank you so much, dear Gaby Saab, Evelin Lindner, and many others, for creating many important video-recordings!

Pre-conference preparations:
01 Rios de Encontro: Towards a Good Living Amazon (Flying River Tour)
02 Gaby Saab Welcomes Everyone to the Dignity Conference WhatsApp Group, 23rd August 2019
03 Michael Boyer Introduces the Dignity Greeting, 23rd August 2019

Day One, 28th August 2019
04 The members of the Rivers of Encounter Project were welcomed by the City Hall of Marabá, Pará, Amazon, Brasil. This is the relevant section edited out by Evelin Lindner from the video of the entire session that was recorded by the City Hall and posted on their Facebook page
05 Evelin Lindner's Message to the City Council of Marabá in the Amazonian State of Pará, Brasil (recorded on her own camera)

Day Two, 29th August 2019
06 Johan Galtung and Antonio Carlos da Silva Rosa on Skype

Day Three, 30th August 2019
07.0 Interview with Dan Baron, Gaby Saab, and Evelin Lindner in Radio Correio 92.1 in Marabá
07 Circle of Love Gifts

Day Four, 31st August 2019
08 The Babaçu Palm and Its Beetle Larva Gongo in Vila Praia Alta on Ilha do Praia Alta in the river Tocantins near Marabá in the Amazonian State of Pará, Brasil
09 Tapioca in Vila Praia Alta
10 Urucum in Vila Praia Alta
10+42 Urucum Vila Praia Alta + Ver-o-peso
11 The World Dignity University Initiative in Vila Praia Alta
12 Manoel de Deus Gomes da Silva in Vila Praia Alta
13 Leaving Praia Alta island by boat and at the end of the day back to Marabá by car
14 Rafael Cabral in Tauiry
15 Cristiane (Cris) Vieira da Cunha in Tauiry
16 Ronaldo Macena do Tauiry in Tauiry

Day Five, 1st September 2019
17 The cross for Claudio and Maria
18 Evandra Vilacoert on fire containment
19 How Evandra Vilacoerts fire brigade contained fires
20 Michelliny Bentes on sustainable technologies to traditional communities
21 Daniel Mangas on sustainable technologies to traditional communities
22 Daniel Santiago Pereira and Anderson Schwamke on sustainable honey production
23 Chicken life in the Amazon
23.1 Claudelice dos Santos and Her Forest School Project

Day Eight, 4th September 2019
24 Instituto Humana, film by Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet
25 'Encontre e conecte! Please Meet and Connect!' Evelin Lindner's Contribution
26/40 Kamolrat Intaratat's contribution (recorded on 7th September)

Day Nine, 5th September 2019
27 The Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi in Belém
28 The Kayapo people presented in the Museu Goeldi
29 The Amazon Day conference at the Museu Goeldi: Ima Celia Guimaraes Vieira
30 The Amazon Day conference at the Museu Goeldi: Marlucia Bonifácio Martins
31 The Amazon Day conference at the Museu Goeldi: Denny Moore
32 The Amazon Day conference at the Museu Goeldi: Closing dialogues
33 Interview with Marlucia Martins on the Amazon Day 2019
34 The Amazon Day at the Parliament of Pará State in Belém: Deputado Dirceu Ten Caten invites Evelin Lindner

Day Ten, 6th September 2019
35 On the way to Combú island
36 Flavia of the Saldosa Maloca restaurant on Combú island
37 Aline Voos on Combú island explaining Andiroba
38 Evelin Lindner on Combú island
39 Vitor Nascimento explains the 'Street River' graffiti project

Day Eleven, 7th September 2019
26/40 Kamolrat Intaratat and her Research Center of Communication and Development Knowledge Management

Post-conference
41 Praça da República in Belém, 8th September 2019
42 Mercado Ver-o-peso in Belém, 9th September 2019

43 A summary of Evelin Lindner's impressions during the conference, 10th October 2019

44 O canto de jovens ribeirinhos em defesa do Pedral do Lourenção (Pará), 16 de outubro de 2019


Photo gallery


The Amazonian State of Pará on the left side, with Marabá and Belém on the right side, in relation to Recife and Brasilia

Our 33rd Annual HumanDHS Dignity Conference in Brasil was unlike any other we had before! The conference took place at the time when the Amazon had just been set on fire (starting for full on 10th August 2019) and everyone was in a state of anxiety, alarm, and emergency. Because of the environmental emergency, the conference didn't take place in a fixed location. Instead it unfolded as a 'caravan conference', where the conveners went to the participants to engage in dignity dialogues. This mobile methodology allowed our efforts to be responsive to the conditions on the ground, sometimes changing course from minute to minute. Thus it became a fluid conference, like a river that always finds its way. We began our conference on 28th August 2019 in Marabá, the 'gate to the industrialisation of the Amazon', and we concluded it in Belém, a place of immense cultural diversity, visionary history, and indigenous roots, on 7th September.
Not only the forest had been set on fire, also important institutions were being set 'on fire' while we had our conference, albeit in a different way, such as the federal university of the city of Marabá that was scheduled to close down due to funding being cut. In this dire situation, we attempted to be as supportive as possible and carry out a caravan of dialogues in as dignified and dignifying ways as possible.
We had the great privilege of learning from the true experts of sustainable dignifying life, namely, those who know how to live with the rainforest, rather than against it — we admired the knowledge of a fishing community and a gardening community. We also had the privilege of speaking at the City Council of Marabá, we went to schools and the university (as it was still open for the last days). In Belém, we were honoured by being invited into the Legislative Assembly of the State of Pará on World Amazon Day on 5th September.
The main local conveners in Marabá were Dan Baron and Manoela Souza, who reside in Marabá, and Gabriela Saab from São Paulo, who was also the host of the WhatsApp group for the conference. In Belém, our local convener was Sandro Ruggeri. Evelin Lindner came from outside of Brasil.
This region of the Brazilian Amazon has the greatest biodiversity and concentration of iron ore and drinking water in the world. But it also has the world’s highest statistic for murdered activists and contains the most violent cities (genocide of black youth and extreme abuse of women), with the worst high school education in Brasil (Dan Baron, 10th January 2018).

27th August 2019
Dignity is being (mis-)associated with the destruction of the Rainforest:
In a meeting with nine Amazon state governors called by Jair Bolsonaro on 27th August 2019 to discuss the region’s wildfires, the president pushed the states to back his policies which seek to bring major mining and agribusiness operations onto indigenous lands (doing so would be a direct violation of the 1988 Constitution).
The governor of the Amazonian state of Mato Grosso, Mauro Mendes, speaking on behalf of agribusiness expansion, said that they will have a seminar on mechanised agriculture on indigenous lands next October, and that already 24 indigenous ethnic groups (of altogether 43 groups in his state) are interested. His explanation:
'That is because they want to have their dignity through their work, by exploring their lands'.

Backing Bolsonaro were the governors of Acre, Roraima, Tocantins, Rondônia, Amazonas, Mato Grosso and Amapá states. Only the Pará and Maranhão governors opposed opening more forest areas to development and favoured upholding current indigenous land use rights.
These were opinions voiced by Jair Bolsonary:
• About the Amazon Fund the president said: 'Much of the money comes from abroad, and it comes at a price: demarcation of indigenous lands, conservation areas, quilombolas, national parks. That leads to a place we already know, Brasil’s insolvency. We will have to face that issue somehow'. He offered no evidence that receipt of Amazon Fund moneys has ever been linked to any kind of mandatory land conservation.
• Jair Bolsonaro sees NGO's as 'an invasive international influence and threat to Brazilian sovereignty'.
• The president spoke about the obstacles to agribusiness in the Amazon: 'With all the quilombolas [residents of settlements first established by escaped slaves in Brasil], the reserves, and with environmental protection, our agribusiness will be made impossible. And if agribusiness is over, our economy is over'.
See 'State Governors Support Bolsonaro’s Amazon Mining, Agribusiness Plans', by Jenny Gonzales, Mongabay, 9th September 2019. Mongabay is a U.S.-based non-profit conservation and environmental science news platform

Day One, 28th August 2019
On the morning of Wednesday, 28th August 2019, at the opening of the ordinary session of the Câmara Municipal de Marabá, the City Hall of Marabá, the Marabá City Council welcomed the members of Mano’s and Dan’s Rivers of Encounter Project, as they were scheduled to leave for a tour of four European countries: Austria, Poland, Germany, and Belgium, on 2nd September. Six young people from the Cabelo Seco Community were on their way to defend the Amazon in Europe, showing the strength of culture and what they are doing to help preserve it.
The Câmara Municipal de Marabá, Prefeitura de Marabá, the City Hall of Marabá or the Marabá City Council, is made up of twenty-one seats since 2013 (until 2012 there were thirteen), when, by determination of the Superior Electoral Court, the municipalities got a number of councilors equivalent to their population. The old City Hall building was called Palacete Augusto Dias. The current City Hall building was opened on 23rd December 2010.


These are pictures of the Câmara Municipal de Marabá taken from the internet.


• Please click here to see more pictures of the event. On the photo on the left: Manoela Souza is speaking to the City Hall. On the photo of the right: One of the speakers in the general event, Pedrinho Correa Lima (Abaetetuba, 28.10.1964–) Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro (PTB), one of the councilmen.
See also the article in the local newspaper Correio: 'Jovens vão à Europa defender a Amazônia' (Pdf)
See the link on the maraba.pa.leg.br website: The Camera receives project rivers of meeting


• Please see the video of the relevant section edited out by Evelin Lindner from the video of the entire session (cell phone version) that was recorded by the City Hall and posted on their Facebook page. See also Rios de Encontro: Towards a Good Living Amazon (Flying River Tour)


•  Please see the video of Evelin Lindner's message recorded on her own camera. Dan Baron translated from English to Portuguese.


This is the AfroRaiz Collective (African Roots Collective) that left for a tour of Europe (Austria, Poland, Germany, and Belgium) on 2nd September 2019. On the picture on the left, they thank the participants of the national mental health day on 18th May 2019. On the right side, they celebrate their annual kite festival in their community Cabelo Seco (dry hair) in August 2019. They do so in the midst of the destruction of the Amazon.
• Please click on the pictures to see them larger. We thank Dan Baron for sharing them with us.


This was the situation in the Amazon, seen from Europe in July 2019: 'Brasil Continues to Destroy the Rainforest – But Resistance Is Growing' (Pdf) is an article that was published in Germany in July 2019, explaining how the forest is cut and telling the story of a small indigenous group who vows to resist. It does not mention European drivers of this destruction, such as the EU-Mercosur agreement. The article misleads the European reader to believe that the problem can be solved within Brasil. The European reader remains unaware that European interests work as an amplifier of the problem. Indeed, the problem did not get smaller after July, on the contrary, it got much worse, as fires were started everywhere on 10th August.


We ended the day at a restaurant on the banks of the river Tocantins.
From left: Gabriela Saab, Dan Baron, Manoela Soua, Evelin Lindner.
• Please click here to see more photos.

Day Two, 29th August 2019

House of Rivers, Cabelo Seco, Marabá, Pará


•  Welcome from the AfroRaiz Collective of young artists, cultural and pedagogical leaders from Cabelo Seco


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all photos of this morning session

•  Welcome from the hosts of this Dignity Caravan, Dan Baron and Manoela Souza, Directors of the Transformance Institute Culture & Education and its Community University of the Rivers  

• 
Welcome from the conference convener, Gabriela Rodrigues Saab Riva, Human Rights Law and Environmental Law (USP), Specialist in the Right to Water as a Human Right, Researcher of HumanDHS  

• 
Introduction to the Amazonian frame, Claudelice Santos, Sustainable Extractivist and Law of the Land undergraduate (University of South and South East Pará), sister of assassinated forest protector Zé Cláudio dos Santos  

• 
Introduction to the international frame: Who We Are: Our Global Dignity Family, Evelin Lindner, founder-president of the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies (HumanDHS) network and World Dignity University Initiative  

• 
12.30 Skype meeting with Johan Galtung and Antonio Carlos da Silva Rosa on the emergency in the Amazon


• Please click on the photo above or here to see it larger
• See also a little video sequence selected from the hour long conversation

Johan Galtung, born 1930, is the principal founder of the discipline of peace and conflict studies. See also 'Johan Galtung, a Pioneer: Conceptualizing Peace Journalism', by Antonio C. S. Rosa, M.A., Editor - TRANSCEND Media Service Peace Journalism, 22nd October 2018.
Antonio Carlos da Silva Rosa, born 1946, is a pioneer in Peace Journalism. He is the founder-editor of the pioneering Peace Journalism website, TRANSCEND Media Service-TMS (from 2008), an assistant to Prof. Johan Galtung, Secretary of the International Board of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment.

• Session at the Escola Irmã Theodora, a public school in Marabá


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all photos of this afternoon session

Please see this letter from a group of young pupils from that school who had organised themselves to look into the destruction of the Amazon:

Carta da escola Irmã Theodora:
•  Portuguese original
•  English translation
•  German translation
•  French translation
•  Norwegian translation
(translations by Evelin Lindner)

• 'How Long Do We Have to Limit the Climate Crisis: 18 Months or 11 Years?', by Anca Rusu, Ethical Net, 22nd August 2019.

• 3pm – 4pm Introduction by Gabriela Saab and dialogue session with students and teachers of the Law of the Land at the Federal University of Southern and Southeastern Pará (UNIFESSPA) in Marabá about restorative justice, and ecocide law


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all photos of this evening session

This is a letter to the International Criminal Court and to the UN Secretary-General from the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences and the World Council of Anthropological Associations on 30th August 2019, denouncing the Brazilian government for ecocide.

• 4pm – 5pm Introduction by Evelin Lindner and dialogue session with students and teachers of the Law of the Land at the Federal University of Southern and Southeastern Pará (UNIFESSPA) about healing pedagogies and practices, resilience studies, social media for dignity

Evelin had been asked to touch upon healing pedagogies and practices, resilience studies, social media for dignity. After Gaby's talk she therefore briefly shared with the audience that dignity basically cannot be defined theoretically, that it is embodied. One way to make it visible is by two people holding hands in the way the infinity symbol is formed.

Equal dignity in solidarity is manifested when both partners stay connected while looking into each other's eyes as equals. In this way, they demonstrate unity in diversity (this represents the philosophical notion of non-dualism). Loving solidarity is the strongest force there is.

When we look at societies around the world, however, we can observe two main toxic 'degradations' of this setup:
1. There is the sociocide that occurs in contexts of oppressive hierarchies and it can be demonstrated by one partner standing above the other. Oppressive hierarchies are kept in place by superiors humiliating inferiors, for example, men humiliate women and everything perceived as ‘female’, 'industrial/breadwinner masculinities' dominate, exploit, and mistreat also 'mother' nature. In this situation, many subordinates close their eyes in apathetic resignation, or they look up, either in subservient admiration or in fearful disgust. Some live in the hope or in the illusion that reaching out to superiors and offering them to kiss their hands will make them more caring, while others refuse to reach out to uncaring superordinates and others even contemplate mutiny and revolt. The result is a society characterised by:
1a. apathetic obedience,
1b. the 'Stockholm syndrome', or the identification with the oppressor,
1c. solidarity among those who unite in hatred against oppressors, often in blind obedience to messiah-like anti-leaders.
Conclusion: Noone exits from the top-down frame.

2. Then there is the sociocide – the destruction of the social fabric – inflicted by excessive individualism in Western societies. This can be showcased by both partners remaining equal, that is, both standing upright with their heads at the same height, yet, no longer holding hands but keeping a certain distance from each other or even raising their hands in hostility. Some clasp their hands in front of their chests in self-righteous solipsism, despising and humiliating everyone as lazy who can't buy goods and services with money, in other words, a sophisticated form of the 'Stockholm syndrome' with money as seemingly neutral confirmation of the legitimacy of the principle that only money-based contracts count, while nature or future generations represent insignificant externalities. Others throw their hands up in the air in despair and indignation at the lack of social connectivity and care in society, while yet others use their hands to lash out against scapegoats. The result is a society characterised by:
2a. anomie, isolation, loneliness,
2b. callousness,
2c. hatred.
Conclusion: Noone exits from the illusion of equality in a top-down frame.

Evelin shared some more reflections with Gabriela Saab at the end of this day:
First, when one is being humiliated, it is important to actually feel it (rather than bypass it or suppress it), while, at the same time, extending deep compassionate care to one's violated sense of self. The aim must be to avoid accepting humiliation, to avoid weakening oneself by turning humiliation into shame. Only then is one able to gauge the situation calmly, only then can one read the situation properly and duly prepare for what to do next.
Second: Lets not run from the bullets but also not into the bullets! The Jews of Vienna were being systematically humiliated by their Nazi abusers (old men were forced to go down on their knees and brush the streets of Vienna, even with toothbrushes). This humiliation was basically the first step on the path to a death sentence. Many of the Jews who were thus 'prepared' had no strength left when they faced death camps. Jews from Greece, in contrast, still had strength left when they arrived in Auschwitz on the train from Greece, and they openly revolted. As a result, they were shot on the spot by the SS men. In other words, both groups did not have a chance to achieve some kind of valid resistance: the first groupd had no strength left, the second no time.
Conclusion: Preserve your dignified sense of self and your strength, even in the face of humiliation, stay calm, so that you can form collectives, hide in solidarity, and plan appropriately. Use the strongest force there is as much as possible: loving solidarity. Nurture this solidarity within the group, avoid building in-group solidarity on out-group hatred, otherwise, you can never turn your 'enemies' into friends.

Day Three, 30th August 2019

• 10am – 12am Sandro Campos and Célia Campos interviewed Dan Baron, Evelin Lindner, and Gabriela Saab in Radio Correio 92.1


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all photos of this radio session, and listen to the interview!

• In the House of Rivers in Cabelo Seco: Manoela Souza invited Gaby, Evelin, and Dan to a delicious dinner


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all photos of this evening. On the left side, you see the famous radio bycicle donated by a Dutch anthropologist, after he had visited. See it in action in Rios de Encontro: Towards a Good Living Amazon (Flying River Tour). In the middle you see a unique library, a library whose aim it is to be empty: its books are given to the community! On the right side you see the amazing dinner that Mano had prepared!

• 7pm – 9.30pm House of Rivers in Cabelo Seco: Performance of Flying Rivers by AfroRaiz Collective, with songs by local poets, followed by Roundtable with social movements and community activists   • 9.30pm Circle of Love Gifts (Video)


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 35 photos of this 'Circle of Love Gifts' session
• See also a little video

Day Four, 31st August 2019

This was an all-day excursion to two fishing communities – the Vila Praia Alta community on the island Ilha Praia Alta in the river Tocantins, and to the Tauiry community on the shores of the river Tocantins – hosted and mentored by biologist and fishing monitor Cristiane (Cris) Vieira da Cunha

The Amazon is threatened not just by logging, not just by arson to clear land for cattle and soya production, it is also threatened by mining, the building of dams, and the blasting of rocks – in this case, the rocks of the Pedral de Lourenção on the way to Ilha Praia Alta – and to turn natural rivers into industrial highways or 'hydrovias'.


• Gabriela Saab and Evelin Lindner had the privilege to have UNIFESSPA professor and researcher Cristiane Vieira da Cunha as host and mentor. In this video, she explains how the Participatory Monitoring Project helps riverside communities understand more about their own activities.

Dan Baron kindly sent us this picture on 7th September 2017, and he wrote: 'I attach three photos of our intervention on the 43k of rocks threatened to be destroyed to make way for huge cargo ships, from the final day of the forum, and three clips (from many) in solidarity with the Amazon. Feel free to use them as you wish'.


• Alerta popular pela proteção do bem viver no Pedral do Lourenção, 7th September 2017, photos sent by Dan Baron
• On the right side: O canto de jovens ribeirinhos em defesa do Pedral do Lourenção (Pará), 16 de outubro de 2019


• See on the left photo the Pedral do Lourenção rocks are part of the Central Brazilian Plateau, an upland area formed one billion years ago of hard crystalline old rocks. See 'Pedral do Lourenção: Para IBAMA, ainda é preciso complementar estudos ambientais', por Redação, Correio de Carajas, 17 de setembro de 2019
• See on the left photo a larger poster on the wall in the Tauiry fishing village


• Please click on the photos above on the left or here to see all 38 photos of our journey to the fishing community on the island in the Tocantins river. We could not see the Pedral do Lourenção rocks, because the water level of the river is now artificially controlled and the rocks are submerged. We saw only one little peak looking out from the water. Please cick on the photo on the right or here to see a short video of our return journey in the afternoon, first on the river and later on the road.

Pará is double the size of Western Europe and it is normal for a land owner to own half a million cattle. Pará has a sad reputation for its hired gunmen.


'Revealed: Rampant Deforestation of Amazon Driven by Global Greed for Meat', by Dom Phillips and Daniel Camargos in São Félix do Xingu, Andre Campos in São Paulo, and Andrew Wasley and Alexandra Heal in London, The Guardian, 2nd July 2019. See also: 'Revealed: How the Global Beef Trade Is Destroying the Amazon', by Andrew Wasley, Alexandra Heal, Dom Phillips, Daniel Camargos, Mie Lainio, André Campos, Diego Junqueira, Bureau of Investigative Journalism, 2nd July 2019.

Vila Praia Alta on the Ilha de Praia Alta, an island in the river Tocantins two hours by car and boat Marabá in the Amazonian State of Pará, the first community we had the privilege of meeting this day



• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 90 photos of the time Gaby and Evelin had the privilege of being welcomed in Vila Praia

These were the vides we made in Vila Praia Alta:
08 The Babaçu Palm and Its Beetle Larva Gongo in Vila Praia Alta on Ilha do Praia Alta in the river Tocantins near Marabá in the Amazonian State of Pará, Brasil
09 Tapioca in Vila Praia Alta
10 Urucum in Vila Praia Alta
10+42 Urucum Vila Praia Alta + Ver-o-peso
11 The World Dignity University Initiative in Vila Praia Alta
12 Manoel de Deus Gomes da Silva in Vila Praia Alta
13 Leaving Praia Alta island by boat and at the end of the day back to Marabá by car

Gaby and Evelin were deeply impressed by the sustainability of the ways of living we encountered here. We saw almost no plastic, almost no waste, everything was used. Here, animals have a life, rather than being 'produced'. A rooster crows in the morning, indicating that animals are allowed to have a family, to have a social life in their own right, rather than being reduced to servants of human needs – being used as pets at best (to help placate the loneliness and disconnection in societies of excessive individualism), or consumed as food. The kitchen is outside of the house under an umbrella! And the shell of the babaçu nuts serve as charcoal!

Please click here or on the photo to see a brief video where Evelin explains the relevance of communities like Vila Praia Alta for the idea of the World Dignity University Initiative.

Please click here or on the photo to see the video with Manoel de Deus Gomes da Silva. Manoel de Deus Gomes da Silva, membro da comunidade ribeirinha Vila Praia Alta, fala sobre a importância da preservação da herança cultural das comunidades tradicionais da região do Rio Tocantins em que se pretende construir uma Hidrovia que impactará o rio, a fauna, a flora e a produção sustentável pesqueira e extrativista na região. Manoel de Deus Gomes da Silva, a member of the Vila Praia Alta community on Ilha Praia Alta, an island in the river Tocantins in the Amazonian State of Pará in Brasil, talks about the importance of preserving the cultural heritage of the traditional communities of the Tocantins River region in which it is intended to build a waterway that will impact the river, fauna, flora and sustainable fishery and permaculture production in the region.

This is the famous beetle larva gongo! Please see a little video recording! Please click on the photos or here to see all 90 photos of the Vila Praia Alta fishing community that welcomed Gaby and Evelin to listen and learn. Here you see gongo larvae inside the babaçu palm and its fruits. The coconut bug (Pachymerus nucleorum) is a beetle larva of the Bruquidae family. It has wide Brazilian distribution, which develops inside the fruit of several palm trees, such as babassu, coconut, carnauba, among others. He is also known by the names of gong, Coró and morotó. Pachymerus nucleorum settles inside fruits, which is also known as the 'larva of the coconut' (translated from the Portuguese Wikipedia site; the photos above in the middle are taken from another site). Here, we found it in the babaçu (Attalea speciosa) palm, or cusi, a palm native to the Amazon Rainforest region. The babassu palm is the predominant species in the Maranhão Babaçu forests of Maranhão and Piauí states. Even though Gaby and I live as much as possible vegan or vegetarian, we had to admit that the fried larvae were a delicacy! They are clean, full of protein...

Here, Gaby is wearing the urucum lip gloss! The original Tupi name for this fruit is uruku, urucu or urucum ('red color'), which is also used for the body paint prepared from its seeds. Achiote (Bixa orellana) is a shrub – also called the lipstick tree – native to a region between northern South America and Mexico. The seeds can be used to make red body paint and lipstick, as well as a spice. (Source of the second photo.) Please see a little video recording that Gaby made with her cell phone, plus the recording Evelin Lindner did later at the Ver-o-peso market in Belém on 9th September. Please click on the photos or here to see all 90 photos of the Vila Praia Alta fishing community.

Gaby loved this fruit, called 'marmelada fruit', Gaby's favourite! Thank you, dear Ronaldo, for explaining that its scientific name is Alibertia sessilis.

Embaúba is the name of this tree. The name originates from the tupi term ãba'ib, meaning 'hollow tree', 'árvore oca'. Old Tupi or classical Tupi is an extinct Tupian language which was spoken by the native Tupi people of Brasil, mostly those who inhabited coastal regions in South and Southeast Brasil. See cecropia. Please click on the photos or here to see all 90 photos of the Vila Praia Alta fishing community that welcomed Gaby and Evelin to listen and learn. 

The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale) is a tropical evergreen tree that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple. It can grow as high as 14 meters.... The species is native to Central America, the Caribbean Islands, and northern South America. Portuguese colonists in Brasil began exporting cashew nuts as early as the 1550s.... The cashew seed, often simply called a cashew, is widely consumed.... The cashew apple is a light reddish to yellow fruit. Please click on the photos or here to see all 90 photos of the Vila Praia Alta fishing community that welcomed Gaby and Evelin to listen and learn. 

Tapioca is a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant (Manihot esculenta). This species is native to the north region and central-west region of Brasil, but its use spread throughout South America. The plant was carried by Portuguese and Spanish explorers to most of the West Indies and Africa and Asia. It is a perennial shrub adapted to the hot conditions of tropical lowlands. Cassava copes better with poor soils than many other food plants.
See a brief video recording that Gaby made with her cell phone. Please click on the photo or here to see all 90 photos of the Vila Praia Alta fishing community that welcomed Gaby and Evelin to listen and learn. 

Pineapples (ananás) may be cultivated from the offset produced at the top of the fruit, possibly flowering in five to ten months and fruiting in the following six months... In 2016, Costa Rica, Brasil, and the Philippines accounted for nearly one-third of the world's production of pineapples. Please click on the photo or here to see all 90 photos of the Vila Praia Alta fishing community that welcomed Gaby and Evelin to listen and learn. 

   

Tauiry, a fishing community on the shores of the river Tocantins, the second community we had the privilege of meeting this day
These were the vides we made in Tauiry:
14 Rafael Cabral in Tauiry
15 Cristiane (Cris) Vieira da Cunha in Tauiry
16 Ronaldo Macena do Tauiry in Tauiry



• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 33 photos of the time Gaby and Evelin had the privilege of being welcomed in Tauiry to listen and learn.

A professora e pesquisadora da UNIFESSPA, Cristiane Vieira da Cunha, explica como o Projeto de Monitoramento Participativo auxilia comunidades ribeirinhas a compreender mais sobre suas atividades. A partir dos dados recolhidos pelos próprios pescadores, é possível compreender como grandes projetos como a Hidrovia do Rio Tocantins irão afetar não apenas seu modo de vida sustentável, mas também o próprio equilíbrio ecológico dos biomas amazônicos (Projeto ProPesca - com apoio da Universidade Federal do Sul e Sudeste do Pará - UNIFESSPA, da Embrapa e com o financiamento do Fundo Amazônia). Para maiores informações sobre o projeto, entrar em contato com: crisvieira_cunha@hotmail.com.
UNIFESSPA professor and researcher Cristiane Vieira da Cunha explains how the Participatory Monitoring Project helps riverside communities understand more about their own activities. From the data collected by fishermen, it is possible to understand how major projects, such as the Tocantins River Waterway, not only affect their sustainable way of life, but also the ecological balance of the Amazon biomes (ProPesca Project - with the support of the Federal University of South and Southeast Pará - UNIFESSPA, Embrapa, and the financing of the Amazon Fund).
For more information about the project send an email to: crisvieira_cunha@hotmail.com.
See a video recording that Gaby made with her cell phone. Please click on the photo or here to see all 32 photos of the Tauiry fishing community that welcomed Gaby and Evelin to listen and learn.
Embrapa (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária) is a state-owned Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. Since its inception on 26th April 1973, it has been devoted to developing technologies, knowledge and technical-scientific information aimed at Brazilian agriculture, including livestock.

Rafael Cabral, membro da comunidade ribeirinha Vila Belém (Pará), fala sobre a importância da preservação da herança cultural das comunidades tradicionais da região do Rio Tocantins em que se pretende construir uma Hidrovia que impactará o rio, a fauna, a flora e a produção sustentável pesqueira e extrativista na região. Rafael faz um apelo aos doadores do Fundo Amazônia, em especial à Noruega, para que os projetos sustentáveis na região possam ter continuidade.
Rafael Cabral, a member of the Vila Belém riverside community (State of Pará), talks about the importance of preserving the cultural heritage of the traditional communities of the Tocantins River region in which it is intended to build a waterway that will impact the river, fauna, flora and sustainable fishery and permaculture production in the region. Rafael calls on Amazon Fund donors, especially Norway, to continue sustainable projects in the region.
See a brief video recording that Gaby made with her cell phone. Please click on the photo or here to see all 32 photos of the Tauiry fishing community that welcomed Gaby and Evelin to listen and learn. 

Ronaldo Macena, membro da comunidade ribeirinha Tauiry (Pará), fala sobre a importância da preservação da herança cultural das comunidades tradicionais da região do Rio Tocantins em que se pretende construir uma Hidrovia que impactará o rio, a fauna, a flora e a produção sustentável pesqueira e extrativista na região. Ronaldo faz um apelo aos doadores do Fundo Amazônia, em especial à Noruega, para que os projetos sustentáveis na região possam ter continuidade.
Ronaldo Macena, a member of the Tauiry riverside community (State of Pará), talks about the importance of preserving the cultural heritage of the traditional communities of the Tocantins River region in which it is intended to build a waterway that will impact the river, fauna, flora and sustainable fishery and permaculture production in the region. Ronaldo calls on Amazon Fund donors, especially Norway, to continue sustainable projects in the region. See a brief video recording that Gaby made with her cell phone. Please click on the photo or here to see all 32 photos of the Tauiry fishing community that welcomed Gaby and Evelin to listen and learn. 

Please meet Professor Paulo and his students and their Com-Vida project. He teaches in Itupiranga, near Tauiry. In a very skilled and sophisticated way, everyone in the group spoke, laying out their impressions, reflections, and conclusions. Clearly, the talking stick format was used (without an actual stick), the well-known 'instrument of aboriginal democracy used by many tribes', ensuring that everyone is given space to speak.


These were the reflections Evelin tried to share with the fishermen that Gaby and I met near Marabá. They clearly had been told – and they felt guilty accordingly – for ‘standing in the way of progress’ because they wish to hold on to their familiar lifestyle, remain on their land and not be evicted by industrialisation. I tried to explain to them that THEY represent progress in its true form, and that it is rather the rest of the world that stands in the way of progress. The rest of the world ought to come to THEM and learn from THEM how to live as part of nature, instead of continuing with the illusion that humanity can be nature’s master. I tried to explain that they are the stark opposite of, for instance, coal miners, who actually do stand in the way of progress if they force coal mines to stay open with the argument that they wish to hold on to their familiar lifestyle...

Day Five, 1st September 2019

This was an all-day excursion under the mentorship of Claudelice dos Santos to the Assentamento (settlement) de Nova Ipixuna, site of murder of Zé Cláudio and Maria Silva, two forest activists and their living project


• Please meet Claudelice dos Santos!

These were the videos we made on this day:
17 The cross for Claudio and Maria
18 Evandra Vilacoert on fire containment
19 How Evandra Vilacoert's fire brigade contained fires
20 Michelliny Bentes on sustainable technologies to traditional communities
21 Daniel Mangas on sustainable technologies to traditional communities
22 Daniel Santiago and Anderson Schwamke on sustainable honey production
23 Chicken life in the Amazon


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 39 photos of our journey to the Assentamento (Settlement) de Nova Ipixuna, ca. one and a half hours by car north of Marabá. Gabriela Saab and Evelin Lindner were privileged to have Claudelice dos Santos as our host, mediator, and mentor. Photo on the left: The first interesting sight we encountered was the unending train wagons transporting the riches of the Amazon out of it. We learned that this train was built for that purpose, not for transporting people. Photos on the right: The next surprise were the deep grooves in the asphalt of the road. The explanation: Big trucks cause them when they drive out from the Amazon heavily loaded (the trucks return empty). The road is almost unusable for normal cars, it seemed, and required very good driving skills. Evelin took these snapshots out of the car.


• Please click on the photo above on the left side to see a brief video that Gaby made of the place where Claudelice's brother Claudio and his wife Maria were assassinated by gun men in 2011 for speaking up against forest degradation. When Evelin was in Marabá in 2012, this was still fresh, and Claudelice was in deep grief and shock. See Claudio and Maria on the photo on the right, and see also 'The Death of Zé Cláudio and Maria: The Scene Is Like Something out of a Sergio Leone Movie. Zé Cláudio and His Wife, Maria, Enter a Small Wooden Bar Off a Dirt Road', by Felipe Milanez, Vice Media, 7th November 2011. See also Wikipedia: 'José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva (January 22, 1957 – May 24, 2011) was a Brazilian conservationist and environmentalist who campaigned against logging and clearcutting of trees in the Amazon Rainforest'.


• Norway: Brasil og Amazonasfondet, last updated 4th December 2018
• Germany: Amazonienfonds für Wald- und Klimaschutz
Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest

• 'Norway Stops Amazon Fund Contribution in Dispute with Brazil', Reuters, 15th August 2019.
• 'Norway halts Amazon fund donation in dispute with Brazil: International Concerns Grow over Deforestation Surge since Jair Bolsonaro Took Power', by Daniel Boffey in Brussels, The Guardian, 16th August 2019.
Why Norway And Germany Have Frozen Money Going To The Amazon Fund, National Public Radio, 23rd August 2019, Heard on All Things Considered. National Public Radio (NPR, stylized as npr) is an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization based in Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

Comunidades contra o fogo na Amazônia / Communities Against the Amazon Fires:
Evandra Vilacoert, gerente do Ideflor (Araguaia), explica o trabalho dos brigadistas comunitários no combate às queimadas e fala sobre a sua escolha de privilegiar os trabalhadores e o conhecimento locais como forma de promover a sustentabilidade.
Evandra Vilacoert, manager of Ideflor (Araguaia), explains the work of community brigade members in fighting fires and she talks about their choice to privilege local workers and knowledge as a way to promote sustainability.
See a video recording of her dialogue with Gaby Saab, invited and recorded by Evelin Lindner.

Comunidades contra o fogo na Amazônia / Communities Against the Amazon Fires:
Filmagens realizadas por brigadistas comunitários demonstrando seu trabalho no combate às queimadas (Ideflor/Araguaia). Os bombeiros e bombeiras fazem uso de técnicas locais e mais sustentáveis (menor uso de água) e salvam uma ave rara conhecida como Seriema.
Videos made by the community brigade members demonstrating their work in stopping the fires (Ideflor / Araguaia). Firefighters make use of more sustainable local techniques (less water use) and save a rare bird known as the Seriema.
Para maiores informaçoes sobre o trabalho dos brigadistas comunitários coordenados por Evandra Vilacoert, acesse aqui ou escreva para vilacoert@hotmail.com
For more information about the community brigade coordinated by Evandra Vilacoert, see here or send an email to vilacoert@hotmail.com.

Fundo Amazônia é vital para Comunidades Tradicionais Sustentáveis / The Amazon Fund is vital to sustainable traditional communities:
Michelliny Bentes explica como projeto da Embrapa em parceria com o Fundo Amazônia leva tecnologias sustentáveis a comunidades tradicionais na Amazônia. Michelliny Bentes explains how project by Embrapa in partnership with the Amazon Fund brings sustainable technologies to traditional communities in the Amazon. The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa - Portuguese: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária) is a state-owned research corporation affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. Since its inception on 26th April 1973, it has been devoted to developing technologies, knowledge and technical-scientific information aimed at Brazilian agriculture, including livestock.
Please click on the photo on the left to see a video recording of her dialogue with Gaby Saab, recorded by Daniel Mangas. Please click on the photo on the right or here to see all 13 photos of the recording session.
Embrapa (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária) is a state-owned Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. Since its inception on 26th April 1973, it has been devoted to developing technologies, knowledge and technical-scientific information aimed at Brazilian agriculture, including livestock.

Fundo Amazônia é vital para Comunidades Tradicionais Sustentáveis / Amazon Fund is vital to sustainable traditional communities:
Daniel Mangas explica como projeto da Embrapa em parceria com o Fundo Amazônia leva tecnologias sustentáveis a comunidades tradicionais na Amazônia. Daniel Mangas explains how a project by Embrapa in partnership with the Amazon Fund brings sustainable technologies to traditional communities in the Amazon. Embrapa (Portuguese Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária), is a state-owned research corporation affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. Since its inception on 26th April 1973, it has been devoted to developing technologies, knowledge and technical-scientific information aimed at Brazilian agriculture, including livestock.
Please click on the photo on the left to see a video recording of his dialogue with Gaby Saab, recorded by Anderson Schwamke. Please click on the photo on the right or here to see all 13 photos of the recording session.
Embrapa (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária) is a state-owned Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. Since its inception on 26th April 1973, it has been devoted to developing technologies, knowledge and technical-scientific information aimed at Brazilian agriculture, including livestock.

Fundo Amazônia possibilita a aprendizagem da produção do mel por agroextrativistas sustentáveis / Amazon Fund enables sustainable horticulturers to learn about the honey production: Daniel Santiago e Anderson Schwamke explicam o projeto da Embrapa em parceria com o Fundo Amazônia que leva tecnologias sustentáveis a comunidades tradicionais na Amazônia. Daniel Santiago and Anderson Schwamke explain how a project by Embrapa in partnership with the Amazon Fund brings sustainable technologies to traditional communities in the Amazon. Please click on the photo on the left to see a video recording of their dialogue with Gaby Saab, recorded by Daniel Mangas. Please click on the photo on the right or here to see all 13 photos of the recording session.
Embrapa (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária) is a state-owned Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. Since its inception on 26th April 1973, it has been devoted to developing technologies, knowledge and technical-scientific information aimed at Brazilian agriculture, including livestock.

Here, animals have a life, rather than being 'produced'. A rooster crows in the morning, indicating that animals are allowed to have a family, to have a social life in their own right, rather than being reduced to servants of human needs – being used as pets at best (to help placate the loneliness and disconnection in societies of excessive individualism), or consumed as food. Evelin made this little video, fondly remembering the rooster's wake up call in the morning in her childhood on a traditional farm in Germany. Villages in Germany are silent now. Industrial farming has vastly impoverished rural life and contributed to widespread sociocide and ecocide.


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 29 photos of our wonderful learning and listening time in Nova Ipixuna. After a delicious lunch, Gaby and Evelin had the privilege of being invited to be part in yet another profoundly dignified and dignifying community gathering.

Gaby and Evelin were hugely impressed by the profoundly dignified and dignifying format of the community gatherings we had the privilege of being invited to. In a very skilled and sophisticated way, everyone was given the floor to speak, all participants laid out their impressions, reflections, and conclusions, one after the other. Clearly, the talking stick method was being used (without an actual stick), the well-known 'instrument of aboriginal democracy used by many communities around the world, a method that ensures that everyone is given space to speak.


• We admired their cosmetic products – soap, oil, insect repellent, lotion – from Andiroba. Andiroba is native to the Amazon and is widely used by the indigenous populations of the northern region of Brasil.


The pictures above were shared by Dan Baron in 2012 as examples of how the exploitation of the Amazon is being 'sanitised' and depicted as being 'good for the people and the environment', in advertisements by the big corporations. This is the text: 'Belo Monte Dam Banco da Amazônia – Movimentando a Amazônia: E a sua vida: FNO: crédito para transformar a sua vida e a Amazônia. Banco da Amazônia' ('Moving Amazon: And your life: FNO (Fundo Constitucional de Financiamento do Norte/Constitutional Financing Fund of the North: credit to transform your life and the Amazon').


Indeed, life has been transformed in the Amazon. We saw the signs of 'destruction for the sake of modernity' everywhere: hydro dams for the production of electricity that does not support sustainable living but feeds an exploitative industrialisation, and forest degradation for the sake of cows for the hunger for meat and profit for a privileged few.
• Please click here to see all 42 photos of our way back from Nova Ipixuna to Marabá.


• The day ended with an interview with Claudelice dos Santos in the park back in Marabá.

Day Six, 2nd September 2019

This happened in Belém while Gabriela and Evelin still were in Marabá preparing to travel from Marabá to Belém next day:
Brasil's president Jair Bolsonaro ordered his ministers to meet with the governors of the Amazonian states on 2nd September 2019 in Belém and send a package of new measures to Congress. In that meeting, five Amazon governors and ministers met. Among those attending were Minister of Agriculture Tereza Cristina (a ruralist with large agricultural holdings) and Minister of Defense Fernando Azevedo.


See State Governors Support Bolsonaro’s Amazon Mining, Agribusiness Plans', by Jenny Gonzales, Mongabay, 9th September 2019.
Mongabay is a U.S.-based non-profit conservation and environmental science news platform.

A wonderful meeting with Cristiane Vieira da Cunha in Marabá


• Please click here to see all 14 photos of this day in Marabá. We have a wonderful morning with Cris, Cristiane Vieira da Cunha!

Waving good-bye good-bye to the AfroRaiz group


• Please click here to see all 14 photos of this day in Marabá. Here, we are waving good-bye to Dan, Mano and the AfroRaiz group, who is leaving for their two months long tour of Europe (Austria, Poland, Germany, Belgium)

One of the riches of the Amazon: Açaí!


• Please click here to see all 14 photos of this day in Marabá. Here you see Gaby and Evelin with blue tongues from too much Açaí icecream!

Sending a thank-you to South Africa
  • Please click here to see all 14 photos of this day in Marabá. Here Evelin is sending thanks to Catherine Odora Hoppers, who gave her this special T-shirt in Pretoria in 2013! Thank you, dear Catherine!

Day Seven, 3rd September 2019

A wonderful meeting with Claudelice dos Santos

• Please click on the photo above or here to see it larger.

Leaving for Belém


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 57 photos of the flight from Marabá to Belém. Gaby and Evelin attempt to take the overland bus whenever possible and try to avoid flying as much as possible. On this flight, several other human behaviours were visible that are destructive for the environment: 1. clean 'bio-water' is being served, however, in plastic that is not 'clean', 2. from the air it is very visible how the degradation of the Rainforest starts with roads and small patches that are cleared for agribusiness.

Our dear Gaby had to leave us here, she had to proceed to São Paulo. Thank you, dear Gaby! What would we have done without YOU!!! We are in deep gratitude!


• Please click on the photo above or here to see all 8 photos of the little shop in the airport of Belém that gave a good overview over the riches of the Amazon. You see Gaby on the picture above in front of a variety of 'bombons' (fruit in chocolate). These are the different fruits:

Cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum), commonly known as cupuaçu, also spelled cupuassu, cupuazú, cupu assu, or copoasu, is a tropical rainforest tree related to cacao. Common throughout the Amazon basin, it is cultivated in the jungles of Colombia, Bolivia and Peru and in the north of Brasil, with the largest production in Pará. The pulp of the cupuaçu fruit is consumed throughout Central and South America, is the national fruit of Brasil, and is used to make ice creams, snack bars, and other products.

The açaí palm, from Tupi-Guarani asaí, Euterpe oleracea, is a species of palm tree (Arecaceae) cultivated for its fruit (açaí berries, or simply açaí), hearts of palm (a vegetable), leaves, and trunk wood. Global demand for the fruit expanded rapidly in the 21st century and so the tree is cultivated for that purpose primarily. The species is native to Brasil, Peru, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, mainly in swamps and floodplains. Açaí palms are tall, slender trees growing to more than 25 m (82 ft) tall, with pinnate leaves up to 3 m (9.8 ft) long. The fruit is small, round, and black-purple in color. The fruit became a staple food in floodplain areas around the 18th century, but its consumption in urban areas and recognition as a health food only began in the mid 1990s along with the popularisation of other Amazonian fruits outside the region.

Paraense (cacao, Theobroma cacao), also called the cacao tree and the cocoa tree, is a small (4–8 m (13–26 ft) tall) evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae, native to the deep tropical regions of the Americas. Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate.

The brigadeiro is a traditional Brazilian dessert, created by a confectioner from Rio de Janeiro, Heloisa Nabuco de Oliveira. It is made of condensed milk, cocoa powder, butter, and chocolate sprinkles covering the outside layer.

Tapereba (Spondias mombin, or hog plum), also known as yellow mombin or hog plum is a species a tree and flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to the tropical Americas, including the West Indies. The tree was introduced by the Portuguese in South Asia in the beginning of the XVII century. It has been naturalised in parts of Africa, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, The Bahamas, Indonesia, and other Caribbean islands. It is rarely cultivated except in parts of the Brazilian Northeast.

Muruci (Byrsonima crassifolia) is a species of flowering plant bearing fruit in the acerola family, Malpighiaceae, that is native to tropical America. Common names include changunga, muruci, murici, nanche, nance, nancite, chacunga, craboo, kraabu, savanna serrette (or savanna serret) and golden spoon. In Jamaica it is called hogberry (plural hogberries). It's valued for its small (between one, and one and a quarter centimeter in diameter) round, sweet yellow fruit which is strongly scented. The fruits have a very pungent and distinct flavour and smell. The taste is not comparable to any other fruit.

Bacuri (Platonia Platonia insignis), the sole species of the genus Platonia, is a tree of the family Clusiaceae native to South America in the humid forests of Brasil, Paraguay, parts of Colombia and northeast to Guyana; specially in Amazon Rainforest. Common names include bacuri (and numerous variant spellings thereof; bacurí, bacury, bakuri, pacuri, pakuri, pakouri, packoeri, pakoeri), maniballi, naranjillo and bacurizeiro. There was a degree of nomenclatural confusion, caused by Moronobea esculenta. If that were validly published for this species the current name would be Platonia esculenta. It was established that Moronobea esculenta is not a formal name (not "validly published"), so the name remains Platonia insignis.

Castanha do Pará The Brasil nut (Bertholletia excelsa) is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seeds. Despite their name, the most significant exporter of Brasil nuts is not Brasil but Bolivia, where they are called castañas de Brasil, nuez de Brasil or castañas de Pando ('chestnuts from Pando'). In Brasil, these nuts are called castanhas-do-pará (literally 'chestnuts from Pará'), but Acreans call them castanhas-do-acre instead. Indigenous names include juvia in the Orinoco area. In Cuba, the nut is alternatively called coquito de Santiago, literally St. James coconut.

 

Belém: Gateway to the riches of the Amazon



• Please click on the photos above or here to see all photos of the little shop in the airport of Belém that gives a good overview over the riches of the Amazon. Fortunately, not everything is in plastic bottles, there are also some glass containers, for example, with Jambu, and with Pimenta de cheiro:

Jambu, or acmella oleracea is a species of flowering herb in the family Asteraceae. Common names include toothache plant, paracress, Sichuan buttons, buzz buttons, tingflowers and electric daisy. Its native distribution is unclear, but it is likely derived from a Brazilian Acmella species. It is grown as an ornamental and attracts fireflies when in bloom. It is used as a medicinal remedy in various parts of the world. A small, erect plant, it grows quickly and bears gold and red inflorescences. It is frost-sensitive but perennial in warmer climates.

Pimenta de cheiro: No Brasil, existe a variedade conhecida popularmente como pimenta-murupi, cultivada nos estados do Amazonas e Pará. É uma pimenta pequena, amarela, dividida em gomos e com formato alongado. É a pimenta brasileira mais forte.. Os cultivares da C. chinense são ainda conhecidas no Brasil como pimenta de cheiro e pimenta de bode (bodinha em algumas regiões), consideradas variedades botânicas ou um dos grupos varietais, com características de frutos bem definidas. Engilsh (Google translator): In Brasil, there is the variety popularly known as murupi pepper, cultivated in the states of Amazonas and Pará. It is a small, yellow pepper, divided into buds and with an elongated shape. It is the strongest Brazilian pepper. C. chinense cultivars are still known in Brasil as sweet pepper and goat pepper (bodinha in some regions), considered botanical varieties or one of the varietal groups, with well-defined fruit characteristics.

 

Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet


• Please click on the photo above to see it larger. Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet was brought to us by Dan Baron, and he became our wonderful host and mentor in Belém. On the website of his Instituto Humana there is a description of the values that guide his work: 'The values that inspire us ... are dedication and enthusiasm at work, organisation, transparency, care, and rational use in the treatment of available human and material resources'.

Kamolrat Intaratat and her colleague Piyachat came all the way from Thailand to the Amazon


• Please click on the photo above to see it larger. Our dear Kjell Skyllstad brought Kamolrat Intaratat to us. She travelled for 42 hours, together with her colleagues Piyachat, all the way from Bangkok to the Amazon. They would have liked to come for the first part of the conference in Marabá, but due to limitations from their university, they could only come from the 3rd until the 7th of September. Kamolrat is the director and founder of the Research Center of Communication and Development Knowledge Management (CCDKM) at the Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU) in Nonthaburi, in the northern outskirts of Bangkok in Thailand. She is also the Chair of the Communication Arts for ASEAN International Program (Master Degree Program).


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 10 photos of our first meeting in the Belém part of our conference. You see Kamolrat, Sandro, Gaby (soon to leave us), Piyachat and Evelin. In the lobby of the hotel, where we met, there was a big cow...


• Please click on the photos above to see them larger. Sandro brought us to the famous Cathedral of Belém, Our Lady of Grace Cathedral. On the second Sunday in October, Pará celebrates the largest religious event in Brasil: the procession of the Círio of Nazaré (picture in the middle).


• Please click on the photos of the Forte do Castelo de Belém above to see them larger.

Day Eight, 4th September 2019

We started the day at the Universidade Federal do Pará, UFPA, the Federal University of Pará (Portuguese: Universidade Federal do Pará, UFPA)



• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 20 photos of our visit to the Federal University of Pará (UFPA). Briefly, we dropped in at the 42º Congresso Brasileiro de Ciências da Comunicação 'Fluxos comunicacionais e crise da democracia' / 42nd Brazilian Congress of Communication Sciences 'Communication flows and crisis of democracy'. We were very impressed by the posters a group of young students had created.

On our way to Ilha Mosqueira with Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet

Mosqueiro is an island near the south bank of the Pará River in the Amazonian State of Pará. 'Since July 6, 1989, the northwest coast of the island has comprised an administrative district of the city of Belém, roughly 67 km (42 mi) north of the downtown area of the city. The island has 17 km (11 mi) of beaches with freshwater tides, which draw vacationers primarily in the dry season. The largest settlement on the island is the town of Vila (often referred to simply as Mosqueiro) on the westernmost part of the island'.


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 95 photos of our journey to the Instituto Humana on Mosqueiro Island. We witnessed a strike of motocycle taxi drivers (see the photo on the left side). We saw one of the beaches (see the photo on the right side), and many shops advertising açaí. Evelin Lindner's reflections on the houses alongside the road: 'How sad that houses look exactly alike all around the globe now: Boxes of concrete columns filled with bricks. If I had a magic wand, I would replace all these buildings over night with local architecture...'.

Visit to an organic farm, with Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 7 photos of the organic farm, Sandro brought us to.

The Instituto Humana of Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet, Directeur général at Humana Comunicação & Tradução, and Director at HUMANA COM & TRAD, Ilha de Mosqueiro, Belém, Pará, Amazon, Brasil

Have a look at two videos:
24 Instituto Humana, film by Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet
25 'Encontre e conecte! Please Meet and Connect!' Evelin Lindner's contribution



• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 12 photos offered to us by Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet to introduce his Instituto Humana to us. Please see the wonderful film that Sandro created about his work.



• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 29 photos of the wonderful time Kamolrat, Piyachat, and Evelin had in the Instituto Humana of Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet. Plese see the video-recording of Evelin Lindner's contribution to this conference titled 'Encontre e conecte! Please Meet and Connect!', and Kamolrat Intaratat's contribution (shared once more, and recorded, on 7th September).

Thank you, dear Sandro and Marlucia, for welcoming us in your paradise in the Amazon Rainforest, surrounded by wonderful vegetation, by monkeys, iguanas, birds, tucanos, parrots, and many other animals. As Marlucia, Sandro's wife, said (paraphrased): 'What makes this place a paradise is exactly what those people don't want to have who destroy it and burn it...'


Iguana is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

Toucans are members of the Neotropical near passerine bird family Ramphastidae. The Ramphastidae are most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often-colorful bills.

Day Nine, 5th September 2019, Amazon Day


These are the videos recorded on this day:
27 The Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi in Belém
28 The Kayapo people presented in the Museu Goeldi
29 The Amazon Day conference at the Museu Goeldi: Ima Celia Guimaraes Vieira
30 The Amazon Day conference at the Museu Goeldi: Marlucia Bonifácio Martins
31 The Amazon Day conference at the Museu Goeldi: Denny Moore
32 The Amazon Day conference at the Museu Goeldi: Closing dialogues
33 Interview with Marlucia Martins on the Amazon Day 2019
34 The Amazon Day at the Parliament of Pará State in Belém: Deputado Dirceu Ten Caten invited Evelin Lindner

The Instituto Humana of Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet in the Recanto da Preguiça / Lazy Sloth Corner


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 7 photos of the wonderful time Kamolrat, Piyachat, and Evelin had in the Instituto Humana of Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet. The institute is located in the Recanto da Preguiça / Lazy Sloth Corner, the home of Sandro and his amazing wife Marlucia.

Sloths are arboreal mammals noted for slowness of movement and for spending most of their lives hanging upside down in the trees of the tropical rain forests of South America and Central America. The six species are in two families: two-toed sloths and three-toed sloths. Despite this traditional naming, all sloths actually have three toes on each rear limb, although two-toed sloths have two digits on each forelimb.


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 4 photos of our journey to Belém in the early morning to avoid the rush hour. Evelin Lindner's reflections: If I had a magic wand, I would make all those ‘modern cities’ disappear over night and replace them with something more locally appriopriate. To me, this global style of high rise boxes is horrendously ugly and inhumane, its uniformity destroys the world’s diversity of traditional materials and styles, it rapes local landscapes, and it is unfeasible for most local climates. This global obsession with imitating the supposedy ‘wealthy’ parts of the world, to me, is one of the many expressions of systemic humiliation, of systemic ecocide and sociocide. Where is our local pride, I want to ask all those people who plan for such buildings. Please, forget about notions such as ‘developed world’, I want to beg everyone, because it is a short-sighted development built on unsustainable exploitation. The Amazon Rainforest is such a miraculously complex system, and people who know how to live within it sustainably, THEY are the ones who are truly developed...


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 3 photos of Marlucia's breakfast in Belém. Brazilian tapioca is even better here in Belém than in Marabá! And the shy woman who came with her cooling bag to sell 'bombons', had something to offer that would make first class chefs around the world envious: her home-made bombons were much better than even those the fancy shop at Belém airport had to offer...


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 13 photos of the streets of Belém. Evelin Lindner's reflections: 'Again, as everywhere else in the world, also here I see this global uniformity, high rise buildings that are supposed to impress with their "modernity" but elicit sadness and resignation. As everywhere else, they usually are already dilapidated when new, and the ubiquitous "cable salad" laughs at them. Where is the city I hope for? Where is the city that is truly future-oriented, that expresses dignified and dignifying unity in diversity, where is the city that nourishes, rather than be exploitative? The refugees from Venezuela standing at the side of the streets in Belém, with large hand-painted signs made from card-board saying "I am Venezuelan", they can speak to the horror, fear, and despair that befalls even the richest city in a matter of a few days when three things fail, when (1) electricity and (2) water are cut and (3) the shops are looted. This is what happened in the once 'wealthy' oil town of Maracaibo in March 2019'.

The Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi

• Please click on the photos above to see them larger. You see the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, a Brazilian research institution and museum located in the city of Belém. The institution has the mission of researching, cataloging and analysing the biological and sociocultural diversity of the Amazon Basin, contributing to its cultural memory and its regional development. It has also the aim of increasing public awareness of science in the Amazon by means of its museums, its botanical garden, its zoological park, etc. The Museum maintains a scientific research station in the high Amazon forest (Estação Científica Ferreira Penna), which was inaugurated in 1993, with 330 square kilometres (130 sq mi) in the Caxiuanã National Forest, municipality of Melgaço, Pará.
On the picture on the right above, you see Alexandre B. Bonaldo, head of the Department of Coordenação de Zoologia of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, the 'boss' of ecologist Marlucia Bonifácio Martins.


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 25 photos of the Museu Goeldi's efforts to make the significance of the Amazon Rainforest visible. You see an overview over the degradation of the forest, as well as over the deforestation, and you understand that it is impossible to replant the original forest, as it does not simply consist of trees, but is a complex system of plants and animals. On the picture on the right, you see the human-made plastic pollution exhibited.


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 12 photos of the Kayapo exhibition in the Museu Goeldi. See also the video recording of the great explanations of our guide. The Kayapo people are indigenous peoples in Brasil who inhabit a vast area spreading across the states of Pará and Mato Grosso, south of the Amazon Basin and along Rio Xingu and its tributaries... They are one of the various subgroups of the great Mebêngôkre nation (people from the water’s source). The term "Kayapo" is used by neighbouring groups rather than the Kayapo themselves. They refer to outsiders as "Poanjos".

See this little video, where the wonderful guide in the Museu Goeldi explained that wasps and bees were very important for the Kayapo. Long time ago, there was a war between the humans and the insects. But the humans could not overcome the insects because the king beetle was too smart. (The king beetle is the Actaeon beetle, see it on the picture on the right above, one of the largest of all beetles, whose males can grow to be 131/2 centimeters long by 4 centimeters thick). Humans were finally victorious when they learned from the bees to organise a society, and from the wasps and their sting how to get weaponised: in this way, they could overcome the king beetle!
Then the guide explained the Kayapo theory of diseases: They perceive two kinds, first, diseases caused by spirits, which are not curable, and, second, simple discomforts, such as stomach ache, which can be cured by plants. They even had contraceptives!

Dia da Amazônia, mesa redonda 'Amazônia em chamas. Quais as consequências?'


• Please click above on the poster of the mesa redonda / round table on the Dia da Amazônia / the Amazon Day, titled 'Amazônia em chamas. Quais as consequências?' / 'The Amazon in flames. What are the consequences?' with Dra. Ima Vieira, Dr. Denny Moore, and Dra. Martins. Venue: Rocinha, in the Parque Zoobotânico of the Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi.

This was a spontaneously called conference, due to the emergency in the Amazon, with the following three speakers:

Dr. Ima Celia Guimaraes Vieira, Senior Researcher at the Department Coordenação de Botânica (CBO) at the Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi. See a video recording of her contribution to the Dia da Amazônia conference (sorry for the poor quality of Evelin Lindner's recording, as she filmed from an unfortunate angle).

Dr. Marlucia Bonifácio Martins, ecologist, Department of Coordenação de Zoologia of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. See a video recording of her contribution to the Dia da Amazônia conference (sorry for the poor quality of Evelin Lindner's recording, as she filmed from an unfortunate angle).

Dr. Denny Moore (born 1944) is an American linguist, and anthropologist. He graduated from the University of Michigan, and from the City University of New York with a Ph.D. in Anthropology. He has worked for the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, and is Coordinator of the Linguistics Division, Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Belem-Para, Brasil. He published a grammar of Gavião, a Brazilian Amazonian language. He is on the advisory board of the Center for Amazon Community Ecology.
See a video recording of his contribution to the Dia da Amazônia conference (sorry for the poor quality of Evelin Lindner's recording, as she filmed from an unfortunate angle).

Closing dialogues of the mesa redonda 'Amazônia em chamas. Quais as consequências?'
See a video recording (sorry for the poor quality of Evelin Lindner's recording, as she filmed from an unfortunate angle).

 

After the conference, Marlucia Martins was interviewed in the park of the museum, see the video:

• Please click on the photos above or here to see all photos of the interview with Marlucia Martins, and click here to see the video. On the photos on the right side, you see her produly sitting in front of the funders of the Museu Goeldi: Ernst Lohse, Andreas Goeldi, Rodolpho Rodrigues, Jacques Huber, Oscar Martins, Emília Snethlage, Abigayl Mattos, Emil Göldi, Anna Carreira. Lunch in the Resto do Parque


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 13 photos of one of the best restaurants of Belém, Resto do Parque, and its surroundings. Thank you, dear Sandro and Marlucia, for bringing Kamolrat, Piyachat and Evelin to this lovely place!

On our way to the Palaco Cabanagem


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 17 photos of our way through the streets of Belém to the Palaco Cabanagem, seat of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Pará (Portuguese: Assembleia Legislativa do Estado do Pará), the unicameral legislature of Pará State in Brasil. It has 41 state deputies elected by proportional representation. The first legislature began in 13th March 1885 in a palace where today is the Square Dom Pedro II (destroyed by a fire in 1959), and it was moved in 1960 to the Teatro da Paz and in 1970 to the current headquarters, the Palácio Cabanagem.

The Cabanagem (1835–1840) was a popular revolution and pro-separatist movement that occurred in the then-state of Grão-Pará, Empire of Brasil. Among the causes for this revolt were the extreme poverty of the Paraense people, oppression by the Empire of Brasil, and the political irrelevance to which the province was relegated after the independence of Brasil. The Cabanagem Memorial by Oscar Niemeyer commemorates the revolt. Translated from the Portuguese Wikipedia site: 'The Cabanagem Memorial, according to Niemeyer's conception, represents the heroic struggle of the Caban people, which was one of the most important movements in all of Brasil. The elevated ramp towards the firmament represents the grandeur of the popular revolt that came very close to achieving its objectives and the "fracture" alludes to the breakdown of the revolutionary process. But although it has been stifled, Cabanagem remains alive in the memory of the people, so the block continues to rise to infinity, symbolising that the essence, ideals and hot struggle remain latent in the country's history'.
Who knows, we may ask, perhaps this is why the governor of Pará did not agree with president Jair Bolsonaro in their August meeting?

 
The Amazon Day with Deputado Dirceu Ten Caten

Dirceu Ten Caten, now 29 years old, is a Congressman / Deputado in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Pará / Assembleia Legislativa do Estado do Pará ALEPA in Belém, the capital of the Amazonian State of Pará. He was introduced to our Human Dignity group by Dan Baron as a hopeful future presidental candidate for Brasil, as someone who can merge social justice with ecological sustainability. Dirceu Ten Caten was born in Marabá in 1989, graduated in law from CESUPA - Centro Universitário do Pará, and is a post-graduate in Public Law from LFG and in Public Policy Management from Unicamp / SP (Universidade Estadual de Campinas / The University of Campinas, commonly called Unicamp, is a public research university in the state of São Paulo, consistently ranked among the top universities in Brasil and Latin America). He started his activism in politics at the age of 14 in a youth ministry in Marabá, with 15 he was a regional coordinator of PSCB (Socialist Cabocla Youth of Pará), in 2012 he founded Cajum (Youth House of Marabá), an NGO of vocational training for youth in the municipality and region. Read more about him on the site of the parliament, on Facebook, or on the site of the Labour Party. See also (translated from Portuguese): 'In 2014, Deputy Dirceu was elected with almost 33,000 votes of confidence and re-elected in 2018 with 59,600 votes in 140 municipalities in Pará. After the two elections, Dirceu made a point of returning to the municipalities to thank them for each vote obtained in the state elections. After two years in office, Dirceu visited all the municipalities under the Bote fé mandate ('have faith') to render public accountability of his work, providing the population with full transparency of his actions in the state parliament and a de facto democratic and participatory mandate'.


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 13 photos of the Dia da Amazônia event with Deputado Dirceu Ten Caten. Dirceu Ten Caten kindly invited Evelin Lindner to speak, and Sandro Ruggeri translated. Congratulations, dear Dirceu, for your future-oriented vision, where you bring together concern for the environment with concern for the weak in society!

Please cilck on the left side to see the official video recording of the entire event of almost three hours on Facebook in large format (or cell phone format).
Please click on the right side to see the section that Evelin Lindner edited out from the large recording. Sandro Ruggeri Dulcet was the translator. Evelin tried to make the same point as in the City Hall of Marabá on 28th August: The Amazon has a sort of wealth that those parts of the world that are called 'wealthy' have lost, namely, the knowledge to live sustainably in complex systems such as the Rainforest. Therefore: 'What is progress? What is a 'developed' country? What is 'wealth'? Evelin reported that many people in the West are oblivious of the fact that their governments create problems with their right hand that the same government then laments by wringing its the left hand when the damage becomes visible. In other words, on one side, governments fire up under exploitation, for instance, through making trade agreements with inappropriate conditions, and then they are surprised by the damage that unfolds, and, on top of that, they expect that the victims will solve the problem. This is double humiliation... A much more holistic approach is needed!<

Evelin reported that many people in the West are oblivious of the fact that their governments create problems with their right hand that the same government then laments by wringing its left hand when the damage becomes visible. In other words, on one side, governments fire up under exploitation, for instance, through making trade agreements with inappropriate conditions, and then they are surprised by the damage that unfolds, and, on top of that, they expect that the victims will solve the problem. This is double humiliation... A much more holistic approach is needed! See, among others, This was the situation in the Amazon, seen from Europe in July 2019: 'Brasil Continues to Destroy the Rainforest – But Resistance Is Growing' (Pdf) is an article that was published in Germany in July 2019, explaining how the forest is cut and telling the story of a small indigenous group who vows to resist. It does not mention European drivers of this destruction, such as the EU-Mercosur agreement. The article misleads the European reader to believe that the problem can be solved within Brasil. The European reader remains unaware that European interests work as an amplifier of the problem. Indeed, the problem did not get smaller after July, on the contrary, it got much worse, as fires were started everywhere on 10th August.
'Global NGOs: Dirty Dozen Companies Driving Deforestation Must Act Now to Stop the Burning of the World's Forests', Amazon Watch, 30th August 2019: Groups call for the immediate suspension of all business and financing with traders active in the Brazilian Amazon: 'The Amazon is on fire. Corporations share the blame. They need to become part of the solution'.


In the evening, through the centre of Belém

• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 5 photos of the centre of Belém

Day Ten, 6th September 2019

This was an all-day excursion to the island of Combú across the river Guarná from Belém
These were the videos we made on this day:
35 On the way to Combú island
36 Flavia of the Saldosa Maloca restaurant on Combú island
37 Aline Voos on Combú island explaining Andiroba
38 Evelin Lindner on Combú island
39 Vitor Nascimento explains the 'Street River' graffiti project Ilha do Combú, the island of Combú, leaving Belém behind!


• Please click here to see the pictures above larger. Combú island is 15 minutes by boat across the Guamá river from Belém. It was almost unreal for us to keep in mind that the Amazon Rainforest was burning further southwest while we enjoyed the unbelievable beauty and richness of the Amazon Rainforest here. Our sadness increased at the fact that there are people out there who strive to destroy these riches so that a few can increase their profit margin.

Vitor Nascimento was our wonderful host and mentor


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 93 photos of the boat journey to the island of Combú that Kamolrat Intaratat and Piyachat from Thailand undertook together with Evelin Lindner, under the guidance and mentorship of Vitor Nascimento. Please see also the small video we made of our journey.
Vitor is 29 years old and knows everyone on Combú island. He apologised that he is not a professional tourist guide, and we whole-heartedly thanked him for not being a professional guide. We told him that some members of our network had just been in Alaska and had been disgusted by the fakeness of the tourist guides there, how they faked authenticity with the aim to entertain the tourists. We told Vitor about the toxic ‘touristification’ of many places of beauty around the world. We told him that we do not believe in the kind of tourism where privileged people treat locals like in a zoo and nature like a leisure park. We told him that we believe in equal dignity of all people and how honoured and privileged we feel to meet him. We told him that we want to be with him as a fellow human being and friend, rather than treat him as a provider of services to customers. The last thing we want is to be ‘customers’, ‘clients’, or ‘tourists’, the last thing we want is to ‘consume’ his kindness as if it were a thing. This, for us, would be utter humiliation, humiliation of him and of us.


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 21 photos of the chocolate atelier on the island of Combú, where we were impressed by the many signs of ecological awareness. What a great architecture! Why do not all new housing projects in Belém take their inspiration here?

The Saldosa Maloca restaurant



• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 38 photos of the Saldosa Maloca restaurant on the island of Combú.

Evelin shared her reflections: Look at its architecture: local material is being used, and the result is immensely beautiful, in contrast to the concrete blocks in Belém. I hear sceptics counter: ‘But, with these local materials you cannot build high rise buildings!’ I know this debate only too well from my time in Egypt, a country that was blessed with a genial architect, Hassan Fathy, who had re-introduced the pharaonic architecture with lime stone and mudbrick. Sanaa in Yemen shows that this kind of architecture can create buildings that have several floors. Yet, this architecture is not what we see being realised. What we see, instead, are investors seeking opportunities, they get a piece of land, and a building with more floors will render more profit than a building with less floors. The investor will hire an architect who has some prototypes in the drawer of his office, which he will then multiply, so as to deliver a mass produced building or a mass-produced composite of buildings, so ugly and impersonal that not the investor himself nor the architect would ever voluntarily want to live in them themselves.

After admiring the beautiful architecture, the organic herb garden, the biogas plant, and the lovely baskets for the separation of waste, please see also the small videos we made:

Please watch the short video with Flavia Saldosa Maloca restaurant on Combú island.

This is Aline Voos, a visitor to Combú island, who kindly took it upon her to explain Andiroba to Evelin Lindner. Please watch the short video.

Ubuçu is a very common palm in the Brazilian Amazon being found on the banks of the floodplains mainly in the states of Amazonas, Pará, and Amapá. The stem of this palm reaches 3 to 5 meters high and 3 centimeters thick. The leaves reach 5 to 7 meters in length and they stay in the stem after they dry. People living along the river use its leaves to cover houses to protect them from the rain and the sun. The tough, flexible natural vegetable fibers that surround the fruits of the palm tree are what is called Tururi. These fibers are widely used in the making of crafts and fashion utilities. Before use, the fiber undergoes a softening process by washing in running water to remove impurities. Its natural colour is dark brown. See the Tururi that Evelin bought on the left side and a short video showing the palm tree and the leaves on the right side.

Please watch the short video, where Evelin Lindner tries to express her sadness about the fact that others strive to destroy these riches so that a few can increase their profit margin. Evelin is almost afraid to show this paradisiac place to the world in this video, because not only flames can destroy a place, mass tourism has turned out to be destructive, too.

The 'Street River' graffiti project


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 10 photos of the 'Street River' graffiti project on the island of Combú.

Please watch this short video, where Vitor Nascimento explains the 'Street River' graffiti project, the first open-air art gallery within the Amazon. The 'Street River' project is a non-profit project that uses art as a transformation tool in a practical ways. It invited 10 artists from all over Brasil to portray riverside life in the Amazonian region together with the people living there and they recorded this in a documentary. See 'Arte & Design: A 1ª galeria de arte a céu aberto da Amazônia', Evandro Pimentel, Red Bull, 19 Julho 2017.

 

Day Eleven, 7th September 2019

Kamolrat Intaratat explained her work

• Please click on the photo or here to see the video where Kamolrat Intaratat explains her work with the Research Center of Communication and Development Knowledge Management. Our dear Kjell Skyllstad brought Kamolrat Intaratat to us. She travelled for 42 hours, together with her colleagues Piyachat, all the way from Bangkok to the Amazon. Kamolrat is the director and founder of the Research Center of Communication and Development Knowledge Management (CCDKM) at the Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University (STOU) in Nonthaburi, in the northern outskirts of Bangkok in Thailand. She is also the Chair of the Communication Arts for ASEAN International Program (Master Degree Program).

Post-conference experiences and reflections by Evelin Lindner

These were the two videos that Evelin Lindner made after the conference:
41 Praça da República in Belém
42 Mercado Ver-o-peso in Belém

Evelin Lindner explains: 'In our global dignity network, we create "circles of love gifts", meaning that people on one continent give small gifts for other members of our global fellowship on another continent. The giver and receiver are connected by email, so that these gifts become bridge-builders. When time is too short, Evelin sometimes also buys gifts (small unexpensive light-weight gifts). She avoids high-flying souvernir shops (in touristic places, many of the items are now mass-produced in China anyway) and looks for people who make things themselves. She also looks for household items that might be considered "normal" on one continent and are educational for people on another continent. She never just buys 'things', but attempts to forge relationships and to understand the source and use of the items in the lives of the local people. She asks for permission to take a picture or make a little video'.

Praça da República in Belém, 8th September 2019



• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 18 photos of the Praça da República in Belém. You can also see a brief video. On the left side you see the kind woman who gave me all her creative hair clips. In the middle you see Cheiro do Pará. On the right side you see a lovely woman with a feather hair dress. I was very happy to find some of the jewellery made of golden grass or capim dourado (Syngonanthus nitens) and buriti fibers (from the Moriche Palm) again, as signs of love from the Amazon for our network members in Europe and America. See the picture on the right from my time in the Amazon in 2012.

About the Praça da República, translated from the Portuguese Wikipedia site: 'At first it was Largo da Campina, a huge open land that was between the Campina neighborhood and the road that led to the chapel of Nossa Senhora de Nazaré. Then, in the eighteenth century, there was built a huge warehouse to store gunpowder, tracing its name to Largo da Póvora. A gallows has been erected, but there is no record of any hanging. What is known is that the space was used to bury, in a shallow grave, slaves and the poor... Today Praça da República becomes the ideal stage for major celebrations such as the Círio de Nazaré, Race Day and the September 7 parade. The other 362 days of the year make it the ideal place for family outings, evangelism, meeting friends or dating'.

The Ver-o-peso market in Belém, 9th September 2019


• Please click on the photos above to see it larger.

Wikipedia: Ver-o-peso market is a market hall in Belém, Brasil located at Guajará Bay riverside. It is called "Ver-o-Peso" following a colonial era tradition, since the tax collector's main post was located there, which was called "Casa do Haver-o-peso" ("Have-the-Weight House"). It was in the "Haver-o-peso house" that the taxes over goods brought from the Amazon forests, rivers and countryside should be paid to the Portuguese crown, but only after their weight was measured, hence the name, which later suffered a contraction. Nowadays, the Ver-o-peso complex contains the Açaí Fair, a free open market where açaí berry merchants sell the fruit in natura for açaí juice shops, the Clock Square, with an iron-cast clock tower brought from England, the Ver-o-peso docks, where native fishes from Amazon are unloaded from boats and sold fresh, the Iron Market, a gothic prefab structure where fish is sold, the Solar da Beira space, a colonial building where art expositions often take place, and the neoclassical Meat Market, across the street, with iron-cast stairs and cubicles. There's also the free market, where craftsmanship, natural essence parfums, typical food and native fruits are sold.


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 42 photos of the Ver-o-peso market in Belém on 9th September. See also the video. There you see how this kind woman explains that cheiro do Pará is a mixture of Priprioca and Patchouli.

Cyperus articulatus is an aromatic species of sedge known by the common names jointed flatsedge and priprioca.

Patchouli is a species of plant from the family Lamiaceae, commonly called the 'mint' or 'deadnettle' family. The plant grows as a bushy herb, with erect stems reaching around 75 centimetres in height and bearing small, pale pink-white flowers. It is native to tropical regions of Asia, and is now extensively cultivated in China, Indonesia, Japan, Cambodia, Myanmar, India, Maldives, Malaysia, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar, Taiwan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, South America and the Caribbean.

Crescentia cujete, commonly known as the Calabash Tree, is species of flowering plant that is native to Central, South America, West Indies and southern Florida. Cuia, cabaça, cabaço, coité, cuieté, cuietê, cuité and cuitê are the names given to the fruit of this tree in Portuguese.


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 42 photos of the Ver-o-peso market in Belém on 9th September. See also the video. There you see how this kind man explains the kinds of woods he uses for his handicraft, for instance, he uses the raiz (root) of the Cumarú tree in front of which we stand in this picture. He writes the following list on a piece of paper for Evelin: Cortiça, Embauba, Cumarú, Miriji (?), Taboca:

Cortiça or cork is an impermeable buoyant material, the phellem layer of bark tissue that is harvested for commercial use primarily from Quercus suber (the cork oak), which is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa. Cork is composed of suberin, a hydrophobic substance. Because of its impermeable, buoyant, elastic, and fire retardant properties, it is used in a variety of products, the most common of which is wine stoppers. The montado landscape of Portugal produces approximately half of cork harvested annually worldwide, with Corticeira Amorim being the leading company in the industry.

Embauba or Cecropia is a Neotropical genus consisting of 61 recognized species with a highly distinctive lineage of dioecious trees. The genus consists of pioneer trees in the more or less humid parts of the Neotropics, with the majority of the species being myrmecophytic. ... The genus is native to the American tropics, where it is one of the most recognizable components of the rainforest.

Cumarú or Dipteryx odorata is commonly known as 'cumaru' or 'kumaru' and is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. The tree is native to Central America and northern South America. Its seeds are known as tonka beans (sometimes tonkin beans or tonquin beans). They are black and wrinkled and have a smooth, brown interior. They have a strong fragrance similar to sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum) due to their high content of coumarin.

Taboca or Guadua is a Neotropical genus of thorny, clumping bamboo in the grass family, ranging from moderate to very large species. Physically, Guadua angustifolia is noted for being the largest Neotropical bamboo. The genus is similar to Bambusa and is sometimes included in that genus. Several animals are, to a various extent, associated with stands of Guadua bamboo, for example several species of seedeaters, and the Amazon and Atlantic Bamboo Rats.


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 42 photos of the Ver-o-peso market in Belém on 9th September. See also the video. There you meet Josema and can listen to his explanations of his work with the Pará nuts.

The Brasil nut tree (castanha-do-brasil, castanha-do-pará) is the only species in the monotypic genus Bertholletia. It is native to the Guianas, Venezuela, Brasil, eastern Colombia, eastern Peru, and eastern Bolivia. Brasil nut trees produce fruit almost exclusively in pristine forests, as disturbed forests lack the large-bodied bees of the genera Bombus, Centris, Epicharis, Eulaema, and Xylocopa which are the only ones capable of pollinating the tree's flowers, with different bee genera being the primary pollinators in different areas, and different times of year. Brasil nuts have been harvested from plantations, but production is low and is currently not economically viable.


• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 42 photos of the Ver-o-peso market in Belém on 9th September. See also the video. There you meet Miriam and you can listen to her explanations of the products of the Amazon.
Evelin was advised by locals that robbery even at gunpoint can happen also during day-time, and anywhere in the city, and she therefore exercised approprate caution. At the end of this video, you met Miriam, who kindly got Evelin an Uber (widely used both in Marabá and Belém) and waited with Evelin for the car to arrive in a safe place in front of a little police stand.

Evelin Lindner's reflections on 5th September 2019: 'Brasil Continues to Destroy the Rainforest – But Resistance Is Growing' is the title of an article that was published in Germany in July 2019. The title explains how the forest is cut and then tells the story of a small indigenous group who vows to resist. The title gives European readers the impression that they can lean back in the hope that the problem with the Amazon will be solved within Brasil. The European reader remains unaware that, for example, the EU-Mercosur agreement as it stands now works as an amplifier of the problem. In other words, first, we have the European Union aggravating a problem by incentivising exploitation, and when the damage of this exploitation becomes apparent, the same people hope that the exploited themselves will solve the problem. In my eyes, this represents 'double humiliation'. As we know, the problem did not get solved after the above-mentioned article appeared in July, on the contrary, the problem got much worse when massive fires were started on 10th August.

Evelin Lindner's reflections on 20th September 2019, upon return to Germany to take care of her aged father: Germany is a culture shock for me now. Today, I went past a tourist shop called 'holiday-land'. I thought: Here, the 'world house' is on fire, and every hand is needed to contain the fire even though some rooms in the house – such as Germany – are still relatively unaffected. The people in that room are hard-working people, however, they seem oblivious of the fact that many of their 'jobs' contribute to the fire (the production of arms, pesticides, plastic, just to name some), and that their 'normal' lives depend on exploiting others (statistically, every German citizen holds 60 slaves in the rest of the world). When asked to contribute to the containment of the fire, those hard-working people say: 'Sorry, but I am too exhausted from my job... sorry, but I need a holiday in "holiday-land"' (which is another room in the burning house that is still relatively unaffected)... My question: How can we liberate everyone from this systemic dilemma situation that almost automatically leads us all into systemic humiliation? My answer has been to dedicate my entire life to this predicament. In 2012, my answer was to write the book A Dignity Economy, yet, all this is too weak...

Evelin Lindner's reflections on 6th October 2019: International attention to the fires in the Amazon clearly had an impact. In a meeting with Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro on 27th August 2019, Mato Grosso Governor Mauro Mendes spoke about the fires and on behalf of agribusiness expansion: 'Brasil’s image is extremely important to our relations with most of our clients [in the] outside world. Sixty percent of the state’s GDP comes from exports. So when we have a problem [like the one] that happened a few days ago [with the Amazon fires] and took undesirable [international criticism], I got very worried'.
See 'State Governors Support Bolsonaro’s Amazon Mining, Agribusiness Plans', by Jenny Gonzales, Mongabay, 9th September 2019. His worries may be warranted, as 'People Are Seriously Talking About Invading Brasil to Save the Planet', by Aaron Gell, Medium, 24th September 2019.
Evelin Lindner's thoughts: What about 'invading' the Amazon with the world's students? Why not declaring the Rainforest the world's most important 'analogue university' and elevating all those people who know how to live sustainably within a complex system such as the Rainforest to be 'world dignity professors'? This is the idea of the World Dignity University initiative!
More and more students are now sceptical of brick-and-mortar universities, what about reality as university? What about the reality of the Amazon as university? The knowledge held in the Amazon is a form of wealth that so-called 'developed' countries have lost....
‘Yes, "reality as university", dearest Evelin!’ This was the reaction from our dear Linda Hartling when I shared these thoughts on our conference’s WhatsApp group. Linda continued: ‘The Amazon as university! The Earth as university!’
Our wish is for all the dignifiers of this world to hold hands! We welcome everyone who might be interested to contribute to our particular share in this effort. The website for our World Dignity University initiative was built by our esteemed Uli Spalthoff. We need a full time successor for him now! Also our Dignity Press needs new a person who can hold the threads together and nurture it full time. All what we do is entirely a labour of love, which means that we work on a shoestring budget, that nobody receives a salary, and there are no offices. For our full time positions, we would like to reach out to people with the necessary expertise who are dignifiers, who are just retired with a pension and would like to donate a number of years as a gift to humanity!
A LOVING WELCOME TO ALL!
Evelin Lindner's reflections on 9th October 2019: What shocked me most in the Amazon, is how the concept of dignity is the main battle-field also here. As everywhere in the world, I hear the adherents of industrialisation say that 'true dignity' is linked to what they deem the only 'true 'work', namely, work that is part of the world of money – for example, extracting minerals, or cutting trees for sales, as this can make the GDP go up. (You see the same argument also in this documentary: Who is Protecting our Forests?, Arte, 2018).
What is overlooked is that the GDP does not measure dignity. The GDP can go up also when dignity is being destroyed. True dignity, and true 'work', to me, is what people do when they live in dialogue with the Rainforest, rather than destroying it for short-term profit. We all know that saying: ‘When the Last Tree Is Cut Down, the Last Fish Eaten, and the Last Stream Poisoned, You Will Realize That You Cannot Eat Money’.
A Summary of Evelin Lindner's impressions during the 2019 Dignity Conference in the Amazon, 10th October 2019
In this video, Evelin Lindner tries to summarise her impressions and reflections in the Amazonian State of Pará from 26th August to 10th September 2019. She created this video after the 33rd Annual Dignity Conference had ended, of which she was one of the conveners. The conference took place in Marabá and Belém from 29th August to 7th September 2019, and was accompanied by a global WhatsApp group. Please be aware that this video has been brought together using very basic software. It is kept 'unlisted' to protect the privacy of the people who are included.






Quellenangabe für die drei unteren Bilder: Zeilen Sprung - Das Redaktionsbüro Dewezet

19. August 2019: "Für ein neues Miteinander", Vortrag von Evelin Lindner im Bürgerhus, Kupferschmiedestr. 13, Hameln, 19. August, 2019, 19.00 Uhr.
Ein GROSSES tief empfundenes Danke von Evelin an die Organisatoren Artes Wesera & ZediTA!
Und Danke für die wunderschönen Geschenke!
Auf dem Bild oben ist links Hans Ludwig Meyer, der Präsident der Hochschule Weserbergland, dann Karla Ewerdt und Tanja Flügel von Artes Wesera, und Sebastian Reh von ZediTA.
Ein grosses Danke auch an Helge und Doris für den "hand-shake"!
Hier ist die Pressemitteilung (die auch in der Deister- und Weserzeitung (Dewezet) erschien), dann die Einladung, und die Vorankündigung in der Dewezet, und dann der Dewezet Artikel danach, mit dem Titel Für "ein neues Miteinander".

Ankündigung im Radio-Aktiv mit Jens Lindner:
"Für ein neues Miteinander"

Video des Vortrages:
"Für ein neues Miteinander"
(leider hört das Video am Ende wegen Tonstörung plötzlich auf)

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17. Mai 2019: Lieber Norbert Flegel und Manfred Maihöfer! Einen großen Dank für die großartige Führung durch das Edeka Regionallager in Lauenau! Wir sind 1961 zusammen eingeschult worden, und es war eine Freude, zu sehen, was aus dem Sohn eines kleinen Geschäftes im Dorf geworden ist!
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7th May 2019, what a wonderful birthday gift, THANK YOU, dear beloved friend!!!

Best Wishes
'Imagined kingdom in heaven. There is a peach orchard in the heaven and fairies pick peaches to celebrate the birthday of the heavenly Queen'.
The music is special because the band includes 'set bells' and 'music stones'. This set of musical instruments was buried in soil in 3rd Century B.C. It was unearthed in 1970s and can still be used for performance. In the attachment you may find pictures of set bells and music stones.
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3rd May 2019: Thank you, dear Sebastian Reh, for introducing me to Hannes Buchholz and the Hafven community in Hannover, Germany!
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31. mars 2019: Min kjære Trine! Jeg har ingen ord! Jeg beundrer din kraft og mot uten ende!
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31st March 2019: What a joy to admire Mai-Bente Bonnevie's exhibition of her paintings in Oslo together with Gerdelin Bodvin! I miss you, dear Mai-Bente and Gerdelin!
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28th and 29th March 2019
What a wonderful time at the United World College in Flekke, Fjaler kommune, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway!

How wonderful it was to be welcomed to the UWC by Arne Osland, Director of Development, in the morning of the 28th, and by Guðmundur Hegner Jónsson, its Rector, and his wonderful wife Katarina and their equally wonderful friends Paulina and Sven! And to meet IT expert Madhulika Singh, responsible for external UWC activities, on the 29th, just before leaving...
I miss you all!

This is the text on 'dignity and dignitaries' on the UWC website:
This year’s annual Mandela Lecture was given by Evelin Lindner in our auditorium March 29th, on the theme – From Humiliation to Dignity: for a Future of Solidarity. Equality in dignity was a central concept in Evelin’s address to the students, or to use a Norwegian term: Likeverd. This both resembles and is opposed to the concept of a dignitary, someone you subject yourself to. At the same time we had a group of 15 volunteers and participants at Ridderrennet, an event in the spirit of Likeverd, for joint athletic achievements and companionship. On completion of the final race, our two participants, Chat (Cambodia) and Hannah (Liberia) received their congratulations from Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Equality in dignity on and off campus.

Read more on uwcrcn.no:
UWC Red Cross Nordic is a vibrant and unique College as part of the wider UWC movement. Founded in 1995 the College was opened by Her Majesty Queen Sonja and is sponsored by the Nordic governments and the Norwegian Red Cross.
With its Nordic heritage, humanitarian understanding and environmental vision, the College aims to provide a deliberately diverse community of young people with a meaningful appreciation and understanding of the shared humanity that binds us together. Our hope is that when they leave our shores they do so armed with the skills and insights needed to make positive strides in furthering peace and sustainability, not only in their local communities, but around the world.
Located in an unparalleled coastal location on the shores of Flekke fjord the campus and surrounding landscapes provide an inspirational setting for our College community. Every year over 200 students from over 90 countries assemble to live and work together over the course of their studies. Students undertake the rigours of the two year IB Diploma and participate in a wide range of activities beyond the classroom.
...
Borders? I have never seen one. But I have heard they exist in the minds of some people.
Thor Heyerdahl
We are the real countries, not the boundaries drawn on maps with the names of powerful men.
Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient


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These are Sven BD Onnerstad's wonderful photos! Thank you, dear Sven!




• Please click on the pictures above or here to see more of Sven's GREAT pictures!
29th March 2019
It was a great honour for me to be invited to hold the Annual Mandela Lecture at the Red Cross Nordic United World College in 6968 Flekke, Fjaler kommune, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway, on 29th March 2019. The title of her lecture was 'From Humiliation to Dignity: For a Future of Global Solidarity'. Thank you to Manuel Macedo for recording this lecture!

Video:
Annual Mandela Lecture, United World College, Norway 'From Humiliation to Dignity: For a Future of Global Solidarity'
(Please be aware that this is an unedited video.)

28th March 2019: with Widerøe from Oslo to Førde with a Dash 8 aircraft!


27th March 2019: I was so impressed to learn about the wonderful Peace & Conflict Studies at Bjørknes University College in Oslo! Thank you so much for your great work, dear Torstein Dale-Åkerlund and Nik Brandal! How wonderful to learn that Henrik Syse contributed to developing the Peace & Conflict Studies! And that also Bernt Hagtvet is with you!
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26th March 2019: I had the great privilege of being together with my dear Ragnhild Nilsen! We first met in 1994, which means that we celebrated our 25th jubilee in 2019! And what a gift you are, dear Eline, you are a miracle!
Dearest Ragnhild, please know that we all, our entire global dignity community, wish you the strength and inspiration you need for the next stage in your and our mission!
YOU ARE AN AMAZING DIGNIFYING FORCE IN THE WORLD!
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23rd March 2019: What a gift! Learning to connect my identity as a global explorer (more of a male identity) with being a woman...
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26th March 2019: What an immense privilege to be able to meet with Thomas Hylland Eriksen!
Dear Thomas, you are our DIGNITY HERO!!!
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23rd March 2019: In the wonderful Opera building of Oslo in Norway! Happy happy birthday, dearest Mette-søster!!!
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27th February 2019, what an honour it was to be together with eminent philosopher Inga Bostad, former Director of the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights / Norsk senter for menneskerettigheter!
Inga’s visionary leadership and extraordinary efforts are an inspiration to every aspect of HumanDHS work in the world. Her life is a testimony to the power of dignity and peace. Inga Bostad embodies the indomitable courage, conviction, and spirit of Bertha von Suttner, the first women to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
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23rd March 2019: In the wonderful Opera building of Oslo in Norway! Happy happy birthday, dearest Mette-søster!!!
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22nd March 2019:
'On Dignity and Humiliation', annual lecture at the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo in Norway, Harald Schjelderups hus, Forskningsveien 3, auditorium 3, 12.15-14.00.
We thank the Department of Psychology for this invitation.
See all of Evelin's talks in Norway at https://conta.cc/2Tn531n.
It was wonderful to be surrounded by great students and members of our dignity family, Lasse Moer, Mai-Bente Bonnevie, Barbro Bakken, Lisbeth and Per Glad, and Gerdelin Bodvin...

• Video
On Dignity and Humiliation
Thank you, dear Lasse Moer, for the wonderful video-recording!

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21st March 2019: What a privilege to learn from Ingela Lundin Kvalem, Associate Professor - Department of Psychology! Her research interests are many, among them, body image and body ideals, and development and evaluation of health interventions. Your inspiration and support, as far back as to 1997, dear Ingela, is priceless to me!
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On 21st March 2019, 10.15-14.00, 'Post-Conflict, Reconstruction, and Reconciliation. The Case of Rwanda' a closed lecture at the Department of Psychology, Harald Schjelderups hus, Forskningsveien 3, Oslo, Norway, followed by the students presenting their group work on Rwanda. It is a great privilege to be part of PSY4506 – Human Rights, Democracy and Reconstruction after Conflict; A community based approach, by Nora Sveaass and Inger Skjelsbæk.
It was a great honour to meet wonderful students, among them "global minds" students. Please see the Master Programme Global Minds, and read its description: 'Recent societal challenges such as Europe’s refugee crisis or the rise of political extremism call for experts to tackle pressing issues of mobility, inclusion and diversity. Our goal is to offer a timely master programme that responds to these needs'.
In June 2015, the 25th Annual Dignity Conference took place in Kigali, Rwanda.
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It is such a privilege and honour to know Nora Sveaass! She is a clinical psychologist and Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo. Nora was the head of the International Society for Health and Human Rights, and she took the initiative to establish Health and Human Rights Info (HHRI), which she chairs. Until 2013, she was a member of the UN Committee against Torture, now she is a member of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture. She has worked for many years with survivors of trauma and forced migration at Oslo University’s Psychosocial Centre for Refugees.
Nora has been honoured with many prizes and awards, among others, she received the 2018 human rights prize of the University of Oslo! CONGRATULATIONS!
And it is another privilege and honour to know brilliant Sigrun Moss, associate professor in cultural and community psychology at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo. Sigrun is among the most gifted researchers and educators I know, a priceless gift to her students, colleagues, and society at large. The University of Oslo can deem itself extremely lucky to have her!
• Please click on the photo above, taken in the cafe of the university in the morning of 21st March 2019, to see it larger.



What a privilege and honour it was to be together with Aase Myrtveit on 20th March 2019! Thank you so much, dear Aase, for being such a wonderful and deep thinker!
Hvilket privilegium og ære det var for meg å være sammen med Aase Myrtveit på 20. mars 2019 og lære av henne! Tusen takk, kjære Aase, for at du en så utrolig dyp tenker!

Takk for at du har inkludert meg i ditt fantastiske radioprogram tidligere!
• Ydmykelse - følelsens atombombe, NRK P2, verdibørsen, opptak 24. mars, sendt den 28. mars 2017
• ...hva gjør ydmykelsen så farlig? ...sammenhengen mellom terror og ydmykelse ...terror handler ikke bare om ydmykelse, mens også heltemot og ære: hvordan? ...hva med politikken og ideologienes rolle? ...følelser i politikken; DE føler seg ydmyket, mens VI er redde? (hva gjør denne redselen med oss?) ...hvor viktig er følelser i politikken ...fører globalisering til mer konflikt? ...om å vende seg vekk fra den globale landsbyen ...hvorfor ikke vende seg vekk?

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Øivind Hoff

19th March 2019: How can we ever adequately thank all friends at the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo in Norway!

How can we ever adequately thank Egil Bergh-Telle and his colleagues for their ongoing support for our global dignity work!
It would not be possible without them! Our unending gratitude goes to you, dear Egil and Øivind Hoff, Per-Ole Bjørnstad and Alan Serhan!
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On 23rd February 2017, it was a great privilege for Egil Bergh-Telle and me to honour Øivind Hoff for his extraordinary contributions to the global dignity work with his wonderful wide expertise in information technology!
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And please meet Nicklas Viki! See his photo at the bottom. Thank you so much for your loving support, dear Nicklas!
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It is interesting for me to see how the militaristic culture that is shaped by the security dilemma and its motto 'If you want peace, prepare for war', plays out in the region where I am when I am taking care of my family (my family was forcibly displaced from Silesia to Lower Saxony in 1946). I am intrigued by the memorial in Bad Pyrmont and how relevant such places still are. This memorial was vandalised in February 2019.
The culture of the security dilemma is expressed in the description that accompanied the erection of this monument after WWI, as cited in a background article by Bernhard Gelderblom:

Vier Soldaten stehen in monumentaler Ausführung auf einem hohen Sockel und schauen wachsam in die Weite. In einer zeitgenössischen Beschreibung heißt es: „Vier Soldaten versinnlichen das opferbereite Deutschland.
Nach Norden schaut der Landsturmmann;
nach Osten gewandt ist der Landwehrmann;
nach Westen der aktive Soldat;
nach Süden, das Gesicht zur Sonne gerichtet, blickt (fast betend) der Freiwillige!“
Obwohl auf den Seiten des Sockels die Namen der Gefallenen aus Holzhausen, Bad Pyrmont und Oesdorf eingemeißelt sind, erinnert hier nichts an Tod und Sterben. „Die Bildsprache der vier Krieger steht für eine offensive Ausrichtung“ (Dr. Dieter Alfter).
Als das Denkmal 1936 unter großer Beteiligung der NSDAP, vor allem der SA, durch den Stabschef der SA Viktor Lutze eingeweiht wurde, legte sich dieser die Frage vor:
Warum vier Krieger, warum eine derartige Gruppierung, warum Altersunterschiede?
„Es ist der Sinn der Symbolik des Ehrenmals zu zeigen, dass Deutschlands Armeen zusammengesetzt aus allen Altersklassen 4 Jahre lang unerschütterlich im Kampf erprobt ihre Plicht gegen alle Gegner der Welt taten.“

• Please click on the photo above to see the background article by Bernhard Gelderblom (in German).


Evelin's pictures