Hua-Chu Yen is a Senior Multimedia Producer at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she is part of the Office of TC Generation. Her role involves creating digital content and managing various aspects of the college's digital infrastructure, including editorial work, media relations, creative services, and social media management.
Yen's work often focuses on digital storytelling and spatial experiences, utilizing tools like 3D modeling and existing photographs to create interactive environments. She has received her education from Teachers College of Columbia University.

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November 27, 2024, Oslo, Norway, and New York City

The world has become poorer with our beloved Thomas having gone from us! We send our most deep felt condolences to Kari, his wife.
I know Thomas since 1994 and he was an immensely important supporter of our global dignity work!
We are all extremely sad.
Wishing you all the strength you need now, dear Kari!
With love, Evelin, on behalf of the entire global dignity community.

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November 26, 2024, United Palace, Manhattan, New York City

What a gift this was, dear Jorge, that you invited me to a rehearsal of your Christmas show that will soon travel the U.S.A.!
How wonderful that we met at the Metropolitan Opera some weeks ago!

Jorge Espitia is a dancer, actor, and singer known for his contributions to the performing arts, particularly in dance and theater. He is a creative leader dedicated to artistic education and youth development, a teacher, director, producer, and performer in the performing arts.
He has actively participated in various projects. Espitia has received formal training at institutions like the AMDA College of the Performing Arts. With an athletic build and a height of 5'10", he possesses an engaging presence that enhances his performances. He has a diverse background, encompassing Latino/Hispanic and European heritage.
Kindly read about his traveling experiences (in Spanish).

The design of the United Palace is Asian-inspired, but "also incorporates elements of Aztec, Classical, Egyptian, Islamic, Mayan, and Mughal architecture" (Wikipedia)

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November 25, 2024, Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, Manhattan, New York City

What a joy to reconnect with you, dearest Amine! How wonderful that you lead the Office of Global Engagement!
You are doing such important work! As I shared with you last year, I notice on all continents that the name of John Dewey will forever be connected with Teachers College and its global work! And YES, organizing one of our annual Dignity Conferences in Moroccor would be WONDERFUL!

A big thank-you goes to my dear and esteemed Portia for established the Office of International Affairs (OIA)!
Its mission: In 2008, Teachers College (TC) established the Office of International Affairs (OIA) to renew its commitment to global education. In 2022, Dr. Portia Williams renamed the office as the Office of Global Engagement (OGE). OGE's mission is to lead the College in building sustainable and mutually beneficial partnerships that promote quality scholarship and practice. OGE is responsible for developing, coordinating, and expanding the scope of TC's international initiatives. The office acts as a liaison between internal and international entities, sets guidelines for collaboration, and serves as a clearing house for international information and resources.

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November 25, 2024, Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, Manhattan, New York City

Thank you so much, dearest Hyunjin Yeo, I am so glad that we met!
The Office of International Students and Scholars has been my New York City home since 2001!
I have regarded our dear Marion Boultbee and Samantha Lu as my TC mothers! And I miss Patricia very much!

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November 23, 2024, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Manhattan, New York City

Thank you so much, dearest Marlin, I am so glad that we met last year at the Metropolitan Opera!

Marlin R. A. Mattson, MD, is Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine and prior to retirement was Associate Vice-chair for Compliance in the Department of Psychiatry for Weill Cornell Medical College. Trained in Psychiatry at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's Payne Whitney Clinic, he has spent his entire career at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Through this period, he has been actively involved with quality assurance, peer review, continuous quality improvement, patient safety, standards of care, accreditation, risk management, and utilization review.

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November 23, 2024, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Manhattan, New York City

I was so glad to hear Lise Davidsen! If you speak Norwegian, kindly watch this!

Tosca
We read in the program:
"Ah, you abuser! You tormented me for an entire night, should I not then have my turn? She bends over him, staring at him eye to eye. Look at me, scoundrel. Ah, to delight in your agony, and dying by a woman’s hand, you coward! Die, wild beast, die despairing, enraged, die, die, die!
Floria Tosca ... shouts these lines at the end of Act IV in Victorien Sardou’s play La Tosca (1887) right after stabbing the man who has just tried to grab her. Floria has been blackmailed, assaulted, and psychologically manipulated by Baron Scarpia, the Roman chief of police who has had her in his clutches. At the Paris premiere, it was Sarah Bernhardt who delivered those lines 'with feral joy and laughter,' according to the stage directions...."

My neighbor in the opera said: "We are all now being blackmailed by the Scarpia's of this world!"

Kindly see also the 'opera essays' I wrote in 2015:
- Tannhäuser, terrorism, revolution, and economism
- Alban Berg’s Lulu, and the Journey from Humiliation to Dignity, from the “Machine Principle” to the “Life Principle”
- The Dangerous “Glory” of Killing: La Donna del Lago and Die Fledermaus
- Puccini’s Tosca, and the Journey toward Respect for Equal Dignity for All
- See also chapter 6 in my book Honor, Humiliation, and Terror

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November 21, 2024, Manhattan, New York City

What a gift to be with my dear friend Xiaojue Hu in Prince Tea House Ktown in Fifth Avenue!
THANK YOU so much, dearest Xiaojue, for your immense love!

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November 21, 2024, David Geffen Hall, Manhattan, New York City

How wonderful to reconnect with you, dear Karen Hirsch!
Thank you for your immensely important advice and reflections with respect to our upcoming workshop!
You are a pillar of the HumanDHS network since 2009. You work for dignity through deep listening, dialogue, and kindness and you wrote in 2023: "When people experience openhearted, kind listening, it almost always contributes to their feeling more relaxed, valued, and open."
Thank you!!!

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20th November 2024, Tanzania and Global

'From Humiliation to Dignity: We Cannot Afford More Setbacks'
(MAMA recording | HumanDHS copy | PowerPoint)

I am deeply thankful to Dr. George Mutalemwa for inviting me on behalf of the Africa Peace and Development Network (Mtandao wa Amani na Maendeleo Afrika, MAMA) to 'Global Peace Studies for Sustainable Development in Africa', a series of weekly academic and professional discussions on peace education, peace research, and peace activism, as well as on the question of sustainable development.
Global Peace events take place every Wednesday from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Dar-es-Salaam/Kampala/Nairobi.

Dr. George Mutalemwa
Global Peace Studies for Sustainable Development in Africa
Africa Peace and Development Network (Mtandao wa Amani na Maendeleo Afrika)
St. Augustine University of Tanzania
PO Box 307 Mwanza, Tanzania

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18. november 2024, Den Norske Sjømannskirken i New York, Manhattan, New York City

Temakveld med Nicolai Tangen, i konversasjon med Ivar Eilertsen
Takk, kjære venner ved den Norske Sjømannskirken i New York, for at dere alltid organiserer aldeles interessante arrangementer!
Ikke minst setter jeg også stor pris på deres flotte utvalg av "nostalgiske" norske produkter!

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November 18, 2024, UN Church Center, Manhattan, New York City

What an honour to be in conversation with Dr. Youssef Mahmoud, on of the most eminent global thinkers we have in our times!
This conversation is part of the Dignity Conversations Series. This conversation took place on 18th November 2024 at the International Peace Institute, which is located in the UN Church Center, directly across the street from the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, at 777 United Nations Plaza. This 12-story building houses various religious offices and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) dedicated to humanitarian efforts and peace initiatives.

• Dignity Conversation with Dr. Youssef Mahmoud (Video)
Dr. Mahmoud spoke in his personal capacity.
• The panorama view from the UN Church Center (Video)

Dear Youssef, thank you so much for showing us all the way to becoming good future ancestors!

Indeed, we built our 2019 workshop at Columbia University on the concept of 'becoming better ancestors' that was brought to us first by
by Lyndon Harris. Kindly see, for example, Lucien Lombardo's contribution, 'Adults "Becoming Better Ancestors" through Exploring Their Childhood Experiences with Human Dignity' (Pdf | Video).

Thank you so much for making me aware of Bill Sharpe and the Three Horizons framework that he developed as an approach to thinking about the future and managing change, not just as a planning tool, but as a way to develop 'future consciousness' — a rich awareness of future potential that can guide action in the present.
In my work, starting about twenty years ago, I used the term ‘Trojan Horses’ for new ideas that can be brought into the cracks of old paradigms almost 'secretly', forming seeds for new realities. In my book on global solidarity, I 'collected' similar thoughts by other thinkers, I quote from page 93:
Philosopher Howard Richards expresses similar thoughts in his search for ‘levers’ and ‘fulcrums’ that have the power ‘to move theory’ — Richards speaks of ‘growth points’ when he observes practices that provide ‘accounts of facts on the ground’, which, even though they may not precisely ‘falsify theoretical claims as stated in their own terms’, at least ‘cast them in a different light’. Other scholars use different terms for the same line of thought, for instance, environmental scientist Donella Meadows sees ‘leverage points’ to intervene in a system, while Erik Olin Wright puts his hopes on ‘changes in the interstices’, places in the institutional structures that are largely overlooked and have therefore better chances to persist than those aimed at higher-level structure. Paulo Freire used the phrase of 'temas bisagra' or ‘hinge themes’ that can serve as wedges or hinges, while systems theorist Buckminster Fuller thought of ‘trimtabs’, the miniature rudders in front of ocean liners that help the main rudder to shift direction almost effortlessly by changing the pressure in front of it. Philosopher Roy Bhaskar speaks of the ‘transcendental argument’, while Steven Cohen, executive director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, simply calls it ‘reasons for hope’. We may expect that Aryeh Neier would respond by saying that trimtabs can also point into the wrong direction and become ‘reasons for despair’.

Thank you also so much for making me aware of the concept of the Politics of Being! Thomas Legrand wrote a book titled Politics of Being: Wisdom and Science for a New Development Paradigm, which outlines this philosophy. When I looked at it, I was astonished that Legrand seems not to mention the work of Erich Fromm, the first name that comes to my mind for the choice between having and being. Fromm influenced me very much when I was a student (together with Martin Buber and others).
See Fromm's classic book from 1976 'To Have or to Be'.

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November 13, 2024, Inwood, Manhattan, New York City

Thank you so much, dearest Janet, for being a pillar of our work all the way back since 2001! Congratulations on your recent book, Reclaimative post-conflict justice: Democratizing justice in the World Tribunal on Iraq (Cham, Switzerland: Springer International, 2021) co-authored with Dale Snauwaert!

Dr. Janet C. Gerson is the recipient of the 2018 HumanDHS Lifetime Commitment Award.

As a Board Member of HumanDHS, Janet co-hosts Dignity Now circles in New York City since 2015, initiated by Michael Britton with Judit Révész and Chipamong Chowdhury. The first meeting took place in Janet Gerson's NYC art gallery home on November 14, 2015, on the occasion of Gaby Saab's return to the city.

Dr. Janet C. Gerson is a political theorist, writer, artist, and activist educator who has taught peace education, conflict processes, transformative learning, and futures envisioning. She is the Education Director of the International Institute on Peace Education (IIPE), and former Co-Director of the Peace Education Center at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City (2001- 2010). She has collaborated with the Morton Deutsch International Center on Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR) at at Teachers College since 1996. Her research and writing focus on the interrelatedness of dignity, justice, democracy and peace.

Janet came to the talk titled Humiliation and the Roots of Violence that Evelin Lindner gave at the MD-ICCCR on December 17, 2001, 3.30 pm, upon the invitation of Betty Reardon, attended by Morton Deutsch, among others. She particiated in Evelin Lindner’s first conference that was hosted by Morton Deutsch at the MD-ICCCR in 2003, and she was part of Morton Deutsch's last project, titled Imagine a Global Human Community (Video, December 11, 2013 | transcript, see the pledge Morton Deutsch brought to the 2013 Workshop on Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict, Columbia University, New York, December 5-6, 2013).

Thank you very much, dear Janet, also for your important contribution to this book:
"Reclaiming Common Bases of Human Dignity." In Human Dignity: Practices, Discourses, and Transformations: Essays on Dignity Studies in Honor of Evelin G. Lindner. Edited by Chipamong Chowdhury, Michael Britton, and Linda Hartling. Chapter 4. (Lake Oswego, OR: Dignity Press, 2019)

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November 13, 2024, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Manhattan, New York City

La Bohème
La Bohème is an opera by Giacomo Puccini that tells the poignant love story of a young poet, Rodolfo, and a seamstress, Mimì, set in 19th-century Paris. Their passionate romance unfolds amidst the struggles of poverty and illness, ultimately leading to heartbreak as Mimì's health declines and she tragically dies.

What was touching, given the ongoing war in Ukraine, was that Rodolfo was performed by Dmytro Popov from Ukraine and Marcello by Boris Pinkhasovich from Russia!

Kindly see also the 'opera essays' I wrote in 2015:
- Tannhäuser, terrorism, revolution, and economism
- Alban Berg’s Lulu, and the Journey from Humiliation to Dignity, from the “Machine Principle” to the “Life Principle”
- The Dangerous “Glory” of Killing: La Donna del Lago and Die Fledermaus
- Puccini’s Tosca, and the Journey toward Respect for Equal Dignity for All
- See also chapter 6 in my book Honor, Humiliation, and Terror

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13. november 2024, Universitetet i Sørøst Norge - Campus Drammen / University of South-Eastern Norway - Campus Drammen,
Manhattan, New York City

Kjære Camilla Astrid Wiig og Are Johan Rasmussen, jeg har ingen ord å takke dere for invitasjonen! Det var en stor glede for meg å møte deres Mastergradstudenter i pedagogikk som studerer “uformelle læreprosesser i barne- og ungdomskulturen"!

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12th November 2024, planet Earth and Lahore, Pakistan

 ‘Pay up or humanity will pay the price’, Guterres warns at COP29 climate summit,
' UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday that leaders gathered in Baku for the COP29 Climate Action Summit must take immediate steps to cut emissions, safeguard people from climate chaos, and “tear down the walls to climate finance” in response to the “masterclass in climate destruction” that the world has witnessed in 2024. “The sound you hear is the ticking clock. We are in the final countdown to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. And time is not on our side,” he warned. In his opening remarks to the World Leaders Climate Action Summit, the ministerial-level segment of COP29, which officially opened on Tuesday in the Azerbaijan capital of Baku, Mr. Guterres pointed to the proof, noting that 2024 is almost certain to be the hottest year ever recorded. Meanwhile, “no country is spared” from climate destruction ranging from hurricanes to boiling seas, drought ravaged crops, and more, all being supercharged by human-made climate change.'

Evelin's comment: We plan our 2026 Dignity Conference in Lahore, Pakistan, which is engulfed in toxic air pollution these days. Seen through the lens of humiliation, this state of affairs could be described as triple humiliation (if not more): First, the West brought polluting vehicles, second, it brought climate change, and third, it fails to provide the help that is needed to repair the damage.

• Kindly click on the photo above to see it larger. It is an image titled 'Planet impacted by climate change in the style of Van Gogh' created by Copilot on 13th November 2024

November 12, 2024, Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, Manhattan, New York City

Reconnecting with Fred Ellis was a stellar moment! We saw each other for the last time before the coronavirus pancemic!

Dear Fred, our global dignity community will never forget how you came to our workshops with the children you were teaching!
You are a stellar music teacher and music therapist!


Video 2018

Dear Fred, today, I learned about sides of your work I did not know about before. You are actively involved in advocating for the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York City and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). As a music teacher and music therapist, you advocate for the interests of educators and students within the public school system. You emphasize the importance of securing adequate funding and resources for educational programs. Your background as an educator positions you to effectively represent the needs of teachers and students alike. Your commitment to education and the arts aligns with broader initiatives aims at enhancing public education funding and support for teachers' rights. In short, you are doing dignity work!
Love for diversity is your motto, and to recognize that we are all related, there is only one human race. Also, you wish to teach students about history in ways that truly enlighten them, rather than hiding important facts for political reasons.

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November 12, 2024, Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, Manhattan, New York City

What a joy to reconnect with dear Cassandra Brown, the Education Program Coordinator at the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR)!

This we read on the MD-ICCCR website:
"As an artist in theatre, drama, dance, music, and film, Cassandra brings more than 15 years of experience as an educator and administrator and remains unapologetic in cultivating environments where girls can dare to imagine what it is to live in full authenticity. She remains committed to creating spaces that illuminate experiences at the intersections of race, class, and gender. As a Black Woman, Cassandra encourages girls to exist outside of a monolith, while holding space for all of the ways that they show up and embrace all parts of their identities. She brings other "isms" to the forefront, specifically colorism, texturism, and featurism, which operate as racism's first, second, and third cousins..." [read more]

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November 12, 2024, Columbia University, Manhattan, New York City

On November 21, 2016, we celebrated 23 years of knowing each other! Beth Fisher-Yoshida is the Director and Faculty in the Master of Science in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Program (NECR) since 17 years and the Executive Co-Chair of the Advanced Consortium for Cooperation, Conflict and Complexity (AC4) at Columbia University, Director of the Youth, Peace & Security Program.

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November 11, 2024, Carnegie Hall, New York City

Thank you so much, dear Barbara Barnes, for giving me a feel for the vibrancy of community life in New York City! It was lovely to speak with my neighbor and hear that, while she works as a carpenter during the day, keeping a public hospital standing, in the evenings, she sings in one of the many chorals of New York. These are two completely different worlds, she said, and she likes having that contrast in her life! What a richt community life!

The Oratorio Society of New York opened its 2024–2025 season with an eclectic program of choral music, featuring the Carmina Burana, with Orff's orchestration for two pianos and percussion. The program also included works by Brahms, Schubert, and Orff.

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8th November 2024, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and Hameln, Germany, and New York City

Thank you so much, dear Alexander Redlich, for gathering yet another wonderful meeting in preparation for our 2026 Dignity Conferencewith your colleagues, who are all working for peace!

• Kindly click on the photo above to see it larger, and see also our first meeting on 1st February 2024, and our second meeting on 17th July 2024, where we still were all united in Hamburg!

November 7, 2024, 79 East 4th Street between Bowery & 2nd Avenue, Manhattan, New York City

Thank you for your deeply touching workshop at New York Theatre Workshop!
"We Live in Cairo" was an off-Broadway musical:
"Inspired by the young Egyptians who took to the streets amidst the throes of the Arab Spring, We Live in Cairo follows six student activists using their street art, photography and song to overthrow a regime older than they are."

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November 6, 2024, Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, Manhattan, New York City

How wonderful it was to have a moment to express our profound gratitude to Peter Coleman for hosting our Workshop on Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict each year! What a gift this is to all those who wish to bring more dignity into the world! And what a great way to honor our dear Morton Deutsch!
Dear Peter, YOU were with us in the very first workshop that dear Mort convened on July 7, 2003! Also this year, people from all corners of the world will travel to our annual Workshop on Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict!

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November 6, 2024, Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City

How wonderful to reconnect with Dirk Salomons after 11 years! We met for the first time at the conference "Human Rights and Humanitarianism: Contradictory or Co-dependent?" on October 30, 2013, in the International Affairs Building.

Dirk Salomons is a prominent academic and humanitarian expert, a former Director of the Humanitarian Policy track at the School of International Public Affairs, Columbia University. In his research as well as in teaching, Salomons focused on the interaction between policy and management in humanitarian operations. His work emphasizes the complexities of peacebuilding and humanitarian affairs in an ever-evolving global landscape.

Kindly read the "Emeritus Professors in Columbia (EPIC) Conversation with Dirk Salomon" from September 10, 2024.

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November 3, 2024, Oregon, New Jersey, New York City

What a privilege to work with Linda Hartling since she came to our 2003 Dignity Conference in Paris (after we had met via email already in 1999...) and with Michael Britton since 2006, when he came to my talk at Rutgers University! Without Linda and Michael and their unbelievably selfless dedication, our global community would not exist! Also in my personal life, I make not a single step in life without holding hands with them! My personal life is inextricably intertwined with our global dignity work!
I have no words to thank Linda and Michael!

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November 2, 2024, Manhattan, New York City

What a great day! Reconnecting with my dear Adair Linn Nagata and her dear husband!

Thank you so much, my very dear Adair, for being such an amazing nurturer and dignifyer in this world, in our dignity family, and for me personally! I cannot imagine the world and my life without YOU!

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November 2, 2024, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Manhattan, New York City

Ainadamar
Osvaldo Golijov's opera "Ainadamar" tells the story of Lorca's life and death through the memories of his muse, actress Margarita Xirgu. It explores themes of artistic freedom, political oppression, and cultural legacy. The fountain "Fountain of Tears" in Granada ("Ain" means "source" in Arabic, and "Adamar" is "of tears") serves as a symbol in the narrative, connecting past and present, life and death. The use of this Arabic term as the opera's title underscores the multicultural influences in Spanish history and in Lorca's work.

Kindly see also the 'opera essays' I wrote in 2015:
- Tannhäuser, terrorism, revolution, and economism
- Alban Berg’s Lulu, and the Journey from Humiliation to Dignity, from the “Machine Principle” to the “Life Principle”
- The Dangerous “Glory” of Killing: La Donna del Lago and Die Fledermaus
- Puccini’s Tosca, and the Journey toward Respect for Equal Dignity for All
- See also chapter 6 in my book Honor, Humiliation, and Terror

• Kindly click on the photo above to see it larger.

October 31, 2024, Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, Manhattan, New York City

What a gift to be back at the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR) and find wonderful Isadora Caldas, the new Associate Director of the MD-ICCCR!
Dear Isadora, I am full of admiration for your dedication to the important mission of the MD-ICCCR!

Dear Courtney Chicvak, it was a great joy to meet also you at the MD-ICCCR office! So interesting that you were Peter's student ten years ago, and that you are now part of his team! How wonderful!

I came to the MD-ICCCR in 2001, when Betty Reardon invited me to give a talk at TC and Morton Deutsch came to hear me. He then became one of my most important mentors, contributing with the Forewords to three of my books and inviting me to write chapters in a number of his edited books:

Lindner, Evelin Gerda (2006). "Emotion and conflict: Why it is important to understand how emotions affect conflict and how conflict affects emotions." In The handbook of conflict resolution: Theory and practice, edited by Morton Deutsch, Peter T. Coleman, and Eric C. Marcus. Chapter 12, pp. 268–93. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Lindner, Evelin Gerda (2012). "Fostering global citizenship." In The psychological components of sustainable peace, edited by Morton Deutsch and Peter T. Coleman. Chapter 15, pp. 283–98. New York: Springer.
Lindner, Evelin Gerda (2014). "Emotion and conflict: Why it is important to understand how emotions affect conflict and how conflict affects emotions." In The handbook of conflict resolution: Theory and practice, edited by Morton Deutsch, Peter T. Coleman, and Eric C. Marcus. Chapter 12, pp. 283–309. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

I am deeply thankful to all Associate Directors of the MD-ICCCR since 2001, all of whom made this place my home!
Danielle Coon was the Associate Directors until 2023, succeeding Claudia Cohen and Beth Fisher-Yoshida (who is now the Co-Chair of the Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity AC4).

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October 30, 2024, Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, Manhattan, New York City

In 2001, James Kearney became my long-time friend, and now I was so blessed to learn to know TC Public Safety Officer Julio Mendez more! His grandfather and my father shared the most profound and tragic experiences from the Second World War! Both lost one arm...

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October 30, 2024, Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, Manhattan, New York City

What a joy to reconnect with the Office of Global Engagement and pay Jazmin Paola Guardado and her colleague a visit!
Thank you so much for your important work, dear friends!
So interesting, your Memorandum of Understanding with the European University for Well-Being (EUniWell) to advance research and collaboration on wellness!

Office of Global Engagement
This is what we read about its Mission:
In 2008, Teachers College (TC) established the Office of International Affairs (OIA) to renew its commitment to global education. In 2022, Dr. Portia Williams renamed the office as the Office of Global Engagement (OGE). OGE's mission is to lead the College in building sustainable and mutually beneficial partnerships that promote quality scholarship and practice. OGE is responsible for developing, coordinating, and expanding the scope of TC's international initiatives. The office acts as a liaison between internal and international entities, sets guidelines for collaboration, and serves as a clearing house for international information and resources.
A History of International Involvement
Teachers College (TC) has an extraordinary history of engaging in international education that has shaped the field both in the United States and abroad. At its founding in 1887, TC faculty members prepared teachers to educate immigrant children in public schools. In 1889, James E. Russell offered the first course on comparative education. TC was the first American institution to develop a program in Comparative and International Education, and it has become a center for groundbreaking scholarship in comparative education and international collaboration. The College attracted international students, encouraged international exchange, and thus greatly influenced international education reform throughout the world.

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October 30, 2024, Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, Manhattan, New York City

How wonderful to reconnect with my dear friend (since more than 15 years!), Jennifer Govan, the Director of Gottesman Libraries! Since 2001, I am at TC for two or three months each year, and having such amazing friends is the most precious gift of love that life can give! Each year, it is a new deeply touching homecoming for me.

Jennifer nurtures dignity in everything she does, not just in WHAT she does but also in the ways HOW she does everything! Her dignity work is invaluable! Jennifer fills TC and Gottesman Libraries with the spirit and the actions that make TC such a unique place. If I may summarize this spirit: Teachers College aims at emphasizing equity and excellence in education, fostering transformative leadership, and promoting diversity and inclusion. The college is committed to developing educational leaders who can drive social change and improve access to quality education for all. It prioritizes research with social impact, encourages reflective practice among educators, and embraces a democratic approach to education that values collaboration and lifelong learning. By integrating theory with practical experience, Teachers College aims to prepare educators who can create positive change in schools and society while advancing knowledge in the fields of education, health, and psychology.

This is Jennifer's biographical information on Gottesman Libraries website:
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Chicago, Jennifer grew up in a family that engaged with justice, art, and education. Her father was a corporate lawyer and constitutional delegate for the state of Illinois; her mother, an artist from Maine who worked with lithograph, acrylic, cloth, and mixed mediums; her stepfather, a British geology professor and university finance administrator; her English stepmother, an English teacher in Africa. Their example inspired in her deep respect for binding human customs or practices; learning, teaching, and research; and creativity in expression. The most interesting aspect of libraries, for her, is creating spaces that nurture the continual educational growth of our patrons -- spaces, both physical and virtual, that are research-oriented, collegial, collaborative, innovative, creative, tuned to our needs and times, yet informed by history, its life lessons, and future thinking. These spaces embrace the wide scope of collections, services, and that little bit extra -- the Gottesman Libraries' Education Program. As Library Director and Senior Librarian she provides direction and oversees the work of all all units, with a focus on administration, budget, relations, content management, communication, programming, and user engagement. Jennifer brings wide experience through decades of dedicated work at Teachers College in reference service, library collection management, K-12 collections, archives, access, and outreach. She holds a BA Combined Honors in English and French from The University of Exeter, England, and a Master of Librarianship from The College of Librarianship Wales, The University of Wales. She taught English in southern France; has family throughout the United States and United Kingdom; and was once described by a library colleague as a "world citizen" though she has lived with her own family in Manhattan for many years.

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October 28, and November 12, 2024, Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, Manhattan, New York City

How wonderful to reconnect with my dear friend Kofi Asare! Thank you, dear Kofi, for nudging me to write the book about my father! Here is the link, where you also see a summary of my father's life.



Dear Yeremy Chavez, how amazing it was to hear you speak about the book by William L. Shirer from 1960, "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany"! Few people in the U.S.A. know the history of Europe as well as you! I am so impressed! My life has been deeply impacted by this history!

Dear Kevin, what an honor to know you through so many years! Our global dignity community is extremely thankful for your ongoing loving support! It was lovely to find you in your office on November 12!

Since 2001, I am at TC for two or three months each year, and having such amazing friends is a wonderful gift!
Each year, it is like coming home!

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October 28, 2024, Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, Manhattan, New York City

What a great joy to reconnect with Josh Fisher!
Congratulations, dearest Josh, for your seminal work, now in Hiroshima! I am so impressed!
I visited the Hiroshima Peace Institute (HPI) in 2005. I lived in Osaka and taught in Tokyo from 2004 until 2007!

This is what Perplexity.ai told me:
Joshua Fisher, Ph.D., is currently a Specially Appointed Professor at the Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability (NERPS) at Hiroshima University. In addition to his role at Hiroshima, he serves as the Director of the Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4) at Columbia University's Earth Institute. His work focuses on the intersection of environmental sustainability, natural resource governance, and social stability, employing both natural and social science methodologies[1][4][5].
Dr. Fisher's research involves engaging with various stakeholders to assess and manage environmental conflicts, drawing from his extensive experience in regions such as Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia Pacific. His academic background includes a Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University, where he explored the ecological drivers of armed conflict[2][3].
At Hiroshima University, Dr. Fisher is involved in initiatives that promote peacebuilding and sustainability, participating in events like the University Presidents for Peace Conference, which emphasizes the role of educational institutions in fostering global peace efforts[5].
Citations:
[1] https://nerps.org/cross-appointed-fellows-professors/
[2] https://sps.columbia.edu/person/joshua-fisher-phd
[3] https://people.climate.columbia.edu/users/profile/joshua-d-fisher
[4] https://nerps.org/2024/09/18/peacestudytour2024/
[5] https://www.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/en/international/news/84877
[6] https://www.chapman.edu/our-faculty/joshua-fisher
[7] https://dc.alumni.columbia.edu/joshuafisher
[8] https://cup.columbia.edu/book/managing-environmental-conflict/9780231196871

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October 27, 2024, David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, Manhattan, New York City

Toshi Reagon, BIGLovely, and Songs of the Living Community Choir! Thank you so much, dear Barbara, for inviting me!

• Kindly click on the photo above to see the website of the event.

October 26, 2024, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Manhattan, New York City

Il Trovatore
What impressed me most with regarding the plot, was the emphasis on honour and humiliation playing out between men of power, and how women were seen as objects to be possessed (she will be 'mine' exclaims Count di Luna), irrespective of the woman's feelings. Even the man she loves (Manrico), regards her 'heart' as a kind of commodity, accusing her of 'bargaining' it away, oblivious of the fact that her love motivates her to die for him.

I was reminded of William Ian Miller, who, in his book on humiliaton, dissected 'a historical path from rigidly defined "mask-like" collectivistic and unequal ranked honour to the much more open and fluid concept of equality in dignity for each and every single individual, including their feelings — in short, he describes how the "mask" got thinner as its fixed state dissolved into fluid feelings'. (Quoted from Chapter One in my book From Humiliation to Dignity)

Kindly see also the 'opera essays' I wrote in 2015:
- Tannhäuser, terrorism, revolution, and economism
- Alban Berg’s Lulu, and the Journey from Humiliation to Dignity, from the “Machine Principle” to the “Life Principle”
- The Dangerous “Glory” of Killing: La Donna del Lago and Die Fledermaus
- Puccini’s Tosca, and the Journey toward Respect for Equal Dignity for All
- See also chapter 6 in my book Honor, Humiliation, and Terror

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25. Oktober 2024, Radio-aktiv, Hameln, Weserbergland, New York City

Danke, liebe Vivien Madlen Görzen, für das schöne Gespräch!

Botschaft: Seien wir, als Menschen, stolz auf unsere Fähigkeit zu würdevoller Demut (anstatt auf unsere Fähigkeit, um Vorherrschaft zu konkurrieren), auf unsere Fähigkeit, gegenseitiges Vertrauen und Solidarität aufbauen zu können. Jetzt brauchen wir globales Vertrauen und Solidarität, denn interne Machtkämpfe in unserem globalen Dorf sind selbstmörderisch (führen auf die Dauer zu niemandes „Sieg“). Eine größere Herausforderung steht im Raum, nämlich die Tatsache, dass unser wundervoller Planet uns nicht mehr tragen kann, wenn wir so weitermachen wie bisher. Wir schulden unserem Planeten Demut und Dankbarkeit statt Hochmut und Ausbeutung. Vertrauen und Solidarität können wir jedoch nicht mit Geld kaufen, es aufzubauen braucht Zeit und Mühe. Diese Mühe dürfen wir nicht scheuen. Das ist unsere wichtigste Aufgabe.

Message: Let us, as human beings, be proud of our capacity for dignified humility (instead of competing for dominance), of our ability to co-create mutual trust and solidarity. We need global trust and solidarity now, because internal power struggles in our global village are suicidal (lead to no one's 'victory' in the long run). A bigger challenge is at hand, namely the fact that our wonderful planet can no longer support us if we carry on as before. We owe our planet humility and gratitude instead of arrogance and exploitation. However, trust and solidarity cannot be bought with money, building them takes time and effort. We must not shy away from this effort. This is our most important task.

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October 23, 2024, Manhattan, New York City

Each year, it is a great pleasure to pass through Grand Central Terminal for the first time again!

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October 23, 2024, Manhattan, New York City

What a treat to reconnect with my admired and beloved Maria Volpe and take our 'annual photo' together! Our dear Morton Deutsch introduced us in 2002!

The New York ADR Coordinators on the Mediation Settlement Day of 23rd October explored the evolution and impact of ADR in the New York courts and honored the New York Statewide Advisory Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution.

The American Arbitration Association's International Centre for Dispute Resolution (AAA-ICDR) is an institution focused on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services globally. Established in 1996, the ICDR operates as the international arm of the AAA, providing conflict management solutions across more than 80 countries.

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October 20, 2024

• From Humiliation to Dignity in World Affairs: The Significance of Cross-Disciplinary Synergy
(Video recorded on 20th October 2024 | PowerPoint)
Ideas from the field of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies
for the Conference on World Affairs
that takes place each April since 1948
on the University of Colorado Boulder campus

About the Lecturer Evelin Lindner has a dual education as a medical doctor and a clinical psychologist, with a Dr. med. from the University in Hamburg in Germany in 1994, and a Dr. psychol. in social psychology from the Department of Psychology of the University of Oslo in 2001. In her Dr. psychol, she focussed on the dynamics of humiliation in relation to war and genocide. From this work, the organisation Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies (HumanDHS) grew forth, both as a transdisciplinary field of research and inquiry and a global network of academics and practitioners who wish to promote dignity and transcend humiliation around the world. Being affiliated with the Department of Psychology in Oslo since 1997, Lindner lives and teaches on all continents to develop HumanDHS globally. Dr. Lindner’s has written several books, her first book, 'Making Enemies: Humiliation and International Conflict', was honoured as ‘Outstanding Academic Title’ in the U.S.A. in 2007. Desmond Tutu wrote the Foreword for her third book, 'Gender, Humiliation, and Global Security'. Her sixth book, 'From Humiliation to Dignity: For a Future of Global Solidarity', with a Foreword by peace philosopher Howard Richards, was finalised in 2022. In her upcoming book, 'Letter to My Father', she will explain how her work was shaped by the traumatic experiences of war and displacement endured by her father. Lindner has been honoured with various awards, including the Prisoner’s Testament Peace Award in Risør in 2009, and she has received nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Kindly see more on - www.humiliationstudies.org - www.humiliationstudies.org/evelin.php - www.humiliationstudies.org/whoweare/evelin021.php - www.humiliationstudies.org/whoweare/evelin02.php

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October 19, 2024, Ambedkar International Center, Maryland, U.S.A., invited by Bhante Revata

The Ambedkar International Center, U.S.A., celebrated Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din as Human Liberation Day on 19thOctober 2024
• Special Musical Performances: Gazal Nawaz Pt Bhimrao Panchale, Pt Mukesh Jadhav (Tabla), Bhagyashree Panchale Gaikwad
• Chief Speaker: Evelin Lindner, Psychologist and Scholar Noble peace prize Nominee Topic - 'From Humiliation to Dignity: Ambedkar's Place in World History' (Video recorded on 20th October 2024 as an expanded version of the talk given on 19th October 2024 | PowerPoint | small video recorded during the event on 19th October by Bhante Revata)
• From 10:00 to 11:00 AM at the Ambedkar International Center, 15755 Livingston road, Accokeek, Maryland
• From 12:00 to 4:00 PM at the Baden Community Center, 13601 Baden-Westwood Rd., Brandywine, Maryland

Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din, also known as Dhammachakra Pravartan Din or Dhammachakra Pravartan Diwas, translates to 'Dhamma Wheel's Promulgation Day' in English. This Buddhist festival commemorates the day when Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, along with hundreds of thousands of followers, embraced Buddhism on 14th October 1956, at Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur, India.



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October 19, 2024, Ambedkar International Center, Maryland, invited by Bhante Revata

Several Ambedkar organizations exist in the United States, working to promote Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's philosophy and advocate for social justice. Some of the prominent organizations include:
1. Ambedkar International Center (AIC): Formed in 2012, AIC is a civil rights advocacy group that fights against caste discrimination in the United States[1].
2. Ambedkar International Mission (AIM): This organization works towards spreading Dr. Ambedkar's philosophy in the U.S.[3]
3. Ambedkar Association of North America (AANA): Another organization dedicated to promoting Ambedkarite ideals in North America[3].
4. Boston Study Group (BSG): A U.S.-based Ambedkarite organization that focuses on studying and disseminating Dr. Ambedkar's ideas[3].
These organizations share common goals, such as:
- Spreading Dr. Ambedkar's philosophy
- Advocating for social justice
- Combating caste-based discrimination
- Connecting with Ambedkarite communities in India
- Organizing events and conferences to promote awareness

The Ambedkarite movement in America is at least 20 years old, with many initiatives taking place since around the year 2000[2]. The movement continues to grow, with these organizations working towards establishing a strong presence and advocating for the rights of marginalized communities both in the U.S. and in India.
Citations:
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambedkar_International_Center
[2] https://ambedkarinternationalcenter.org/2020/01/ambedkarite-movement-in-america/
[3] https://www.saada.org/tides/article/educate-agitate-organize
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_things_named_after_B._R._Ambedkar
[5] https://ambedkarinternationalcenter.org/dr-ambedkar-memorial-project/
[6] https://aanausa.org/docs/
[7] https://blogs.cul.columbia.edu/global-studies/2019/04/15/speaking-truth-to-power-dr-ambedkar-and-columbia-university/
[8] https://www.ambedkartimes.com/Dr%20Ambedkar%20Societies.htm

• Kindly click on the photos above to see the entire webgallery by Bhante Revata.
See also the small video recorded during the event by Bhante Revata

October 19, 2024, Ambedkar International Center, Maryland, invited by Bhante Revata

• Kindly click on the photos above to see two webgalleries:
1. Evelin's photos
2. some of the books in the library of the AIC

October 18, 2024, Washington, D.C., U.S.A., invited by Bhante Revata

• Kindly click on the photos above to see the entire webgallery.

10. Oktober 2024, Aerzen, Weserbergland, Germany

„donnerstags“ Miteinander beten – Miteinander reden
Um 19 Uhr: Friedensgebet – ein Jahr nach dem Anschlag am 7. Oktober der Hamas auf Israel und der Reaktion Israels gegenüber Palästinensern
Um 19:30 Uhr Gespräch mit der Ärztin und Psychologin
Evelin Lindner, Gründungspräsidentin des Forschungsnetz-werks "Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies”, mehrmals vorgeschlagen für den Friedensnobelpreis.
Donnerstag, 10. Oktober, im Gemeindehaus Aerzen, Burgstraße 1

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25th September 2024, Tarragona, Catalonia

Dear Simo, what a great gift to get to know you! You study Medizintechnik in Aachen!
Here we are in front of the Monument a Roger de Llúria!

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22nd – 23rd September 2024, Tarragona, Catalonia

Tarragona is a port city in northeastern Spain’s Catalonia region. Many ancient ruins remain from its time as the Roman colony of Tarraco. The Amfiteatre Romà is a 2nd-century arena facing the Mediterranean, the Necropolis contains Roman tombs, and traces of the Forum stand among the alleys of the walled, medieval Old Town.
Kindly read about the amazing Santa Tecla Festival in Tarragona!

Thank you so much, dearest Isabel, for your loving hospitality! Your home was a wonderful Dignity Dialogue Home for Evelin from 20th to 30th September 2024!

• Kindly click on these videos:
1. Video of the beginning of the procession through Ramla Vella in the afternoon of 22nd September 2024
2. Video of the end of the procession in the street
3. Video of the evening event in front of the Cathedral of Tarragona on the 22nd September 2024
4. Video of the 'Human Towers' on the 23rd September 2024



I was told that the Spanish petrochemical company Repsol is not very popular. Antonio Brufau Niubó is the President (Chairman) of Repsol, and he has a significant connection to Tarragona through the company's operations and investments in the region. The streets of Tarragona brandished many street banners indicating that Repsol was the main 'patrocinador' of the 'Concurs de castells'.

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September 2024, Tarragona, Catalonia

I bought some souvenirs and were later told off by some friends:
• Flamenco is not a couple dance! The couple dancing seems to be a combination of flamenco with Argentinian tango...
• The combination of bull fighting with Barcelona is misguided since in Catalonia, bullfighting has been officially banned since 2010, making it the first major region in Spain to outlaw this traditional practice. In Catalonia, bullfighting has been officially banned since 2010, making it the first major region in Spain to outlaw this traditional practice.  Furthermore, 'Tarragona is 2300 years old, while Barcelona is a village grown too big...'
• The dress of a Flamenco dancer looks different...

Friends from Catalonia, Galicia, or the Basque country shared that 'We are not lke Spain (Madrid)', which 'lacks finesse', and manifests a 'Macho, meet-eating, bullfighting' mindset, breeding an aggressive atmosphere of bitterness among people...

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16th September 2024, Madrid, Spain

Dear Alberto, what a great gift to get to know you! I am sure we will stay in touch from now on throughout our entire lives!

Alberto García-Peñas is an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, where he has been teaching since September 2019. He serves as the director of the Master's degree in Circular Engineering, a program he has led since June 2023, and is also the secretary for academic affairs at the "Álvaro Alonso Barba" Institute of Chemistry and Materials Technology. His research focuses on polymers, biopolymers, biomedicine, and biosensors, and he has published over 50 scientific articles in reputable journals. Dr. García-Peñas specialises in correlating microstructural features and properties of polypropylene-based materials. His work has earned him recognition, including ten awards and distinctions such as the Borealis Student Innovation Award and accolades from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) for his doctoral thesis. Additionally, he is the founder of the Cirmat Symposium and organises the Cirmat conference of 2024 in Tenerife in August 2024, focussing on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He has played a key role in developing the first Master's program in Circular Engineering in Spain. Through his contributions, Dr. García-Peñas has significantly impacted materials science and engineering, particularly in the areas of polymer research and circular engineering education.

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14th September 2024, Madrid, Spain

Thank you so much, dearest Marian and Paco for so lovingly welcoming me into your home!
You have no idea how enriched I feel through our time together! I learned so much from you, dear Marian, about life, and from you, dear Paco, also about social psychology! Both of you, you also brought the Iberian peninsula to me! I knew so little about it before.

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12th September 2024, Madrid, Spain

Thank you so much, dear Marisa Rodríguez Ballesteros and Lorenzo, for so kindly showing Saulo and Evelin around at UNED Madrid Escuelas Pías, with its aulas and its library Biblioteca Escuelas Pías - UNED, housed in a wonderful 18th-century church and school with such notable architecture! This library is said to be among the ten most beautiful libraries! We will have our Dignity Conference in Aula number 3 in the first floor.

• Kindly click on the sreenshot at the top to watch Marisa explaining the library. When you click on the wheel you can choose subtitles, first in Spanish, and then you can choose other languages.
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10th September 2024, Madrid, Spain

What a gift to meet you, dear Macarena! You understand the concept of dignity better than most people! I am deeply impressed! A BIG thank you to you!

Macarena Morales Perez is the Global Dignity Spain Office Director!

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7th September 2024, Madrid, Spain

Thank you so much, dear Marian, for this lovely evening together, first a cup of tea at the Four Seasons and then a walk at sunset with view on the Catedral de Santa María la Real de la Almudena! It was such an enjoyable time together!
Thank you so much for sharing this lovely little video on Spanish architecure titled Una passejada pel modernisme català per Esteve Cordomí!

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5th September 2024, Madrid, Spain

Thank you so much, dear Saulo, for this lovely meeting! I am so glad that I also could introduce Damian to you!

Saulo Fernández Arregui is Professor of Social Psychology at UNED University in Spain. His current research interests focus on the study of humiliation as a distinct emotional experience, aiming to identify the particular situational determinants and cognitive appraisals that predict humiliation, as well as the consequences that the experience of humiliation has for the victims. He is also interested in the study of the experience of the social stigmatization and humiliation among people with dwarfism and on the moral perceptions and expectancies that majority group members develop toward minority group members.

Damián Gallegos Lemos is a Career Officer Physician in the Spanish Ministry of Health, more specifically, the Head of the Health Promotion Service for Vulnerable Groups. He is a medical doctor and and family therapist. [see more below]

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3rd September 2024, Lahore, Pakistan, Oslo, Norway, Madrid, Spain

It was a great privilege to meet with Prof. Dr. Shazia Hasan, Head or Department Department of Psychology at the University of Central Punjab (UCP) in Lahore, Dr. Bushra Naz, Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology, and Sikandar Sethi, Deputy Director of the International Office at the University of Central Punjab, as well as Dr. Gulnaz Anjum, Associate Professor at the University of Oslo in Norway, in preparation for the dignity conference at UCP in Lahore in 2025.

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2nd September 2024, Madrid

It was a great privilege to meet you in person, dear Damian, after having met you for the first time on 16th May 2020 in the Webinar titled 'Disastershock', lead by Dr. Brian A. Gerrard at the Western Institute for Social Research, in Berkeley, California!

Damián Gallegos Lemos is a Career Officer Physician in the Spanish Ministry of Health, more specifically, the Head of the Health Promotion Service for Vulnerable Groups. He is a medical doctor and and family therapist.
Originally from Ecuador, Damián Gallegos Lemos completed his medical degree in 2001 and finished his residency in Family Medicine in 2005. He furthered his education with a Master in Administration of Health Services from Pompeu Fabra University in Spain in 2015, a Master in Public Health from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium in 2008, and a Master's in Systemic Family Intervention and Therapy from the Polytechnic Salesian University of Ecuador in 2007. In Ecuador, he worked extensively as a family doctor and systemic family therapist, assisting families facing challenges such as migration, addictions, and domestic violence. He also developed a program to strengthen families dealing with chronic diseases like diabetes. Additionally, Dr. Gallegos Lemos has held teaching positions in Public Health at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador and the European University in Madrid, focusing on subjects such as Public Health, Ethics, and Professional Deontology.

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2nd September 2024, Madrid

When I buy groceries, I see behind the Principe Pío building the Royal Palace of Madrid, and the Catedral de Santa María la Real de la Almudena.

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30th August 2024, Madrid

It was a privilege to meet with Susana Costa Resende, Technical Coordinator at the Ethics, Culture and Social Responsibility Department of UN Tourism, and invite her and her colleagues to reflect on the relationship between tourism and dignity at the upcoming dignity conference at the University UNED in Madrid, 17th to 20th September!

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has officially renamed itself as UN Tourism as of 23rd January 2024, with the motto 'Bringing the world closer'. The World Tourism Day 2024 on 27th September 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia, has the theme 'Tourism and Peace'. Its aim is to underscore that tourism has the potential to fostering understanding and harmony among nations and cultures.

While it may not explicitly use the term 'dignity', UN Tourism addresses issues related to human dignity through its initiatives and principles. It promotes ethical tourism through its Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, which encourages respect for the social and cultural traditions of all peoples, including minorities and indigenous communities.
Additionally, UN Tourism advocates for accessible tourism, with the aim that all travellers, regardless of their abilities, can enjoy travel experiences. This includes recognising destinations that prioritise accessibility and providing guidelines for improving services for individuals with disabilities.
As their mandate, UN Tourism emphasises sustainable and responsible tourism development, such as respecting the socio-cultural authenticity of local communities and increasing tourism's positive impact on 'poverty reduction' and 'inclusive development'.
Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of UN Tourism, said: 'As society progresses, the tourism sector, much like many other sectors, needs to transform to serve as a catalyst for prosperity at a universal scale. Enhancing the well-being of individuals, safeguarding the natural environment, stimulating economic advancement, and fostering international harmony are key goals that are the fundamental essence of UN Tourism'.

In her conversation at UN Tourism, Evelin Lindner highlighted the need to reflect on dignity to enhance the well-being of all individuals involved (rather than only the 'consumers' of tourism), safeguarding the natural environment (rather than allowing tourism to damage it), stimulating the right kind of economic advancement, and fostering global harmony through treating all involved as deserving equal dignity and thus learning from each other.
Evelin highlighted the work of the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies (HumanDHS) network, which she and her colleagues have been developing for over two decades. This initiative aims to foster a global community centred on dignity that builds mutual trust across borders. The network's ultimate goal is to promote the realisation that humanity shares a small planet, encouraging people to interact more cooperatively, in the spirit of a global family. 'Bringing the world closer in dignity', 'coming together globally in dignity', this is the aim.

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August 2024, Madrid and Portland, Oregon

• 00 Linda Hartling Introduces the Appreciative Approach, 25th August 2024, Portland, Oregon
• 01 Linda Hartling Introduces the Dignity Dialogue Format, 16th August 2024, Portland, Oregon

Linda Hartling is the Director of the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies fellowship and the World Dignity University (WDU) Initiative, as well as Dignity Press. Please see her background at humiliationstudies.org/whoweare/linda.php. She is based in Portland, Oregon, where she and her husband have created the first HumanDHS Dialogue Home and are building our HumanDHS Library. Linda is also affiliated with the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute at Wellesley College near Boston, Massachusetts, of which she was the Associate Director in support of its founder pioneer thinker Jean Baker Miller.

• Kindly click on the photos above to see the videos.

20th and 21st August 2024, Madrid

It was a great honour that José Francisco (Paco) Morales Domínguez agreed to be part of the Dignity Conversations Series.
Kindly see:
• Conversation 1 on 20th August 2024
• Conversation 2 on 21st August 2024

The nickname for Francisco in Spain is Paco, and I am grateful for being allowed to use this nickname. Allow me to introduce him:
Paco was introduced to my work by Susan Opotow more than twenty years ago and brought my work to his students in Spain. The first "Annual Round Table of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies" (as we called it then) was convened by Morton Deutsch at the MC-ICCCR on July 7, 2003, with Susan Opotow as participant, together with Peter T. Coleman, Beth Fisher-Yoshida, Janet Gerson, Andrea Bartoli, and Michelle Fine.

José Francisco Morales Domínguez is a distinguished Professor Emeritus of Social Psychology at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) in Madrid, Spain. He has been in this position since 1987, showcasing a long and successful academic career. He holds a doctorate in Philosophy from the Complutense University of Madrid and has received several prestigious awards early in his career, including the Extraordinary Award for Degree in Psychology in 1973, the National End of Degree Award in Psychology in 1975, and the National Vocation Award from the National Vocation Foundation in the same year.
Professor of Social Psychology, has also been a professor at the Faculty of Political Science and Sociology of the Complutense University and the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Granada. He has been a Fulbright scholar at UCLA and a visiting professor at Macquarie University (Sydney), Oxford University (Ohio), Tel-Aviv, British Columbia University (Vancouver) and Queensland University (Brisbane). He has published widely, among others many textbooks that are being used also all over South America.
Throughout his career, Professor Morales has made significant contributions to the field of social psychology, having published numerous articles in national and international journals, with over 100 publications to his name. His research interests are diverse and encompass a variety of topics, including emotional self-depletion, workplace harassment, emigration, social exclusion, gender differences and stereotypes, road safety, leadership, individualism, prejudices, and the role of psychology in international conflicts and peace.
In addition to his academic achievements, Professor Morales is a founding member of the Spanish Academy of Psychology and serves as its Vice President. He is also a member of various professional organizations, including the European Association of Experimental Social Psychology, the International Society of Political Psychology, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and the Spanish Society of Social Psychology.
Overall, José Francisco Morales Domínguez is regarded as one of the most influential figures in social psychology in Spain, having made substantial contributions to both the theoretical and applied aspects of the field.
Kindly see an English translation of his retirement ceremony in 2018 (original | English translation)
Kindly learn more:
[1] https://www.uaa.mx/portal/investigador/dr-jose-francisco-morales-dominguez/
[2] https://sceps.es/project/cronica-del-homenaje-j-francisco-morales/
[3] https://www.editorialsanzytorres.com/autores/jose-francisco-morales-dominguez/338/
[4] https://canal.uned.es/video/5a6fa489b1111f2e788b4812
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtZ26BeM5mE
[6] https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/autor?codigo=568501
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xS0yP2rN5Y
[8] https://www.academiapsicologia.com/index.php/2018/01/02/jose-francisco-morales-dominguez/

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20th August 2024, early in the morning, Madrid

At 10 o'clock in the morning a small group of people gathered in the the neoclassical style monumental Royal Basilica of Saint Francis the Great, close to the La Latina quarter
This basilica 'stands out for its artistic wealth that it houses inside, with canvases by Goya or Zurbarán, as well as its impressive dome, the largest in Spain and the fourth in Europe, behind Saint Peter’s Basilica and the Pantheon, both in Rome, and the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower, in Florence. Declared a National Monument in 1980, the temple rises up, according to tradition, on the land that was offered to Saint Francis of Assisi following his time in Madrid in 1214 on his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. On this site, three temples were erected prior to the current one, which dates back to the 18th century and which was carried out by the Franciscan Order. Between 1776 and 1784, its construction was completed under the management of Francisco Sabatini. The church consists of a central circular floor covered by a large dome with a diameter of 33 metres and a height of 58 metres, a main chapel and six surrounding chapels also covered by domes. Inside, there is a large collection of paintings by Spanish artists from the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Goya, Zurbarán, Casto Plasencia, Francisco Jover, Martínez Cubells, José del Castillo, Moreno Carbonero, Eugenio Oliva, Menéndez Pidal, González Velázquez, Gregorio Ferro, Gaspar Crayer, Vicente Carducci, Antonio Carnicero, Alonso Cano or Lucas Jordán, as well as important sculptures in white marble' (quoted from tourist-information)

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18th August 2024, Madrid

Visting the College of Psychologists of Madrid / Colegio Oficial de la Psicología de Madrid
Cuesta de San Vicente 4, 6ª pl. 28008 Madrid
It would be lovely to inspire some of Madrid's psychologists to join our 40th Dignity Conference at UNED in September!

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15th August 2024, Madrid

What an honour to be welcomed by Professor José Francisco Morales Domínguez, one of the most prominent figures in psychology, and his dear wife Marian!

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12th August 2024, Geneva

Sitar Maestro Ikhlaq Hussain's mission is to preserve and disseminate his rich musical heritage through concerts, performances, and teaching. Today he sat with Evelin Lindner in his home in Geneva (Video).
This is Sitar Maestro Ikhlaq Hussain's website.

Ikhlaq is scheduled to perform at the Rietberg Museum in Zurich on 1st December 2024. A very warm welcome to everyone!

Kindly read an article about Sitar Maestro Ikhlaq Hussain in "UN Today" on 2nd March 2022, by Julián Ginzo (member of the Editorial Board of UN Today): "Ikhlaq’s personal mission is embedded in his heritage and history. He was not new to migration and relocation. His parents were born in Old Delhi, India, and migrated after the Partition to Karachi, Pakistan. Ikhlaq’s father, the eminent late Ustad Imdad Hussain, devoted his musical life to playing the sitar. He was recommended for UNESCO’s “National Living Treasure” for his life’s work in keeping the tradition of classical music and the Delhi Gharana alive in Pakistan.... Ikhlaq Hussain is a sitar virtuoso from a centuries-long line of influential musicians of the Delhi Gharana school, dating back to the early 13th century. Though his ancestors became famous for creating the first compositions and technique of playing the tabla, his grandfather became a well-known sarangi performer and teacher, and Ikhlaq’s father chose to become a sitar performer. l musical experience, the first question shocked many: the gentleman asked the organizers why they had not found an Indian musician to perform Indian classical music. Ikhlaq’s answer was according to his Sufi tradition: 'We are all one and music has no boundaries.' Now that he lives in Geneva, the city of peace, he wishes to realize his personal mission to create peace through his music. Ikhlaq cannot wait to give sitar performances to the city...."
See more about Ikhlaq Hussain on this website and learn about Evelin Lindner.

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11th August 2024, Geneva

What a feast to be in the company of two famous musicians and wise philosophers!
Pandit (Master) Ikhlaq Hussain is the son of Ustad Imdad Hussain, who is part of a family of musicians from Delhi who play a unique "Delhi" style, a centuries old musical lineage of Delhi Gharana. This family passed the culturally-rich artistic wealth from father to son (women were also sometimes encouraged to learn). Ikhlaq is thus part of a chain of musicians dedicated to keeping their unique tradition alive throughout the ages. Included is the Sufi Saint Hazrat Amir Khusrao, the creator of the sitar and tabla in the early 13th century. While the Delhi Gharana is known for its prolific use of tabla, rhythmic expression and composition, Ikhlaq's grandfather Ustad Ahmadi Khan was the first in the Gharana to play the sarangi, a bowed, short-necked string instrument. [read more]
Samir Chatterjee is 'a virtuoso Tabla player from India. He travels widely across the world throughout the year performing in numerous festivals as a soloist or with other outstanding musicians from both Indian and non-Indian musical traditions. Samir performed at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway in 2007. He also performed a few times at the United Nations General Assembly. His compositions are widely acclaimed as well as his writings. Samir is a firm believer in the transforming effect of music on the society and all aspects of his work reflects this conviction'. [read more]

Dear Samir and Ikjlaq, so wonderful that you performed together on Saturday, August 10th, 2019, at 8pm, in Woodstock at the Maverick Concert Hall, together with Maestro Steve Gorn on bansuri!

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10th August 2024, Divonne, on the French side of Lake Geneva, part of Greater Geneva

What a feast to re-connect with dear Renu Chahil-Graf, together with dear Judit, Ikhlaq, and Sara!
I am so glad, dear Renu, that I met you on 24th July 2010, when Ingeborg Breines and Harald Oredam visited on Litløy fyr! And later in 2010, we spent wonderful time together in Prangins and Divonne!

Dear Renu, I admire you so much for your writing and other cultural activities!
This is your most inspiring website:
Renu is a freelance writer working globally. Her writing is published in LeNews Switzerland, Sommelier India, Cornell University News, and other publications, as credited. Renu has a Ph.D. from Cornell University. Prior to her career as a writer, she worked for various United Nations organisations, in locations spanning New York to Nairobi, Bangkok to Brasilia... She runs the eclectic Divonne Book Club and organises live music concerts in Renu's Music Room.

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9th August 2024, The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Le Petit Saconnex, Geneva

Dearest Judit, I admire you so much! We met in 2001 at Columbia University in New York City, when you had just recently arrived from Hungary, and now you are doing such wonderful dignity work as Ombudsperson in Geneva!
This is the mission of the IFRC as stated on its website: 'The IFRC is the world’s largest humanitarian network, comprising 191 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies working to save lives, build community resilience, strengthen localization and promote dignity around the world.'

Judit Révész has been serving as the Ombudsperson at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Geneva since 2019. In her role, she provides a confidential and impartial forum for discussing workplace concerns, offering informal conflict resolution and mediation services to IFRC staff. Before joining the IFRC, she was the Ombuds Officer at Barnard College from 2016 to 2019 and worked as a Consultant Case Officer at the United Nations Office of the Ombudsman for various UN programs. Judit Révész has a background in law and conflict resolution, having graduated from the ELTE School of Law in Budapest and later studying at Columbia University and the American University.

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7th August 2024, John Knox International Center, Le Grand Saconnex, Geneva

What an immense privilege to spend three hours with Cyril Ritchie!
Cyril Ritchie is a distinguished figure in the realm of international non-governmental organisations and student movements, with a rich history of involvement in various capacities. His journey began in 1955–1956 when he served as the secretary of the World University Service (WUS) committee at his university in Ireland, concurrently holding the position of President of the Irish Students Association. Ritchie's commitment to humanitarian efforts became particularly evident during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956–1957. He co-directed a WUS Field Office in Vienna, where he played a crucial role in assisting Hungarian refugee teachers and students who were affected by the Soviet suppression of the uprising. From 1957 to 1964, Ritchie worked at the WUS International Secretariat in Geneva, where he was instrumental in developing programs for WUS in Africa. His leadership was important during his tenure as the director of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) from 1964 to 1978, and again from 1990 to 1991. In addition to his work with ICVA, Ritchie has held various leadership positions within international NGOs, including serving as the President of the Conference of NGOs (CONGO). Moreover, Ritchie has contributed to academia as a Visiting Professor at Kyung Hee University in Seoul from 2012 to 2018. Throughout his extensive career, he has been recognised for his unwavering dedication to the development of NGO networks and his commitment to fostering international collaboration.
He is currently the President of the Union of International Associations (UIA), where he continues to advocate for international cooperation and humanitarian action. It is a non-profit, non-governmental research institute and documentation center based in Brussels, Belgium. It was founded in 1907 by Henri La Fontaine, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and Paul Otlet, a pioneer in information science. UIA operates in full support of the values and principles of the United Nations Charter and has consultative status with ECOSOC and UNESCO.

While we have our dignity conference in Madrid, the 2024 Summit of the Future takes place in New York and Cyril Ritchie will be there.
We thank also Youssef Mahmoud for explaining that this is 'an opportunity for U.N. regeneration in an era of radical disruptions'

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1st – 15th August 2024, Le Grand Saconnex, Geneva

What a privilege to be with my beloved sister Judit Révèsz and brother Ikhlaq Hussain!
I have no words to express my appreciation, admiration, and gratitude!

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2nd August 2024, Geneva

Wherever I mention the name of Norman Sartorius, people are in awe and tell me, "Oh, he is a legend!"
It was such a privilege and great joy for me to pay Vera and Norman Sartorius a visit in their wonderful home in Geneva in 2024, after our first contact had been in 1999.
We very much thank Norman Sartorius for being on the Global Advisory Board of our dignity community since its inception.
Thank you, dear Norman, for your extraordinarily dignifying service to humankind!

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What a gift that we are together since 1999 (via email) and 2003 (in person), dear Linda!
What a gift that you joined our dignity mission in 2006, dear Michael!
I cannot imagine my life without you, dearest Linda and Mike!
Thank you so much for being such a gift to humanity! And to me!

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Marcelle Feigol Guil kindly wrote on 29th July2024:
Dear Dignifriends, Our esteemed Professor Francisco Gomes de Matos will be the honoured scholar/guest at this year’s edition of Conecta Leitores - “Cultural Mediation, Otherness, and Intercultural Encounters”, which will be held from the 5th to the 8th of August, 2024 at Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique.
Supported by the Brazilian Ministry of External Affairs, the Conecta Leitores conference is an opportunity to foster dialogues between Guimarães Rosa Visiting Lecturers at various universities overseas and related social segments, such as teachers of Portuguese as an Additional Language, cultural diplomacy actors, and researchers dedicated to investigating policies for the promotion of linguistic, literary and cultural diversity of Brazil.
Our dearest Evelin Lindner and Gaby Saab kindly introduced me to Professor Francisco’s works and I had the pleasure of meeting him in São Paulo about 15 years ago. As part of the organisation committee of this year’s edition, I am very grateful that Professor Francisco accepted our invitation to participate virtually and looking forward to the event! The event will be broadcast on our YouTube and all are invited to register and participate (the certificates will be issued by the State University of Amazonas - our partner institution this year).
Warmest regards,
Marcelle Feigol Guil

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Commemorating our dear Howard Richards together with a wonderful group of like-minded people!

• Kindly click on the photo above to see it larger and watch the Video that Evelin had prepared prior to the meeting on 18th July 2024.

Ein GROSSES Danke für dieses wundervolle Vorbereitungstreffen für unsere 2026 Dignity Konferenz in Hamburg!

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What a wonderful third meeting with Frank Adloff!
I am so glad that I met him through the Great Transition Initiative!

Prof. Dr. Frank Adloff leitet die Kolleg-Forschungsgruppe Zukünfte der Nachhaltigkeit und ist ihr Sprecher.

Frank ist Vorsitzender der International Convivialist Association (ICA, www.convivialism.org). Er setzt sich aktuell für einen internationalen Dialog zwischen Globalem Norden und Süden ein, der nach Alternativen zum derzeitigen nicht-nachhaltigen Kapitalismus fragt und versucht, Perspektiven einer gemeinsamen Konvivialität zu entwickeln.

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Linda and I are deeply grateful that you understand that humiliation is a profoundly damaging force and the most significant hindrance to conflict resolution and peace. Research shows that humiliation is the most intense human emotion — it leads to the mobilization of more processing power and a greater consumption of mental resources than any other emotions. Furthermore, research also shows that the combination of loss and humiliation is the strongest predictor of major depression.
Feelings of humiliation can awaken what educator Paulo Freire called conscientization, meaning people can transform humiliation to work for constructive social change. This is the path towards healing humiliation and systemic change without using humiliation as a tool. This is the path of dignity, the 'Mandela path' out of humiliation.
We suggest that dignity, or, more specifically, equal dignity, is an inoculation and an antidote to feelings of humiliation, that dignity provides the strength needed for choosing the Freire-Mandela path. When we create relationships characterized by mutual dignity, we are simultaneously reducing the risk of humiliation. We need to create mutually empathic 'growth-fostering relationships' that will strengthen the resilience of all people impacted by humiliating experiences.

• Kindly click on the photo above to see Pramila Patten's Wikipedia page.

The following text has been created with the help of Perplexity.ai: The term 'deplorables' became widely recognised during the 2016 U.S.A. presidential election when Hillary Clinton referred to a portion of Donald Trump's supporters as a basket of deplorables. This comment was made during a campaign event, where she characterised these individuals as embodying negative traits such as racism, sexism, and xenophobia. Clinton later expressed regret for implying that such views represented 'half' of Trump's supporters.
As it turned out, her statement resonated deeply within the political landscape. In a surprising turn, many of Trump's supporters embraced the term 'deplorable', transforming it into a badge of honour and a symbol of their identity. As it seems, this reappropriation of the term served multiple purposes. Firstly, it became a cultural symbol, representing pride among those who felt marginalised by mainstream political narratives. The rings featuring the term clearly serves as a statement of solidarity.
Moreover, wearing a 'deplorables' ring can be seen as a form of political expression, allowing individuals to publicly align themselves with a particular ideology, a statement of defiance of prevailing societal views. Beyond its political implications, these rings appear to have also evolved into a fashion statement, appealing to those who wish to express their individuality and challenge conventional norms.
In conclusion, 'deplorables' rings encapsulate a complex blend of political identity, community, and personal expression. Whether worn as a badge of honour or as a fashion statement, they reflect the ongoing dialogue surrounding political labels and the identities individuals choose to embrace.

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17th June – 3rd July 2024, Trondheim, Norway

What a gift to be with the wonderful Klempe family in Trondheim!

See here some of Hroar Klempe's extraordinary publications:
Sven Hroar Klempe (2021). 'Towards an Ethics-Based Logic of Science in Psychology', in Birthe Loa Knizek and Sven Hroar Klempe (Eds.) Foundations of Ethics-Based Practices. Annals of Theoretical Psychology, Vol. 18, Cham: Springer (pages 7–19).
Klempe explains what honesty, integrity and dignity should be about (page 18):
• The bridge principles have to be about the degrees of honesty, integrity and dignity, or in short, about the individual researcher’s interests. The main conclusion of this examination should therefore be:
• As the term ‘logic’ originally is a broad term that also includes rationality, an ethics-based logic of science has to be about taking the gap between deduction and induction seriously into account and consequently define the bridge principles ethically in terms of levels of honesty, integrity and dignity.

See also:
Klempe, Sven Hroar (2014). Kierkegaard and the Rise of Modern Psychology: History and Theory of Psychology. With a Foreword by Jaan Valsiner. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction.
Sven Hroar Klempe (2022). Sound and Reason: Synesthesia As Metacognition. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan.

I am reminded of historical eras such as the Renaissance and Enlightenment, when castles were venues for intellectual discourse, bringing together intellectuals, artists, and politicians to discuss various topics, from philosophy to literature and politics. These gatherings were not just social events but also played a role in the exchange of ideas and cultural development of their eras.

Trondheim is the best place in the world, I would say, particularly in summer!
It is light all day, extremely interesting people live here (apart from the Klempe family, there are people like Martin Wåhlberg, the Barokkfestival takes place here, and so on), and, finally and not least, the city is part of a welfare state...

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17th June 2024, eight hours by train,
first from Oslo to Hamar, and then by Rørosbanen (Vy R60) through Østerdalen to Trondheim, following the rivers Glomma first, and then Gaula (the distance between Oslo and Trondheim is ca. 500 kilometers, which means ca. 7 hours by car or 8 hours by train)



Norway has the most beautiful landscapes on our planet! Breathtakingly beautiful! To be admired with awe and wonderment!
In Østerdalen, one can still find farm buildings that are adapted to the landscape, rather than to some articifially superimposed grid.

Everywhere in the world, I see that investors buy land and erect buildings by multiplying mass-produced units (be it by stacking them in high-rise buildings or placing them next to each other as 'villas'). Each project is uniform in its style and more or less unrelated to its surroundings. The aim is profit for the investors, rather than the dignity of the human beings who are supposed to regard this architecture as 'home'. This is but one of the many profoundly damaging aspects of current economic rules and institutions, as I have listed in my 2012 book titled A Dignity Economy. I am glad about the rise of protest, not least in Norway, see, among others, Arkitekturopprøret Norge.

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16th June 2024, Oslo, Norway

Kjære Mette, hvilken fantastisk venninne du er! Tusen hjertelig takk for ditt vennskap helt tilbake til 1997!

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15th and 16th June 2024, Ytre Enebakk, Norway

Dearest Britt and Torgeir, what a wonderful reunion!
I have no words to thank you for this deeply touching time with you!
Thank you for such wonderful exchanges of thoughts, I felt so enriched!
We met for the first time in 1995 and it felt as if we had met yesterday for the last time, even though we did not see each other for somehing like 20 years!
Thank you!!!
It was so lovely that we could get together with Linda, too!

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14th June 2024, Lilleaker, Oslo, Norway

Dearest Lasse, we met in 1997, imagine! Soon 30 years ago!

Together, we edited the film footage of my doctoral research!
Somalia - A Case-Study: Humiliation and Coping in War (see also a MP4 version on YouTube, earlier title: Humiliation, Genocide, Dictatorship, and the International Community: Somalia As a Case Study), a compilation of short videos from Somaliland, cut from altogether ca. 10 hours of video material and 100 hours of audio material that I collected in Somaliland in 1998 (the film was produced in 2000), in Kenya, and Rwanda/Burundi in 1999 for her doctoral thesis The Psychology of Humiliation: Somalia, Rwanda / Burundi, and Hitler's Germany (Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, submitted 31st October 2000, ISBN 82-569-1817-9).

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14th June 2024, Lilleaker, Oslo, Norway

Thank you so much, dear Michael Malual Dut, Deputy Head of the Embassy of the Republic of South Sudan to the Kingdom of Norway and the Nordic Region, for your visit!
It is wonderful that you aspire to work on a PhD in Peace Studies!

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13th June 2024, Harald Schjelderups building, Oslo, Norway

I have no words to express my gratitude to the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, for being my home all the way back to 1997, when I began with my doctoral research!
Thank you, dear Bjørn Lau, for your exceptional leadership!
Thank you, dear Merete Glenne Øie, for your wonderful work!

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13th June 2024, Oslo, Norway

Kjæreste Nora Sveaass, hvilken ære og glede å ha deg som venninne!
Takk for den store gaven du gir meg med ditt vennskap!

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13th June 2024, Oslo, Norway

Tusen takk til styreleder Aage Borchgrevink for nydelige velkomstord ved NFFOs flotte 2024 sommerfest!

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13th June 2024, Blindern, Oslo, Norway

The Department of Psychology was located in the Eilert Sundts hus when I worked on my doctoral dissertation from 1997 until 2001.
Now it is located in the Harald Schjelderups hus.

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12th June 2024, Litteraturhuset, Oslo, Norway

How wonderful, dearest Barbro, that we could have a second meeting this year!
It is such a gift to have you as a dear friend!

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12th June 2024, Oslo, Norway

I have no words to thank Mai-Bente Bonnevie for her ongoing love and unending wisdom!
Thank you, dear Christian, for taking this lovely photo of us!

Please watch Mai-Bente speak on vulnerability, tenderness, and love (Video)!

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Please note also Mai-Bente's wonderful contribution to my birthday in 2014!

12th June 2024, Domus Bibliotheca, Oslo, Norway

Dilemmaer i rettsstaten: Rettstryggleik – Førestillingar og praksisar i mellomalderen:
'The rule of law is a fairly new phenomenon. But ideas about and practices for legal certainty have always existed. The Landslova of 1274 built both on an older Norwegian legal tradition with its understanding of legal certainty, and on an almost 150-year-old theological-philosophical debate in Europe about legal certainty in a society with an increasingly strong central power'.
(Translated from the Norwegian original by Evelin Lindner)

Paneldeltakarar: Professor Hans Jacob Orning (he highlighted how the personality structure of citizens changes when central power increases)
UiO Professor Anders Winroth
UiO Professor emerita Else Mundal
UiB Professor Jørn Øyrehagen Sunde
UiO Ordstyrar: Prodekan for forsking, Det juridiske fakultet, Geir Stenseth

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11th June 2024, The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Institutt for fredsforskning, Oslo, Norway

What a joy to reconnect with Stig Jarle Hansen!
We spent four weeks together in Hargeisa in 1998, when I did the fieldwork for my doctoral dissertation on the psychology of humiliation in relation to war and genocide, with the case studies of Rwanda and Somalia, on the background of Nazi Germany.
• Note also my annual lecture Humiliation and Dignity, Focusing on Rwanda

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11th June 2024, Stabekk, Oslo, Norway

What a joy to visit our beloved Kjell Skyllstad! He was born on 30th June 1928!

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10th – 17th June 2024, Lilleaker, Oslo, Norway

I have no words to thank you, dearest Kristin and Fredrik, for including me in your paradise!
It is a such a wonderful gift!

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9th June 2024, Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway

Thank you so much, dearest Camilla, for welcoming me so warmly in your wonderful home with this amazing spectacular view!

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6th June 2024, The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Institutt for fredsforskning, Oslo, Norway

30 Years After the Genocide in Rwanda: Gender, Accountability and Atrocity Prevention

In this public event convened by PRIO, the Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies, and the Center for Gender Research of the University of Oslo, opening remarks were given by Torunn L. Tryggestad, Deputy Director at PRIO and Director of the PRIO Centre on Gender, Peace and Security, followed by remarks by Andreas Kravik, State Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, then gave the keynote speech and addressed accountability efforts and sexual violence.
The event’s keynote address was followed by a panel discussion with:
• Freddy Mutanguha, CEO of the Aegis Trust and Director of the Kigali Genocide Memorial, Rwanda
• Erik Møse, former president of the ICTR and current Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine
• Savita Pawnday, Executive Director, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
• Jacqui True, Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence against Women (CEVAW), Monash University and PRIO Global Fellow.
The conversation was moderated by Ellen E. Stensrud, Head of research at the Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies. Closing remarks were given by Inger Skjelsbæk, Director and Professor at the Center for Gender Research, University of Oslo.

• Kindly click on the photo above to see more.
• Please note also my doctoral dissertation on the psychology of humiliation in relation to war and genocide, with the case studies of Rwanda and Somalia, on the background of Nazi Germany.
• Note also my annual lecture Humiliation and Dignity, Focusing on Rwanda

13. Mai 2024, 19 Uhr, Bürgerhus, Hameln/Hamelin, Weserbergland

• Zwei Videos des Empfangs im Bürgerhus in Hameln:
1. Die ganze Veranstaltung (einschließlich der Aufnahme von Marcel Connell) (Video)
2. Der Anfang der Veranstaltung (Michael Boyers Aufnahme) (Video)

Danke, lieber Michael Boyer und Marcel Connell, das Ihr gefilmt habt, und für die wunderschönen Bilder!
Danke auch an Dich, liebe Ingrid, für Deine einfühlsamen Fotos!

Liebe Renate Seehafer, Vorsitzende von Artes Wesera e.V., der Interessengemeinschaft Kunstschaffender im Weserbergland!
Ein RIESIGES Danke-schön für Eure Einladung zu diesem umwerfenden Empfang im Bürgerhus!
Ein genauso großes Danke-schön an Dich, liebe Karla Ewerdt, für Deine liebevolle Fürsorge und geniale Einführung! Und noch mehr Danke-schöns an Sue Sheehan, Angelika Sosnowski und Käthe Thielke!
Was für ein wunderbares Fest!
Ich hatte eigentlich vor, meinen Geburtstag still und leise zu vergessen, so wie ich es normalerweise tue, denn mein globales Leben eignet sich nicht sehr für solche Anlässe...
Es gab nur einen Geburtstag, der jemals vorher größer gefeiert wurde, nämlich 2014, und zwar von unseren Dignity Freunden in Oslo!

• Hier ist übrigens das Kleidungsprojekt, von dem ich sprach: World Clothes for Equal Dignity
• Als ich die historischen Bilder in Jerusalem kaufte, machte ich ein kleines Video
• Das sind meine Zeichnungen, die ich um das Jahr 1987 herum in Ägypten machte
• Hier sind meine Bücher

Und noch etwas: Ein Arzt sagte mir, ich sei ungefähr 55 Jahre alt (biologisch gesehen), aber im Geiste, so muss ich gestehen, bin ich manchmal 25 oder sogar 25...


Linda Hartling, Evelin Lindner, Michael Britton, Liliana Lisbão

A Modest Mandela
 By Linda Hartling
In Honor of Evelin Lindner’s 70th Birthday!

What can one say
About a global hero
Who knows the world
Like a living book?
 
Who lives from her heart
Who gives her whole heart
Who sees the unknown good
In so-called “enemies.”
 
By transforming insecurity
Uniting us in diversity
Strengthening dignity
Bringing life to possibilities
 
She’s a modest Mandela
Who shines so bright
She glows
With  hope
 
She cultivates
A global garden
Germinating
Incubating
And radiating
Love!

26. April und 4. Mai 2024

Dignity: Die Lösung für eine Welt ohne Kriege
26. April, 16 bis 18 Uhr, in der Abteilung Bücherei und Kultur mit Sitz in der historischen Pfortmühle an der Weser in Hameln/Hamelin, Weserbergland
Vortrag und Diskussion
(Video Aufzeichnung | PowerPoint | Voraufzeichnung auf Zoom vom 14. April | englisches Original in Oslo vom 3. April)
Referentin: Dr. Dr. Evelin Lindner
(nominiert für den Friedensnobelpreis 2015, 2016 und 2017)
organisiert von der DignityNowHameln Gruppe
Anmeldungen bei Georg Geckler, georg.geckler@outlook.com

Dewezet, Montag, 15. April 2024, Kurznachricht: "Vortrag zur Menschenwürde"
Die Lösung für eine Welt ohne Kriege heißt nach Ansicht von Evelin Lindner "Dignity", übersetzt Menschenwürde. Die in Hameln geborene Wissenschaftlerin lädt für Freitag, den 26. April, zwischen 16 und 18 Uhr in den Vortragsraum in der Pfortmühle zu einem Vortrag ein. Eines der Themen: Menschen, die frei und dazu in der Lage sind, können ihre Würde sich selbst und anderen gegenüber verantwortungsvoll zeigen. Am Samstag, dem 4. Mai, geht es ab 17 Uhr im Kaisersaal des Bahnhofs bei "Zedita" weiter: Dann besteht die Möglichkeit zur Diskussion mit Menschen weltweit, denn diese Veranstaltung wird zeitgleich über Zoom zugänglich sein. Die Zugangsdaten werden nach der Anmeldung mitgeteilt. Anmeldungen nimmt Georg-W. Geckler unter Telefon 0151/22192700 oder per E-Mail: georg.geckler@outlook.com entgegen.

Dewezet, Dienstag, 23. April 2024, Kurznachricht: "Eine Welt ohne Kriege"
 Gibt es eine Lösung für eine Welt ohne Kriege? Ja! Davon ist die Hamelner Wissenschaftlerin Evelin Lindner überzeugt. Ihrer Ansicht nach liegt sie in der Menschenwürde, der „Dignity", wie es im Englischen heißt. Zu dieser Thematik lädt DignityNowHameln zu zwei Veranstaltungen in Hameln ein. Zunächst wird Lindner diesen Freitag, 26. April, zwischen 16 und 18 Uhr in der Hamelner Pfortmühle einen Vortrag mit dem Titel „Dignity. Die Lösung für eine Welt ohne Kriege" halten. Samstag, 4. Mai, ab 17 Uhr im Kaisersaal des Bahnhofs bei „Zedita" folgt dann eine „Demonstration des Globa- len Dorfes"". Dabei besteht die Möglichkeit zur Diskussion mit Menschen weltweit, denn diese Veranstaltung wird zeitgleich über Zoom zugänglich sein. Die Zugangsdaten werden nach der Anmeldung bei Georg-W. Geckler unter 0151/22192700 oder per E-Mail an georg.geckler@outlook.com zugänglich gemacht. Die Platzzahl ist begrenzt. Beide Veranstaltungen sind öffentlich. Der Eintritt ist frei.
Zum Hintergrund: Nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg wurden die Vereinten Nationen mit dem Anspruch gegründet, künftige Kriege durch Diplomatie und Dialog zwischen den Nationen zu verhindern. Nach dem Kalten Krieg signalisierte der Slogan "Friedensdividende" den Nutzen geringerer Ausgaben für die militärische Verteidigung. Wo stehen wir heute? Vielleicht waren die Gründer der Vereinten Nationen zu naiv? Vielleicht ist ihr Ziel unmöglich zu erreichen? Oder ist es möglich? In diesem Vortrag wird Dr. Lindner auf Erkenntnisse aus verschiedenen Bereichen zurückgreifen, darunter Psychologie, Politikwissenschaften, Soziologie und Anthropologie, und ihre eigenen Forschungen und Erfahrungen aus fünf Jahrzehnten vorstellen. red

Radio Aktiv, Donnerstag, 2. Mai 2024: Radioandacht: Wie eine Hamelnerin für den Weltfrieden arbeitet (MP3)



Walking the Talk of Peace in Dignity: Dialogue in the Global Village (Demonstration des „Globalen Dorfes“)
4. Mai 2024, 17 Uhr, im Kaisersaal (Emperor's Hall), Bahnhof Hameln (Railway Station of the City of Hamelin), Zedita, the Lower Saxony digital hub of the Weserbergland University of Applied Sciences
Hybridveranstaltung, zu der die Zoom- Zugangsdaten auf Anforderung zugesandt wurden
(Recording | PowerPoint | Pre-recording on Zoom created in Gellersen on 3rd May 2024)
Anmeldungen bei Georg Geckler, georg.geckler@outlook.com

Radio Aktiv, Sonntag, 5. Mai 2024: Nachgefragt: Dr. Evelin Lindner, Gründerin und Präsidentin des Forschungsnetzwerks „Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies“ (MP3)
"Wie kann eine Welt funktionieren, in der es keine Kriege gibt? Dieser Frage geht die gebürtige Hamelnerin Evelin Lindner nach. Sie ist Begründerin und Präsidentin des Forschungsnetzwerks „Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies“. Anton Posnak-Sommer führte das Gespräch mit der Frau, die mehrfach für den Friedensnobelpreis nominiert wurde."


With Anton Posnak-Sommer


Dewezet, Dienstag, 30. April 2024 (online), 6. Mai 2024 (Druck), "Ist eine Welt ohne Krieg möglich?" Hamelnerin sagt: "Zum ersten Mal haben wir alles, was wir für einen Weltfrieden brauchen", von Ernst August Wolf


Georg Geckler und Sebastian Reh, zusammen mit Evelin Lindner, beim Technik Check bei Zedita am 25. April 2024.

Bitte auf die Fotos oben klicken, um sie größer anzusehen.

11th May 2024, Quäkerhaus, Bad Pyrmont, Weserbergland

Das Ensemble Flautando spielt am 11. Mai im Quäkerhaus: "Das 'Ensemble Flautando' gastiert in Bad Pyrmont mit einem musikalischen Streifzug durch die Musikwelt aller Kontinente. Die 8 Flötistinnen aus Frankfurt am Main begeistern ihr Publikum mit bekannten Melodien aus verschiedenen europäischer Epochen, bis hin zu exotischen Klängen ferner Musikkulturen. Das gesamte Klangspektrum der Blockflötenfamilie von der Sopranino bis zum Subbass kommt dabei zum Einsatz.
Mit ins Spiel kommen auch unterschiedliche Percussionsinstrumente, die die typischen Folklore-Rhythmen des jeweiligen Landes in eine ausgelassene Beschwingtheit hinein pulsieren lassen.Mit eigens für das Ensemble geschriebenen Arrangements verströmt sich der Flötenzauber im Raum von Herz zu Herz."

• Bitte auf das Foto oben klicken, um es größer anzusehen.

5th May 2024, Domänenburg Aerzen, Weserbergland

Die Malgruppe Hämelschenburg präsentiert "In Vielfalt vereint": "Sechs heimische Künstler*innen präsentieren in dieser Ausstellung ihre aktuellen und angesagten Werke aus verschiedenen Stilrichtungen und Techniken. Ein wunderbares Ambiente steht der Malgruppe mit der 'Alten Wassermühle' der Hämelschenburg als Domizil zur Verfügung. Unter der Leitung von Bernadeta Klüter entstehen hier variantenreiche Bilder mit Acryl- und Ölfarben, Kreide und diversen Mischtechniken mit vielfältigsten Motiven gegenständlicher sowie abstrakter Werke aus Flora und Fauna. 'In Vielfalt vereint', so das Motto der diesjährigen Ausstellung der Künstler*innen aus Gellersen, Laatzen, Wörderfeld, Bad Pyrmont und Hameln. Renate Gümpel, Nora Torlop, Erike Westram, Andrea Baumhoeve, Andrea Dieckmann und Hans Wiechmann laden herzlich zur Vernissage am Sonntag, dem 05. Mai um 14:00 Uhr in die Domänenburg, Burgstraße 6 in 31855 Aerzen."

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27th April 2024, Hameln, Weserbergland

Ein RIESIGES Danke-Schön an Dorothee und Georg für Eure wunderbare Unterstützung für unsere Arbeit für Menschenwürde!

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22nd and 23rd April 2024, Hameln, Weserbergland

Thank you so much, dearest Andrea, for taking the initiative for such an important BUND information stand in front of the Hochzeitshaus on the occasion of the European elections in 2024!
Thank you for creating such a lovely poster to inspire dialogue!

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23rd April 2024, Weserbergland and Oregon

What a gift to be together with Andrea and Linda, two of the most extraordinary and loving dignifiers in this world!

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22nd April 2024, Artes Wesera, Bürgerhus, Hameln, Weserbergland

Thank you, dear Tanja, for being such an amazing creative person!
With your art, you deeply touch the hearts and minds of everyone around you!

Konzert Lautmalerei:
Fotografie, bildende Kunst, Musik und Lyrik — aus vielen Künsten wird ein gemeinsames Kunstwerk. In dem poetischen Format „Lautmalerei“ bringen die Künstlerinnen Sue Sheehan, Musikerin und Fotografin, und Tanja Flügel, Mosaik-Künstlerin und Autorin, die verschiedenen Ausdrucksformen der Kunst zusammen. Gemeinsam mit den Musikern Thomas Seidel und Boris Schwitalski erschaffen sie daraus neue Welten. Unter dem klingenden Titel „Lautmalerei“ haben sie mit viel Experimentierfreude ein abwechslungsreiches Programm entwickelt und immer wieder erweitert. Ausgewählte künstlerische Fotografien bekommen eine neue Dimension durch die von Tanja Flügel eigens dazu erschaffenen und erzählten Geschichten. Inspiriert von Lyrik und Bildern präsentieren die MusikerInnen ihre Sicht der Dinge, improvisieren und untermalen mit ihren Instrumenten die neu geschaffenen Gedankenwelten. Stimme, Klarinette, Gitarre und Trompete schmeicheln den Sinnen und bereichern das visuelle Erlebnis um eine meditative Komponente. Die Zuhörer sind gleichzeitig Zuschauer, werden Mitfühlende, Entdecker und Weltenbummler.

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20th April 2024, Las Cruces, NM, Portland, OR, Highland Park, NJ, United States
and Global

"Humiliation Trauma: The Deepest Loss"
Book Talk with Sharon Steinborn as part of the Books, Dignity, and Dialogue Series
Friday, April 19, 2024 Online: 10:00 AM Pacific time; 11:00 Mountain time; 1:00 PM Eastern time; 7:00 PM Europe.

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12th April 2024, Gardermoen, Norway, and Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India

What a gift that I am allowed to be "Didi" (elder sister) in our wonderful Dignity Family in Indore!
I am so thankful to you, dearest Amita and Rajesh! I have no words!

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8th April 2024, Tønsberg, Norway

Thank you so much, dearest Lisbeth and Per, for being my Dignity Home in Tønsberg in April!
And to you, dearest Gerdelin, for paying us a lovely visit!
What a gift!

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6th April 2024, Åsgårdstrand, Norway

Thank you so much, dearest Guri and Esben, for having me for a wonderful afternoon!
Your friendship is such a precious gift to me!
Thank you!

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5th April 2024, Oregon and Utah in the U.S.A., and Tønsberg in Norway

What a joy to reconnect with you, dearest Annette! What a joy!

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5th April 2024, Tønsberg, Norway

Overnight 25 centimetres of new snow, so that deer have problems finding food...

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4th April 2024, Gamle Logen, Oslo, Norway

"NATO 75 år"
Interesting discussion moderated by Moderator: Kari Osland, Direktør, Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt (NUPI), with:
Ingrid Gjerde, Sjef Forsvarsstaben Paal Sigurd Hilde, Professor, Institutt for forsvarsstudier (IFS) Erik Reichborn-Kjennerud, Seniorforsker, Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt (NUPI) Robert Dalsjö, Totalförsvarets forskningsinstitut (FOI)

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3rd April 2024, the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway

'From Humiliation to Dignity: Is a World Without War Possible?'
Evelin Lindner's annual public lecture at the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo
Harald Schjelderups hus, Forskningsveien 3A, 0373 Oslo, Norway, Auditorium 1, Floor U1
Wednesday, 3rd April 2024, 15:15–17:00 (in person, lecture plus subsequent dialogue)
Kindly see the UiO announcement (also on X), you could click here to register
Kindly see also a CC invitation

A big thank-you to Lasse Moer for recording this lecture! (see also YouTube)
You can see more recordings by Lasse Moer here

Kindly see also the PowerPoint slides, and a pre-recording created on Zoom in Oslo on 2nd April 2024
Kindly see also ...
Time to Plan for Peace, by Atle Hetland, article for The Nation, Pakistan, 21st April 2024

A big thank-you to everyone who could join! It was wonderful to have you!
Thank you, dear Rigmor Johnsen, for the Chinese Calligratherapy! We met in 2005 in Beijing, when you were the cultural attache at the Norwegian embassy in Beijing!

Summary: After the Second World War, the United Nations was founded with the aspiration to avoid future wars through diplomacy and dialogue among nations. Following the Cold War, the slogan ‘peace dividend’ signalled the benefit of decreased spending on military defences in the absence of war. Where do we stand now? Perhaps the founders of the United Nations were naïve? Perhaps their goal is inherently impossible to reach? Or is it possible?
In this lecture, Dr. Lindner will draw on insights from several fields, among them psychology, political science, sociology, and anthropology, sharing insights from five decades of research and experience on all continents.
This lecture is open to the public, welcoming everyone, both from within the university community and those outside, who have an interest in the topic. (See also previous lectures)

About the Lecturer: Evelin Lindner has a dual education as a medical doctor and a clinical psychologist, with a Dr. med. from the University in Hamburg in Germany in 1994, and a Dr. psychol. in social psychology from the Department of Psychology of the University of Oslo in 2001, focussing on the dynamics of humiliation in relation to war and genocide. From this work, the organisation Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies (HumanDHS) grew forth, both as a transdisciplinary field of research and inquiry and a global network of academics and practitioners who wish to promote dignity and transcend humiliation around the world. Being affiliated with the Department of Psychology in Oslo since 1997, Lindner lives and teaches on all continents to develop HumanDHS globally.
Dr. Lindner’s has written several books, her first book, Making Enemies: Humiliation and International Conflict, was honoured as ‘Outstanding Academic Title’ in the U.S.A. in 2007. Desmond Tutu wrote the Foreword for her third book, Gender, Humiliation, and Global Security. Her sixth book, From Humiliation to Dignity: For a Future of Global Solidarity, with a Foreword by peace philosopher Howard Richards, was finalised in 2022. In her upcoming book, 'Letter to My Father', she will explain how her work was shaped by the traumatic experiences of war and displacement endured by her father.
Lindner has been honoured with various awards, including the Prisoner’s Testament Peace Award in Risør in 2009, and she has received nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015, 2016, and 2017.A full list of Evelin’s publications is available on the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies website and Cristin.
Organizer: Department of Psychology

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2nd April 2024, the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway

What an honour to meet wonderful "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".

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26th March 2024, Oslo, Norway

How wonderful, dearest Barbro, that we could have our traditional annual meeting again, this time in the Lorry restaurant!
It is such a gift to have you as a dear friend!

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26th March 2024, Oslo, Norway

Thank you so much, dear Ragne Birte, for taking me to see the deeply touching film Hammarskjöld, a 2023 Swedish biographical drama film directed by Per Fly. I read that he was influenced, among others, by Meister Eckhart, a thinker that also inspired me.

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22nd March 2024, the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway

Humiliation and Dignity, Focusing on Rwanda
Closed lecture and seminar at the University of Oslo, Department of Psychology, followed by students' presentation of group work on Rwanda and discussion. It is a privilege to be part of PSY4506 – Human Rights, Democracy and Reconstruction after Conflict: A community based approach, by Sigrun Moss 10.15 – 14.00, and a joy to meet the students of the Global-MINDS programme in social and cultural psychology at the University of Oslo.

In June 2015, the 25th Annual Dignity Conference took place in Kigali, Rwanda.
It is a great privilege for me to be part of PSY4506 each year since 2016, when it was founded by Nora Sveaass and Inger Skjelsbæk, now led by Sigrun Moss.
What an honour to meet wonderful students!

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20th March 2024, Marienlyst, Oslo, Norway

Dearest Magnus, thank you so much for offering such a wonderful Dignity Dialogue Home for me!
Deep gratitude and admiration goes to you for your seminal work for peace education!

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15th March 2024, the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway

It made me infinitely happy to be welcomed to lunch by the wonderful team of professors Agnes Andenæs, Åshild Lappegard Hauge andGuro Brokke Omland, all doing extremely important work in the field of Methodology, Work-, Cultural- and Social psychology!

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13th March 2024, The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Institutt for fredsforskning, Oslo, Norway

Thank you so much for a wonderful meeting, dear Henrik Urdal, director of PRIO!
It was in 2010, that I sent you my first email, and it was fantastic to look back on fourteen years of your important work!

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11th March 2024, Domus Bibliotheca, University of Oslo, Norway

Prospects for peace in a conflict-ridden world
For this year's UN Theme Week, FN-studentene Oslo (UNSA) has invited a panel of experts to reflect upon and discuss the following: What characterizes conflicts today, and how does this impact the prospects for peace? How could our approaches to conflict resolution and peacebuilding be adapted to meet these challenges? What implications could this have for the United Nations’ role in conflict resolution and peacebuilding?
Panel discussion with:
Jenny Lorentzen, NUPI
Haakon Gjerløw, PRIO
Fredrik Græsvik, former foreign correspondent for TV2
Gerald Folkvord, Political Advisor Amnesty

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7th March 2024, the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway

I greatly appreciate your patience in listening, dear Merete Øie! Your attentive ear has truly aided me in achieving greater clarity of thought.
I so much admire your research in clinical neuropsychology on the connection between mental disorders, cognitive difficulties, and functioning in everyday life in children, young people and adults.

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7th March 2024, BI, Nydalen, Oslo, Norway

The Open Day at the Norwegian Business School provided an opportunity for me to gauge its ethical stance. I participated in two lectures that delved into the best practices of advertising. Although I came across a poster showcasing the Sustainable Development Goals, I presume that Goal 8 is the focal point of attention. The atmosphere exuded a kind of optimism reminiscent of Elon Musk.

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7th March 2024, Oslo New University College / Oslo Nye Høyskole, Norway

How wonderful, dear Torstein Dale Åkerlund, Head of Department for Political Science and International Relations, for introducing me to Associate Professor Christopher White! It was such a great meeting! Thank you!

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7th March 2024, Oslo New University College / Oslo Nye Høyskole, Norway

It was a great gift to reconnect with Erik Carlquist!
Erik teaches societal and cultural psychology, public mental health and qualitative methods. His research focuses on critical studies of language and discourse.

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6th March 2024, Vega Scene, Oslo, Norway

What a deeply moving documentary, In the Rearview, at the HUMAN internasjonale dokumentarfilmfestival 2024, with highly admired Nora Sveaass leading the panel afterwards.
Thank you, dear Elisabeth Ng Landdal, Executive Director at Mental Health and Human Rights Info, for your crucially important work!

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6th March 2024, Vega Scene, Oslo, Norway

What a gift to reconnect with Tone B. Bergflødt! She was raised on a traditional farm in Eastern Norway and took over the family farmhouse with her husband when she was 35. It turned out that the family history, and especially the silence surrounding the grandfather's role during the Second World War, weighed heavy on her. [read more]

My very dear Tone, I so much admire your book Farfars skrin – I skyggen av NS (English: Grandfather's Casket – In the Shadow of NS)!

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6th March 2024, the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway

You are such a gift to the Psychology Department, dear Associate Professor Gulnaz Anjum!
Thank you so much for your brilliant work and support!

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February, March, April 2024 at the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway

What would I do without my dignity anchors at the Department of Psychology!
Since 1997, these Beacons of Dignity keep me alive and my deep gratitude goes to them!

Senior Engineer Egil Telle at the IT section of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Oslo since 1999
and
Head Engineer Per-Ole Bjørnstad, who came to the Department of Psychology in 1995, two years before me!

• Kindly click on the photos above, taken on 6th March 2024 and 3rd April 2024, to see them larger.

6th March 2024, the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway

How wonderful to meet with Vibeke Moe and Gunnar Malmin!
Thank you for your dedicated and dignified and dignifying leadership, dear Vibeke and Gunnar!
Vibeke is the brilliant Head of Education of the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, with Gunnar Malmin, who is the great Head of Office!

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5th March 2024, the University of Oslo, Norway

Meeting with wonderful and brilliant Ingrid Fuglestvedt was truly an honour, as I had the opportunity to learn her thoughts on my approach to the concept of equal dignity and whether she perceives it as a novel idea or a longstanding one!
Thank you so much for gifting me your amazing books:
Fuglestvedt, Ingrid (2018). Rock art and the wild mind: Visual imagery in Mesolithic Northern Europe. London: Routledge.
and
Hernæs, Per, Per Hernæs, and Ingrid Fuglestvedt (2020). Rogalands vikingtid. Oslo: Per Hernæs.

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3rd March 2024, Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway
• Kindly click on the photos above to see them larger:
On the top left side: Galloping horse, oil on canvas, 1910–1912: my father would have loved this!
On the top right side: Starry night, oil on canvas, 1922–1924
At the bottom: View on the opera building

1st March 2024, Lucy Smiths hus, administration building of the University of Oslo, Norway

A warm thank-you goes to Bjørn Stensaker, Vice-Rector for Education of the University in Oslo, for taking the time for a meeting!
Thank you for your crucially important work, dear Bjørn!

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1st March 2024, the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway

How wonderful to reconnect with Bjørn Lau, head of the Department of Psychology!
Thank you for your invaluable work, dear Bjørn!

We took our photo in front of the picture of my beloved doctoral advisor and mentor Jan Smedslund.
His picture is hanging on the wall of the Department of Psychology!
Here I am with Jan in 2023!


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1st March 2024, the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway

So nice to reconnect with Anica Munir!
It was great to also speak about our planned dignity conference in Pakistan!

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1st March 2024, the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway

What a great joy it was to meet one of my dear mentors, Rolv Blakar!
Thank you, dear Rolv Blakar and Hilde Nafstad, for your important work that continues to inspire my work and that of our dignity community!

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29th February 2024, The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Institutt for fredsforskning, Oslo, Norway

It was an honour to meet you, dear Michael Malual Dut, Deputy Head of the Embassy of the Republic of South Sudan to the Kingdom of Norway and the Nordic Region!

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29th February 2024, The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Institutt for fredsforskning, Oslo, Norway

Thank you very much, dear Kristin Bergtora Sandvik, for your excellent book launch!
Humanitarian Extractivism - The Digital Transformation of Aid

Invitation by PRIO: "In her new book, Kristin Bergtora Sandvik investigates the digital transformation of aid as a form of humanitarian extractivism. The book focuses on how practices of data extraction shift power towards states, the private sector and humanitarians.
Digital initiatives aimed towards 'fixing' the humanitarian system, making it better and more secure, also create risk and harm for vulnerable individuals and communities. Digital identities – ‘digital bodies’ are now a prerequisite for receiving aid and protection. At the same time, enormous databases holding ever more humanitarian data radically centralize vulnerability.
Drawing on long-term collaborations with aid actors, the book explores new humanitarian spaces and practices. This includes the politics of insecurity in humanitarian cyberspace, contestations over digital humanitarianism, the rise of a humanitarian airspace, private sector collaborations and wearable innovation challenges and ethics in global disaster innovation labs."

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26th February 2024, the University of Oslo, Norway, Oslo, Norway

What an honour it was to be together with eminent Inga Bostad, Professor of Philosophy at the Department of Education of the University of Oslo in Norway and Professor 2 at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design!
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.
In times of increasing polarisation and war, Inga's call for dialogue is more important than ever!
Inga Bostad greeted the conference participants of the 17th Annual Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies Conference in Dunedin, New Zealand. In the light of the 2011 attacks on 22nd July 2011 in Oslo and Utøya, Inga Bostad encouraged and urged everyone to engage in dialogue, particularly with people of different opinion.

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23rd February 2024, Oslo, Norway

What a gift to reconnect with wonderful Trine Charlotte Eikrem (Universitetet i Oslo, Barne-, ungdoms- og familieetaten og Folkehelseinstituttet)!
I so much look forward to your doctoral dissertation, dearest Trine!

Trine Eikrem studies break-ups between parents. The vast majority of parents who go through a divorce manage it with little conflict. Eikrem asks, "What can be learned from those parents who have a low level of conflict?" (Translated from the Norwegian original by Evelin Lindner, kindly see "Slik håndterer foreldre samlivsbrudd med minst mulig konflikt")

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22nd February 2024, Oslo, Norway

Unbelievable joy to reconnect with wonderful Ragnhild Dybdahl! We met for the first time in 1997!
I wish you all the strength you need, dear Ragnhild, for your upcoming work in Ethiopia!

Ragnhild Dybdahl is currently seconded to Africa CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, where she is a senior advisor on global health. She is also associate professor of global mental health at the University of Bergen. She is a clinical psychologist from University of Oslo and a PhD from University of Tromsø, the northernmost university in the world. She has worked in global health and international cooperation for many years, with more than 15 years in leadership positions, and work experience from, inter alia, Somalia, Bosnia, Guatemala, Niger, Sudan, Vietnam, France, and the UK. Her research interests include mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies, early childhood development, sexual and gender based violence, poverty reduction, social determinants of health, burn-out and work environment. She previously worked in Norad, the Norwegian agency for development cooperation, where she was head of education and research, and at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she was deputy head of the Norwegian embassy in Vietnam. As a clinician she has mainly worked with adult  refugees.

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19th February 2024, Oslo, Norway

Thank you, dear Kjell Magne Bondevik, for the wonderful meeting at the Storting today!

Det Store Norske Leksikon informs that for Kjell Magne Bondevik, there is a "third alternative" to both "the left (socialist and social democratic politics)" and "the right (liberal and conservative politics)". Bondevik is quoted as explaining that "these main directions in the political debate emphasise the relationship between individual and community and the external forms of the organisation of a society", whereas his third alternative goes deeper: "It places the main emphasis on the norms and values that are decisive for the individual and the community and thus for the organisation of a society". (Translated from the Norwegian original by Evelin Lindner)

Dear Kjell Magne Bondevik, this is exactly the aim of our work for dignity! A third alternative that goes deeper! By going deeper, we bridge all religious and ideological fault lines.
Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies (HumanDHS) is both a transdisciplinary academic field and a global community of like-minded people (more than 8000 people from every continent are on our address list). Since 2003, we have organised 40 conferences all over the world. In 2011, Inga Bostad, then the Pro-Rector of the University of Oslo, hosted the launch of our World Dignity University initiative.

Dear Kjell Magne Bondevik, your wisdom reminds of Prince El Hassan bin Talal and his inter-faith work. You both are important voices for peace in the world. El Hassan Bin Talal invited us to have our 2022 Dignity Conference at the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS) that he founded in 1994.

17th February 2024, Oslo, Norway

Here I am standing with the impressive tiger sculpture in front of the central train station of Oslo!
I am wearing the wonderful Ajrak that I received from our dear Shahid Khan in Little Pakistan on 11th December 2023!

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17th February 2024, Oslo, Norway

What an immense privilege to be welcomed to Oslo by my dear and admired friend Pamela Hiley!
Loving congratulations go to her wonderful son Benjamin!
Benjamin is part of the musical Frost, which is based on the Disney film Frozen and the original fairy tale "The Snow Queen" from 1844 by H.C. Andersen. It is the story of two sisters: Elsa, isolated and with a mysterious secret, and Anna, who sets out on a journey to save her. The musical is being performed at Det Norske Teatret in Oslo.

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10th February 2024, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany

What a stellar meeting with Margitta Holler and Jörg Altekruse!
Danke, liebe Margitta, für Deine wichtige Arbeit mit dem Ruth Cohn Institute (A Path to Humanity and Leadership with Reflection)!
Ich finde Dein Motto auf Linkedin ausgesprochen gut: "Out of the box ist gut — aus der box aussteigen ist besser"!

Danke, lieber Jörg, für Deine weltumspannende Mobilisierung der Jugend mit Youth4planet!
"400 million revolutions + 1 (you)"!
"It takes all of us to heal this world”!
Youth4planet is using creativity, music, film and storytelling as driving forces to engage young minds to create visible, physical impact on local level and align it with global principles and planetary boundaries. CATs — Creative Action Teams are trained as REGENERATORS in schools and universities as self organized learning units to run meaningful campaigns based on the SDGs, the Sustainable Development Goals. With the CreatiVelo media bike they can connect with other CATs on similar missions for more outreach and impact, e.g. in Luxembourg under patronage of the government.

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7th February 2024, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany

Eine zutiefst bewegende Begegnung, nach mehr als 30 Jahren!
Mit einer der Säulen unserer NGO „Better Global Understanding“ und unserer Hamburger Ideenkette im Jahr 1993!
A deeply moving encounter, after more than 30 years! With one of the pillars of our "Better Global Understanding" NGO, and our Hamburger Ideenkette in 1993!

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6th February 2024, Europe

Danke, lieber Michael Bloss, für dieses sehr informative Webinar "2040 Klimaziele" mit Linda Kalcher und Sabine Nallinger!

Text der Einladung: Rechtsruck oder Fortschritt beim Klimaschutz? Was der brandneue Klimaplan der EU für uns bedeutet. Am 6. Februar werden die Klimaziele der Europäischen Union bis zum Jahre 2040 vorgestellt. Das ist ein wegweisender Moment. Hier entscheidet sich, wie ganz Europa mit dem Klimaschutz fortfährt und ob wir unsere Klimaziele aus dem Pariser Abkommen einhalten können. Am Abend der Vorstellung laden wir ein: Was heißt dieser Plan jetzt für unser Klima? Die EU muss und will im Klimaschutz eine Vorreiterrolle einnehmen, also 90 - 100% der CO2-Emissionen reduzieren bis ins Jahr 2040. Die EU muss jetzt den Absprung aus dem fossilen Zeitalter schaffen, um der Klimakrise mit einem Pfad vorwärts entgegenzutreten. Nun allerdings sollen Kohle und Gas möglicherweise fortgeführt werden und auch der teure Atom-Strom Subventionen bekommen. Wir wollen das neue Papier diskutieren, mit Wissenschaft, Zivilgesellschaft und Politik: Reicht das für den Klimaschutz? Können wir so noch ein Ziel von 1,5 oder 2 Grad erreichen?

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6th February 2024, Global

Thank you, dear Charlotte Streck, Co-founder of Climate Focus, for convening the important meeting titled
'The right to carbon: From global perspectives to local impact'

• Kindly click on the photo above to see the
Comparative study of carbon rights in the context of jurisdictional REDD+
Case studies from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
See also:
'What the heck is a carbon right? And who (if anybody) deserves to be paid for it?' by Ashwin Ravikumar, Forest News, May 5, 2015.

See furthermore our 2019 Dignity Confrence in the Brazilian Amazon.

5th February 2024, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany

Thank you so much, dear Ines Budarick, for forwarding the invitation to the interesting event with Dr. Holger Niemann, titled "Die Welt in Unordnung - Macht und Ohnmacht der Vereinten Nationen", in HADLEY'S Bar.

Der Einladungstext: Die Weltordnung, wie wir sie seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg kennen, steckt in einer schweren Krise. Die Vereinten Nationen (englisch: United Nations, UN), die sich als Hüterin des Weltfriedens verstehen, sind in vielen dieser Krisen erstaunlich handlungsunfähig. Im nächsten HADLEY'S Abendsalon erläutert Dr. Holger Niemann, UN-Experte am IFSH, vor welchen Herausforderungen die Weltordnung steht und wie die Vereinten Nationen dabei helfen könnten, die Welt wieder friedlicher und stabiler zu machen.

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1st February 2024, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany

Thank you so much, dear Alexander Redlich, for gathering a fascinating meeting with your wonderful colleagues working for peace!

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30th January 2024, Markus Lanz, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF, Second German Television, a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate).
Guests in that programme: Shoah-Überlebender Leon Weintraub, Autor Harald Jähner und Journalistin Nadine Lindner / Shoah survivor Leon Weintraub, author Harald Jähner and journalist Nadine Lindner

Shoah-Überlebender Leon Weintraub drückte seine Überzeugung aus, dass irgendwann die Einsicht siegen wird, dass folgendes ein 'paradoxe Absurdum' ist‚ nämlich, 'Soldaten ausbilden, Uniformen nähen, Waffen produzieren, … um Meinungsverschiedenheiten, genannt Konflikte, zu lösen, durch sich gegenseitig töten‘ (original German words, transcribed by Evelin Lindner).
English translation:
Shoah survivor Leon Weintraub expressed his conviction that at some point the insight will prevail that the following is a 'paradoxical absurdity': 'training soldiers, sewing uniforms, producing weapons ... in order to resolve differences of opinion, called conflicts, by killing each other'.

In the same talk show, Markus Lanz and Harald Jähner called for the refusal of the practice of 'verächtlich machen' of opponents, in English, the practice of disparaging opponents. They called for an end to 'mud-slinging', no longer should opponents be treated with contempt and disdain.

Linda Hartling reminds us of Jean Baker Miller's conceptualisation of 'waging good conflict,' which means engaging in constructive conflict without aggression or violence. In Linda's words on 3rd February 2024: 'It seems that we have systems that are based on the belief that there is no effective alternative to competitive domination and aggressive conflict, a belief that reduces reality to a win/lose dualism. Waging good conflict means fostering dignifying dialogue that leads to movement in relationships, creating new possibilities for all involved. Our social-educational systems tend to train 'good soldiers' rather than 'good diplomats'.

We are reminded of Inga Bostad, Vice-Rector of the University of Oslo, and her message on 26th August 2011 (Video), in the light of the 22/7 terror attacks in Oslo and Utøya, where she encourages and urges everyone to engage in dialogue, particularly with those holding opposing opinions.

We are also reminded of Uri Dromi, President of the Jerusalem Press Club, and his words in the face of increasing 'polarization of discourse': 'I’m always willing and interested in listening to the other side, and not just brushing it off as nonsense. If you sit down with your political opponent and refrain from mud-slinging, you’ll find out you have more in common than what divides you. The problem is that the discourse has become so vulgar, so rough, that people move to the extremes. And this is something that really bothers me'. Dromi authored this article in The Hill: 'Breaking the cycle of humiliation and retribution in the Middle East', 26th January 2024.

We are furthermore reminded of Peter Coleman's presentation The Way Out Challenge (Video) at the First World Dignity University Initiative Workshop, titled 'For People and the Planet: Learning for a Future of Dignity', that we hosted online on December 9, 2022. Watch also Thanksgiving table conversations can get tense. Here’s how to prepare, PBS NewsHour, 'Food, family … and friction', November 22, 2022.

If we want to delve deeper, we can ask what lies at the core of increasing polarisation. At this point I thank you, dear Philip Pegesa, for sharing models of 'maturation' based on Mary M. Wood, an educator, researcher and founder of the Developmental Therapy Institute, which focuses on training, research, development and outreach in Developmental Therapy-Teaching (DTT).
Thanks go also to Cornelia Zelter for sharing other models of 'maturation', based on the work of David R. Hawkins, who has conceptualised transitions from what he named 'shame' at the bottom to 'enlightenment' at the top. The interesting point is that the principle of causality has to give way to a non-dualistic, non-linear mode of perception as soon as 'reason' is transcended and the level of 'love' attained.

Indeed, dualism has been criticised by many: Johan Galtung, for instance, has deplored what he called the Dichotomy-Manicheism-Armageddon (DMT) syndrome.

The concept of harmony in Chinese culture comes to mind, and its origin in music. Wikipedia: During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, discussion of music flourished under Confucius and the schools of thought he created, known as Confucianism. Confucianism played a key part in the formulation of the earliest form of Chinese music, Qin. Qin music illustrates the concept of harmony through its techniques such as the level of pressure and the speed of tempo, which symbolize Yin and Yang and the different temperature in the four seasons. The moderate unison of sounds maintains the perfect order and managing these opposing elements into a moderate piece of musical work is considered the best sound. Furthermore, one of the most influential works by Ru Jia (otherwise known as Book of Music), reads: 'When the early rulers formed the li [rituals] and yue [music] their purpose was not to satisfy the mouth, stomach, ear and eye, but rather to teach the people to moderate their likes and hates, and bring them back to the correct direction in life.'
(The concept of Yin and Yang is a non-dualistic concept, meant to convey that all apparent opposites are parts of a non-dual whole.)

If I were to offer my words, then I would say that it is in the interest of world society to disallow institutional systems that offer space to people who use 'humiliation entrepreneurship' to gain power and profit. It is in the interest of all citizens of the globe to resist the normalisation of humiliation as a means of communication. Mutual humiliation deepens polarisation within societies, as much as it stokes the security dilemma between polities, and this, in turn, risks leading to disastrous outcomes. In the case of the security dilemma, if nuclear war is the outcome, this can mean collective suicide.
It is in the interest of society at large to disallow the dehumanisation of 'enemies', be it by elevating them to the level of demons by ascribing 'pure evil' to them that requires total destruction, or by trivialising them as 'dirt' that can be 'mopped up' without leading to backlashes. A knee-jerk reaction to whatever stands in the way of one's intentions is lashing out against this obstacle. Dualistic thinking justifies this knee-jerk reaction by elevating 'fighting against' as the only suitable response to supposedly essential 'evil', and at the same time it trivialises it as a 'cleaning activity' of lifeless material that has no memory.
A strong security dilemma strengthens dualistic thinking and vice versa, and our ancestors were helpless in the grip of this cruel dilemma throughout the past millennia. In a globally interconnected world, however, where the security dilemma can be attenuated through global trust building, dualistic thinking re-stokes it unnecessarily and hazardously: dualistic thinking, rather than increasing security, endangers it, and this is more relevant in a globally interconnected world than before. This effect is heightened by the advent of human rights ideals of equal worthiness/dignity for all in solidarity, because their violation causes deeper wounds than the violation of honor in stratified social contexts, where unequal worthiness is regarded as acceptable. Therefore, it lies in the responsibility of every citizen of the globe to overcome dualistic mindsets.
Non-dualistic thinking recognises that human beings can feel humiliated, and that, when this happens, their reactions might appear to be evil, and the only way out is to heal past cycles of humiliation and prevent new cycles from occuring. Non-dualistic thinking in a social context that subscribes to equal dignity for all also recognises that human beings should not and can not simply be 'mopped up' like lifeless dirt. Times for 'total victory' through 'destroying the enemy' are bygone anyway, 'total victory' is 'unrealistic' given that we live in a highly interconnected world where cycles of humiliation ripple through the entire globe, a globe where people who live far away can keep feelings of humiliation alive through many generations. Global interconnectedness turns what was called 'realism' in the past into a kind of misguided and 'immature' 'idealism', while global trust building is the only new 'Realpolitik'. Global challenges such as climate change and species extinction wait to be addressed through global cooperation, not through military spending on mutual deterrence teetering on the brink of global nuclear war.
It is in the interest of society at large, both locally and globally, if it wishes for a dignified and dignifying future, to foster what Martin Buber called I-Thou relationships, and to follow Emmanuel Lévinas in seeing the 'face of the other'. There are many similar conceptualisations. I have coined the term dignity-ism or dignism. What I describe by that is a world where every new-born of all species, be it human or nonhuman, finds space and is nurtured to unfold their highest and best, embedded in a social context of loving appreciation and connection. A world, where the carrying capacity of the planet guides the ways in which all basic needs are met. A world of unity in diversity, where we unite in building trust, where we prevent unity from devolving into oppressive uniformity and keep diversity from devolving into hostile division. It is a world where we unite in respecting every individual’s dignity while celebrating their diversity. Dignism means ending cycles of humiliation of the past and preventing new ones from emerging. Dignism means loving care for the common good of all of humanity as co-inhabitants of one single finite habitat. Dignism weaves together all dignifying aspects of all the world’s traditions into one decent global village.

28th January 2024, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany

Övelgönne
and
'Demo: Hamburg steht zusammen für Vielfalt und Demokratie' auf der Ludwig-Erhard-Straße
(beim Michel, thank you, dear Ingrid, for alerting us!)

Thank you, dear Michael Boyer, for your comment. You write: 'It is important for our dignity community to work FOR dignity'
Yes, part of working FOR dignity is to avoid deepening polarisation. We avoid 'fighting against' something, because our research shows that this entrenches fault lines and makes it more difficult to overcome precisely what we wish to overcome. Counterintuitively, 'fighting against' can be deeply counterproductive. Therefore, we engage in 'working for'. It is the paradigm shift from dualism to non-dualism, in the spirit of this poem:
Outwitted:
He drew a circle that shut me out ―
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in!
― Edwin Markham, Oregon poet laureate (1852-1940)

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25th January 2024, New York City and Global

Dear Jennifer Govan, thank you so much for hosting the wonderful book talk by Dale Snauwaert and Janet Gerson titled "Teaching Peace as a Matter of Justice, with Dale Snauwaert" at Gottesman Libraries on Thursday, January 25, 2024!

Dearest Jennifer, great gratitude goes to you again for hosting Evelin's book talk on November 2, 2023! And for hosting our 20th Human Dignity Humiliation Studies workshop on December 8! It is wonderful that Janet was inspired and got in touch with you!

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18th – 20th January 2024, Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany

The Hanseatic city of Hamburg offers fascinating diverse events!
From left to right:
• "Usbekistan - Perlen an der Seidenstraße; Chiwa, Buchara, Samarkand, Aydar-See in der Kysylkum-Wüste und die Nuratau-Berge" mit Elvira Friedrich im Gemeindesaal St. Marien Ottensen, Bei der Reitbahn 4, Hamburg, 18th January
• "Poetry Slam: Flüstertüte," Die Motte, Rothestraße 48, 22765 Hamburg, 18th January
• New York Gospel Stars, in St. Michael's Church called "Michel," Engl. Planke 1, 20459 Hamburg, 20th January

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17th January 2024, Hamburg, Germany

Thank you, dear Tania, for this wonderful evening together! I learned so much from you and your partner! It was such an enriching evening for me!

Prof. Dr. Dipl.-Psych. Tania Lincoln ist die Leiterin des Arbeitsbereichs Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie an der Universität Hamburg.
Sie schreibt:
Die Erkenntnis, dass psychische Störungen massives Leid auslösen, hat mich schon früh motiviert, wirklich wirksame Therapien zu entwickeln. Durch das Studium der Psychologie an der Phillips-Universität Marburg erhielt ich das Basiswissen und methodisches Handwerkszeug, um sowohl normales als auch abweichendes menschliches Verhalten zu verstehen und zu untersuchen. Das sind wichtige Voraussetzungen für die Erforschung wirksamer Therapiemethoden – seit meiner Promotion ein Schwerpunkt meiner wissenschaftlichen Arbeit. In meiner Ausbildung zur Psychologischen Psychotherapeutin lernte ich, zeitgleich Patienten und Patientinnen mit unterschiedlichen Störungen individualisiert und effektiv zu behandeln. Das Verständnis für Betroffene mit noch recht unverstandenen Störungen, wie der Schizophrenie, und mit zunächst fremd erscheinenden Symptomen, wie Wahn oder Halluzinationen, treibt mich bis heute an. Mit überwiegend experimentellen Methoden untersuchen wir in meinem Arbeitsbereich an der Universität Hamburg entsprechende Störungsmechanismen und setzen in der angeschlossenen Hochschulambulanz dieses neu gewonnene Wissen in den Therapien für die Betroffenen wirkungsvoll ein.

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10th January 2024, Hamburg, Germany

Thank you very much, dear Alexander Redlich, for introducing me to Nils Zurawski and the Curriculum Friedensbildung-Peace­building at the University of Hamburg!

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Among his publications, kindly see:
Redlich A., Rothers A., Zhygulina-Fahl Y. (2015). Building up a Mediation Network: Training of Multiparty Mediation in Eastern Europe. Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (Ed): Materials of the 6th International Scientific Practical Conference 'Contemporary Research in the Social Spere'. Odessa, Nov. 2015 (200-205).