In this episode, Dr. Betty Reardon shares some insights on the relationship between human dignity, peace, and human rights.  She also discusses the necessity of developing a systemic approach to peace building.  She shares that human dignity, "is intrinsically part of human beings, but it has to be realized, and to be realized, it has to be actualized."     She continues, "we must come to awareness that as human beings we are endowed with dignity, which at its essence means that we are...

In this episode, Dr. Judith Thompson shares some insights on the lens of social healing and its relation to peace building.  She comments that “The social healing lens is really a paradigm; it’s a vision that arises basically from the inherent truth of interconnectivity, which is to say it’s a lens of compassion. And I see it as an evolutionary step for us. The older paradigm, the paradigm of separation, which has brought with it a retributive lens, let us say, within the field that I work...

In the second of our conversation with Matt Meyer, he shares some insights on bringing peace education into the classroom. Professor Meyer explains, “If one understands, if one thinks about the power of love and the power of hate, the power of passion in one's own pedagogy, and in one's own life and movement building, then one will have access to a greater range of more powerful tools than if one was unconscious of these very important forces.”   He continues, “If you go in with respect,...

In episode 8 of the Ikeda Center Podcast, Matt Meyer discusses the significance of love, dialogue, and unity in peace and justice movements today. He comments, “We know that in building a nonviolent movement—in education, in practical grassroots realities, and in our personal lives—that we need to confront injustice, hopelessness, and the problems that are around us in the world. So revolutionary nonviolence and a continuum of nonviolence, for me, centers around understanding our own...

In episode 7 of the Ikeda Center podcast, Donna Hicks introduces her definition of the concept of dignity as well as its relation to resolving conflict. She explains, "Every single one of us, we all have dignity. We're born with it. It's part of who we are as a human being and we all have inherent value and inherent worth. In fact, I would even argue that we are not only valuable and worthy, but that we are invaluable, that we're priceless and irreplaceable.”    Dr. Hicks also shares...

In this recent interview, Dr. Meenakshi Chhabra shares some insights on the role of dignity in relation to peace and conflict resolution.  Dr. Chhabra introduces some experiences from her work in conflict resolution, sharing, "it's so much easier to feel dignity for people that I like, or that I have no differences with, no problems with that dignity. But, I think it's crucial that--and the test is really--can I feel the same way for people that I have differences with; who I don't want to...

In this final segment of our three part interview, Dr. Ceasar McDowell introduces some early experiences that have inspired his work in community development.  He also discusses the evolution of how we organize ourselves as human beings in community.  He comments that while in the past we were born into specific communities or chose communities that were local and familiar, now "all of that has changed."  He adds that "we often find ourselves in places where we can’t then build an integrated...

In the second of this three part interview, Dr. Ceasar McDowell details his vision for democracy as an ongoing process of interaction and engagement.  He shares that the work of democracy is "how people come to know and understand both each other, the issues that are important to them, and how they want to make meaning together."  He adds that his current work is focused on the idea of Big democracy which he describes as, "an aspiration. And at the core of this aspiration is the belief that...

In the first of this three part interview with Dr. Ceasar McDowell, he describes the central focus of his work in the development of community knowledge systems and civic engagement.  He also shares some examples of how that focus has manifested.  In his words, "I can boil it down to one thing. My work, my research interests, my life, is about voice. And particularly how people—and specifically the people who are at the margins of society--are able to both name their experience in the world,...

In part two of this interview exploring the practice and practice of education, the late Dr. Vincent Harding (Professor Emeritus of Religion and Social Transformation at the Iliff School of Theology, and Chairperson of the Veterans of Hope Project) argues that we can only teach young people how to pay attention by actively paying attention to them. He also addresses the role of faith and faith-based communities in fostering nonviolent action.  Masao Yokota (Adviser to the Ikeda Center)...

In this interview from 2001, the late Dr. Vincent Harding (Professor Emeritus of Religion and Social Transformation at the Iliff School of Theology, and Chairperson of the Veterans of Hope Project) shares ideas on the purpose and practice of education: its relationship with our humanity, how teachers can impart something more valuable than knowledge, and why adults should pay attention to children. Masao Yokota (Adviser to the Ikeda Center) conducted the interview.  (Part 1 of 2)