Evelin's 2016 picture documentation

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

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


December 8 - 9, 2016, Thirteenth Workshop on Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict, representing the 28th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies (HumanDHS), titled "The Globalization of Dignity" at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City, USA

Still photos:
We so much thank Brandon Scott, Gabriela Saab, Noriko Ishihara, Hua-Chu Yen, and many others, for taking such lovely photos!
The still photos come in several web galleries:
• Thursday, December 8, 2016: Please click here to see all of Brandon Scott's 821 photos of Day One
• Thursday, December 8, 2016: Please click here to see all of the 75 photos of Day One taken with Evelin Lindner's camera, among others, by Gabriela Saab
• Thursday, December 8, 2016: Please click here to see all of Hua-Chu Yen's 27 photos of Day One

• Thursday, December 8, 2016: Please click here to see all of the 49 photos of the Public Event taken with Evelin Lindner's camera

• Friday, December 9, 2016: Please click here to see all of the 348 photos of Day Two taken with Evelin Lindner's camera
• Friday, December 9, 2016: Please click here to see all of Mariana Ferraz's 72 photos of Day Two
• Friday, December 9, 2016: Please click here to see all of Hua-Chu Yen's 22 photos of Day Two
• Friday, December 9, 2016: Please click here to see all of Noriko Ishihara's 11 photos of Day Two

Videos:
Thank you so much, dear Mariana Ferraz, for doing such wonderful video-taping! And thank you, dear Noriko Ishihara, for so kindly helping out during our Public Event! And thank you so much, dear Hua-Chu Yen, for your lovely snapshots!

•  00 Mini-Documentary of the Annual Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies Workshop on Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict "The Globalization of Dignity," December 8 - 9, 2016
We very much thank Mariana Ferraz for making this wonderful mini-documentary! Thank you, dear Mariana and also you, dear Gaby Saab, for inviting so many of us into this documentary, from Janet Gerson to David Yamada, Michael Perlin, Philip Brown, Kebadu Mekonnen Gebremariam, David Yau-Fai Ho! How great that you chose the song "A Wonderful World" in the background, the very song that David Yamada brought to us!

Day One:
•  01 Linda Hartling Welcomes Everybody
•  02 Danielle Coon Welcomes Everybody
•  03 Linda Hartling Introduces Our Appreciative Frame
•  04 Christine de Michele Brings Everybody Together
•  05 A Global Dignilogue with Evelin Lindner and Linda Hartling
•  05.1 Ljoba Jenče Shared Her Art in Dubrovnik on September 23, 2016
•  06 David Yamada Explains the Dignilogue Format
•  07 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1 "How Are Human Dignity and Humiliation Relevant to Destructive Conflict?"
•  08 Christine de Michele Shares "Island"
•  09 Phil Brown, Gabriela Saab, and Linda Hartling Shape the Co-Created Dignilogues
•  10 Co-Created Dignilogues in the Making
•  11 Co-Created Dignilogue 1 "Being an Effective Ally"
•  12 Co-Created Dignilogue 2 "Mindful Communications"
•  13 Co-Created Dignilogue 3 "Systemic Humiliation"
•  14 Co-Created Dignilogue 4 "The Path of Forgiveness"
•  15 Co-Created Dignilogue 5 "Creating a Dignity Classroom"

Public Event:
•  16 Public Event: Fred Ellis and His Students Sing
•  17 Public Event: Michael Perlin: "Dignity and the Nobel Prize: Why Bob Dylan Was the Perfect Choice"
•  18 Public Event: Betty Reardon, the Mother of Peace Education, Honors Us with Her Presence
•  19 Public Event: Edna Adan Ismail: "Dignity Through Courage!" (Powerpoint)
•  20 Public Event: Sylvain Leroux, Magali Regis, and the Fula Flute

Day Two:
•  21 Bonnie Selterman Shares Her Poem "No Shoes" (Pdf)
•  22 Welcome and Practical Details
•  23 Michael Britton's Don Klein Memorial Lecture
•  24 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2 "How Can We Cultivate Dignity?"
•  24.1 Christine de Michele's Interlude
•  25.1 Philip M. Brown Receives the Human Dignity (Half!) Lifetime Award
•  25.2 Philip M. Brown Receives the Human Dignity (Half!) Lifetime Award
•  26.1 David Yamada and Linda Hartling Shape the Co-Created Dignilogues
• 26.2 David Yamada and Linda Hartling Shape the Co-Created Dignilogues
•  27 Co-Created Dignilogues in the Making
•  28 Co-Created Dignilogue 6 "How to Respond in a More Dignified Way to a New Reality"
•  29 Co-Created Dignilogue 7 "DigniLego, or DigniPlay"
•  30 Co-Created Dignilogue 8 "The Dark Side of Empathy"
•  31 Co-Created Dignilogue 9 "The Bright Side of Empathy"
•  32 Co-Created Dignilogue 10 "A Dignifying Experience"
•  33 Evelin Lindner Shares the Story of the Jewelry from the Oasis Siwa
•  34 Closing Thank-You Round
•  35 Closing Ceremony
•  36 Good-Bye Snapshots by Hua-Chu Yen
•  37 Good-Bye Snapshots with Linda and Rick
•  38 Good-Bye Snapshots with Janet and Bhante
•  39 Good-Bye Snapshots with Zsuzsa, Martha, Glyn, and All
•  40 Good-Bye Snapshots with Sharon and Evelin
•  41 Good-Bye Snapshots with Naoko and Evelin

•  42 Interview with Evelin Lindner - Challenges of our Time; Learning to Connect, December 8, 2016

Linda Hartling & Morton Deutsch & Evelin Lindner
Linda Hartling and Evelin Lindner are the conveners of the annual workshops at Columbia University since 2003, together with honorary convener Morton Deutsch (click on the picture above from 2014 to see it larger).
All
All
Pictures of all of us on Day One and Two of the workshop
Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1 on Day One of our workshop

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

Contributors:
•  Michael L. Perlin
•  Claudia Cohen
•  Daniel Rothbart
•  Janet Gerson

Still photos:
• Please click here to see all of Brandon Scott's 821 photos of Day One
• Please click here to see all of the 75 photos of Day One taken with Evelin Lindner's camera
• Please click here to see all of Hua-Chu Yen's 27 photos of Day One

Videos:
•  01 Linda Hartling Welcomes Everybody
•  02 Danielle Coon Welcomes Everybody
•  03 Linda Hartling Introduces Our Appreciative Frame
•  04 Christine de Michele Brings Everybody Together
•  05 A Global Dignilogue with Evelin Lindner and Linda Hartling
•  05.1 Ljoba Jenče Shared Her Art in Dubrovnik on September 23, 2016
•  06 David Yamada Explains the Dignilogue Format
•  07 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 1 "How Are Human Dignity and Humiliation Relevant to Destructive Conflict?"
•  08 Christine de Michele Shares "Island"
Renée Monrose has created the wonderful Face-to-Face exhibition at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City, an ecumenical seminary affiliated with Columbia University in Manhattan. Thank you so much, dear Adair, for introducing us to Renée! What an amazing gift it was that our workshop participants were able to visit your exhibition, dear Renée!
• Please click on the photos in the top row above or here to see more pictures of Renée in November 2016.
• Please click on the photos from December 8 and 9, in the rows below or here to see them larger.
Phil Brown led the Turning Ideas into Action session on Day One of our workshop, in our new Co-Created Dignilogues # 1

Still photos:
• Please click here to see all of Brandon Scott's 821 photos of Day One
• Please click here to see all of the 75 photos of Day One taken with Evelin Lindner's camera
• Please click here to see all of Hua-Chu Yen's 27 photos of Day One

Videos:
•  09 Phil Brown, Gabriela Saab, and Linda Hartling Shape the Co-Created Dignilogues
•  10 Co-Created Dignilogues in the Making
•  11 Co-Created Dignilogue 1 "Being an Effective Ally"
•  12 Co-Created Dignilogue 2 "Mindful Communications"
•  13 Co-Created Dignilogue 3 "Systemic Humiliation"
•  14 Co-Created Dignilogue 4 "The Path of Forgiveness"
•  15 Co-Created Dignilogue 5 "Creating a Dignity Classroom"


•  42 Interview with Evelin Lindner - Challenges of our Time; Learning to Connect, December 8, 2016
Public Event on Day One of our workshop, titled, "The Globalization of Dignity," Thursday, December 8, 2016

Still photos of this event:

• Please click here to see all of the 49 photos of the Public Event taken with Evelin Lindner's camera

Videos:
•  16 Public Event: Fred Ellis and His Students Sing
•  17 Public Event: Michael Perlin: "Dignity and the Nobel Prize: Why Bob Dylan Was the Perfect Choice"
•  18 Public Event: Betty Reardon, the Mother of Peace Education, Honors Us with Her Presence
•  19 Public Event: Edna Adan Ismail: "Dignity Through Courage!" (Powerpoint)
•  20 Public Event: Sylvain Leroux, Magali Regis, and the Fula Flute
Scrim
Michael Britton gave the Don Klein Memorial Lecture on Day Two of our workshop.
Michael uses Don's metaphor of a scrim, a transparent stage curtain, where one believes that what one sees is reality only as long as the light shines on it in a certain way: see Don's explanation.

Still photos:
• Please click here to see all of the 348 photos of Day Two taken with Evelin Lindner's camera
• Please click here to see all of Mariana Ferraz's 72 photos of Day Two
• Please click here to see all of Hua-Chu Yen's 22 photos of Day Two
• Please click here to see all of Noriko Ishihara's 11 photos of Day Two

Video:

•  21 Bonnie Selterman Shares Her Poem "No Shoes" (Pdf)
•  22 Welcome and Practical Details
•  23 Michael Britton's Don Klein Memorial Lecture
Dignilogue 2 on Day Two of our workshop

Honorary Convenor: Morton Deutsch
Moderators: Michael L. Perlin and Gabriela Saab
Seating Manager: Rick Slaven

Contributors:
•  David C. Yamada
• Beth Fisher-Yoshida
•  Danielle Coon
•  Carol Smaldino

Still photos:
• Please click here to see all of the 348 photos of Day Two taken with Evelin Lindner's camera
• Please click here to see all of Mariana Ferraz's 72 photos of Day Two
• Please click here to see all of Hua-Chu Yen's 22 photos of Day Two
• Please click here to see all of Noriko Ishihara's 11 photos of Day Two

Videos:
•  24 Pre-Planned Dignilogue 2 "How Can We Cultivate Dignity?"
•  24.1 Christine de Michele's Interlude

Recognitions, Remembrances, and Awards,
on Friday, December 9, 2016, Day Two of the 2016 Workshop of Humiliation and Violent Conflict!
Phil Brown received the Human Dignity (Half!) Lifetime Award!

Still photos:

• Please click here to see all of the 348 photos of Day Two taken with Evelin Lindner's camera
• Please click here to see all of Mariana Ferraz's 72 photos of Day Two
• Please click here to see all of Hua-Chu Yen's 22 photos of Day Two
• Please click here to see all of Noriko Ishihara's 11 photos of Day Two

Videos:

•  25 Philip M. Brown Receives the Human Dignity (Half!) Lifetime Award
•  25.1 Philip M. Brown Receives the Human Dignity (Half!) Lifetime Award
•  25.2 Philip M. Brown Receives the Human Dignity (Half!) Lifetime Award

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

Still photos:
• Please click here to see all of the 348 photos of Day Two taken with Evelin Lindner's camera
• Please click here to see all of Mariana Ferraz's 72 photos of Day Two
• Please click here to see all of Hua-Chu Yen's 22 photos of Day Two
• Please click here to see all of Noriko Ishihara's 11 photos of Day Two

Videos:

•  26.1 David Yamada and Linda Hartling Shape the Co-Created Dignilogues
• 26.2 David Yamada and Linda Hartling Shape the Co-Created Dignilogues
•  27 Co-Created Dignilogues in the Making
•  28 Co-Created Dignilogue 6 "How to Respond in a More Dignified Way to a New Reality"
•  29 Co-Created Dignilogue 7 "DigniLego, or DigniPlay"
•  30 Co-Created Dignilogue 8 "The Dark Side of Empathy"
•  31 Co-Created Dignilogue 9 "The Bright Side of Empathy"
•  32 Co-Created Dignilogue 10 "A Dignifying Experience"

End of Day Two

Still photos:
• Please click here to see all of the 348 photos of Day Two taken with Evelin Lindner's camera
• Please click here to see all of Mariana Ferraz's 72 photos of Day Two
• Please click here to see all of Hua-Chu Yen's 22 photos of Day Two
• Please click here to see all of Noriko Ishihara's 11 photos of Day Two

Videos:
•  33 Evelin Lindner Shares the Story of the Jewelry from the Oasis Siwa
Correction: Please note that Evelin was a medical student in Bangkok in 1981 (not in 1998)!

Closing our workshop on Day Two

Still photos:
• Please click here to see all of the 348 photos of Day Two taken with Evelin Lindner's camera
• Please click here to see all of Mariana Ferraz's 72 photos of Day Two
• Please click here to see all of Hua-Chu Yen's 22 photos of Day Two
• Please click here to see all of Noriko Ishihara's 11 photos of Day Two

Videos:
•  34 Closing Thank-You Round
•  35 Closing Ceremony
•  36
Good-Bye Snapshots by Hua-Chu Yen
•  37 Good-Bye Snapshots with Linda and Rick
•  38 Good-Bye Snapshots with Janet and Bhante
•  39 Good-Bye Snapshots with Zsuzsa, Martha, Glyn, and All
•  40 Good-Bye Snapshots with Sharon and Evelin
•  41 Good-Bye Snapshots with Naoko and Evelin
What a gift to be with Joe Levine on December 12, 2016, for a lovely interview, together with Gabriela Saab and Hua-Chu Yen! Thank you all for such an intense time together!
• Please click on the pictures above to see them larger.


December 7, 2016, what a wonderful End Of Year Gathering at the MD-ICCCR Center! Linda and Michael were able to express our profound gratitude and thanks to Peter Coleman and his team for hosting our "Workshop on Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict" every year since 2003! So nice to catch dear Beth and Connie Sun on a photo!
• Please click on the pictures above to see them larger.
December 7, 2016, board meeting with our dear Linda, who was leading the meeting as lovingly as always, with dear Rick Slaven, our Director of Dignifunding, and our dear Uli Spalthoff participating from Ludwigsburg in Germany via Skype!
Please see:
Good News December 2016
• Ulrich Spalthoff: The Dignity Press flyer of 2016
• Please click on the picture above or here to see more photos.
December 7, 2016 Evelin's book talk: Honor, Humiliation, and Terror
Please click on the flyer to see it larger.
• Please click on the picture above to see it larger.
• Please see the video created by Talia Shafir. Thank you, dear Talia, for such a marvelous job!


Thank you, dearest Becca and Aimee, for those fascinating hours of sharing on December 2, 2016!
We need to remember our photo for the time when you want to invite me to your inaugurations!
• Please click on the picture above to see it larger.



How wonderful to have met with Venera Kusari! We met already in 2015 and this photo was taken on December 2, 2016. Venera is the Program Coordinator MS in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at the School of Professional Studies, Columbia University in New York City, USA.
• Please click on the picture above to see it larger.



L’Amour de Loin, by composer Kaija Saariaho, was a very special experience! It had its Met premiere on December 1, 2016. This photo of Kaija Saariaho is taken from the Metropolitan Opera's website. See the synopsis and the program. I wish I had another life to realize the dream of an opera that I have in my head, a opera on honor, dignity, humiliaton, terror, and love, with a emphasis on voice, and on ways of using voice such as in Sami joik!
• Please click on the picture above to see it larger.





Dearest Jennifer Govan! You have no idea what your support means to me! Thank you so much for making it possible for me to have a book talk at Gottesman Libraries on December 7, 2016! You found such a wonderful image, formulated such a great text, and created such a beautiful poster (see the photo at the bottom)! I am simply amazed by your creativity and loving support!
See the video of the book launch at Columbia University, Teachers College, Gottesman Libraries, room Russell 306, on December 7, 2016, 12.00 - 2pm. See the invitation, the invitation flyer, and the event in the Gottesman Libraries Calendar. Thank you, dear Talia Shafir for doing such nice video recording! (Please be aware that this is an unedited video).
• Please click on the pictures above to see them larger. The lovely picture with Jennifer Govan was taken on November 30, 2016.



On November 30, 2016, how wonderful it was to have a moment to express our profound gratitude to Peter Coleman for hosting us 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!
• Please click on the picture above to it larger.




On November 29, 2016, what a privilege it was to meet with visionary Domício Coutinho, dukedogpriest@gmail.com Founder and president of the Brazilian Endowment for the Arts - Brazilian Library of New York City! And this together with dear Gabriela Saab and her beloved mother Rosy Rodrigues, my family in São Paulo! Thank you so much, dear Francisco Gomes de Matos for introducing us all to wonderful Domício!
See "A Missionary for Brazilian Literature," by Soares, Alexandre, Voices of NY, January 23, 2015.
• Please click on the pictures above to see them larger.



On November 25, 2016, it seemed emblematic to see an opera showing how a young woman, Manon, understood only too late that love brings meaning to life, not material riches. Humanity seems to go down the same erroneous path just now...
We read in "'Manon Lescaut’ at the Met Opera: A Courtesan in Need of Context," by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, New York Times, November 15, 2016:
"But just what caused this downfall? ... the venality of Manon’s brother, Lescaut, who thinks nothing of pimping her, or perhaps by Manon’s own love of luxury, as seems to be the verdict of Puccini and the seven librettists he worked with on this opera?"
• Please click on the picture above to see the article it is taken from.



November 25, 2016, was a great day! Reconnecting with my Adair Linn Nagata and her husband! Thank you, my very dear Adair, for being such an amazing nurturer and dignifyer in this world, in our dignity family, and for me very personally! I cannot imagine the world and my life without YOU!
• Please click on the picture above to see it larger.



Thank you, dear Linda Hartling, for sharing this poster with us, which you saw on September 14, 2016, in the B Reactor at the Hanford Site, near Richland, Washington, which was the first large-scale nuclear reactor ever built. The project was commissioned to produce plutonium-239 by neutron activation as part of the Manhattan Project, the United States nuclear weapons development program during World War II. The B Reactor was the world's first plutonium production reactor.
The poster says: "Security is an individual responsibility: be an individualist."
Thank you, dear Linda, for thinking of my reflections on how the security dilemma has been "individualized." The security dilemma is a term used by international relations experts to describe a dilemma of mutual mistrust that states are caught in. Ruling elites of states are the ones to "manage" this dilemma, it defines "Realpolitik," meaning that there can be no trust, since an ally may turn into foe over night. This poster invites every citizen to share it. While states cannot escape the security dilemma as long as the world is divided, citizens can overcome it among themselves, they can learn how to nurture trust. If they learn to foreground mistrust instead, the inner cohesion of society is in danger.
Thank you, dear Linda, also for sharing your key insights with us:

  1. In 1943 the military took over a piece of land in Washington State that is half the size of the state of Rhode Island, displacing 1,500 local and indigenous people.
  2. They picked the side next to the Columbia River because they needed water that was plentiful and pure. The Columbia River flows between Oregon and Washington State through the largest populated city is Portland, Oregon. This article describes the contamination problem associated with this project today.
  3. 45,000 people were brought in to build the reactors and other buildings in support of this project, building other reactors and other buildings at the site. 
  4. The workers did not know exactly what they were working on. Only those at the very top knew that they were developing the fuel for a nuclear bomb.
  5. Even the scientists didn’t know much about what would happen with their reactor. It was like a big science experiment.
  6. B Reactor created the plutonium for the bombing of Nagasaki.
  7. I found it deeply troubling that there were no pictures of the destruction of caused by the bomb in the building or on the tour (out of sight, out of mind).
  8. The American people are paying 2 billion dollars a year for 25 years to clean up this site.
  9. The tour through the reactor emphasized the accomplishment of American engineering, in competition with German engineering at the time. The construction of the reactor took 11 months.
  10. I wish that this had been a tour to remind people "never again," but it wasn’t.

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




On November 21, 2016, what a gift it was to reconnect with dear Danielle Coon, Associate Director of the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR) at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City!
• Please click on the picture above to see it larger.



On November 21, 2016, we celebrated 15 years of knowing each other! Beth Fisher-Yoshida, Director and Faculty in the Master of Science in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Program (NECR), Executive Co-Chair of the Advanced Consortium for Cooperation, Conflict and Complexity (AC4) at Columbia University, Director of the Youth, Peace & Security Program.
• Please click on the picture above to see it larger.



On November 20, 2016, what a gift it was to reconnect with Naoko Matsumoto! Thank you so much, dearest Adair, for having introduced me to her! Naoko is originally from Kyoto, Japan, and danced for Midori Ballet, Mariko Dance Theater. She has more than 10 years professional experience as a dance teacher. She is also a certified Alexander Technique teacher and a director at Movement Republic Inc., where she supports her students with Alexander Technique and dance education.
• Please click on the picture above to see it larger.



Thank you so much, dearest Janet, for inviting us all into your wonderful home on November 19, 2016! What a gift to reconnect with your dear husband, and with dear Karen, Gaby, and Judit! What a wonderful time together!
• Please click on the picture above or here to see more photos.



After November 8, 2016, people are leaving post-it messages about the election in a New York underground tunnel, see on the left side a photo taken by dear Judit in Union Square station, and on the right sight a photo taken by Evelin in 14th Street station on Novemrber 20.
• Please click on the pictures above or here to see more photos.



November 17, 2016: a very touching Jenufa by Leoš Janáček (1854–1928) at the Metropolitan Opera, "Rich in human insight expressed in passionate, emotionally honest music, Jenufa has come to be regarded as one of the great operas of the 20th century."
• Please click on the picture above to see it larger.



On November 15, 2016, it was wonderful to pay dear beloved Morton Deutsch a visit at his home and see how strong he was and how happy he is with being part of this book:
Robert J. Sternberg, Susan T. Fiske, and Donald J. Foss (Eds.) Scientists Making a Difference: One Hundred Eminent Behavioral and Brain Scientists Talk About Their Most Important Contributions (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016).
• Please click on the picture above to see it larger.



On November 15, 2016, what a gift it was to reconnect, after one year, with dear Martha Eddy, and then also dear Michael Britton joined us!
Congratulations, dear Martha, with your new book! After 15 years of working with it!
Martha Eddy, Mindful Movement: The Evolution of the Somatic Arts and Conscious Action (Bristol: Intellect. 2016).
Thank you so much for reminding me and making me aware of so many important like-minded initiatives:
- Your wonderful Global Water Dances
- The Same Heart is a film that tackles what it will take to actually end the extreme poverty children live with today.
- The AFS Intercultural Programs is an international, voluntary, non-governmental, non-profit organization that provides intercultural learning opportunities to help people develop the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to create a more just and peaceful world (originally the American Field Service, of which Martha Eddy's father was part). In 2007, almost 13,000 participants traveled abroad on AFS cultural exchanges between 65 countries, as supported by 44,000 active volunteers.
- The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD) is a community and coalition of 2,200+ groups and professionals who bring people of all stripes together to discuss, decide and collaborate on today's toughest issues.
- The Southern Poverty Law Center was founded 45 years ago by Morris Dees. It is an American nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. It is noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups, its classification of hate groups and other extremist organizations, its legal representation for victims of hate groups, and its educational programs that promote tolerance.
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.




On November 13, 2016, it was a deeply touching afternoon under the overwhelming motto of HUMILIATION, the humiliation of slaves, and their resilience. Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey: "In the 1830s, railroad tracks for the newly invented steam trains began to crisscross America, but at this very same time, another railroad was also flourishing that had no need for rails to carry its passengers. It was known as the Underground Railroad, and between 1830 and the beginning of the Civil War, it helped tens of thousands of slaves escape their bonds in the South and find freedom in the Northern states and Canada."
Kathleen Battle, a prima donna whose dismissal by the Metropolitan Opera more than two decades ago made front-page news, returned to the Met to sing a recital of spirituals.
• Please click on the picture above to see it larger, which is taken from "Battlemania," by Kevin Fullerton, Parterre, November 14, 2016.




On November 12, 2016, it was such a joy to be re-united with my beloved sister Judit Révèsz and brother Ikhlaq Hussain.
• Please click on the picture above to see it larger.




The Willamette Meteorite is an iron-nickel meteorite discovered in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the largest meteorite found in North America and the sixth largest in the world. It was great to revisit it on November 11, 2016, as every year, in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, which acquired it in 1906. It has been seen by an estimated 40 million people over the years, and is among the most famous meteorites known. In 2005, the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon unsuccessfully sued to have the meteorite returned to them.
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.




After plannint to meet in December 2015, one entire year ago, it was such a privilege to finally get together with extraordinary Qin Shao! Dear Michael Perlin, thank you so much for introducing us to eath other! Qin is Professor of History at the College of New Jersey and former research fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, Harvard University (2007 – 2008), and at the International Research Center on Work and Lifecycle in Global History, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany (January – July 2013). Her recent work has focused on the human dimension of rapid urbanization in post- Mao China, especially on such issues as mental health, dignity, property rights, and grass-roots resistance. She is working on a new project about the impact of politically induced and imposed physical displacement under Mao.
Dear Qin, thank you so much for giving me your important book:
Shao, Qin (2013). Shanghai Gone: Domicide and Defiance in a Chinese Megacity. State and Society in East Asia. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield. This is the summary of this book:
Shanghai has been demolished and rebuilt into a gleaming megacity in recent decades, now ranking with New York and London as a hub of global finance. But that transformation has come at a grave human cost. This compelling book is the first to apply the concept of domicide—the eradication of a home against the will of its dwellers—to the sweeping destruction of neighborhoods, families, and life patterns to make way for the new Shanghai. Here we find the holdouts and protesters, men and women who have stubbornly resisted domicide and demanded justice. Qin Shao follows, among others, a reticent kindergarten teacher turned diehard petitioner; a descendant of gangsters and squatters who has become an amateur lawyer for evictees; and a Chinese Muslim who has struggled to recover his ancestral home in Xintiandi, an infamous site of gentrification dominated by a well-connected Hong Kong real estate tycoon. Highlighting the wrenching changes spawned by China’s reform era, Shao vividly portrays the relentless pursuit of growth and profit by the combined forces of corrupt power and money, the personal wreckage it has left behind, and the enduring human spirit it has unleashed.
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.




"In many respects, teaching and learning are matters of breaking through barriers - of expectations, of boredom, of predefinition. - Maxine Greene, TC faculty since 1965." This is a poster mounted in front of the main elevator in Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.




Thank you so much, dear Bonnie Selterman, for taking me with you to Bill McKibben's Inaugural Jonathan Schell Memorial Lecture at the New School in New York City on November 10, 2016!
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more photos.




What a joy to reconnect with dear Claudia Cohen, Senior Lecturer in the Social-Organizational Program at Teachers College and the former the Associate Director of the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR), for our annual lunch, on November 10, 2016!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.




What a joy to reconnect with Portia Williams, Director for International Affairs at Teacher College, Columbia University, in New York City, on November 10, 2016!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.





On November 10, 2016, it was wonderful to see Renée Monrose's Face-to-Face exhibition at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City, an ecumenical seminary affiliated with Columbia University in Manhattan. Thank you so much, dear Adair, for introducing me to Renée! What an amazing gift!
• Please click on the photos in the top row above or here to see more pictures.
• Please click on the photo at the bottom to see Evelin with Wilma Mankiller face-to-face larger. This photograph was taken by Renée Monrose.



In November 2016, my 1981 dress (see the photo on the left side) was copied in New York by dear May Cheng (see the photo in the middle)!
In 1981, I worked as a medical student in Bangkok, and was overjoyed to see the streets filled with silk shops. I bought some silk and designed and made the dress you see on the left photo (the photo was taken in 2014). In 2014, I was back in Thailand and was devastated to see that modern-day mass production has "killed" the local silk handicraft, as it has done with so many other handicrafts all around the world. Those with means, in all corners of the world, seem to be willing now to reduce themselves to crowding their wardrobes with clothes that lack true quality and diversity. The number of colors that is being used in these mass-produced materials, just to give one example, is disastrously low. And I watch the poor, in Africa, South America, and other parts of the world, I watch them being reduced to digging through heaps of second-hand clothes that people in the Global North have given to "charity" believing that this meant "doing good," while these clothes are being sold off for profit, finally destroying also the local skill base among the poor.
On December 7, 2007, I was discussing this disaster with Zuzka Kurtz in New York. Zuzka confirmed that we need to educate people to respect the richness of knowledge and skill that flows into many handmade products, particularly those that honor long artistic traditions.
I started to study local fashion styles back in 1974 and created "cross-over" clothes. Have a look at our World Clothes for Equal Dignity idea, for which I still look for support. Unfortunately, I no longer have time to be my own tailor, and the dress on the left side from 1981 is now very worn and in danger to fall apart and I repair it every year. Since I did not find the right material in Thailand in 2014 to make a good copy, I kept searching for it in other parts of the world. I was extremely happy to find the right material in the very last corner of the fashion street in New York in December 2015! (Foursquare Favorite, 224 West 40th Street.) I brought this material back with me to New York in 2016, and the lovely tailor May Cheng has now been so kind, in November, to make a copy of my 1981 dress! See the photo on the right side!
• Please click on the photos above on the left side or here to see more pictures from 2014 in Thailand. Click on the photo above in the middle and on the right side or here to see more pictures of May's little atelier in Boweri Street in New York's China Town.



How lucky I am to have dear Kristin as roommate again! I learn so much from her! She is an amazing play-write teaching at Columbia University in New York City!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger; it was taken on November 7, 2016.



On November 7, 2016, it was wonderful to reconnect with Volker Berghahn, Seth Low Professor of History, and Director of the Institute for the Study of Europe at Columbia University!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.



On November 6, 2016, it was such a pleasure to reconnect with Tony Allicino, MA, former Director of the Program for Deaf Adults at LaGuardia Community College of The City University of New York. We first met in 2013, and it was particularly interesting for me to learn from Tony about the work of anthropologist Michael Harner, PhD, since I had spent many months in South America in 2012, among others in the Ecuadorian Amazon, where also Harner had done research.
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.



On November 5, 2016, it was time again for me to learn more about the intricate interrelationships between honor, security, and love. It was the premiere of Aida, where a military commander betrays his country for love and thus is both innocent and guilty. This year, the 50th Anniversary of the opera building in the Lincoln Center is being celebrated.
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.



Between October 29 and November 5, 2016, I took a few photos of my beloved neighborhood in the Upper West Side in New York City.
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.



On November 4, 2016, sitar master Ikhlaq Hussain performed at the Harvard Club in New York City together with tabla player Imran Khan! It was such a privilege to be in the presence of Ihlaq and his dear wife Judit Révész! His performance was a divine experience!
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more photos.



On November 3, 2016, what a joy to see Joe Levine again! He is the Executive Director of External Affairs at Teachers College, Columbia University! See him on the left side and Jim Gardner, Associate Vice President for External Affairs, on the right side!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.




What a privilege it was for me to reconnect with Sandra Afflick on November 3, 2016! I so much admire her visionary sense of responsibility for her people!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.




On November 3, 2016, I had the great joy of reconnecting with dear Alba Taveras, who is now working with the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies at the International Affairs Building of the School of International and Public Affairs, at Columbia University, New York City, United States of America.
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.



Thank you to Komala Ramachandra, Senior Researcher for Business and Human Rights at Human Rights Watch, for sharing with us your work with assessing the strategies used by corporations to prevent and remedy human rights violations, including due diligence processes, impact assessments, and grievance procedures, on November 3, at Columbia Law School in New York City! This was the third event in the Human Rights Institute’s series, “Is Business Co-opting the Business & Human Rights Field?” Ramachandra is the Senior Researcher on Business and Human Rights at Human Rights Watch. Prior to joining HRW, Komala was an attorney with Accountability Counsel, working with communities to hold international companies and banks accountable for their actions, and ensure that national laws and institutional policies support transparency, accountability, and access to remedy. She has worked with indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon harmed by petroleum projects, on behalf of clients in Oaxaca, Mexico, impacted by a US-supported hydropower project, and with communities in Nepal and India to hold the World Bank Group accountable for human rights violations caused by its investments.
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.





November 3, 2016, it was a great privilege to be back at Maria Volpe's Monthly Roundtable Breakfast, hosted by the CUNY Dispute Resolution Center at John Jay College and The Association for Conflict Resolution of Greater New York, with many dear friends attending, among them Janet Gerson, Judit Révész, and Anne-Rose Moore.
This time, the topic was:
"Transforming our World by Transforming Our Practice," with UN Assistant Secretary General Barkat
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.



What a privilege it is for me to be part of the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR)!
It was wonderful to reconnect with my dearest friends, on November 2, 2016!
See from left to right: Azin Aliabadi, Becca Bass, Ljubica Chatman, Evelin Lindner, and Danielle Coon!
Thank you for a deeply enriching afternoon!
• Please click on the photo above or here to see more pictures.





On November 2, 2016, it was a great joy to make my first annual visit to our dear Samantha Lu and her colleagues, Patricia Gibson and Lauren Norvile. She is the director of TC's Office of International Student Services and is my wonderful "mother" at Teachers College!
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.




On November 2, 2016, it was such a pleasure to reconnect with many of my friends at Teachers College, Columbia University! See on the left side my friend since 2001, James Kearney, and in the middle and on the right side the wonderful Kofi Asare and his colleague Victor Melendez at TC's Media Services!
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.



Laudao Si

On November 2, 2016, it was very enriching to attend the symposium "Conflicts and Laudato Si" at Fordham Law School. This symposium focused on Pope Francis’s encyclical letter, Laudato Si, and considered how insights from that letter might inform our thinking on how to manage and resolve contemporary conflicts over environmental issues spanning environmental law, ethics, and corporate social responsibility. This event was co-sponsored by Fordham Institute on Religion, Law & Lawyer's Work, Feerick Center for Social Justice, Catholic Law Student Association, Fordham Environmental Law Review.
Keynote speaker was Lucia A. Silecchia, Professor of Law, Vice Provost for Policy, Columbus School of Law, and members of the panel were Kevin Healy, Partner, Bryan Cave; John Mundell, Mundell & Associates; Maureen A. Weston, Professor of Law, Pepperdine Law School; and Susan Wheelan, Delegate nd Legal Expert, Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nation.
Lucia Sileccia shared ten principles that Laudato Si' suggests for conflict resolution in the environmental context:
Laudato Si:
1. Stresses the critical importance of "having all stakeholders involved" in conflict resolution
2. Expresses concerns that "environmental disputes are viewed too narrowly" and urges constant consideration of all the issues that are affected by environmental problems
3. Emphasizes the "intergenerational character" of our responsibilities
4. Speaks of the "importance of a sound set of laws"
5. Points to the "indispensable need for honesty" in problem solving
6. Urges that the "precautionary principle" be applied in resolving disputes
7. Express a great deal of "respect for the role of science," properly and brodadly understood, in environmental dispute resolution
8. Advocates that the focus will remain on "solving problems and not merely addressing symptoms" of those problems
9. Proppses that environmental problem solving requires a "moral transformation"
10. Expresses hope that "holy love" motivate dispute resolution.
• Please click on the photo above to see the picture larger.




On October 31, 2016, after living in New York for 15 years for two months per year, I finally was able to made good on my promise to once visit the Statue of Liberty! I saw a fascinating documentary on how the statue came into being, a documentary by Mark Daniels, « La statue de la liberté, naissance d’un symbole », Arte, 15 février 2014 (see also Musée Bartholdi). What impressed me, was how the message of this immense project has changed over time: it started out as criticism of the authoritarian leaders in Europe, reminding them of how they lagged behind the freedom achieved in America, later it became a symbol of immigration to America, as it was the first immigrants saw before landing on nearby Ellis island, while in 2001, it gave strength to New Yorkers after the attack on the Twin Towers.
Even though the Statue of Liberty was put up saying Amerca welcomes everybody, there were exceptions. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Acts erected "a wall" against Chinese people and kept them out of the United States for about 100 years. Or, suffragists chartered a boat and held their own ceremony, loudly lamenting the hypocrisy of men “erecting a Statue of Liberty embodied as a woman in a land where no woman has political liberty.” Or, even though Joseph Pulitzer secured the funding for the pedestal on which the statue stands, he was not invited to the inauguration of the statue.
• Please click on the photo above or here to see all pictures.



March 2019
The Statue of Liberty - A gift from France to America, and a declaration of hope...
See the conference Civic Education in the US & France: Confronting Hatred and Threats to Democracy
Teachers College, Columbia University, Cowin Auditorium, March 28, 2019

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




On October 29, 2016, I finally made good on my plan, since many years, to pass by a building a few blocks away from where I am staying, namely, the building where John Lennon was shot, and Rosemary's Baby was made: The Dakota, 1 W 72nd Street, New York, NY 10023!
• Please click on the photo above or here to see all pictures.





On 27th September 2016, I began my bus journey from Dubrovnik along the Dalmatian coast, arriving in Frankfurt am Main in the afternoon of the next day. You see one of those large cruise ships in Dubrovnik at the beginning of the journey, which Hrvoje Carić, of the Institute for Tourism in Zagreb, has examined. He has calculated in 2015 that one-year income from cruise ships was 52.8 million Euros, while the cost of environmental damage was as high as 390 million Euros. In other words, the direct cost of pollution for the Croatian part of the Adriatic exceeds the financial benefits for the Croatian economy seven times, not even counting indirect damage (see also Carić, Hrvoje, and Peter Mackelworth, 'Cruise tourism environmental impacts – The perspective from the Adriatic Sea'. Ocean and Coastal Management, 102, Part A, pp. 350-63, 2014, doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.09.008)
Then you see an incredibly beautiful coastline, before arriving in Split, where you see, for instance, evidence of the global victory of Coca Cola, or architecture that looks as if the ugliness of former Soviet uniformity is being surpassed by modern capitalist uniformity.
• Please click on the photos above or here to see all pictures.



27th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies, in Dubrovnik, Croatia
19th - 23rd September 2016
'Cities at Risk - From Humiliation to Dignity'

Inspirer and Convener
Kjell Skyllstad

Hosting Institution
Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik (IUC)

Still photos:
The still photos come in several web galleries. Thank you most warmly, dear Rachel Aspögård, for taking so lovely photos throughout our conference!

• Please click here to see all of Rachel Aspögård's 60 photos of the entire conference, including her wonderful portraits of our participants!

• Sunday, 18th September 2016: Please click here to see all of Rachel's 41 photos of our Dubrovnik City Walk

• Monday, 19th September 2016: Please click here to see all of Evelin Lindner's 47 photos of Day One
• Monday, 19th September 2016: Please click here to see all of Rachel's 13 photos of Day One,
including Anton Verwey's exhibition in the evening

• Tuesday, 20th September 2016: Please click here to see all of Evelin's 37 photos of Day Two
• Wednesday, 21st September 2016: Please click here to see all of Evelin's 34 photos of Day Three
• Thursday, 22nd September 2016: Please click here to see all of Evelin's 53 photos of Day Four
• Friday, 23rd September 2016: Please click here to see all of Evelin's 91 photos of Day Five

• Saturday, 24th September 2016: Please click here to see Rachel's 50 photos of our excursion to Mostar
• Saturday, 24th September 2016: Please click here to see Evelin's 48 photos of our excursion to Mostar

• Sunday, 25th September 2016: Please click here to see Evelin's 10 photos of our introduction to Dubronik by Dino Karabeg's uncle Suad Ahmetović

Video Messages for the World Dignity University (WDU) Initiative:
'From Past to Present: How Writing and Writing Systems Impact Dignity in Human Interaction', Michael Schulte and Merle Lefkoff
'Dignifying Global Business - Fair Trade: A New Paradigm?', Ragnhild Nilsen and Avi Shahaf
Sharing Fairytales and Fables from Different Cultures - and Learning Peace, Glyn Rimmington and Uli Spalthoff
Climatic Theatre – Addressing World Issues through Aesthetics, Heidrun Sølna Øverby and Kjell Skyllstad
How Do Humiliation and Dignity Contribute to Conflict? Is Dignity Given or Learnt?, Bussakorn Binson and Ljoba Jenče
Music, Migration and Minorities: Promoting the Intercultural City, Kjell Skyllstad, Bussakorn Binson, and Svanibor Pettan
Altruism Is Not Self-Negation, It Is Recognising the Universality of Human Anguish, Rachel Aspögård and Evelin Lindner
How Can We Advance the Value of Human Dignity in Relation to Urban Population?, Avi Shahaf and Lasanthi Manaranjanie
Indigenous Knowledge and the New Science of Complex Adaptive Systems, Merle Lefkoff and Kjell Skyllstad
The Dignity Star Idea, Merle Lefkoff and Evelin Lindner
Cultural and Community Planning: Organizing for Power and Building Local Capacity, Tom Borrup and Glyn Rimmington

Day Zero
Day Zero, Sunday, 18th September
Day One
Day One, Monday, 19th September
Day One with Nada
Day One, Monday, 19th September
Day Five
Day Five, Friday, 23rd September
Day Five
Day Five, Friday, 23rd September
Pictures of all of us from Day Zero to Day Five of the workshop
Day Zero, Sunday, 18th September 2016
• Please click here to see all of Rachel Aspögård's 41 photos of our Dubrovnik City Walk with wonderful Marko Milos

Day One, Monday, 19th September 2016
• Please click on the photo above to the left or here to see all 47 pictures from Evelin's camera
• Please click on the photo above to the right or here to see all of Rachel Aspögård's 13 photos of Day One,
particularly Anton Verwey's exhibition in the evening

Videos:
Thank you so much, dear Rachel Aspögård, for stepping up and doing such wonderful video-taping!

• 01 Welcome Greetings: The participants were welcomed by representatives from the participating universities

• 02 Merle Lefkoff Arrives

• 03 A World at Risk: From Humiliation to Dignity, Evelin Lindner (see the Powerpoint presentation of 26th September)

• 04 Art for All, Professor Dr. Channarong Pornrungroj, brought to Dubrovnik by Professor Bussakorn Binson

• 05 Musical Greeting by Lasanthi Manaranjanie Kalinga Dona, Colombo/Ljubljana

• 06 Participants Present Each Other

• 07 Launch of Dignilogues

• 08 Ljoba Jence Invites Everybody into Singing

• 09 Introduction to Dubrovnik and the Inter-University Centre by Nada Bruer Ljubišić

• 10 Lasanthi Manaranjanie Kalinga Dona Sings a Croatian Song of Gratitude to Nada Bruer Ljubišić

• 11 Introducing the First Dignilogue: Michael Schulte

• 12 From Past to Present: How Writing and Writing Systems Impact Dignity in Human Interaction, Dignilogue with Michael Schulte (see Pdf of Powerpoint)

• 13 Video Message for the World Dignity University (WDU) Initiative, 'From Past to Present: 'How Writing and Writing Systems Impact Dignity in Human Interaction', Michael Schulte and Merle Lefkoff

• 14 Video Message for the World Dignity University (WDU) Initiative: 'Dignifying Global Business - Fair Trade: A New Paradigm?', Ragnhild Nilsen and Avi Shahaf

Day Two, Tuesday, 20th September 2016
• Please click on the photo above or here to see all 37 pictures from Evelin's camera

Videos:
Thank you so much, dear Rachel Aspögård, for stepping up and doing such wonderful video-taping!

• 15 Uli Spalthoff Guides Dignilogue Preparations

• 16 Sharing Fairytales and Fables from Different Cultures - and Learning Peace, Dignilogue with Glyn Rimmington

• 17 Video Message for the World Dignity University (WDU) Initiative: Sharing Fairytales and Fables from Different Cultures - and Learning Peace, Glyn Rimmington and Uli Spalthoff

• 18.1 and 18.2 Climatic Theatre – Addressing World Issues through Aesthetics, Dignilogue with Heidrun Sølna Øverby (see Video 1 and Video 2)

• 19 Video Message for the World Dignity University (WDU) Initiative: Climatic Theatre – Addressing World Issues through Aesthetics, Heidrun Sølna Øverby and Kjell Skyllstad

• 20.1 and 20.2 How Do Humiliation and Dignity Contribute to Conflict? Is Dignity Given or Learnt?, Dignilogue with Bussakorn Binson and Ljoba Jenče (see Video 1 and Video 2)

• 21 Video Message for the World Dignity University (WDU) Initiative: How Do Humiliation and Dignity Contribute to Conflict? Is Dignity Given or Learnt?, Bussakorn Binson and Ljoba Jenče

• 22 Bussakorn Binson Teaches How to Greet with 'Sawadee'

• 23 Music, Migration and Minorities: Promoting the Intercultural City, Dignilogue with Kjell Skyllstad

• 24 Video Message for the World Dignity University (WDU) Initiative: Music, Migration and Minorities: Promoting the Intercultural City, Kjell Skyllstad, Bussakorn Binson, and Svanibor Pettan

Day Three, Wednesday, 21st September 2016
• Please click on the photo above or here to see all 34 pictures from Evelin's camera

Videos:
Thank you so much, dear Rachel Aspögård, for stepping up and doing such wonderful video-taping!

• 25.1 and 25.2 Altruism Is Not Self-Negation, It Is Recognising the Universality of Human Anguish, Dignilogue with Rachel Aspögård (Video 1 and Video 2)

• 26 Video Message for the World Dignity University (WDU) Initiative: Altruism Is Not Self-Negation, It Is Recognising the Universality of Human Anguish, Rachel Aspögård and Evelin Lindner

• 27 How Can We Advance the Value of Human Dignity in Relation to Urban Population? Theoretical Framework, Basic Assumptions, Guiding Principles, and Discussion, Dignilogue with Avi Shahaf (see Powerpoint)

• 28 Video Message for the World Dignity University (WDU) Initiative: How Can We Advance the Value of Human Dignity in Relation to Urban Population?, Avi Shahaf and Lasanthi Manaranjanie

• 29 Indigenous Knowledge and the New Science of Complex Adaptive Systems, Dignilogue with Merle Lefkoff

• 30 Video Message for the World Dignity University (WDU) Initiative: Indigenous Knowledge and the New Science of Complex Adaptive Systems, Merle Lefkoff and Kjell Skyllstad

• 31 Video Message for the World Dignity University (WDU) Initiative: The Dignity Star Idea, Merle Lefkoff and Evelin Lindner

• 32 Cultural and Community Planning: Organizing for Power and Building Local Capacity, Dignilogue with Tom Borrup (see Pdf of Abstract | Powerpoint)

• 33 Video Message for the World Dignity University (WDU) Initiative: Cultural and Community Planning: Organizing for Power and Building Local Capacity, Tom Borrup and Glyn Rimmington

• 34 Lasanthi Manaranjanie Rounds up Day Three with a Song

Day Four, Thursday, 22nd September 2016, Celebrating Kjell Skyllstad
• Please click on the photos above or here to see all 53 pictures from Evelin's camera

Videos:
Thank you so much, dear Rachel Aspögård, for stepping up and doing such wonderful video-taping!

• 41 Honouring Kjell Skyllstad with the HumanDHS Lifetime Achievement Award

• 42 Honouring Kjell Skyllstad: Tom Gravlie, Deeyah, and Lasanthi Manaranjanie

• 43 Honouring Kjell Skyllstad: Bussakorn Binson, Hilde Kvam, and Svanibor Pettan

Day Four, Thursday, 22nd September 2016, Town Hall Meeting with Samoan Cirlce
• Please click on the photo above or here to see all 53 pictures from Evelin's camera

Videos:
Thank you so much, dear Rachel Aspögård, for stepping up and doing such wonderful video-taping!

• 35 Musical Greeting by Lasanthi Manaranjanie, Colombo/Ljubljana

• 36 Welcome and Greetings by Nada Bruer Ljubišić, Executive Secretary, Inter-University Centre (IUC) Dubrovnik

• 37 Welcome and Greetings by Ana Hilje, Head of Department of Culture of the City of Dubrovnik

• 38 Welcome and Greetings, by Bussakorn Binson

• 39 Welcome and Greetings by Kjell Skyllstad, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok

• 40 Honouring Nada Bruer Ljubišić and Tomislav Kvesić

• 44 Cities at Risk: From Humiliation to Dignity, by Evelin Lindner (see the Powerpoint presentation of 26th September)

• 45 Managing Diversity as a Resource: The Win-Win Approach to Dignity, by Francesca Lionetti

• 46 Music in Development Cooperation and Conflict Transformation, by Tom Gravlie (see Pdf of Powerpoint)

• 47 Applied Ethnomusicology and Urban Outreach, by Svanibor Pettan (see Powerpoint)

• 48 Educational Strategies Supporting Cultural Preservation: The Case of Bangkok's Living Local Culture, by Bussakorn Binson (see Powerpoint)

• 49 Music and Urban Activism – Building Intercultural Bridges, by Deeyah Khan

• 50 Kjell Skyllstad's Comments

• 51 Merle Lefkoff Opens the Town Hall Meeting

• 52 Town Hall Meeting As Samoan Circle 'Dubrovnik Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Creating Vibrant Social Spaces – New Avenues to Urban and Suburban Renewal'

Day Four, Thursday, 22nd September 2016, Deeyah Khan and her film Jihad
• Please click on the photo above or here to see all 53 pictures from Evelin's camera

Videos:
Thank you so much, dear Rachel Aspögård, for stepping up and doing such wonderful video-taping!

• 53 After Showing Her 2015 Documentary Film Jihad, Deeyah Khan Shares Her Reflections on Cities at Risk - How Do We Address Social Polarisation and Radicalisation of Urban and Suburban Youth

Day Five, Friday, 23rd September 2016
• Please click on the photo above or here to see all 91 pictures from Evelin's camera

Videos:
Thank you so much, dear Rachel Aspögård, for stepping up and doing such wonderful video-taping!

• 55 Kjell Skyllstad Introduces the Researcher Meeting

• 56 Creating Vibrant Spaces for and through the Arts, by Lasanthi Manaranjanie (see Pdf of Powerpoint)

• 57 Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage: Methods and Practices, by Atle Ove Martinussen (see Powerpoint)

• 58 A Model of Transmission of Intangible Heritage (CIH) from the Old to the New Generation, by Ljoba Jenče (see Powerpoint)

• 59 Bridging Urban Divides and Breaking the Cycle of Humiliation: Adaptive Leadership Approach, by Mara Alagic (see Pdf | Powerpoint)

• 60 Ljoba Jenče Shares Her Art

• 61 Critical Perspectives on the Transformation of Urban Localities, by Dalibor Prancevic and Alemka Djivoje (see Pdf)

• 62 Bridge Building at the Market Place, by Tom Borrup (see Pdf | Powerpoint)

• 63 The Zagreb City Making Project, by Jasna Capo (see Powerpoint)

• 64 Balkan Dances for Social Sharing: Reflections on Urban Traditions and Cultural Renewal, by Muhamed Tufekčić (see Powerpoint)

• 65.1 and 65.2 Killing History and World Heritage: Urban Tragedies of Syria (Aleppo and Palmyra), by Marie Ingand (see Video 1 | Video 2 Dance | Powerpoint)

• 66 Religious Radicalism and Cultural Loss, by Hilde Kvam (see Powerpoint)

• 67 Polyscopy: Rediscovering a Way to Community Change, by Dino Karabeg (see Powerpoint recording)

• 68 Industry 4.0. Where Does This Leave the Human Factor? by Holger Kinzel (see Pdf | Powerpoint)

• 69 Ljoba Jenče Leads Us in Singing Good-Bye

• 70 Saying Good-Bye to Each Other

Rachel
Thank you, dear Rachel, for these wonderful photos!
Kjell Kjell, Bussakorn, Svanibor Anton Uli Glyn Mara Bussakorn Hilde Heidrun HeidrunTom Avi Ljoba Atle Ove Merle Lasanthi Svanibor Marie Muhamed Emely Evelin Deeyah Tom Dino

• Please click on the photos above or here to see all of Rachel Aspögård's 60 photos of the entire conference, including her wonderful portraits of the participants!

Day Six, Saturday, 24th September 2016: We had a wonderful post-conference excursion from Dubrovnik to Mostar under the amazing guidance of Dino Karabeg. In Jasmin Elesovic's Café de Alma we heard wonderful Sevdah music: Himzo Polovina - Lijepi li su mostarski ducani (Nice Are Mostar shops). And the world championships of extreme diving took place just when we arrived!
• Please click on the photo above to the left or here to see all 48 pictures from Evelin's camera
• Please click on the photo above to the right or here to see Rachel's 50 photos of our excursion to Mostar

Mostar is a city and municipality in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the most important city in the Herzegovina region, its cultural capital, and the centre of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva River and is the fifth-largest city in the country. Mostar was named after the bridge keepers (mostari) who in the medieval times guarded the Stari Most (Old Bridge) over the Neretva. The Old Bridge, built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, is one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's most recognizable landmarks, and is considered one of the most exemplary pieces of Islamic architecture in the Balkans. It was destroyed during the war of the former Yugoslavia but later re-built. Today, Mostar is still the example of the city divided in two - into a Catholic and Muslim side, however today with peaceful cohabitation.
Everybody had to make sure to bring their passports, since Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a part of the EU and cannot be accessed with an EU identity cards. We had to decide on the first day of our conference, on Monday, 19th September, how many of us were interested to join in. The price depended on the number of people (van or a mini-bus), but the estimate was around 20 Euro per person for transportation. The duration of the trip is around 2 1/2hours in one direction.

A warm thank you to Mara Alagic and Glyn Rimmington for recommending to us books we could read to better understand the region:
1. The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric: 'The Bridge on the Drina is a vivid depiction of the suffering history has imposed upon the people of Bosnia from the late 16th century to the beginning of World War I. As we seek to make sense of the current nightmare in this region, this remarkable, timely book serves as a reliable guide to its people and history... No better introduction to the study of Balkan and Ottoman history exists, nor do I know of any work of fiction that more persuasively introduces the reader to a civilization other than our own. It is an intellectual and emotional adventure to encounter the Ottoman world through Andric's pages in its grandiose beginning and at its tottering finale. It is, in short, a marvelous work, a masterpiece, and very much sui generis... Andric's sensitive portrait of social change in distant Bosnia has revelatory force' (William H. McNeill, from the introduction).
2. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.
3. Haggadah: '… In Bosnia during World War II, a Muslim risks his life to protect it from the Nazis. In the hedonistic salons of fin-de-siècle Vienna, the book becomes a pawn in the struggle against the city’s rising anti-Semitism. In inquisition-era Venice, a Catholic priest saves it from burning. In Barcelona in 1492, the scribe who wrote the text sees his family destroyed by the agonies of enforced exile. And in Seville in 1480, the reason for the Haggadah’s extraordinary illuminations is finally disclosed. Hanna’s investigation unexpectedly plunges her into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra-nationalist fanatics. Her experiences will test her belief in herself and the man she has come to love' (from goodreads.com).

Thank you to Dino Karabeg for mentioning Death and the Dervish by Meša Selimovic: 'Sheikh Nuruddin is a dervish at a Sarajevo monastery in the eighteenth century during the Turkish occupation. When his brother is arrested, he descends into the Kafkaesque world of the Turkish authorities in order to find out what has happened. As he does so, he begins to question his relations with society as a whole and, eventually, his life choices in general' (from goodreads.com).

Day Seven, Sunday, 25th September 2016: We were privileged to be invited to take part in the beginning of the conference 'Tools and Practices for the Collective Mind Revolution', with a deep introduction into the history of Dubrovnik under the amazing guidance of Dino Karabeg's uncle Suad Ahmetović. Please see his breathtaking detective work on a politically sensitive relief that had disappeared in 1941. It is a monumental relief of the famous Croatian sculptor Ivana Mestrovic depicting Serbian King Petar I Karadjordjevic, and which was mounted on the city walls of Dubrovnik 90 years ago. In the year 1941, the relief was removed from its place, and in 1945, it was transferred to the by then nationalized palace of shipowner Božo Banac (which is now an Art Gallery) and placed against a wall so that it could not be seen. By 1975, it had been completely forgotten. In year-long detective work, Suad Ahmetovic was able to re-discover the relief and find out what had happened to it!
This is the introduction to his article: Prije 90 godina bio je na dubrovačke zidine postavljen monumentalni reljef slavnog hrvatskog kipara Ivana Meštrovića s prikazom srpskog kralja Petra I. Karađorđevića. Godine 1941. reljef je skinut s míra, 1945. je prenesen u prizemlje nacionalizirane palače brodovlasnika Boža Banca (sadašnje Umjetničke galerije) i prislonjen prednjom stranom uz zid da se ne vidi što prikazuje, a 1975. je nestao iz vidokruga i na njega se potpuno zaboravilo. Što se se događalo s tim Meštrovićevim djelom i gdje se sada nalazi objašnjava dubrovački novinar i publicist Suad Ahmetović objavljujući skraćeni rukopis jednog od poglavlja svoje nove knjige koju priprema za tiskanje.

• Please click on the photo above or here to see all 10 pictures from Evelin's camera


Day Eight: On 26th September 2016, it was a great privilege to be invited to the 5th Biennial Meeting of the Knowledge Federation, titled 'Tools and Practices for the Collective Mind Revolution', a conference convened by Dino Karabeg at the Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik, 25th September – 1st October, 2016.
• Please click on the photo above or here to see the video of Evelin Lindner's talk titled 'From Systemic Humiliation to Systemic Dignity' (see also the Powerpoint presentation).
he photo at the bottom to the left was taken in September 26, 2016, and shows Glyn Rimmington together with Evelin demonstrating the infinity symbol as a symbol for dialogue. Mara Alagic, who took the photo, was later inspired to contribute with the picture you see on the right side, which shows the infinity symbol in unprecedented beauty. Thank you, dear Mara! She found this wonderful “infinity dance” on the website of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater.


Marko Milos

On 5th September, I had the great privilege of meeting with dear Marko Milos, one of the 1 000 local inhabitants of the Old Town of Dubrovnik! Before the war, there were 4 000 people in the Old Town, now, due to tourism, the number of locals is going down. Marko has supported Celine Motzfeldt Loades, PhD Candidate at the Centre for Development and Environment of the University of Oslo, Norway, in her doctoral research, and he is now developing creative new opportunities to visitors of the city to experience more than just the standard touristic guided tours.
• Please click on the photo above to see the picture larger.



Martina Krmek

Throughout the month of September 2016, it was such a joy to live at the Youth Hostel of Dubrovnik! Martina Krmek is the Director and Manager and, together with her four colleagues, they have become a WONDERFUL home for me, and members of our dignity family! Here you see Martina on 6th September, giving two very special gifts to our dignity work: a historical plate highlighting the pleasures of Croatia, and an image of the bridge of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Old Bridge stood for 427 years, until it was destroyed on 9 November 1993, and the rebuilt bridge opened on 23rd July 2004). This gifts will adorn our Dignity Library in Portland, Oregon, in the home of the director of our Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies movement, Linda Hartling!
This is the best Youth Hostel in the world, with the most loving hosts!
• Please click on the photo above to see the picture larger.





On 4th September 2016, I visited "Fort Imperial," on top of Mount Srđ (412 metres), just behind the walled city of Dubrovnik, in Dalmatia, Croatia. The fort was built in 1806 – 1816 during the Napoleonic Wars and now houses the exhibition "Dubrovnik during the Homeland War, 1991 – 1995." From the Fort Imperial, the view on Dubrovnik was particularly good, and I could take a good picture of the Inter-University Centre, see the second row of photos, on the right side.

The exhibition in the fort speaks about the suffering of Dubrovnik's population under attack, about the heroism and courage of the defenders of Dubrovnik, and about the bitter disappointment at the international community who failed to prevent this catastrophe (as I learned, the population of Dubrovnik was at least spared the snipers that the people of Sarajevo had to fear).
In a film that was shown in the exhibiliton, one man explained that Dubrovnik, being such a unique historical treasure, seems to have been used to force Croatia to cede territory so that Greater Serbia could come into being...
Another film was shown, created by the Croatian History Museum in Zagreb in 2015, about the timeline of events since 1945. The film ended with the Operation Storm, which, in 2015, has been called "Croatia’s Triumph, Serbia’s Grief": "Croatia this week celebrates its defeat of Serb rebels during Operation Storm 20 years ago, but Serbia will mourn the hundreds killed and the 200,000 who became refugees."

At the bottom of the photos above, you see an advertisement of the very controversial Golf Park project. See A Dangerous Game, a 2014 film that narrates how the building of a luxury golf course on Mount Srđ overlooking Dubrovnik has been approved, while local residents are campaigning against it and a referendum was held which officials then ignored. The film also looks at luxury golf resorts in general, how they damage the natural environment because of high water and pesticide usage, and how they often only serve the super rich whilst bypassing local democracy to please the developers.

So many things can be learned here:
1. how easily people can get divided along identity fault lines (see social psychology for the minimal group paradigm) and how easily leaders, to stay in power, can use this human propensity (see, among others, Dejan Jović's book "Yugoslavia - A state that withered away," West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2008)
2. the two faces of war: on one side the soldier as savior, war as arena for heroism (see the mention of "the enemy's lack of courage" to take the fort; see also the Orlando statue in town further down, symbolizing nobility and freedom for Dubrovnik, and see the annual Sinjska alka competition also heralding knightly virtues), on the other side, war as atrocity and the soldier as perpetrator
3. how potentially explosive a border region is, where once a war culture was cultivated and incentivized by its powerful rivaling neighbors, in this case, between the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires
4. how peripheral regions also can also carve out alternative paths (see Yugoslavia's neutrality after 1948, and becoming one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement)
5. how onslaught still continues, now no longer in the form of military destruction but through economic and environmental poisoning (as one young man in Dubrovnik told me yesterday evening: since time immemorial, the best women chose the strongest hunter and warrior, now this means a man has to have money, so he dreams of ways to make millions...)
6. the need to transcend and transform the idea of the nation-state in today's interconnected world
7. the responsibility of the so-called international community to liberate the world from war, to liberate men from having to sacrifice their lives as "courageous heros," and to liberate peoples from "chosen traumas" (Vamik Volkan) and resistance to persecution as major identity marker (see Anne Hanvør further down, and her words that all sides are victims and all feel as victims)
8. Josip Broz Tito kept Yugoslavs from fighting each other: what are the best of his strategies that humankind could learn from now, and where did he go too far? (See, for instance, Richard West's book "Tito and the rise and fall of Yugoslavia," London: Sinclair-Stevenson, 1994). For a decent future for humankind, the aim would be a world of unity in diversity, rather than uniformity without diversity or division without unity. It seems that communism had become equated with uniformity when Yugoslavia dissolved, an oppressive uniformity that called for acknowledging national/ethnic diversity, which, however, descended into division and war: from one degradation of the motto of unity in diversity, namely, uniformity without diversity, it went to the other extreme of degradation, namely, division without unity. Anne Hanvør's words about the situation in Scandinavia and resistance to immigration: there must be a careful balance of not keeping the lid on diversity too much, but also not too little. Raif Dizdaravic told BBC reporter Martin Bell that he believes that "the seeds of nationalism were sown in a new constitution in 1974, which loosened the federal structure without introducing necessary economic reforms. Politicians in the richer republics harvested votes by wondering aloud why they should subsidise the poorer ones. He told me: 'When we actually decided to move towards decentralisation, we were not giving time to the economy. Instead we were giving time to the republics.'" Under Tito, the old flags and anthems were banned, while later, "some of the fiercest battles of the war in Croatia were fought on the so-called Highway of Brotherhood and Unity. In the war in Bosnia, they were fought on the Bridge of Brotherhood and Unity in Sarajevo." Now, "elections... means playing the nationalist card yet again."

• Please click on the photos above, or here to see more pictures.




On 4th September, I took the cable car up Mount Srđ (412 metres), just behind the walled city of Dubrovnik, in Dalmatia, Croatia. The cable car was disabled during the 1991 – 1995 war (see the photo on the left side) and has been rebuilt, as it appears, with Swiss support. Also the symbolic White Cross that had been destroyed during the war, has been rebuilt.
Srđ was once forested with oak trees (dubrava, from the old Slavic word dub, oak tree). The southern slope was once rich with pine forests, which were destroyed in the second half of the 20th century and during the war in numerous fires. We read on wikipedia: "This mountain was home to one of the fiercest battles of the 1991 – 1995 Croatian War of Independence, namely the siege of Dubrovnik."
"Fort Imperial" is on top of the mountain, built in 1806 – 1816 during the Napoleonic Wars.
• Please click on the photos above, or here to see more pictures.



Rixos Hotel Rixos Hotel

On 30th August 2016, I had taken a photo of the Rixos Hotel from the Boninovo Cliffs, and on 2nd September, I went in.
This was my reaction after having been inside: I was saddened by the uniformity and sterility of the atmoshpere of "international luxury," dotted with some photographies of Dubrovnik mounted on some corridor walls. To me, this is the same kind of abuse of a place that also "all-inclusive" cruise ships commit.
This was my reaction on 30th August, after seeing the hotel from afar: How can city planners and architects be complicit in letting investors commit such architectural sins?! Only to let a few investors make more profit?! Such violations of dignity - dignity at all its levels - from aesthetics to plain practical aspects?! The ugliness of this architecture offsets the beauty of the place entirely and makes the place repulsive for all tourists, except for those who stay inside such monstrosities and do not have to see them from outside. The very asset of a location - of a city or of a beach - namely, its beauty, to which it wishes to attract tourists, is being destroyed in this way. See also my reflections in the south of Thailand.
In a way, while Dubrovnik suffered from military attack earlier, now, it is exposed to economic exploitation...
• Please click on the photos above, or here to see more pictures.



Pavo Urban

I am reading about young Pavo Urban, who died while taking these photos of the Orlando statue being shelled in 1991. He was 23 years old.
• Please click on the photo above to understand more. See also "Dubrovnik Under Siege: Artists’ Interactions with the Old City During the Yugoslav Army Aggression," by Nensi Brailo, 2010.



OrlandoOrlando

Orlando, in the middle of Dubrovnik, visited on 2nd September 2016. During the war, he was boarded up.

"Dubrovnik Under Siege: Artists’ Interactions with the Old City During the Yugoslav Army Aggression," by Nensi Brailo, who conducted interviews in Croatia in summer 2005 with Ivo Grbić, Davor Lucijanović, and Mirjana Urban:
On the north side of the column is the statue of the medieval knight Orlando, erected in 1418. Orlando, in the Dubrovnik dialect, is Roland, the legendary eighth-century Frankish knight who was killed in battle and came to embody (in the “Song of Roland”) the qualities of nobility and freedom. By placing a statue of Orlando in this prominent city square, the officials of the Republic of Dubrovnik may also have been subtly reminding Dubrovnik’s Ottoman suzerains that the city would continue to identify with Christian Europe rather than Istanbul (formerly Constantinople). Over time, the statue became a symbol of freedom and free trade. On top of the mast of the Orlando statue, the white flag of Saint Blaise, patron saint of the Republic of Dubrovnik, waved for five centuries. After the abolishment of the Dubrovnik Republic by Napoleon in 1808, the flag of Saint Blaise was replaced by the Italian, then the Austrian, then the Austro-Hungarian, and finally the Yugoslav flag. In 1990, on the eve of Croatia’s independence, locals proudly replaced the Yugoslav flag with the flag of Libertas—the Latin word for freedom. In 1991, following the Croatian declaration of independence from the former Yugoslavia, the Libertas flag was replaced by the new Croatian flag. Red, white, and blue with the checkered red-and-white Croatian coat of arms in the middle, the new flag displayed five crests along the top, symbolizing Croatia’s five traditional provinces (Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia).
During the attacks on the city at the end of 1991, the statue of Orlando was boarded up for protection along with the shop windows on Stradun. Davor Lucijanović and Marija Koprivica, professional artists who participated in the collaborative public art project, painted the contours of Orlando on the boards covering the statue. Orlando was thus simultaneously concealed and revealed via these artistic renderings. Each artist painted two sides of the Orlando Column, resulting in four representations. The first showed a knight, symbolizing the soldier, defender of Croatia; the second a troubadour with a lute; the third a lover with a heart; and last, a peacekeeping member of the United Nations Protection Force, which brings humanitarian aid and food to populations impoverished by war. The painted Orlando Column and the new Croatian flag floating above symbolized two identities—one local and one national—now operating simultaneously. The local Dubrovnik identity celebrated the historic achievements of the Dubrovnik Republic, and the painting of Orlando took on a broader, national identity, as Orlando became the defender of Croatia. From this point on, Dubrovnik and its citizens identi- fied with the struggles for independence of the newly formed democratic Republic of Croatia. In yet another layer of symbolism, behind Orlando’s head one of the artists painted the flag of the European Union, blue with a circle of yellow stars in the middle, signifying the yearnings of the new democratic Croatia to become a part of the European Union, a part of the West. The circle of stars around Orlando’s head made him look like an angel with a halo, overseeing the city and serving as its protector.

• Please click on the photos above, or here to see more pictures.



Minčeta Tower Minčeta Tower

On 2nd September, I took an evening walk to the Minčeta Tower and from there toward the Buža gate, first looking down the steep little pathways, and at the end looking up.
• Please click on the photos above, or here to see more pictures.




On 31st of August, I was looking for a picture frame (to hang pictures on the wall), and finally found kind help from a young man, Ljubo, at Lazareti. In the old town I saw only souvenir shops, the entire old town seems to be one big souvenir shop, and one can no longer buy much of practical use there. On the way back home, I passed through the Old Port of Dubrovnik and took this panorama picture.
• Please click on the photo above, or here to see both pictures.




On 31st of August, I looked for ways to do laundry and found one kind man doing laundry around the corner from the Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik. He explained to me that during the war, Dubrovnik was shelled from the hill you see on the photo on the right side. He was so kind as to take a photo of me on his terrasse, with Fort Lovrijenac in the background.
• Please click on the photos above, or here to see more pictures.



Ivo Grbic Ivo Grbic

On 31st of August, Kjell Skyllstad showed me the house of Ivo Grbić, "a well-established Dubrovnik artist who has practiced stylized figurative painting, drawing, and graphic arts since the 1950s. His home, art studio, and gallery were all located in the same building, a Baroque palace built after the 1667 earth- quake on Od Puča 16 street in the Old City. Grbić says: 'My house was one of the first that was targeted by the Yugoslav army, early in the morning of December 6, 1991. I was a member of Matica Hrvatska [Croatian Matrix], one of the oldest Croatian cultural organizations, which was banned during the Communist regime. Three incendiary missiles hit his home, gutting it.'" See also "Dubrovnik Under Siege: Artists’ Interactions with the Old City During the Yugoslav Army Aggression," by Nensi Brailo.
• Please click on the photos above, 1990 and 1991, before and after destruction, or here to see more pictures.



On 30th of August, I took a little walk from the Inter-University Centre out to the left side toward Danče. You see the Srđ mountain behind Dubrovnik and Fort Lovrijenac.
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.



The Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik (IUC) was founded in 1971, with Johan Galtung as its first Director (1973-1976). Then it was destroyed, to the point that there were no floors anymore. Now it shines as never before. From 29th August to 2nd September 2016, I had the privilege of being housed in its dormitory under its roof! Kjell Skyllstad participated in the very first peace conferences held at IUC under Johan Galtung's direction, from 1973 to 1975. Kjell recalled many details of these conferences, for instance, how a large group of peace activists from Canada arrived at one of the conferences with a ranking list of the "most empathic countries" in the world. They left after having been exposed as being interested in peace only to identify world regions safe for the Canadian transport industry to get engaged in.
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.


Nada Bruer and colleagues

On 29th August 2016, I could not believe to finally meet, in person, after a huge amount of emails between us, Nada Bruer Ljubišić, Executive Secretary of the Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik, together with Tomislav Kvesić, and their interns Aleksandra and Mirna! Please see Nada on the left side and Tomi behind us!
• Please click on the photo above or here to see more pictures.



On 28th August 2016, it was an extreme joy to be welcomed by Kjell Skyllstad to Dubrovnik! We came here ahead of our upcoming conference to attend to the necessary last preparations. He showed me the Orhan and Mimoza restaurant, both places where the participants of our upcoming conference could eat.
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.



On 28th August 2016, it was an extreme joy to be welcomed by Kjell Skyllstad to Dubrovnik, known at the "Pearl of the Adriatic"! He feels at home here since 1973, when Johan Galtung founded the Inter-University Centre IUC.
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.




Here are two sad incidences of pollution and violations of dignity that are now to be found at all corners of the world:
1. picture at the top:
People throw their rubbish into the landscape as if nature were a waste bin. The coldhearted carelessness and negligence, the arrogance of humans feeling entitled to use and abuse nature, makes me feel disgusted. This softdrink bottle thrown on a lovely citrus tree is just one of million examples... If one sees colors these days somewhere in nature, very often it is NOT a flower...
2. picture at the bottom:
How can city planners and architects be complicit in letting investors commit such architectural sins?! Only to let a few investors make more profit?! Such violations of dignity - dignity at all its levels - from aesthetics to plain practical aspects?! The ugliness of this architecture offsets the beauty of the place entirely and makes the place repulsive for all tourists, except for those who stay inside such monstrosities and do not have to see them from outside. The very asset of a location - of a city or of a beach - namely, its beauty, to which it wishes to attract tourists, is being destroyed in this way. See also my reflections in the south of Thailand.
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.



On 28th August 2016, I took the bus from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik. Apart from the beauty of the landscape, I was impressed by many other things. I was surprised to see so much oyster farming in the sea and hope it is not creating the environmental problems I know aquaculture creates in other parts of the world. Then, upon arrival in Dubrovnik, when I saw the huge cruise-ship, I was reminded of author Hans Magnus Enzensberger, who wrote already back in 1958: "Tourists are conquerers who destroy what they seek, namely, authenticity." City planners can lose their cities in many ways, and tourism is one of them. When thousands of people fall into a place like Dubrovnik, only to return to their all-inclusive service on board of their ship-hotel, only foreign investors gain, while a city commits suicide.
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.



smoking

On 28th August 2016, I took the bus from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik. I was again amazed to see people smoking almost desperately; smoking seems to be a collective addiction. Is it perhaps an aftermath of war stress? I found this article: Smoking: An Endemic Problem in Bosnia and Herzegovina and read there that "smoking is rife in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), where the price of a pack of cigarettes is one of the lowest in Europe and Central Asia. The country ranks number 8 in the world in terms of smokers per capita and the percentage of adolescent smokers is steadily increasing."
All over the world, I am told that for a man, smoking is part of being a male; male strength is proven by a man's willingness and ability to "drink and smoke hard," and to "know how to treat women" (meaning to show them their rightful lowly place).
And also women smoked with great intensity. Sigmund Freud's nephew, Edward Louis Bernays (1891–1995), who was one of the founders of the PR industry, is still successful. He took Freud’s psychoanalytical concepts and then looked at the work of Gustave LeBon on crowd psychology, and Wilfred Trotter’s ideas on the instincts of the “herd.”  The results of his insights he offered to the tobacco industry who was interested to expand its market and did not know how to turn women into customers (at that time, women did not wish to smoke). Bernays manipulated women into becoming paying customers of the tobacco industry by hiring some women who marched at the front of the Easter Sunday Parade of 1929 to smoke, so that he could use their example to convince other women that smoking was a symbol of female freedom. Cigarettes became “torches of freedom.” Since then, women smoke and believe it is "cool."
It is interesting how the culture with respect to smoking (both for men and women) has changed the further north one goes (Scandinavia, for instance), and the more one enters into the academic sphere. While smoking does not seem to damage one's standing in society further south, it increasingly does so further north. Many people I know will not entrust smokers with serious tasks, because they regard smokers as untrustworthy, since smokers cannot even attend to their own self-interest. Smokers may be seen as people who are helpless victims of a health-damaging addiction, unable of due self-care. In other words, as much as smoking is an accepted cohesion-building activity further south (as it was 20 or 30 years ago also further north), it now turns into a social and career handicap in the north.



Jakova Jakova



In August 2016, I even learned about Albanian culture! This is a book about the city of Gjakova: Rizvanolli, Masar (2009). Çarchija e Madhe e Gjakovës / Grand Bazaar of Gjakova. Gjakovë: Shoqata e Intelektualëve “Jakova” / Association of Intellectuals.
One reads on page 43: "Let it be mentioned that the Gjakovar silversmiths were distinguished also for their fine mastery in guns decoration. It is known that the guns did not represent only a means of defence of freedom, of personal integrity and dignity, but they also were part of decoration of their costumes (wear). Hekard used to write in 1857: "The luxury of Mohammedan Albanians consists in the richness of their guns. Often what among us back in France is of wood in pistole, among them it is of gold and silver carved in a rich manner, or it is covered by filigree. The same is the case with the yataghans sheath (scabbard, case)." (The yatagan or yataghan, from Turkish yatağan, is a type of Ottoman knife or short sabre used from the mid-16th to late 19th centuries.)
• Please read more quotes, and click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.

Ardian Adžanela would like to point out that peace-related elements exist in every culture. In Albanian culture, one of those peace-related elements can be found in the doves symbol found on the ciftelia, a traditional Gheg Albanian instrument, despite the fact that this instrument has also been used to accompany more warlike and epic songs.
See the photos at the bottom.



Albanian national dress Albanian national dress Albanian national dress

In August 2016, I even learned about the Albanian national dress! "Alba" means "white" in Latin...
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.



On 26th August 2016, I said good-bye to Sarajevo's Sarajevo City Hall known as Vijećnica, designed in 1891, built in a pseudo-Moorish style drawing on the Islamic art of Spain and North Africa. In the middle, you see Vedran Smailović, known as the "Cellist of Sarajevo," as he was regularly playing his cello in ruined buildings during the siege. Since then, it has been rebuilt with amazing care!
• Please click on the photo above or here to see more pictures.


Sor: Dino Grncarija Rucni Radovi

On 26th August 2016, I came across wonderful Bosnian handicraft, just around the corner of Sarajevo's City Hall! See Sor: Dino Grncarija Rucni Radovi.
• Please click on the photo above or here to see more pictures.


Sor: Dino Grncarija Rucni Radovi

Wherever I go, I attempt to find what is authentic for that place, be it music, food, clothes, handicraft, design in general, architecture, and so forth. Dear Ardian Adžanela brought me to a wonderful local place for Ćevapi the first evening! I went back three times afterwards and enjoyed five pieces of grilled minced meat on a plate in a flatbread with chopped onions!
• Please click on the photo above or here to see more pictures.


Ardian Adzanela Sor: Dino Grncarija Rucni Radovi
Sor: Dino Grncarija Rucni Radovi

The Bascarsija in Sarajevo offers many souvenirs, most come from Turkey or are made in China. There is one very creative idea from within Sarajevo itself, however, namely, pens and key chains made of spent bullet cartridges! What a good idea: Turning war tools into peace tools! Bullet-turned-pen, as in turning "swords into plougshares!" See the top pictures.
Outside of the Bascarsija, American influence is large, see the plastic bag at the bottom. I think it comes from a shopping mall I was told had been paid for by investors from the Gulf (such as Saudi Arabia), where no alcohol is being served.
• Please click on the photos above to see them larger.



Sevdah

On 26th August 2016, I went back to the Sevdah Art House in Sarajevo. I liked the voice of Nedžad Salković (January 6, 1941, Tuzla), one of the most famous Yugoslav and Bosnian sevdah singers. Later I found his song "Do not rattle with sandals" on YouTube, Nedžad Salković u Trebinju - Ne klepeći nanulama. Perhaps you would like also to listen to the legendary song at the festival "Ilidza '68," Nedzad Salkovic - Ah,ljubav,ljubav.
Please read more about Sevdalinkas: "Unlike most musical types, in Sevdalinkas the singer leads the song, while the accompaniment follows the singer. In many Sevdalinkas the concept of musical measure is secondary to the singer’s emotional free form interpretation of the lyrics. Sevdalinkas are a unique blend of Eastern and Western influences which sound significantly different from all neighbouring folk heritages. Many songs depict a unique form of melancholic feeling with slow, rubato tempo, while many are uplifting and of a happier tone. Most Sevdalinkas are love songs, depicting specific stories between a girl and a boy, while some are historical depictions of a significant event in Bosnian history. In this way, many Sevdalinkas are a unique remnant of Bosnian history and culture and are immensely significant to Bosnia and Bosnian people. Sevdalinka heritage During the rule of Ottoman Empire over Bosnia the heritage of Sevdalinkas in Bosnia grew to some 4000 known Sevdalinka texts of today! This immense heritage began to be culturally destroyed over the 19th and 20th century with arrival of Austro-Hugarians to Bosnia and through various wars that ripped through the country since (see ‘Cultural Genocide in Bosnia‘). The oral tradition of teaching Sevdalinkas in Bosnia today is virtually non-existent, while the song has been hijacked by various other forms of music in the era of ‘world music’ movements, where one could argue that ‘anything goes’ musically speaking. Only a handful of true Sevdalinka recording artists live today."
See also Helen Walasek (2016). Bosnia and the Destruction of Cultural Heritage. Abingdon: Routledge.



Edmond Adzanela and his wife Edmund Adzanela and his wife

On 25th August 2016, what a joy it was to be introduced to Sarajevo, its history and present, by dear Ardian Adžanela's brother Edmond and his wonderful wife! How much I learned from them during our wonderful evening together! They first brought me to the Sevdah Art House, where also Ardian's and Edmond's mother loves spending time. Then we walked through Ferhadija street, and finally, they drove me up to the dragon hill of Sarajevo, to overlook the entire city, with the Hum Tower on the other side.
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more.


Ivona Celebicic

On 24th August 2016, what a privilege to meet with Ivona Čelebičić! See a short video on her crucially important work with teacher leadership, and see Bridging the Divide, by David Frost (28th November 2013), University Senior Lecturer at Cambridge University in Educational Leadership and School Improvement. What a place to meet: Zlatna Ribica (Golden Fish)! I so much thank Ardian Adžanela for introducing me to Ivona!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.



On 24th August 2016, I traversed Sarajevo and admired that small neighborhood shops still exist (first photo top left), even though Coca Cola is everwhere, it has even taken over my bus station! (See the last photo.)! I profoundly enjoy that I can experience the atmosphere of my beloved Jerusalem and Cairo together with Vienna in Sarajevo!
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.



Perspektiva Perspektiva Perspektiva

On 22nd August 2016, it was such an honor for me to contribute to "Perspektiva," an amazing bridge-building TV series by Duda Sokolović of Mebius Film, supported by NED (The National Endowment for Democracy). Her loving gifts to me were simply incredible! Nettle bread, very special cheese, home-grown organic tomatos, and mint and St. John's-wort tea!
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.


Senida

In August 2016, my 1981 dress (see the photo on the left side) was copied in Sarajevo by dear Senida (see the photo on the right side)!
In 1981, I worked as a medical student in Bangkok, and was overjoyed to see the streets filled with silk shops. I bought some silk and designed and made the dress you see on the left photo (the photo was taken in 2014). In 2014, I was back in Thailand and was devastated to see that modern-day mass production has "killed" the local silk handicraft, as it has done with so many other handicrafts all around the world. Those with means, in all corners of the world, seem to be willing now to reduce themselves to crowding their wardrobes with clothes that lack true quality and diversity. The number of colors that is being used in these mass-produced materials, just to give one example, is disastrously low. And I watch the poor, in Africa, South America, and other parts of the world, I watch them being reduced to digging through heaps of second-hand clothes that people in the Global North have given to "charity" believing that this meant "doing good," while these clothes are being sold off for profit, finally destroying also the local skill base among the poor.
On December 7, 2007, I was discussing this disaster with Zuzka Kurtz in New York. Zuzka confirmed that we need to educate people to respect the richness of knowledge and skill that flows into many handmade products, particularly those that honor long artistic traditions.
I started to study local fashion styles back in 1974 and created "cross-over" clothes. Have a look at our World Clothes for Equal Dignity idea, for which I still look for support. Unfortunately, I no longer have time to be my own tailor, and the dress on the left side from 1981 is now very worn and in danger to fall apart and I repair it every year. Since I did not find the right material in Thailand in 2014 to make a good copy, I kept searching for it in other parts of the world. I was extremely happy to find the right material in the very last corner of the fashion street in New York in December 2015! (Foursquare Favorite, 224 West 40th Street.) I brought this material with me to Sarajevo and the lovely tailor Senida has now been so kind, in August 2016, to make a copy of my 1981 dress! See the photo on the right side. Senida is originally from Italy and she became very proud of the "unikat" as she called my dress. She has proudly put a photo of it up on her Facebook page!
• Please click on the photo above on the left side or here to see more pictures from 2014 in Thailand. Click on the photo above on the right side or here to see more pictures of Senida's little atelier in one of the backstreets in the center of Sarajevo.



National Museum of Sarajevo National Museum of Sarajevo
National Museum of Sarajevo National Museum of Sarajevo

On 20th August 2016, I went to the fascinating National Museum of Sarajevo and its lovely botanical garden. How many influences have swept across this regions! From Butmir culture to the warlike Illyrians, who conquered them, to the Romans, the Byzantines, the Slavs, the Ottomans, the Austro-Hugarian empire... No wonder, people huddled around fortifications (see photo at the bottom-left). How lucky were regions such a Norway!
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.


Jasmin_Pehlivanovic Jasmin_Pehlivanovic

On 20th August 2016, I went to the Historical Museum of Sarajevo, and met artist Jasmin Pehlivanović, who had his exhibition in the museum. The photo shows a painting he created in 1992 in Sarajevo, titled "rape."
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.


Siege of Sarajevo
Siege of Sarajevo

On 20th August 2016, I went to the Historical Museum of Sarajevo, and saw there a series of photos of buildings and how they looked when they were damaged during the siege of Sarajevo (1992-1995), and how they look now, after being repaired. When I traversed the city, I still saw the scars of war on the facades of many houses, and the marks of mortar shells on the pavement of the streets.
Please note the film '1395 Days Without Red', by Anri Sala in collaboration with Liria Begeja, in 2011, made as part of a project of the same title by Šejla Kameric and Anri Sala in collaboration with Ari Benjamin Meyers. I thank Uli Spalthoff for making us aware of this film, which makes palpable the terror connected with having to cross the 'Sniper Alley'. 'Sniper Alley' was the name of a route in Sarajevo where people had to run for their lives if they wanted to cross it: 'A woman makes her way through a silent, empty city. At every crossing she stops and looks. Should she wait or should she run? What is she waiting for, and why should she run?'
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.


Tito
Vedran Smailović Vijećnica

On 20th August 2016, I went to the Historical Museum of Sarajevo, which is under reconstruction. You see on the left-top side a hand-crafted stove made during the siege of Sarajevo (1992-1995). After my visit to the museum, I went to Café Tito just behind the museum (right top photo).
At the bottom, you see Vedran Smailović, known as the "Cellist of Sarajevo," as he was regularly playing his cello in ruined buildings during the siege. Here you see him in the Sarajevo City Hall known as Vijećnica, designed in 1891, built in a pseudo-Moorish style drawing on the Islamic art of Spain and North Africa.
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.


cemetary

On 20th August 2016, I traversed the city of Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I first went to the large multi-religious cemetery in the north of the city, Gradsko groblje Bare, and then turned south toward the historical and national musuems, and from there further eastward to the city center. See in the middle the Roman Catholic Saint Joseph's Church. See the neighboring building marked by the scars of war. Many other wonderful older buildings would shine if restored - see the photo on the right side.
I did notice what many had shared with me before, namely, that after the war, many people no longer seem to care... While walking through side-streets, I saw many fruit trees with their fruits not collected but littering the street; bushes and trees left untended; much rubbish thrown away unnecessarily and carelessly along the ways...
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.


Gazi-Husrev-Beg Gazi-Husrev-Beg Gazi-Husrev-Beg

On 18th August 2016, I stepped over the borderline (see the white marks in the street) that connects East and West. Then I proceeded toward the Gazi Husrev-beg Medresa (see also this link to the Medresa, or here). It was like stepping back into the years I spent in my beloved Cairo (1984 – 1991)...
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.


Anne Havnør

On 18th August 2016, I had the great privilege of learning from the insights and wisdom of Anne Havnør, Deputy Head of Mission of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Sarajevo. Tusen hjertelig takk, kjære Anne, for et fantastisk inspirerende møte!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.


Duda Sokolovic

On 17th August 2016, it was such a privilege to meet with Duda Sokolović, of Mebius Film, and her wonderful daughter Hana, and to learn about their path-breaking connecting work. I so much thank Ardian Adžanela for introducing me to Duda!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.


Queen Catherine's chapel Queen Catherine's chapel

Catherine of Bosnia (1424/1425 – 1478) was Queen of Bosnia. Her life has been one of the most popular themes in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is traditionally referred to as "the last Queen of Bosnia" (even though her stepdaughter-in-law both replaced her as queen and outlived her).
• Please see a painting of her chapel on the left side, and a photo of the real chapel that I found here on the right side.



Ardian Adzanela Ardian Adzanela

On 15th August 2016, I explored the Baščaršija, Sarajevo's old bazaar and the historical and cultural center of the city. The word Baščaršija derives from "baš," which is "baş" in Turkish, literally meaning "head", or also "primary", "main", "capital," combined with "čaršija," which is "çarşı" in Turkish, meaning "bazaar" or "market". Baščaršija was built in the 15th century when Isa-Beg Isaković founded the town.
• Please click on the photo above or here to see more photos.



Ardian Adzanela
Ardian Adzanela

On 15th August 2016, I went to the Latin bridge in Sarajevo, an Ottoman bridge over the river Miljacka in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The northern end of the bridge was the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Gavrilo Princip in 1914, which became casus belli of World War I.
• Please click on the photo above or here to see more photos.



Ardian Adzanela

On 14th August 2016, Ardian Adžanela reflected on solidarity and mutuality, and how he observed it flourishing in the midst of the suffering of the siege of Sarajevo (1992-1995), more than after the siege. Evelin Lindner did the video-taping.

See the video:
Ardian Adžanela Reflects on Solidarity and Mutuality, Sarajevo, 14th August 2016



Apfelstrudel

On 12th August 2016, I admire the fact that Sarajevo is sometimes called the "Jerusalem of Europe" or "Jerusalem of the Balkans," due to its history of religious and cultural variety. Sarajevo has a mosque, a Catholic church, an Orthodox church, and a synagogue within the same neighborhood. The photo above shows a small detail that underpins this richness: inspired by professor Midhat Ridjanovic, I bought an Apfelstrudel (tradition from the West, such as Austria), and I noticed that, indeed, it is being prepared with syrup (Eastern tradition)!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.



Ardian receives the Beacon of Dignity Award
Ardian's Handshake Bridge

On 11th August 2016, Linda Hartling and Rick Slaven from Portland, Oregon, together with Evelin Lindner in Sarajevo, honored Ardian Adžanela with our Beacon of Dignity Award, on behalf of the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies fellowship!
• Please click on the photo at the top or here to see more photos.
• At the bottom you see "Ardian's Handshake Bridge," which he created on his computer some years ago! He kindly wrote on 27th December 2016: "I didn't specifically have just the Mostar bridge in mind when I created it with very basic painting tools in Windows, but any bridge (including the Mostar bridge) as a typical symbol of Mutual Human Support..."



Prof. Midhat Ridjanovic

On 11th August 2016, it was such a privilege to be introduced to professor Midhat Ridjanovic. This is his biographical backgroun:
Dr. Ridjanović is professor emeritus of English and linguistics at the University of Sarajevo. He obtained his doctoral degree in linguistics at the University of Michigan in 1969 and taught at Sarajevo University's Department of English for nearly forty years. In 1984-85 he was a Fulbright visiting professor of Serbo-Croatian and linguistics at the Ohio State University. He has given invited lectures at universities in the former Yugoslavia, at the Zagreb Linguistics Circle, at the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences, and at Oxford University. He has published 14 books (one in the U.S.) and over fifty papers and articles in local and international journals. He received several prizes for his scholarly publications, including the awards for the best non-fiction book published by the Svjetlost company in 1984 and the best-book prize at the International Book Fair in Sarajevo in 2004. He was among the pioneers of simultaneous interpretation in the former Yugoslavia and has since interpreted at over forty international gatherings, including the Dayton Peace Talks (as Certified US State Department Simultaneous Interpreter) and proceedings at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in the Hague. Dr. Ridjanović also interpreted for late Yugoslav President Tito.
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.



On 9th August 2016, I once more explored Sarajevo. Sarajevo hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics and I had the privilege of living near the Olympic Tower. The games helped define the history of the city and remain a symbol of better tomorrow. What people shared with me was that Sarajevo was a wonderful place before the siege of Sarajevo (1992-1995), and that nobody would ever have expected that something as terrible could ever happen, almost out of the blue. Many talked about one Sarajevo before the Bosnian war, and another Sarajevo afterwards, a Sarajevo they no longer recognize and feel alienated from.
Then I passed in front of one of the wonderful "almond boutiques," which seem to have survived from "before to afterwards." A few steps further I met the amazing legazi of Gazi Husrev-beg (1480–1541), a Bosniak Ottoman sanjak-bey (governor) of the Sanjak of Bosnia, known for his improvements of the structural development of the urban area of Sarajevo and the construction of many important buildings. You see me here in the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque.
At the end of this day's journey, I saw a poster in English and Arabic that invites people from the Gulf States to buy "units" in the "most luxurious resort in Bosnia-Herzegovina." I could not help shudder: here some wealthy investors from the Gulf States aim at making more money by selling out Bosnian scenery in the form of standardized "units," which the investors themselves would never touch (they would go for individualized mansions). The investors count on fooling people into giving them their funds for believing that they can climb the ladder of status by buying into mass-produced "luxury" and that this "ascend" will improve their quality of life. In short, here traditionalism and capitalism combine and betray their foundational ideals. They are hijacked by elite interests that violate the egalitarianism of early Islam on one side, and on the other side also the ideals of one of capitalism's fathers, Adam Smith, whose larger worldview was grounded in community rather than competition for domination.
I was thinking of the region being a border-region, always exposed to being used and abused when powerful neighbors fought. Historian Ibn Khaldun comes to mind, and historian Arnold Toynbee, as well as peace researcher Johan Galtung. Galtung speaks of the "periphery" (versus the center), and also Toynbee speaks of the periphery, and, in a way, also Khaldun. However, while Galtung speaks of the exploited periphery where a culture of obedience is engendered, but also alternative solutions may emerge, Toynbee focuses on the embattled border region and the "hardened" culture it may give rise to. Former Yugoslavia could perhaps be seen as both. It carved out considerable independence at the periphery of the big power blocks after WWII, while its border culture may represent a facilitating factor for possible in-fighting.
• Please click on the photos above above or here to see more pictures.



On 8th August 2016, I explored Sarajevo, first by bus 16 b, and then by foot...
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.




Military frontier province between the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires, ca. 1600 - 1800.
I appreciate this summary in three parts of the historical situation in Der Spiegel in 1992 (German):
“‘Der dümmste aller Kriege": Die jugoslawische Tragödie" part 1, part 2, part 3.
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.


Siege of Sarajevo

A map of the siege of Sarajavo. For nearly four years, from 1992 to the end of 1995, the city suffered the longest siege of a city in the history of modern warfare during the Bosnian War.
See also 'Justice and Reparations Still Critical, 30 Years on from Sarajevo Siege', by Peace and Security, United Nations News, 6th April 2022.
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.
Inger Skjelsbæk, Professor, Center for Gender Research, Oslo, Norway, 2019:
'The new international response, attention and ways of addressin sexual violence in armed conflict (SVAC) began with the Bosnian war: Understandings og SVAC and how to tackle this is based on different notions of gender identities and differences; from essentialist to constructionist; still unexplored research field and much more research in cultural and societal/community psychology is needed'.

• Break-up of Yugoslavia
• Bosnia divided
• Bosnia today

The Bosnian war was a game changer in international politics:
First massive war in the post cold war era
First massive international military and civilian intervention
Failed policies by the United Nations led to UN Reform
Led to a new military protection doctrine: Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
New push for International Criminal Prosecution


Ardian Adzanela

5th August 2016: Our dear Ardian Adžanela makes me feel at home in Sarajevo!
• Please click on the photo to see it larger.


Ardian Adzanela

1st August 2016: Our dear Ardian Adžanela welcomes me in Sarajevo! See us in front of the Sebilj, a pseudo-Ottoman-style wooden fountain (sebil) in the centre of Baščaršija square in Sarajevo built by Mehmed Pasha Kukavica in 1753. It was relocated by Austrian architect Alexander Wittek in 1891.
• Please click on the photo above or here to see more pictures.


1st August 2016: Arrival in Sarajevo!
• Please click on the photos above or here to see more pictures.


Blumenwiese

31. Juli 2016 / 31st July 2016, in Hamburg-Bergedorf, celebrating 40 years of friendship with my dear friend Gudrun. In einem der Schrebergärten sah ich eine Blumenwiese so wie ich sie mir überall wünschen würde, wo Rasen wie Beton aussieht! In one of the Allotment gardens I saw a flower meadow just the way I would wish it everywhere, particularly in places where lawn looks like concrete now!
• Please click on the photo above or here to see all of the pictures, first the Sternwarte photos of 30th July, and then the photos of the Elbphilharmonie and the HafenCity Hamburg of 31st July.


Elbphilharmonie

31. Juli 2016 / 31st July 2016, in Hamburg-Bergedorf, celebrating 40 years of friendship with my dear friend Gudrun. See the new Elbphilharmonie, which is not yet open! And see the HafenCity Hamburg!
• Please click on the photos above or here to see all of the pictures, first the Sternwarte photos of 30th July, and then the photos of the Elbphilharmonie and the HafenCity Hamburg of 31st July.


Sternwarte Hamburg-Bergedorf

31. Juli 2016 / 31st July 2016, in Hamburg-Bergedorf, celebrating 40 years of friendship with my dear friend Gudrun. See the Sternwarte, where Bernhard Schmidt is buried (1879 – 1935), an optician, who invented the Schmidt telescope which corrected for the optical errors of spherical aberration, coma, and astigmatism, making possible for the first time the construction of very large, wide-angled reflective cameras of short exposure time for astronomical research.
• Please click on the photos above or here to see all of the pictures, first the Sternwarte photos of 30th July, and then the photos of the Elbphilharmonie and the HafenCity Hamburg of 31st July.


Hochzeitshaus
Dempterhaus Dempterhaus Emmernstrasse
Pferdemarkt Neue Marktstrasse Kupferschmiedestrasse WendenstrasseBäckerstrasse Hummenstrasse Fischpfortenstrasse
Alte Marktstrasse
Emmernstrasse

17. Mai – 21. Juli 2016 / 17th May – 21st July 2016: Hameln, die Rattenfängerstadt / Hamelin, the city of the Pied Piper:
• Please click on the photos above or on the links below to see more pictures:
Hochzeitshaus
Dempterhaus
• Osterstraße
Pferdemarkt
Bäckerstraße
Emmernstraße
Fischpfortenstraße
Kupferschmiedestraße
Wendenstraße
Neue Marktstraße
Hummenstraße
Alte Marktstraße 20, Kurie Jerusalem Hameln: Um 850 wurde in Hameln ein Benediktinerkloster gegründet, dass vermutlich im 10. Jahrhundert in ein Kollegialstift umgewandelt worden ist. Die Stiftsherren konnten ihren Wohnsitz nun außerhalb des eigentlichen Stiftsbezirks nehmen. Von der früheren Kurie Jerusalem ist das Speichergebäude erhalten, in dem seit 1976 – nach umfassender Sanierung – städtische Kinder- und Jugendeinrichtungen untergebracht sind.



Dempterhaus Dempterhaus Dempterhaus
Dempterhaus Dempterhaus Dempterhaus
Dempterhaus Dempterhaus

Antike Postkarten von Hameln von vor dem 2. Weltkrieg bis circa 1970 / antique postcards of Hamelin from before WW II until ca. 1970:
Erste Reihe / First row: 1. Hochzeitshaus, noch mit Rathaus, das durch Bomben zerstört wurde. 2. Museum
Zweite Reihe / Second row: Das Münster, mit der Eugen-Reintjes Berufsschule, wo mein Vater unterrichtete, und das Weserschiff Kronprinz Wilhelm
Dritte Reihe / Third row: 1. Osterstraße mit Rattenfängerhaus, Museum und Hochzeitshaus, Bäckerstraße mit Rattenfängerkrug. 2. Weser mit Münster, Hochzeitshaus und Rattenfängerkrug
• Please click on the photo above or here to see more pictures.


Dempterhaus

10. Juni 2016 / 10th June 2016: in Hameln, der Rattenfängerstadt / in Hamelin, the city of the Pied Piper.
• Please click on the photo above or here to see more pictures.


Hassan Keynan

13.-15. Mai 2016 / 13th-15th May 2016: it was an immense honor to have Hassan Keynan visit Hameln / Hamelin, the Pied Piper's city, for my birthday..
• Please click on the photo above or here to see more pictures.


It was a great privilege to be together with Magnus Haavelsrud, Are Johan Rasmussen, and Jakob Peters.
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.





On 1st April 2016, Nils Vidar Vambheim defended his PhD degree at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Education and Lifelong Learning.
The title of the thesis is: “Studies in Conflict, Violence and Peace”
The Faculty for Social Sciences and Technology Management had appointed the following committee to evaluate the dissertation:
• Professor Jens Ivar Nergård, The Arctic University of Norway
• Dr. Evelin Gerda Lindner, Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies
• Professor Bent Olsen, Department of Education and Lifelong Learning, NTNU, Professor Bent Olsen has also administered the committee’s work.
The trial lecture was held in auditorium D3, Dragvoll Campus, Friday 1st April 2016 at 10:15, on the following topic: “Does bullying and aggression in school contexts differ from other settings?” The defence was held in auditorium D3, Dragvoll Campus, Friday 1st April 2016 at 12:15. Both the trial lecture and the defence were open to the public. The candidate’s main supervisor has been Professor Magnus Haavelsrud.

Video:
• Trial lecture: “Does bullying and aggression in school contexts differ from other settings?”

• Please click on the picture to see it larger.






The afternoon of 31st March 2016 was such a special and wonderful afternoon, together with Hilde Kvam and Jingyi Dong in Ni Muser in Trondheim, Norway!
• Please click on the photos above or here to see them larger.





On 26th March 2016, it was an absolute gift to meet with Dino Karabeg! A huge thank-you to you, dear Dino, for your genial "academic fundamentalism"!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.





20th March 2016: hvilken stor glede det var å være invitert hjem til Trine Eklund! Se kjære Trine på toppen av bildene, og se også Gerdelin Bodvin og Sonja Lid!
En stor takk til deg, kjære Trine, for at jeg fikk lov til å bo hos deg hele mars måned!
• Please click on the photos above to see them larger.





On 17th March 2016, what a privilege to meet Tor Stenersen and have the gift of his artistic eye! He brought me to the Vigeland Museum in Oslo to take these photos for Aftenposten, since the light in this museum is particularly well-suited for photos!
This is the final article, where the photo you see at the bottom was used:
"Hvor mye av verdens konflikter kan forklares med ydmykelse? I 40 år har psykolog Evelin Lindner forsket for å finne svaret," av Cathrine Hellesøy Harrisson, A-Magasinet, 9. desember 2016, pp. 59 - 63. Se Pdf.
• Please click on the photos at the top or here to see more photos.
• Please click on the photo at the bottom to see it larger.




On 15th March 2016, it was an absolute privilege to be able to express my gratitude to Marit Ausland and all her colleagues at NFF (Norsk faglitterær forfatter-og oversetterforening / Non-Fiction Writers and Translators Organisation) for their life-saving support!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.




On 14th March 2016, it was such a wonderful gift to be welcomed by Fanny Duckert and her daughter!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.



Pamela Hiley
Pamela Hiley Pamela Hiley Pamela Hiley

11th March 2016: "Deep Dao Dialogue: Dignilogue with Evelin Lindner in the Arne Næss Chair" at the Norsk Taiji Senter (Norwegian Taiji Centre). It was a great joy to have with us Ingeborg Breines and Sigurd Støren!

Video:
• Deep Dao Dialogue: Dignilogue with Evelin Lindner in the Arne Næss Chair, 11th March 2016
My warmest gratitude goes to Pamela Hiley for this lovely invitation and to Allan Hiley for doing the video recording!

• Please click on the photos above or here to see more.




On 11th March 2016, Evelin told The Story of the Siwa Jewellery, as a little introduction to the "Deep Dao Dialogue: Dignilogue with Evelin Lindner in the Arne Næss Chair" at the Norsk Taiji Senter (Norwegian Taiji Centre). Thanks a lot to Allan Hiley for doing the video-recording!
Evelin told the Story of the Jewelry from the Oasis Siwa once more on 9th December 2016, at the 13th Workshop on Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict, that took place at Columbia University in New York City, December 8 - 9, 2016. (Correction: Please note that Evelin was a medical student in Bangkok in 1981 (not in 1998)!)

This is the story:
When I lived and worked in Cairo, Egypt, from 1984 to 1991, I received the necklace you see on the photo above as a gift, together with a large bracelet and ring. It came from the oasis Siwa, the very oasis where Alexander the Great once listened to the oracle, two thousand years ago. Siwa is a very remote oasis in the desert west of the Nile Delta, a very rare salt oasis with a unique age-old culture. The necklace, of solid heavy silver, was part of a family's heritage, for centuries, always worn by the girl that was ready to get married next. But now money had arrived in the oasis. As happens all around the world, invaluable riches are given away for pennies and replaced by valueless plastic. When I received this necklace, I wanted to give it back to Siwa immediately, I want to tell its people there that they should never sell out their cultural heritage. But, I was told, if I did so, the necklace would simply be sold again, and I should rather wear it to tell the story. Today, only two of those necklaces are known to exist, mine, and one single one in the museum of Siwa.

On 26th August 2014, Lisbeth Vilkan Glad displayed the bride gown that she had received in the Egyptian Salt Oasis Siwa, while Evelin displayed the Siwa bride jewellery that she had been given when she lived in Egypt (1984-1991). You see Lisbeth and Evelin in Lisbeth's home in Nøtterøy, Norway, in front of the painting of Siwa that Lisbeth had created before she and her husband travelled to Siwa to make it one of their homes.

• Please click on the photos at the top or here to see more pictures of Evelin's Siwa bride jewellery and Lisbeth's Siwa bride gown.
• Please click on the photo at the bottom to see it larger.




On 8th and 10th March 2016, I was allowed to have some pictures taken together with the pillars of our global dignity work, Egil Bergh-Telle and Øivind Magnus Hoff, without whom our work would not be possible! Again and again, they rescue the global headquarters of our work (Evelin's computer), when it develops problems.
I would like to express my deepest of gratitude to you, dear Egil and Øivind!
And thanks for taking such lovely photos, dear Alan!
• Please click on the photos above to see them larger.




On 7th March 2016, it was a great privilege to be invited by Inga Bostad to talk about 'From Humiliation, Vengeance, and Genocide to Reconciliation: Experiences from Rwanda' at the Monday lunch / Mandagslunsj at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights / Norsk senter for menneskerettigheter, University of Oslo, Cort Adelers gate 30, 0162 Oslo, Norway, Seminarrom Asbjørn Eide, see the announcement of this talk.
Thank you to Heidetraut von Weltzien Høivik, Berit Soltvedt, Ann Kristin Ulrichsen, and many others for joining in!
Thanks a lot also to Heidi for taking such lovely photos, and to Ann Kristin for doing the video recording!

Video:
• From Humiliation, Vengeance, and Genocide to Reconciliation: Experiences from Rwanda, 7th March 2016

• Please click on the photos above or here to see more.



On 5th March 2016, it was such a gift to be invited to experience "Kontrapunkt: Helaften med musikk, debatt, og multipoetisk samvær" organised, among others, by Nina Witoszek, Alida Boye, Helge Iberg, and David Sloan Wilson, in Kulturkirken Jacob, Oslo, Norway. See also Morgenbladet.
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger.





On 3rd March 2016, 12.15-14.00 everybody was welcome to 'From Humiliation, Vengeance, and Genocide to Reconciliation: Experiences from Rwanda', a lecture by Evelin at the Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway, Harald Schjelderups hus, Forskningsveien 3, auditorium 3, as part of "PSY4506 - Human Rights, Democracy and Reconstruction after Conflict; A community based approach," by Nora Sveaass and Inger Skjelsbæk, www.uio.no/studier/emner/sv/psykologi/PSY4506/.

Video:
• From Humiliation, Vengeance, and Genocide to Reconciliation: Experiences from Rwanda, 3rd March 2016
Thanks a lot also to Lasse Moer for wonderful video recording!
See Lasse Moer's UiO Podcast edition, or the YouTube edition

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



On 23rd February 2016, Norway from the air, on the way from Amsterdam to Oslo.
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On 12th January 2016, it was a great privilege that Claudia Lutschewitz and her husband Andreas came to Hameln to conduct an interview with me!
• Please click on the photo above to see it larger and see our little video that we created at the end of our conversation.
• Please see the interview with Claudia Lutschewitz in Mediator 01/2016, pp. 4-9: 
Menschlichkeit und Mediation: Ein Leben für Würde und gegen Demütigung.



3th January 2016: Finally snow in the north of Central Europe! December was much too warm!
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Evelin's pictures