31. desember 2023

Jeg takker Kong Harald for hans kloke nyttårstale 2023.
I thank King Harald for his wise New Year's speech 2023.

Scattered farms in the Norwegian landscape, relative absence of fortresses and city walls as in Central Europe, is a visible manifestation of the background for the unique Norwegian cultural heritage of the ideal of equality in dignity (likeverdsideal) and the spirit of solidarity (dugnadsånd).

Spredte gårder i det norske landskapet, relativt fravær av festninger og bymurer som i Mellom-Europa, er en synlig manifestasjon av bakgrunnen for den unike norske kulturarven om likeverdsidealet og dugnadsånden.
Allerede Henrik Wergeland (1808–1845) påpekte at Norges vanskeligstilte geopolitiske setting kan være en fordel nå. Han skrev i 1843: «Haard er den Himmel, som bedækker Norge, Klimatet er strength; vi ere Beboere af en hyperboræisk Afkrog paa Kloden, og Naturen har bestemt os til at savne saamange af de mildere Landes Fordele. Men Naturen, god midt i sin tilsyneladende Ubarmhjertighed, og retfærdig midt i sin Uretfærdighed, har aabenbar villet levne os Erstatning for hine Savn, og derfor beskikket, at Norges, i nogle Henseender saa ufordeelagtige, Beliggenhed skulde i andre Henseender være saare velgjørende» (side 23).

Mitt budskap: La oss verne om den norske kulturarven! Det er viktig, ikke bare for Norge! Jeg ser på det som en ressurs som er viktigere enn all oljerikdom.
My message: Let's protect the Norwegian cultural heritage! It is important, not just for Norway! I see it as a resource that is more important than all oil wealth.

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25 Decèmbre 2023, Genève

Concert de Noël, Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Genève (Video)

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23rd – 24th December 2023, Home For Humanity, near Bellegarde-sur-Valserine

What an amazing gift to be invited into the Home For Humanity created by Rama Mani and Alexander Schieffer!
It is a unique home full of art in a profoundly beautiful environment in France, not far from Geneva.

Dearest Rama and Alexander, it was a great honour for me to be invited into your stunning home and life work! Thank you so much!

Thank you, dear Alexander, also for asking me to deliver a short message in front of your Home for Humanity.

Rama and Alexander, you write on homeforhumanity.earth: 'Our Earth home is on fire. Human civilisation needs transformation. Our future depends on our humanity ... and the call of our time is to come home!'

Dearest Rama and Alexander, I wish you all the strength you need for the next stages in your global dignity work!
'A pioneering couple have taken on an extraordinary mission to create an inclusive future through raising awareness of the power of each individual', by Muriel Scibilia, UN Today, 1 Dec 2023.

Last but not least, thank you so much for having introduced me to wonderful Dr. Youssef Mahmoud, and sending me off with a box of his Bsisa, the Mediterranean food that is based on flour of roasted barley and dates back to Roman times!

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22nd December 2023

What a joy to meet with Ignacio Packer on Zoom!
Thank you, dear Ignacio! I so much admire your insightful way of thinking!

Ignacio Packer was appointed as Executive Director of the Initiatives of Change Switzerland Foundation, starting 1st May 2023. Until March 2023, he served as Executive Director of ICVA, the global consortium of humanitarian NGOs. ICVA is a global network of non-governmental organisations whose mission is to make humanitarian action more principled and effective by working collectively and independently to influence policy and practice.

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December 21, 2023

Dearest Janet, thank you so much for bringing us all together in a Zoom meeting for appreciation and sharing to remember our dear friend, mentor, and inspiration, Betty Reardon!
Your dignifying leadership is extraordinary, dearest Janet!

Dr. Janet Gerson, Ed.D. Education Director, International Institute on Peace Education (IIPE),
has published
Reclaimative Post-Conflict Justice: Democratizing Justice in the World Tribunal on Iraq together with Dale T. Snauwaert in 2021. Preface by Betty A. Reardon.

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16th December 2023, London

What a privilege to have time to listen to John Bunzl in person, after having been in email contact since 2008. John is the founder of the International Simultaneous Policy Organisation (ISPO), an organisation which aims at overcoming the collective action problem or social dilemma, 'a situation in which all individuals would be better off cooperating but fail to do so because of conflicting interests between individuals that discourage joint action'.

John initiated the Simpol concept in 1998 and since founded the International Simultaneous Policy Organisation (ISPO) to campaign for the adoption of Simpol around the world. He is author of the book titled 'The Simpol Solution', has given lectures and workshops on Simpol to many conferences, including to the World Trade Organisation, the World Social Forum and the Schumacher Society. Apart from being an activist, he is also a company director of a business specialising in raw materials and speciality papers. He was born in 1957 in London.

'The Simpol Solution' book description: Humanity is failing to tackle urgent global problems like climate change, tax avoidance, mass migration and wealth inequality. Meanwhile, voters are rebelling in the form of Brexit, Trump and the rise of the Far-Right. The SIMPOL SOLUTION reasons that there is just one barrier that prevents all governments from taking action: the fear that it would make their national economies uncompetitive. No nation can move first for fear of losing jobs and investment to others. The SIMPOL SOLUTION identifies this as ‘Destructive Global Competition’, a global vicious circle in which we’re all caught. It’s not that governments don’t want to act, but that they can’t. Blaming governments or corporations, even protesting against social injustices, simply continues a ‘them-and-us' polarised politics that goes nowhere. To find a way out, this book proposes an inner revolution in the way we think about and understand the world, a new more complex level of thinking that the authors call ‘world-centric’. They outline the necessary psychological steps needed to achieve this before introducing the SIMPOL SOLUTION – a simple but effective way for citizens to democratically impel governments to cooperatively solve multiple global problems, so opening the way to a just and sustainable future.

I very much thank John for making me aware of the work of John E. Stewart!
Kindly see, for instance, Stewart (2019). "The Trajectory of Evolution and Its Implications for Humanity." In The Journal of Big History, 3 (3), pp. 141–55. doi: 10.22339/jbh.v3i3.3380.

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December 14, 2023, Le Pain Quotidien near Bryant Park, Manhattan, New York City

What a great gift to meet Dr. Youssef Mahmoud! Thank you, dear Alexander and Rama, for introducing us!
What an important text:
The 2024 Summit of the Future: an opportunity for U.N. regeneration in an era of radical disruptions

Dr. Youssef Mahmoud is Senior Adviser at the International Peace Institute supporting the sustainable development and peace operations programs and serving as a focal point on mediation and prevention policies and practices. He is a former UN Under-Secretary-General and has headed peace operations in Burundi, the Central African Republic and Chad.
Prior to these assignments, he held other senior United Nations positions, notably as UN Resident Coordinator in Guyana, Director in the UN Department of Political Affairs, and Head of the Office of the Undersecretary-Secretary-General for Political Affairs.
In 2015, he served as a member of the UN Secretary-General High-Level Panel on Peace Operations (HIPPO) and simultaneously a member of the High-Level Advisory Group for the Global Study on Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
In 2019, he led an independent strategic review of the UN peace operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), pursuant to UN Security Council resolution 2463.
He periodically writes on the theory and practice of the evolving concept of sustaining peace and on political transitions in Africa, with a particular focus on Tunisia.
He is currently a Visiting Professor at the African Leadership Centre, King’s College London, and serves on the Boards of several non-profit organizations in the US and Tunisia.
Dr. Mahmoud has a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

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December 14, 2023, Manhattan, New York City

Lovely Bryant Park!
Here is a little video of the ice skaters!

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December 14, 2023, Metropolitan Museum, Manhattan, New York City

Thank you SO MUCH, dearest Angelica, for taking me to the Metropolitan Museum! What a feast to be with you!
Thank you so much for showing me the fascinating Afrofuturist Period Room!

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Thank you, dear Andrew Scheinman, for taking the lovely photo with Angelica and me!

December 11, 2023, Global

Professor Shibley Telhami invited to a Sadat Forum on "The War in Israel and Gaza: Constructive Campus Conversations." The conversation was moderated and included Dean Amaney Jamal of the School of Public and International Affairs and the Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Politics at Princeton University; Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo of the School of International and Public Affairs and the Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Relations at Columbia University; and Hina Shamsi, Director of the National Security Project at the American Civil Liberties Union. Dean Jamal and Dean Yarhi-Milo co-authored an article in the New York Times last month on a related subject which you can find here. In addition, I will be releasing new data from our latest round of the Middle East Scholar Barometer which probed the impact of the war in Israel and Gaza on the atmosphere on American campuses, through the eyes of scholars who specialize on the Middle East. You can RSVP here and find the full announcement of the event below.

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December 11, 2023, Brooklyn's Little Pakistan

Shahid Khan came to United States in 2010 and has established a non-profit organization, National Youth Organization of Pakistan Inc., in 2014. [kindly read more]
Thank you so much, dearest Shahid, for receiving dear Fatma and me so lovingly in Brooklyn's Little Pakistan!
Thank you so much for presenting us with such a wonderful Ajrak each!
We have no words to thank your dear wife Mariam for caring for us so wonderfully!
And it was great to meet you, dearest Sumera!

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December 10, 2023, Hunter College, Manhattan, New York City

"We Dream A World" was the title of a concert by the Peace of Heart Choir of New York City, in Hunter College, Manhattan, on December 10, 2023.
Thank you, dearest Ariel and Francis, for taking Evelin to this lovely concert!

The choir sang one very special song that combines two songs, namely, "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World"! (first recorded by Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole)
I recorded the rendering by the Peace of Heart Choir from my seat at the back of the audience.

I did that because we included both songs also in our 2022 and 2023 workshops:
— Ella Autti has been kind enough to contribute her rendering of "Over the Rainbow" to our workshops!
—It has become a tradition that David Yamada closes our workshops with "What a Wonderful World." Kindly see, among others, our 2019 workshop!

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November 17, 2023, online get-together from Portland, Oregon, Rovaniemi in Finland, Holmestrand in Norway, Washington, DC, and Brooklyn, New York City

We are preparing for our 20th Worksop on Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict, titled "The Urgency of Seeding Dignity: Honoring 20 Years of Global Collaboration for Transforming Suffering Through Courageous and Compassionate Action," hybrid, online and in person in New York City, hosted by The Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR) Columbia University, Teachers College (TC), New York City, in cooperation with the World Dignity University initiative, December 8, 2023. It is the 39th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies.

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December 4, 2023, Live on Zoom

The Regional Dimensions of the Israeli-Palestinian Crisis: Risks and Responses
The Israeli war in Gaza, following the terror attacks executed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, has raised serious concerns over regional spread of the conflict. In a region that is host to a disproportionate share of the world’s armed conflict, there are a multitude of hot spots and lines of confrontation, all with some connection to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. This webinar will take stock of the regional dimensions of the situation in Israel and Gaza and answer questions, such as: What are the main conflict lines, military activities, and escalation risks at the regional level? What have various states and multilateral actors – in the region and beyond – done to prevent regional escalation? What strategies are missing in this regard? Is time ripe for a regional platform in which states of the region come together, both to prevent escalation and to inform and support political solutions? This is the second installment in a series of webinars addressing various aspects of the Israel/Palestine war, co-sponsored by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO).
Panelists include:
Kristian Berg Harpviken, Research Professor, PRIO
Banafsheh Keynoush, international geopolitical consultant, independent scholar of international relations and Middle East studies, and author
Asher Kaufman, John. M. Regan Jr. Director, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies (we want to avoid continue "mutually assured suffering"...)
Ibrahim Fraihat, Associate Professor, Conflict Management and Humanitarian Action, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies
Concluding remarks by Laurence Nathan, Professor of the Practice of Mediation, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
(Since the Carnegie Commission's landmark report on the prevention of deadly conflict in 1997, it has been common in the United Nations to separate prevention into two components: operational prevention, aimed at preventing violence that is imminently apprehended, and structural prevention, aimed at reducing or mitigating the underlying risks of violent conflict. )

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November 30, 2023, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Manhattan, New York City
Kindly see also October 31, 2015

Tannhäuser, Season 2023 Premiere
We read on the Met's website: Richard Wagner (1813–1883) was the controversial creator of music-drama masterpieces that stand at the center of today’s operatic repertory. An artistic revolutionary who reimagined every supposition about theater, Wagner insisted that words and music were equals in his works. This approach led to the idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk, or 'total work of art,' combining music, poetry, architecture, painting, and other disciplines, a notion that has had an impact on creative fields far beyond opera."

There were two protests, one in front of the opera building prior to the opera's beginning, and the other during the opera.

1. protest prior to the opera by people saying "fund welfare not warfare":



2. protest during to the opera by climate protesters (at the beginning of the second act twice):
Kindly see a Video compiled from 6 parts (Part 1: Evelin's recording at the beginning of the opera, Part 2. recording published on OperaWire, 3. - 6: Evelin's recordings during the protests)
When Christian Gerhaher was singing as Wolfram at the beginning of Act II (it was Gerhaher's Met debut), a shout came from the highest box seats of the Metropolitan Opera, just across from the side where I was sitting, “Wolfram, wake up!"

Metropolitan Opera Performance of ‘Tannhäuser’ Interrupted by Climate Protesters
by Francisco Salazar, OperaWire, November 30, 2023
"The Metropolitan Opera’s opening night performance of “Tannhäuser” on Nov. 30 was interrupted by climate protesters. During the middle of Wolfram’s Act two aria, climate protesters shouted “No Opera on a dead planet” and held two banners on both sides of the theater with the same phrase. Chaos ensued and the curtain was brought down stopping the show. Following the incident General Manager Peter Gelb walked on stage to reassure audiences that the show would go on. However, as the show was set to begin, the protests restarted. The performance eventually went on with the lights on halfway on...."
Climate Protesters Twice Interrupt Wagner’s 'Tannhäuser’ at Metropolitan Opera
by The Associated Press, December 1, 2023
Review: Climate Protests Upstage a Debut at the Met Opera
A revival of Wagner’s “Tannhäuser” was notable for the arrival of Christian Gerhaher. But with an abrupt protest, the performance took a turn.
by Joshua Barone, The New York Times, December 1, 2023

Thank you, my dear new friend Cristina, for making me aware of this article:
An Oil Tycoon Heiress Has Donated $1 Million To Climate Activists Behind Van Gogh Tomato Soup Protest
and for sharing your photos:



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• Read more on the opera Tannhäuser in the synopsis and the program.

November 29, 2023, Queens, New York City

What an immense gift to finally meet Louise Sundararajan in person, just upon her return from Xian, after having been in touch with her through email for more than a decade! Thank you so much, dear Anthony Marsella, that you brought us together! Louise leads the Special Interest Group for Indigenous Psychology (IP), that has enriched my work immensely over the years. I am so proud of being a member in her IP network!

I was sharing with Louise that we are being pressured to issue declarations or statements in the name of our Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies organization, given the fact that dignity is being breached and humiliation being perpetrated and deeply felt hurting in unbearable ways these days. Since our inception in 2001/2003, we have resolved, however, that speaking on behalf of our members is not our role and not our mandate, not least because we are not a top-down monolithic organization. Linda and I can, however, speak for ourselves. We feel personally devastated by the fact that our generation has so far failed to manifest the goal for which the United Nations once were founded, namely, to prevent war. Linda and I have given our lives to help our generation achieve precisely this goal, and we therefore feel doubly devastated now, not just by the atrocities we witness, but by the failings of our generation to prevent them and the seeming futility of our own sacrifices.

We encourage all our friends of HumanDHS to respond to breeches of dignity and violence by working in ways that move their communities, their regions, and the entire world in a more dignifying direction, and to do so in a long-term fashion and not just when atrocities become unbearable. We can report that many of our members are indeed working hard. For example, members are finding ways to connect personally with individuals impacted by the crises in your region. They offer to listen to the stories of suffering with the aim that people who need support should not feel abandoned or unheard. This type of activity is rarely in the spotlight, but it is crucially supportive of those who suffer. We are proud of our members who work in these quiet ways, as well as in other ways.

We urge every global citizen to engage in mutually dignifying efforts that strengthen connections and constructive change throughout the world, so that cycles of humiliation of the past may be healed rather than bringing humanity to the abyss, as happens now, and, as importantly, that new cycles of humiliation may be prevented.

These are Louise Sundararajan's words, transcribed:
"Groups don't grow, groups don't heal. It's individuals that grow and individuals that heal. The group is like... it preserves. So, if you have trauma, groups hold on to the trauma. Groups preserve the trauma. But individuals can grow. Can grow out of it. And can see other ways of being human. Creativity comes from the individuals to heal from trauma. Groups will change when there's a large enough number of individuals. That will change the group. When you don't have enough individuals, the group will stay the same. So, your focus is to nourish the capacity of individuals to grow and to heal from trauma. And that is the hope for groups."

Louise's insights resonate with HumanDHS' emphasis on engaging with individuals in relationships rather than engaging organizations or institutions. From the point of the Relational-Cultural Theory developed by Jean Baker Miller, with Linda Hartling and others relational scholars, there is always a temptation to leave parts of our selves out of relationships, in order to stay in relationships. That is called the "central relational paradox." It means hiding parts of our selves, in order to stay in relationship. What we in HumanDHS strive to do is to create a relational space, where people can come together authentically with dignity in their diversity, so they can bring more of their authentic selves into their relationships, which fosters mutual understanding. This is what we mean by growing by supporting the growth of all involved, and by growth we mean change for the better.

This dovetails with Kathy Goodman's comment that it is fear that motivates this dynamic, "People feel protected in groups, so they adapt to them." Linda and my experience confirms this insight. We are the proverbial child that points at the naked emperor, and by being this child, by being authentic, we do not belong to the majority.

Her view dovetails with the position of Hersch Lauterpacht and Philippe Sands' warning that Raphael Lemkin's emphasis on the group was unhelpful:
"… Proving the crime of genocide is difficult, and in litigating cases I have seen for myself how the need to prove the intent to destroy a group in whole or in part, as the Genocide Convention requires, can have unhappy psychological consequences. It enhances the sense of solidarity among the members of the victim group while reinforcing negative feelings toward the perpetrator group. The term 'genocide', with its focus on the group, tends to heighten a sense of 'them' and 'us', burnishes feelings of group identity, and may unwittingly give rise to the very conditions that it seeks to address: by pitting one group against another, it makes reconciliation less likely. I fear that the crime of genocide has distorted the prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity, because the desire to be labelled a victim of genocide brings pressure on prosecutors to indict for that crime. For some, to be labelled a victim of genocide becomes 'an essential component of national identity' without contributing to the resolution of historical disputes or making mass killings less frequent. ..." quoted from "Epilogue: To the Woods," page 364, in "East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity," a 2016 book by Philippe Sands, a British and French writer and lawyer, Professor of Laws and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals at the University College London. It is a memoir and history of the origins of international criminal law in the aftermath of the Second World War.

November 28, 2023, Teachers College, Manhattan New York City

This was my first encounter with union activism in the United States of America. The Laborers' International Union of North America was founded on April 13, 1903. Through having grown up in Europe, I am used to the fact that unions enjoy much more acceptance there. I was not aware that "Scabby the Rat" is an American labor icon! I was also fascinated to see the use of coffins to target dangers of asbestos removal!

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November 2023, New York City

This is an ironic and funny story: I brought chocolate with the image of the Pied Piper of Hamelin/Hameln to New York. I was unaware of the shrewdness of New York's mice and stored it in a place where they could reach it. Seeing what they had done, I informed Michael Boyer, a wonderful member in our DignityNowHameln group, who also embodies the Pied Piper in Hamelin. His response was: "Humiliated by New York's mice! What a tough lot!" In other words, to make a joke, one could say that New York's mice took it upon themselves to take revenge for the Pied Piper having killed all the rats in Hamelin in the year 1284, as the legend of the Pied Piper will have it! :-)
By the way, there are now an estimated 3 million rats in New York City ...

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November 23, 2023, Harlem, New York City

Thank you so much, dearest Marlin and Robert, for inviting a person like me, so ignorant of and "alien" to American Thanksgiving culture!
What a nourishing dinner, and then you even invited me to cinema! Napoleon!

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

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• See also A history of Thanksgiving from the Native American perspective.

November 21, 2023, Brooklyn, New York City

What a gift to reconnect with beloved Cornelia!
Thank you for a deeply healing afternoon together, dearest Cornelia!
I learned to much from you! You brought me so many deep insights!

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November 21, 2023, Rocco's Pasticceria, The Village, Manhattan, New York City

What a gift to know Tony Allicino! We had our 10-year anniversary! We met for the first time almost exactly 10 ys ago, on November 14, 2013!
Tony is the former Director of the Center for Alternative Health and of the Program for Deaf Adults at LaGuardia Community College of The City University of New York, and he is a shaman, inspired, among others, by anthropologist Michael Harner. See Tony in "Study With The Best - Religion and Spirituality through the CUNY lens" November 16, 2017.

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November 20, 2023, Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, Manhattan, New York City

It was a great pleasure to meet with Angelique Santiago! Welcome, dear Angelique, to our upcoming workshop!

November 19, 2023, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Manhattan, New York City

Can opera renew itself and help create a new Zeitgeist that supports a more dignified and dignifying future on this planet? What about an opera about dignity and humiliation? I have cautiously suggested that idea to Met’s General Manager Peter Gelb in my emails to him since 2017 and I am glad that the Metropolitan Opera has been encouraged to "bring more new operas to the Met stage over the next five seasons than any time in recent history." Directly following the matinee performance of Florencia en el Amazonas on Sunday, November 19, everyone was invited to remain in their seat for a post-show discussion with members of the cast. Peter Gelb moderated.

When I look around in the world, I am devastated by what I see: ecocide and sociocide, facilitated by cogitocide. I have sacrificed my entire life to "never again," yet, my work has not been enough. The United Nations was established after World War II with the aim of preventing future wars, succeeding the League of Nations that had proven to be ineffective. How come that also my generation has failed to manifest the goal of preventing mass killing, atrocities, and war?

Philosopher Hannah Arendt once said, "pity, taken as the spring of virtue, has proved to possess a greater capacity for cruelty than cruelty itself" (see also my 2017 book on terror). In other words, whoever loves their ingroup, will defend it against its enemies. Arendt's insight will remain true and tear the world apart as long humanity has not come together into one global ingroup. Is it possible to make pity and love embrace all living beings on Earth?
Love is indeed the core theme of the opera Florencia en el Amazonas.

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• Read more on the opera Florencia en el Amazonas in the synopsis and the program.

16. November 2023, Hameln, Kiel, New York City

Danke, Ihr Lieben! Was für ein schönes DignityNowHameln Treffen! Alles Liebe von Evelin

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November 3, 2023, New York City

We mourn the passing of our beloved Betty Reardon!

Evelin's message: It was a great privilege for me to sit together with my dear and beloved Betty on July 6, 2010, in Melbu, Vesterålen, Norway. I thanked Betty for her untiring support for our dignity work since we first met in 1995 in Manila, Philippines. We were all invited at the UNESCO expert meeting “Towards a Women’s Agenda for a Culture of Peace”, April 25–18, 1995, by Ingeborg Breines, the then Director of Women and a Culture of Peace, and Special Adviser to the Director-General Federico Mayor on Women, Gender and Development.
When we sat together in Norway in 2010, Betty shared with me that she tends to use her time increasingly only on those initiatives like our dignity work that aim at deep change. She said, I quote her verbatim: “What we do know, we do not know in a way that serves our needs. So, we need to know in different ways, and we need to build new knowledge through new ways of knowing. The new knowledge is in the area of designing new realities, which is likely to be done by speculative and creative thinking that would be communally shared and reflected for common formulation that would be tested in a continual process of social invention.”
I was deeply thankful for her call for new ways of knowing which can lead to deep change!
Kindly see Betty at our 2018 Dignity Workshop together with our dear Janet Gerson, when she was awarded her Human Dignity (Half!)Lifetime Award!

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November 13, 2023, John Jay College, Manhattan, New York City

It was an immense joy to be together with admired and beloved Maria Volpe again in person, after all these corona years!
Congratulations, dearest Maria, with your eminently important work!
This Town Hall meeting was so significant! You started the town meetings in 1989 and you opened the space once a month for everyone to come and share unrehearsed. Yes, as you said "It is like opening space for an opportunity for peace.... we get to see how challenging it is."
RESPECT Ground Rules
WELCOME: Moderator
PART I: Opening Remarks- 2 minutes each
Allison Pease, Interim Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs Karen Kaplowitz, President of the Faculty Senate Aiisha Qudusi, President of the Student Council
PART II: Audience Participation- 2 minutes each
1. Anyone can ask a question. Each audience participant will have 2 minutes to make a statement or ask question from the floor at which point the clock's buzzer will sound. When approaching the microphone, please identify yourself. For those on zoom, raise your hand by pressing the "Reactions" button and then "raise hand". Wait for the moderator to call on you and you will be unmuted. If you would like to ask a question in the chat, click on the Q&A tab and submit your question or comment.
2. Please direct questions to a specific person(s) if possible.
3. If no one is standing at other microphones, any speaker or respondent may speak for an additional 2 minutes.
4. If other participants are at any of the microphones, any speaker or respondent will have 1 minute to conclude.
5. Any audience participant may speak more than once unless there is someone else at a microphone who has not yet spoken.
PART III: Closing Statements- 2 minutes each Aiisha Qudusi, Prof. Karen Kaplowitz, Allison
Pease RESPECT ALL SPEAKERS BY NOT INTERRUPTING WHILE THEY ARE SPEAKING. PLACE ALL CELLPHONES ON SILENT MODE.

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November 13, 2023, Scandinavia House, Park Avenue, Manhattan, New York City

November 13, 2023, 1 Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, Manhattan, New York City

Tusen takk, kjære Merete Fjeld Brattested, Ambassadør ved FN-delegasjonen (Permanent Representative of Norway to the United Nations) for et meget hyggelig møte!
Som sagt så tror jeg det kan være grunn til stolthet over det globale arbeidet med verdighet som kom ut av UDs FN-avdelings støtte til min doktoravhandling 1997–2001! Jeg er videre veldig takknemlig for støtten jeg fikk fra Asbjørn Eide, Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Nils Petter Gleditsch, Stein Tønnessen og flere andre på PRIO allerede fra 1994. Nå, i 2023, er vi rundt 1000 medlemmer i kjernen av vårt globale nettverk, og 8000 personer på adresselisten vår. Nominasjonen til Nobels fredspris i 2015, 2016 og 2017 beskyttet mange av våre nettverksmedlemmer over hele verden som setter seg selv i fare ved å stå opp for verdighet.Jeg ser på meg selv som en ildsjel, en ambassadør for den norske kulturarven av likeverdsidealet og dugnadsånden.



The first draft of my doctoral research project was titled 'The Feeling of Being Humiliated: A Central Theme in Armed Conflicts. A Study of the Role of Humiliation in Somalia, and Rwanda/Burundi, Between the Warring Parties, and in Relation to Third Intervening Parties'. I carried it out from 1997 to 2001. It was funded by the Multilateral Development Assistance Programme of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Research Council. I am still extremely grateful for their support. Their yearly conferences were an immeasurable help to me. I was extremely thankful to Leif E. Christoffersen, Kjell Halvorsen, Nils Petter Gleditsch, Stein Tønnessen, Ida Blom, Nina Gornitzka, Anette Haug, Kristin Sverdrup, Helge Ole Bergesen, Paul Collier, and many others who with their innovative vision and determination founded the Multilateral Development Assistance Programme (and successor programmes). They formed these programmes into platforms for new ideas, always drawing upon the very special and valuable Scandinavian tradition of searching for peace in dignity and organising human affairs on our planet in more just and fair ways than has been achieved so far.

• Kindly click on the photos above to see them larger.

November 13, 2023, Grand Central, Manhattan, New York City,
admiring the work of Jennifer Bauser.

• Kindly click on the photos above to see them larger.

November 11, 2023, Manhattan, New York City

What a gift it was for me to meet Marlin and Robert at the Metropolitan Opera on October 28, 2023!

A big thank-you to you, dear Marlin, for coming to my book talk on November 2! And yet another big thank-you to both of you for inviting me to dinner at wonderful Nice Matin at the Lucerne Hotel. This neighborhood had been my home for 15 years, from 2004 until 2019, each fall, and I passed in front of it hundreds of times, never entering it! Until on November 11, because of you!

• Kindly click on the photos above to see them larger.

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

November 11, 2023, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Manhattan, New York City

A huge, classical-style mural shows the mythological Icarus falling from the sky, after trying to fly with wings made of feathers and wax, only to have them melt when he got too close to the sun. To me, this does not only fit the Opera Un Ballo in Masquera. To me, it also symbolizes the hubris of humankind, mistakenly believing to be the master of planet Earth.

Several aspects of this opera tie in with the life work of Bill Baird, with the book, I am reading ("East West Street," I am reading its Norwegian translation "Tilbake til Lemberg") and the work of the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies network in general. The core theme is that dignity for the individual should mean freedom from oppression through the collective, rather, the individual should have rights (and responsibilities!).
The real king of Sweden, on whom the story of this opera is based, was an enlightened homosexual monarch who was killed in 1792, just as the king of France, Louis XVI, lost his life in 1793. They lost their lives because they were either ahead of their time's Zeitgeist (the Swedish case), or too slow (the French case).

"Io l’amai, ma volli illeso Il tuo nome ed il suo cor!" exclaims the King of Sweden, King Gustav III, in this opera before dying. "I loved her, but I wanted your name and her heart unharmed!" His killer is the husband of the woman the king had loved (she loved him back), yet, since they did not have sex, they argue, their love did not violate the ownership rights of her husband to her sexual organs. In other words, the opera illustrates how in the context of this historical time's Zeitgeist, this kind of ownership was regarded to be more significant than any feelings.

• The life mission of Bill Baird has always been to introduce a new step forward in this Zeitgeist, namely, each individual's right to privacy. Just as Gustavo was ahead of his time, also Bill Baird was ahead of his time, and he was punished for it.
• Phillipe Sands, in his book, contrasts Raphael Lemkin and his focus on the group with Hersch Lauterpacht's belief that a focus on the group undermines the protection of the individual.
• In my work, I emphasize that new ideas need to be introduced very carefully, because if those who feel denigrated or humiliated by these ideas, will take revenge, and at the end progress will turn into regress.

• Kindly click on the photo above to see it larger.
• Read more on the opera Un Ballo in Masquera in the synopsis and the program.

November 9, 2023, Manhattan, New York City

Metamorphosis
"A Daylong Public Forum Gathering Leaders and Practitioners in Contemplative-Based Social Change"
by the Garrison Institute by Diana and Jonathan Rose, celebrating the institute's 20 years anniversary!
Venue: Rockefeller University, overlooking the East River

What a feast! Congratulations, dear Diana and Jonathan!
What a gift to meet so many dedicated and farsighted individuals!

It was a great joy for me to reconnect with eminent researcher on evolutionary biology and deep thinker David Sloan Wilson, after having met him for the first time in Kontrapunkt in Oslo, Norway, in 2016!

It was great to meet Sam Myers and learn about his work with planetary health! I shared with him that my work has had planetary health at its heart long before the term emerged!

• Kindly click on the photos above to see them larger.

November 8, 2023, Manhattan, New York City

Sabine Schenk "is a New York based producer and line producer with a M.A. in cinema studies from NYU. She has utilised her international education and experience in film to offer production services for local and international film projects through her own company Schenk Productions, Inc., which she founded in 1998."

What a gift to learn to know you, dear Sabine! I so much admire you for your life-path and your work! Thank you so much for producing this extremely important documentary film on the life and work of Bill Baird, titled Yours in Freedom, Bill Baird!

• Kindly click on the photos above to see more.

8. november 2023, Manhattan, New York City

Tusen takk for vidunderlig lunsj ved den Sjømannskirken i New York!
Tusen takk for meget hyggelig prat, kjære Geir Øy!
Som jeg sa, så betrakter jeg meg som en ambassadør for den norske kulturarven av likeverdsidealet og dugnadsånd!

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

November 4, 2023, Harlem, New York City

Andrea Bartoli's support has been foundational for the development of HumanDHS!
What a joy to know each other for more than 20 years!

Dear Andrea, you participated in our first "Workshop on Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict" that Morton Deutsch convened on July 7, 2003, at the MD-ICCCR! You participated together with Michelle Fine, Susan Opotow, Beth Fisher-Yoshida, Janet Gerson, and Peter T. Coleman!

Thank you also for sharing that the Greek translation of "peace making" is using ποιέω (poieó or "to make") and not τέχνη (tékhnē, a philosophical concept that refers to making or doing) to translate peace making in the Colossians 1:20 in the Bible. You said that peace making has more to do with creative art, with poetry, than with simple technology.
Yes, dear Andrea, you are so right, this is precisely the spirit of our dignity work!
Personally, I often say that I, if the world house were not on fire, would be an artist and make sculptures. However, at least I consider my global life design as a social sculpture...

On December 6 and 11, 2023, I was able to see our dear Alba Taveras, whom I know since 2002! She worked with Andrea at SIPA until he left in 2007.



• Kindly click on the photos above to see them larger.

November 3, 2023, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Manhattann, New York City

X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
The opera presents 12 vignettes from the life of Malcolm X, from youth to his death: abject poverty in Depression-era Lansing to adolescence in Boston to Mecca (the site of his pivotal hajj, the traditional Muslim pilgrimage), as well as a number of places in New York City, including a mosque, the streets of Harlem, and, finally, the site of his assassination in 1965, the Audubon Ballroom at Broadway and West 165th Street.
Read more in the synopsis and the program.

• Kindly click on the photos above to see them larger.
• On November 4, I had an appointment close to the Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem, see the photo on the right side!

November 3, 2023, David Geffen Hall, Manhattan, New York City

I have no words to express my joy over reconnecting with our deeply valued and admired Gay Rosenblum-Kumar!
We know each other since more than 20 years! Thanks for making us aware that the MCLD-Movement for Community-Led Development, CIVICUS, and the South Africa based Network for Empowered Aid Response are organizations that aim at deeper structural change, rather than at more superficial levels. Peace philosopher Howard Richards contrasts "regulatory rules" versus "constitutive rules" and calls for new constitutive rules! I deeply resonate with this call!

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

November 2, 2023, Manhattan, New York City,
Columbia University, Gottesman Libraries, 306 Russell Hall, 4:00pm - 5:30pm

Dear Jennifer Govan, thank you so much for hosting this "pre-launch" book talk!
On the Path of My Father, with Evelin Lindner
in person

"Letter to My Father" is a planned book project about the author’s journey that began in a family that was deeply traumatised by war and displacement and which led to a life project dedicated to nurturing more dignity and solidarity in the world. The author was born to a father who had experienced many existential losses — he had lost one arm, his dear father, his beloved brothers, and his beloved homeland Silesia, from where his family was forcibly displaced.
The book describes how the Norwegian heritage of likeverd and dugnad gave the author a deeper understanding of the values expressed in the ideals of human rights and the motto of the French Revolution, liberté, égalité, and fraternité. The book highlights the Norwegian cultural heritage as being important not only for Norway but for the whole world. It is a unique heritage that encompasses not only freedom and equal dignity but also solidarity, and this not just locally but also globally (see the Nansen Passport). The author attempts to make palpable how these values can give substance to the notion of dignity, both for the individual and for humanity as a whole." -- book description
Evelin Lindner is the founding president of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies, a transdisciplinary academic field and a global fellowship, and co-founder of the World Dignity University Initiative. She has taught in numerous settings around the globe and has published widely. Her books include "Making Enemies: Humiliation and International Conflict" (honored as one of the best academic publications in the U.S.A. in 2007); "Emotion and Conflict: How Human Rights Can Dignify Emotion and Help Us Wage Good Conflict"; "Gender, Humiliation, and Global Security" (Foreword by Desmond Tutu); "A Dignity Economy"; "Honor, Humiliation, and Terror"; and "From Humiliation to Dignity: For a Future of Global Solidarity." Evelin Lindner graduated in psychology in 1978, and in medicine in 1984, both from the University of Hamburg. She also studied law and sinology at the Goethe University Frankfurt and philosophy at the University of Hamburg and Oslo. In 1994, she earned her first doctorate, in Medicine (Dr. med.) from the University of Hamburg. In 1997 she became a research fellow at the University of Oslo Department of Psychology, where she obtained her second doctorate, in Psychology (Dr. psychol.) in 2001. She is affiliated with many academic institutions, among others with Columbia University in New York, and the Maison de Sciences de l'Homme in Paris. For her global peace work, she has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times, in 2015, 2016, and 2017.

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

• Kindly click on the photos above or here to see more pictures
• Kindly see the cell phone video recording
• Kindly see the Zoom video recording
• Kindly see the PowerPoint slides
• Kindly send Evelin an email if you wish to read a summary of Evelin's father's traumatic experiences and how they influenced her, written by her parallel in four languages (Norsk | English | Deutsch | Français)
• Kindly see also a related talk in 2012 in São Paulo

November 2, 2023, Zoom (New York City and global)

Roundtable breakfast: Process Design: Reflections On Mediation Infrastructure, with Susan Podziba

It was a great privilege to participate in 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 since 9/11, with many dear friends attending.

• Kindly click on the photos above to see them larger.

November 1, 2023, Zoom (New York City and Geneva)

How wonderful to reconnect with Camilo Azcarate!
He attended my lecture on Responsibilities of Peace Education at Teachers College on November 30, 2006, and it was such a gift to reconnect with him now on Zoom!

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

October 31, 2023, Teachers College, Columbia University, Manhattan

What a privilege to meet with Amine Mechaal, Jazmin Guardado, and Lauren Huser at the Office of Global Engagement!
You are doing such important work! As I shared with you, I notice on all continents that the name of John Dewey will forever be connected with Teachers College and its global work!

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

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

October 31 and December 11, 2023, Teachers College, Columbia University, Manhattan

What a gift to reconnect with wonderful Portia Williams, Vice Provost for Academic Planning & Global Affairs at Teachers College, Columbia University!
Congratulations, dear Portia, and thank you for your extraordinary care for Teachers College!
We met for the first time in 2010, and I have admired you since! Wherever you go, you bring love and enthusiasm!

Portia Williams is the Vice Provost for Academic Planning and Global Affairs, and Assistant Professor (Coterminous) in the Department of International and Transcultural Studies at Teachers College, Columbia University. She previously served as the Associate Provost for International Affairs, and the founding director of the College’s Office of International Affairs, now known as the Office of Global Engagement. In her current role, Dr. Williams supports the establishment and realization of college-wide academic goals focused on curriculum alignment, new program development, non-credit programming, accreditation and academic compliance. She also continues to serve as the College’s chief international officer, guiding policy and practice for institutional collaborations, and support for international students and scholars. With more than 25 years of experience in educational administration and international engagement, Dr. Williams has directed, advised, or collaborated on policy and program initiatives in North and Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, East and Southern Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and the United States. Additionally, as an ESL professional, she has held faculty appointments at Georgetown University, American University, George Washington University, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and the University of Shkodra in Albania. Dr. Williams is a former Spencer Research Fellow, David L. Boren Fellow, and Peace Corps Volunteer. She holds an Ed.D. in International Educational Development and Policy Studies and an M.Ed. in International Family and Community Education from Teachers College, as well as an M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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

New York City's Subway/Metro system
New York City is always spectacular. I admire old technology. Sometimes old things were of higher quality than new things...

• Thank you, dear Hank, for taking me to this lovely exhibition "New York Subways 1977: Alen MacWeeney" on November 8, 2023!
The New York Public Library took "the train back in time" in this exhibition. On display from September 23, 2023, through January 7, 2024, in the Print Gallery of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, this "captivating showcase" featured "42 remarkable diptychs by the renowned Irish American photographer Alen MacWeeney, all taken in the New York City subway system in 1977."
Kindly click on the photo at the left side to see the link to the website.

• Kindly see two little videos I recorded from the Q-train looking out from the Williamsburg Bridge on Manhattan:
• Video November 4, 2023
• Video November 20, 2023

• If you like, you may listen to a little audio recording of subway sounds from November 12, 2023.

October 29, 2023, Brooklyn

How wonderful to reconnect with Marion and Volker Berghahn!
Marion Berghahn founded Berghahn Books in 1994 as a New York and Oxford–based publisher of scholarly books and academic journals in the humanities and social sciences, with a special focus on social and cultural anthropology, European history, politics, and film and media studies.

Volker Berghahn is a historian of German and modern European history at Columbia University and holds the chair of Seth Low Professor of History at Columbia, and he is also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Volker Berghahn's research interests have included the fin de siècle period in Europe, the origins of World War I, and German-American relations. He received his M.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1961 and his PhD, under supervision of Francis L. Carsten, from the University of London in 1964. Prior to teaching in the United States, Berghahn worked in the United Kingdom and Germany. In 1988, he accepted a position at Brown University, and moved to Columbia ten years later.

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

October 28, 2023, David Geffen Hall, Manhattan, New York City

What a great gift to spend the afternoon with our dear beloved Zuzka! Thank you so much for sharing your work and your life story, dearest Zuzka!

Congratulations with your incredibly important documentary film Hudson, America (trailer)!
Hudson Hall: The unexpected political events of 2016 – 2022 derail the joyous college trajectory for Hudson City School District Gen-Z Bangladeshi immigrants, propelling them to confront anti-immigrant sentiments, their conservative parents’ ideas of “The American Dream”, and the true cost of forbidden love. For six years filmmakers Zuzka Kurtz and Geoffrey Hug follow the students as they bid farewell to their community and arrive in an unfamiliar world.

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

October 28, 2023, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Manhattan, New York City

La Bohème
We read in the program: The libretto sets the action in Paris, circa 1830. This is not a random setting but rather reflects the issues and concerns of a particular time and place. After the upheavals of revolution and war, French artists had lost their traditional support base of aristocracy and Church, and they were desperate for new sources of income. The rising bourgeoisie took up the burden of patronizing artists and earned their contempt in return. The story, then, centers on self-conscious youths at odds with mainstream society, feeling themselves morally superior to the rules of the bourgeoisie (specifically regarding sexual mores) and expressing their independence with affectations of speech and dress.

• Kindly click on the photo at the top to see the website of the Met and on the photos below to see them larger (I came early, when the seats in the opera were still half emtpy...).

October 27, 2023, Directors Guild of America, New York Theater, Manhattan
November 10, 2023, world premiere at the Village East by Angelika, Manhattan

Documentary film directed by Rebecca Cammisa: Yours in Freedom, Bill Baird
"In an America where more and more women and trans people are losing legal bodily autonomy, the history of Bill Baird’s long fight for women’s right to abortion is as relevant as ever. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rebecca Cammisa doesn’t just give us a portrait of Baird, but also creates a historical register of allyship and activism that those fighting to uphold freedom and choice can access, and perhaps emulate. – Bedatri D. Choudhury"

What a feast! What a feast to hug wonderful Joni and Bill Baird, to hug lovely son Brandon and his wife, and to get to know great daughter Michelle with her handsome son!
What a feast to meet the wonderful director of the film, Rebecca Cammisa, and Michael Frenschkowski from Terra Mater!
Rebecca said that her main motivation to make this film was to shed light on privacy, or, more precisely, on the encroachment on privacy that is on its way these days. Questions of birth control are only aspects of a larger theme.

• Kindly click on the photo at the top to see the link to the film on Terra Mater, and on the other photos to see them larger.

27th October, 2023, Amman, Jordan

On Gaza: Where is our Humanity Going?
Prince El Hassan bin Talal
Wilson Center, Washington, DC

'... the will of the international community to realize peace has become politically divided into the axis of resistance and the coalition against terror. Therefore, one is bound to ask: where is the coalition of the willing and caring who uphold the ethics of human solidarity.'?

• Kindly click on the photo above to see the article.

October 24, 2023, near Columbia University, Manhattan

What a gift to be in your miracle home, hear your news and share my experiences of the last year with you, dearest Martha!
I so much admire your work with Dynamic Embodiment®!

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

From October 24 to the middle of December 2023, Teachers College, Columbia University, Manhattan

What a gift to be back at MC-ICCCR and find my beloved Ann Charlott on October 25! And WELCOME to dear Cassandra!
And another welcome to Pedro and D'Artagnan (on October 26)!
And how wonderful to meet also you, dear Lan Phan, on October 31!
Dear Isadora, I was SO HAPPY to meet you on December 8! Thank you so much for coming by!

• Kindly click on the photos above to see them larger.

October 24 until December 11, 2023, Teachers College, Columbia University, Manhattan

How wonderful to be back at Teachers College after the corona years!
Dear Kofi, what would we do without you! You and your lovely team are the dignity angels of media at Teachers College! Stanley, thank you so so much for your invaluable support to our workshop on December 8!
Dear Hua-Chu, what a dear friend you have been thoughout all the years!
And, dear Yeremy, very few people have been able to console me so lovingly over the death of my father... Thank you so much for keeping our annual workshop safe each year!

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

October, November, and December 2023, Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City

October 24, 2023, Columbia University, Manhattan

How lovely to walk through the campus of Columbia University with you, dearest Magnus! Thank you so much for making time for me!

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

October 24, 2023, Manhattan

What a gift to be with my dear friends Stefanie and Mel!
I wish you all the success in this world with your dignifying work!
Thank you for receiving me in your kitchen first, and then for the walk through all of Central Park!

As architects, engineers, and activists, Stefanie, Mel, and their team "set out to better our world – to make it more beautiful, harmonious, eco-friendly, and fair. It didn’t take long to realize that, no matter the project, the pursuit of individual and corporate success often overshadowed nobler goals. In fact, many of the problems we sought to solve seemed directly linked to the endless race for personal wealth. Stefanie Overbeck, co-founder of GameChangers, embarked on a quest to learn why. Through years of exploration with urban planners, developers, and economists, she discovered that local communities can be designed to foster collaboration over competition, renewal instead of waste, and contribution instead of greed. In struggling to communicate the transformations she witnessed, Stefanie invented her very first learning game, PolyMoney. Since 2015, GameChangers has grown from a single game into an organization that empowers participants and practitioners of all ages to learn about the relationship between personal action and global well-being, see patterns of cause and effect, and invent new ways to ensure long-term prosperity for people and planet."

I remember with great fondness our time together in your kitchen in December 2019, dear Stefanie and Mel!


Poly Money Podcast
with Mel Wymore, Stefanie Overbeck and Riley Paul
Interview recorded with Evelin Lindner on December 1, 2019, in New York City, published on March 24, 2020.
Thank you so much, dear friends, for so lovingly including me in your world!

• Kindly click on the photos above to see them larger.

October 23, 2023, from Charging Bull to Ground Zero in Manhattan...

Our dear Lyndon Harris was the Reverend at the little St. Paul's Chapel that survived just in front of the Twin Towers...
After 9/11 he worked at Ground Zero, which affected his health, his sense of purpose, and prompted his transition to the work on forgiveness.

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

October 22, 2023, Brooklyn

What a gift to be with my dear friend Xiaojue Hu in Elk Cafe in Brooklyn and then wander in Prospect Park!
THANK YOU, dearest Xiaojue, for your love!

Thank you also for sharing Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way with me!

• Kindly click on the photos above to see them larger.

October 21, 2023, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Manhattan New York City

"Dead Man Walking" is based on the memoir of Sister Helen Prejean, who opposes the death penalty, about her care for a man on the death row for murder. It is a story that sends the message that "there is no murderer," as philosopher Arne Næss used to say, "there are only people who have murdered." "Hate the crime, not the criminal," is a related saying.

We read in the program: "Why is Sister Helen such an operatic character? Against the enormous background of the prison system, death row, and a man convicted of a monstrous crime, there is this one extraordinary woman and her faith: her belief in the individual dignity of every person on earth."

It always strikes me how dignity, honor, and humiliation are always at the core of drama that carries operas.
Kindly see the articles I wrote in the past:
The Dangerous “Glory” of Killing: La Donna del Lago and Die Fledermaus
Paper written in New York City in December 2015.
Puccini’s Tosca, and the Journey toward Respect for Equal Dignity for All
Paper written in New York City on November 26, 2015.
Alban Berg’s Lulu, and the Journey from Humiliation to Dignity, from the “Machine Principle” to the “Life Principle”
Paper written in New York City on November 22, 2015.
Tannhäuser, Terrorism, Revolution, and Economism
Paper written in New York City on 1st October 2015.

In my 2023 book titled "From Humiliation to Dignity: For a Future of Global Solidarity", I use two operas (Tannhäuser and Turandot) to illustrate the historical transition from honor to dignity.

• Kindly click on the photo above to see the website of the Met and read a review in New York Times.

October 21, 2023, New York City

How wonderful to reconnect with Karen Hirsch! Thank you so much for meeting me in the lobby of the David Geffen Hall, dearest Karen, and

• Kindly click on the photo above to learn more about Karen.

October 19, 2023, New York City

Book Launch: "Peacebuilding in Colombia: From the Lens of Community and Policy," by Joan C. Lopez, Beth Fisher-Yoshida
In this book, Joan C. Lopez and Beth Fisher-Yoshida offer an alternative narrative of youth and peacebuilding, to the popular one about youth, violence, and peacemaking. Using testimonies of current and past youth community leaders in Colombia, Lopez and Fisher-Yoshida tell a story of hope, creativity, and unrelenting resilience. They bring attention to the ways peaceful responses to violent conflicts are formed in communities and how these have the potential to inform processes of peacebuilding in areas with similar social and historical characteristics. Focused on action-oriented initiatives, the book concludes by proposing ways in which social change can continue to happen and how we might be able to foster it. Lopez and Fisher-Yoshida specifically explore ways in which we can continue to support efforts and create new initiatives for other youth. Some of these ideas include doing more capacity building, fostering more networking and knowledge transfers, identifying ways of increasing social entrepreneurship, and building more effective youth leaders. Peacebuilding in Colombia fills an important gap in the literature on the characteristics of peacebuilding. It is a must read for academics, students and practitioners interested in the study and practice of peacebuilding in violent and post violent contexts.

• Kindly click on the photo above to see it larger and click here to get more information.

18th October 2023, New York City

Thank you so much, dear Stefanie and Joane, for saving my life!

I arrived in New York in a situation where the housing situation for visitors has become very difficult. The use of platforms such as Airbnb for profiteering has had devastating consequences for the integrity of the social web, as many forms of basic solidarity and friendship that are not interested in monetary gain are made very difficult. Friends who wanted to let me stay in their flat while they were away, could no longer do so. What would I have done without my dear Joane!

I have no words to admire the courage and bravery of Joane. Her circumstances remind me of my childhood, where I grew up with my parents and my brother in two tiny rooms (as displaced people in the farm house owned by other people), where every piece of furniture had dual or triple use and every centimeter was used.



• Kindly click on the photos above to see them larger.

15th October 2023, Hamburg, Germany

More than 215 Ballet Workshops 'have been presented by John Neumeier at the Hamburg State Opera. The Ballet Workshops enjoy great popularity in Hamburg: In these matinee performances, John Neumeier expands on the historical background behind his ballets and offers unique insights into the creative process'.
In this workshop, he presented Nijinsky.

• Kindly click on the photo above to see it larger and click here to get more information.

12th October 2023, Hamburg, Germany

What a wonderful meeting with Frank Adloff!
Prof. Dr. Frank Adloff leitet die Kolleg-Forschungsgruppe „Zukünfte der Nachhaltigkeit“ und ist ihr stellvertretender Sprecher.

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See here one of the conferences of this research group:

12th October 2023, Hamburg, Germany

Thank you, dear Alexander Redlich, for giving me your time! It was lovely to walk along the Alster with you and listen to your vast experience collected over many decades, at the Institute of Psychology at the University of Hamburg, and as a mediator! Thank you!

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

6th October 2023, Hamburg, Germany

What a wonderful meeting with Tania Lincoln, professor of psychology at the Institute of Psychology of Hamburg University. The main aim of her research is 'to find out how and why psychotic symptoms arise and how they are maintained. This research involves identifying factors on an individual level and in the environment that may make a person vulnerable to developing psychosis'.

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4th October 2023, Hamburg, Germany

What a wonderful meeting with Jörg Altekruse!
Youth4planet
Press Release: Race4Good Initiative Connects Students Worldwide for Climate Action at COP28

Note especially Jörg's innovative CreatiVelo project, under the patronage of the Ministry of Environment, Climate, and Sustainable Development in Luxembourg, and youth4planet. The goal is to use the bike to collect local indigenous knowledge and make it accessible to everyone through a kind of AI-supported Wikipedia. Much knowledge that would be needed to secure the survival of life on Earth is in danger of being lost before it can get to where it is needed. This includes healing knowledge, languages, agriculture, dealing with water, soil, air and the forces of nature as well as locally adapted technology.

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3rd October 2023, Büsum, Germany

What a wonderful afternoon and evening with Heike Tappe in Dithmarschen! Thank you so much for such a lovely time in the beautiful restaurant Landgang in Büsum!

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28th September 2023, Hamburg, Germany

What a wonderful meeting with Michael Cöllen in Hamburg Ottensen! Many know him from the NDR television series for partner problems that was titled 'I and You', which he co-authored for seventeen years.
He had a teaching position at the Department of Psychology at the University in Hamburg, Germany, when I was a psychology student there from 1974 until 1978. He was the main evaluator of my thesis (Diplomarbeit) that I wrote to earn my diploma as a psychologist in 1978.

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26th September 2023, Hamburg, Germany

What a wonderful meeting with Friedemann Schulz von Thun in his institute for communication in Rothenbaumchaussee 20 in Hamburg!
Thank you, dear Friedemann, for gifting your new book to me, titled "Ein erfülltes Leben"!
He was professor at the Department of Psychology at the University in Hamburg, Germany, when I was a psychology student there from 1974 until 1978. He was one of the signatories of the evaluation of my thesis (Diplomarbeit) that I wrote to earn my diploma as a psychologist in 1978.

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18th September 2023, Weserbergland, Germany

How Life Would Flourish
“Before I was six years old, my grandparents and my mother had taught me that if all the green things that grow were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all the four-legged creatures were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all the winged creatures were taken from the earth, there could be no life. If all our relatives who crawl and swim and live within the earth were taken away, there could be no life. But if all the human beings were taken away, life on earth would flourish. That is how insignificant we are.”
— Russell Means, Oglala Lakota Nation (1939–2012), shared by Sherrida Woodley, Medium, March 28, 2021.
We thank Michael Boyer for reminding us!

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14th September 2023, Weserbergland, Germany

Heike Tappe (geborene Struckmeier) ist eine freie Autorin, die wie Evelin in Esperde aufwuchs. Ihr erstes Werk heißt: "Der Geschmack von Milch" und erscheint 2023 im Ihleo Verlag. Es ist eine biografische Erzählung, eine Familiengeschichte über vier Generationen aus dem Weserbergland. Sie las daraus in der Alten Post in Esperde.

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11. September 2023, 19 Uhr bis 21 Uhr, im Forum des Schiller-Gymnasiums in Hameln
„Raus aus der Sackgasse! Wege vom Protest zum Handeln“
(English translation: "Leave the deadlock! Paths from protest to action" or, "Exit from the dead end! Paths from anti-protest to pro-action")
Vortrag mit Evelin Lindner
Es lud ein die DignityNowHameln Gruppe, zusammen mit dem BUND und Fridays for Future

Für mehr Informationen, klicke gern auf die Bilder oben, um sie größer zu sehen und finde mehr Einzelheiten in diesen Dateien:

• Pressemitteilung vor dem Vortag, von Georg Geckler und Georg Grünewald

• Einführung (English) von Michael Boyer

• Wer ist DignityNowHameln? von Georg Geckler

• Wer ist Evelin Lindner? von Georg Geckler

• Vortrag von Evelin Lindner: Video des ersten Teils und PowerPoint des ganzen Vortrags

• Muss der Begriff der Würde neu definiert werden, Frau Dr. Lindner? von Ernst August Wolf, Dewezet, 15. September, Seite 9

• "Raus aus der Sackgasse?" Grünewalds Woche in der Südthüringer Zeitung und der Zeitung Freies Wort (insuedthueringen.de), September 2023

• Facebook

Brief an die Redaktionen der Hamelner Medien am 29. August 2023, im Vorfeld des Votrages:
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
Die aus Hameln stammende Gründerin des globalen Netzwerkes „Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies“, Dr. Dr. Evelin Lindner, wird am 11. September um 19 Uhr bis 21 Uhr im Forum des Schillergymnasiums einen Vortrag halten mit dem Titel: „Raus aus der Sackgasse! Wege vom Protest zum Handeln“.
Die Hamelner Gruppe „DignityNowHameln“ würde sich freuen, wenn Sie auf diesen Vortrag aufmerksam machen und dazu einladen würden. Auch der BUND Hameln-Pyrmont und die örtliche Gruppe von Fridays for Future rufen zum Besuch dieses Vortrags auf. Selbstverständlich sind Sie auch eingeladen, über die Veranstaltung zu berichten. Für die Ankündigung haben wir im Anhang eine kleine Presseerklärung sowie zum Hintergrund zwei erläuternde Texte beigefügt. Frau Lindner ist auch für ein Interview zu sprechen, das Sie mit mir oder direkt mit ihr vereinbaren können. Für Rückfragen stehe ich Ihnen gerne zur Verfügung.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Georg-W. Geckler, für die DignityNowHameln Gruppe

In ihrem Votrag wies Evelin Lindner auf die Arbeit von Paul Raskin hin. Im folgenden kommt eine kurze Einführung (auf English, die deutsche Einführung ist hier)
Paul Raskin is a physicist and founding president of the Tellus Institute, which has conducted over 3,500 research and policy projects worldwide on environmental issues, resource planning, scenario analysis and sustainable development. Raskin was lead author of a number of high-profile international studies. He is a contemporary witness and contributor to all important global initiatives to date. However, his experience was that even the most important recommendations of his studies were rejected by those who should act politically. Paul Raskin therefore says: “We are rich in scientific knowledge and studies, but poor in effective action.” In 2003, he drew the conclusions from these experiences and founded the Great Transition Initiative (GTI) as an online forum of ideas and an international network for the critical exploration of concepts, strategies, and visions for a transition to a future of enriched lives, human solidarity, and a resilient biosphere. Raskin's question this month to his network members:
Why isn't the world moving in the right direction faster? There are so many good initiatives, what is stopping them? What prevents them from becoming a unified global movement? This is the opening essay: "Global Tapestry of Alternatives: Weaving Transformative Connections," by Ashish Kothari and Shrishtee Bajpai, https://greattransition.org/gti-forum/global-tapestry-kothari-bajpai
More than 50 answers have come in so far, I summarize: The systemic counterforces are too strong, appropriate political will is difficult to emerge and exist in this context, and there is hardly any money for it. We are trapped in systemic structures (goal number 8!) that we ourselves created, we as humanity, but from which we can no longer escape.

Kindy see Evelin's contribution to this GTI Forum "Experiments in Movement Unity" based on Ashish Kothari and Shrishtee Bajpai's essay Global Tapestry of Alternatives: Weaving Transformative Connections
(long version, September 2023 | shortened draft sent to the GTI Forum editor Jonathan Cohn on September 15, 2023 | version posted to the GTI Forum on September 17, 2023 | Pdf on the GTI site)

Zu dem Thema des Vortrages passt diese Sendung am 14. September auf 3sat:
scobel - Lange Schatten des Kolonialismus
Der europäische Kolonialismus brachte Gräueltaten an Millionen von Menschen. Bis heute profitiert Europa von der Plünderung von Ressourcen und der Ausbeutung von Menschen als Sklaven



Danke, Michael Boyer, für diesen Artikel:
'Defunding Dissent: Restrictions on Aid to NGOs'
by Jeremy M. Weinstein, Darin Christensen, Journal of Democracy, April 2013, volume 24, issue 2, pp. 77–91.

10th and 15th September 2023, Weserbergland, Germany
Thank you, dear Georg Grünewald, for your loving support and faithful friendship!

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9th & 10th September 2023, Weserbergland, Germany
Die Hamelner Kantorei singt Paulus, op. 36 (MWV A 14), das erste der beiden vollendeten Oratorien von Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Es behandelt Leben und Wirken des Apostels Paulus.

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7th September 2023, , global
Linda and I had a wonderful meeting with our dear Fatma Tufan!

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5th September 2023, Weserbergland, Germany
What a gift! Thank you so much, dear Uli Spalthoff, for visiting!
You are our dignity hero! Thank you for gifting your time, energy, brilliant expertise, and creativity and building up our not-for-profit publishing house Dignity Press! This is such a valuable gift to the world! And thank you equally for building up the website for our World Dignity University initiative!

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17th August 2023
Zoom meeting with Professor Bjørn Stensaker, Vice-Rector for Education in the period 2021–2025 at the University of Oslo.

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16th August 2023, Burgerhus, Hamelin, Germany
With Karla Ewerdt and Georg Grünewald in the 'Burgerhus' of Artes Wesera in Hameln, admiring the wonderful art exhibition of Norbert Grell and Norbert Feist!
Kindly see also pictures of 2019.

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13th August 2023, Corvey, Germany
With Georg Grünewald in the Princely Abbey of Corvey (Welterbe Corvey) (left side)!
With Georg Grünewald in Gellersen, 4th September 2023 (right side).

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28th July 2023 Bückeberg, and 31st July 2023 Hameln, Weserbergland, Germany
The annual 'Reich Harvest Festival' held on the Bückeberg in Emmerthal near Hameln from 1933 to 1937 was one of the largest mass events of National Socialism. The Hamelin historian Bernhard Gelderblom has been campaigning for an appropriate approach to the place for many years. He was able to ensure that the site was listed as a monument by the state of Lower Saxony in 2011. In 2018, the district of Hameln-Pyrmont founded a non-profit limited company together with the association for regional cultural and contemporary history Hameln e.V. to realise a documentation and learning location.

Thank you so much, dear Gisela and Bernd, for this wonderful evening in your home on 31st July!

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15. Juli – 3. August 2023, Gellersen, Weserbergland, Germany
Vielen lieben Dank, liebe Andrea und Michael, dass Ihr mich/uns so liebevoll in Euerm Paradies-Zuhause aufgenommen habt! Wie wunderbar, dass Euer Heim ein Dignity Dialogue Haus ist!

Thank you so much, dearest Andrea and Michael, for receiving me/us in your paradise home so lovingly!

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28th July 2023, Hamelin, Germany
I am the proud owner of a wonderful yellow Fiat Panda!
Thank you so much, dear Kurt, Tom, and Tony, for your wonderful support!

Vielen herzlichen Dank, lieber Kurt, Tom und Tony, für eure wunderbare Unterstützung!

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16th July 2023, with Georg Grünewald in Hämelschenburg, Germany
Hämelschenburg Castle is a gem of North German architecture and has been completely preserved with the church, farm buildings, park and inventory. The manor belonging to the castle has been owned by the von Klencke family since 1437 and is managed according to the principle of sustainability. The church in Hämelschenburg is the first free-standing Protestant church building.

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16th July 2023, Jordan and Germany
A wonderful Zoom meeting on nonviolent and dignifying communication, connecting Jordan and Germany. Thank you so much, dear Claudia and Amina, for being the nurturers of this wonderful meeting on nonviolent and dignifying communication! You connected the best of knowledge from Jordan and Germany! Thank you, dear Ghazi, Mariam, Jibreel, and Andrea, for your wonderful contributions! Warmest appreciation from Evelin, who was infinitely happy about this meeting, because it brought the people she loves together!

Please note World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, or World Wide Organization of Organic Farms, a network of national organizations that facilitate homestays on organic farms.

• Kindly click on the screenshot above or here to see more pictures.

6th–9th July 2023, Rudolstadt, Thuringia, Germany
Rudolstadt hosts Germany's biggest folk, roots, and world music festival, TFF Rudolstadt (Tanz&FolkFest), taking place annually on the first full July weekend.
I was lucky to be invited by journalist Georg Grünewald, and, among others, running into former theologist and journalist Christoph Dieckmann, and Referent for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, Matthias Schlegel, both of whom Georg knew.
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6th July 2023, Görlitz, Germany
Liebe Andrea, Danke für das wunderschöne Treffen in der Bäckerei Dreißig, Postplatz 19-21, 02826 Görlitz!
Andrea Hahn is the widow of André Hahn, the son of Manfred, a cousin of my mother.
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July 2023, Kraków, Poland
European Social Psychology and Its Responsibilities: Dignity and Humiliation
Evelin Lindner's contribution to the Symposium titled ‘Recent Developments in the Study of Humiliation: Conceptualisation, Antecedents, and Consequences at the Interpersonal and Intergroup Level’
convened by Saulo Fernández, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED)
on 1st July 2023
at the
19th General Meeting of the European Association of Social Psychology, Kraków, 30th June – 4th July 2023
'This year’s EASP General Meeting is going to be a remarkable platform for sharing knowledge and networking with researchers from around the world. The Programme Committee has received a diverse range of submissions that are sure to make the conference engaging and insightful. They have created a program including an exciting line-up of speakers, blitz and poster presentations, panel discussions, and accompanying events'.

• Kindly click on the photo at the top to see the website of the conference.

28th June 2023, 7.30 PM Indian Standard Time, India & Global
The panel discussion 'Stop Genocide' was being held to commemorate the birth anniversary of Prof. Dr. Glenn D. Paige. It was a great privilege to have Glenn Paige with us in our 2009 Dignity Conference in Honolulu!
Dr. Anoop Swarup and Dr. Katyayani Singh kindly invited Evelin together with Glenda Paige, Joám Evans Pim, Bill Bhaneja, Jocelyn Wright, Thomas Fee, Christophe Barbey, Roland Joseph, and Vidya Jain.

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27. og 28. juni 2023, Brøtsø, Norge
Hvilken ære og gave å være sammen med Lisbeth og Per Glad og så kjøre alle sammen til Gerdelin på Brøtsø!
Tusen takk, kjære Lisbeth, Per og Gerdelin, for deres kjærlighet og gjestfrihet!

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27. og 28. juni 2023, Tønsberg, Norge
Hvilken gave å være sammen med Lisbeth og Per Glad i Tønsberg!
Jeg er dypt takknemlig, kjære Lisbeth, at du lagde et så flott bilde til boken 'Brev til min far' som jeg håper å skrive snart!

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26. juni 2023, Skillebekk, Oslo
Sonja Lid startet Fredskontoret i Stavanger i 1962, sammen med sin mann Lars Andreas Larssen. Etter hvert vokste det fram fredskontor i en rekke norske byer (se også en sammenfatning som Sonja lagde i 2016).
Tusen takk, kjære Sonja, for en nydelig ettermiddag sammen! Ingen ville tro at du er 90 år gammel!
Tusen takk for den fine lille gaven du ga meg! Se min lille video opptak av overrekkelsen.

Vi møttes hos Trine Eklund i 2015 og 2016 og nå igjen i 2023!

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26th June 2023, Åoent bakeri, Damplass, Oslo
Dearest Thomas Hylland Eriksen, we all wish you all the strength you need!

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26th June 2023, Vinderen, Oslo, Norway
My beloved doctoral advisor Jan Smedslund is 94 years old! Congratulations!

When I visited him, he had his doctoral thesis on the table, 'Multiple-probability learning. An inquiry into the origins of
perception' (Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 1955, 118 pp.).
He asked me to read the epigraph he had chosen for his thesis:
"Vor allem der grosse Umfang und die damit verbundene Weitverzweigtheit und Feinheit der Vermittlungsbasis scheint es zu sein, der das Intuitiv-Geniale der Wahrnehmung ermöglicht, die dadurch auf komplexen Gebieten wie dem der Menschenkenntnis das diskursive Denken vielfach bei weitem überflügelt. Die Wahrnehmung setzt eben noch vieles in Rechnung, das in die Vermittlung einzuverleiben das Denken zu schwerfällig ist. Dieses wird dann in vielen Fälle die Wahrnehmung nicht ... korrigieren, sondern (etwa durch gekünstelte Überbetonung einzelner Kriterien) bloss noch verderben." Egon Brunswik.

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26. juni 2023, PRIO, Oslo, Norway
Tusen takk, kjære Jørgen, for et meget givende møte på Instituttet for fredsforskning (The Peace Research Institute Oslo, PRIO)!

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25th June 2023, Bristol Hotel, Oslo
Dear Olav Ofstad, I very much look forward to your new and important book project!
Yes, children need to be better prepared in the future so they can resist being complicit in violence.

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23rd June 2023, Oslo, Noreway
What a privilege to be with Fanny Duckert and her husband Arild each year in Oslo and learn from them! Their support is invaluable to me and to our entire global dignity community! Thank you, dearest Fanny and Arild! In 2013, I even had the privilege of being in your home in the Blue Valley in South Africa!

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23rd June 2023, Oslo, Norway
What a wonderful re-connection with philosopher Ingmar Meland, after listening to his brilliant conversation with Nils Gilje at filosofifestivalen in Kragerø in May!
I learned so much from Ingmar! For example, about the Cassirer–Heidegger debate! I would love attending his seminars in the future!

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21st June 2023, the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway
From Humiliation and Depression to Dignity: What Can We Do?
Annual lecture at the Department of Psychology of the University of Oslo, Harald Schjelderups hus, Forskningsveien 3A, 0373 Oslo, Norway, room S328 (south wing, third floor, room 28), 21st June 2023, 13:15–15:00.
This year as hybrid lecture, in person and on Zoom.

Kindly see:
• a recording of the lecture (done on 22nd June)
• PowerPoint slides
• the UiO announcement of the lecture
• the HumanDHS invitation to the lecture

I was so thankful that Svein Mossige, Agnes Andenæs, and Åshild Hauge joined, together with Eszter and Mate Toth from Hungary, and then my dear Lasse Moer also came, and wonderful Ellinor Halle!
The greatest honour was that our dear Ingunn Norderval came, despite having been very sick! Indigenous peoples honour their elders, and Ingunn was our beloved ELDER! We honour you for your book on the women who were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in our Dignity Press!



Thank you also to you, dearest Fatma Tufan, for being so faithful in taking care of the Zoom room! You had to get up extremely early in the morning in Pennsyvania! And thank you for coming in from Finland, dearest Ella Autti, and you for coming from Germany, dear Georg Geckler, and you, dear Natascha Janho, from Germany/Palestine!
A big thank you to everyone who came!

• Summary: In this colloquium, Evelin Lindner will present her concept of dignity and humiliation and relate it to some of the research projects conducted at the Department of Psychology. With respect to research on depression, for instance (see Ole Andre Solbakken et al.), it is relevant to note that a study from 2003 showed that the strongest predictor of major depression is a combination of loss and humiliation (Kendler et al., 2003). With respect to pathways from humiliation to dignity, the work of Beate Seibt and Thomas Schubert on the concept of Kama Muta (Sanskrit: 'moved by love') is relevant, an emotion described as 'being emotionally touched' (see kamamutalab.org). In the light of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (uit.no/kommisjonen) and their report submitted on 1st June 2023, the Department of Psychology aims at raising awareness, particularly in its programmes of professional study, for the special needs of minorities.

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21st July 2023, Oslo, Norway
What a privilege to have one hour with eminent philosopher Arne Johan Vetlesen!

Thank you, dear Arne Johan! I felt very enriched after our meeting and so much look forward to more conversations in the future!

• Kindly click on the photo above to see the website from where I took the picture..

20th June 2023, Oslo, Norway
How wonderful, dearest Barbro, that we could have our traditgional annual meeting again, this time again in Litteraturhustet!
It is such a gift to have you as a dear friend!
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20th June 2023, Oslo, Norway
Congratulations, dearest Ingeborg!
You brilliantly defended your doctoral dissertation titled:
'Introducing a systems perspective on the development of a green organisational climate:
Interactions and dynamics within sustainable organisations'.
Congratulations!

My little gift of a key chain from Jerusalem was given to you in honour of the intensity of your dedication!
You may want to have a look my experiences in Jerusalem, very intense as well...

• Kindly click on the photos above to see them larger, and click here to see the lovely pictures that you posted on Facebook!

17th June 2023, Oslo
Oslo is filled with Norwegian and Scotish soccer fans!
• Kindly click on the photo above to my little video!

17th June 2023, Oslo, Norway
What a joy it was to see you again, dearest Becca! We will never forget how you came with your dear grandfather Don Klein to our 2003 Dignity Conference in Paris!
Now you have a wonderful son, whose name is, unbelievably ... Oslo! And I met your dear brother! What a gift!
We visited the City Hall / Rådhuset and the Opera!

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June 2023, Oslo, Norway
Dearest Hanne-Sofie and Torstein, I have no words to thank you for your loving welcome to me! Thank you so much for listening to my stories and sharing yours with me! Being allowed to become your 'little sister' was a huge gift! I am deeply thankful and very happy!
Thanks also for giving me very interesting books to look at: Sigmund Karterud on 'Gruppeanalyse', Morris Eagle on a 'Unified Psychoanalytic Theory', and René Girard on 'The scapegoat' (I remember the 1982 French original 'Le Bouc émissaire').
I even learned about fiskekroker (fishing hooks) and how beautiful they are!

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16th June 2023, Karl Johan, Oslo, Norway
What a gift to reconnect with you, dear Kit-fai! We will never forget how you came with your dear husband Arne Næss to our 2003 Dignity Conference in Paris! Thank you for giving me Arne's wonderful book!

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16th June 2023, Domus Juridica
What a great library in the new Domus Juridica! I am reading Thomas Darnstädt's important book 'Nürnberg: Menschheitsverbrechen vor Gericht 1945'

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16. juni 2023, Frysja
Det er en stor gave å ha Julie og Hannah som venner!
Jeg har ingen ord å takke dere for deres kjærlig omsorg, kjære dere begge to!
Hvilken paradis, Frysja badeplass! Her er det en liten video av veien til min lille badeplass!


Congratulations with your new and crucially important book on a culture of peace, dearest Ingeborg!

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16th June 2023, Maridalsveien, Oslo, Norway
Observed by chance from the bus stop! A bed on the rooftop! What a great idea!

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15th June 2023, Oslo, Norway
Visual Storytelling: At the Interface Between Research and Art, Cindy Horst, Maja Janmyr, Jacob Høigilt
The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) / Institutt for fredsforskning, Hausmanns gate 7, Oslo

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14th June 2023, Litteraturhuset, Oslo, Norway
What a gift to reconnect with Sigmund Karterud, the 'father' of group analysis in Norway!


Dear Sigmund, thanks for recommending Maktens nervetråder. Politiske kulturer i Europa fra middelalderen til andre verdenskrig.
Av Hans Jacob Orning og Kai Østberg

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14th June 2023, Domus Juridica, Oslo, Norway
Transitional Justice in Kosovo: Taking Stock of Its Trajectory in the Period 1999-2023
Norwegian Centre for Human Rights / Norsk senter for menneskerettigheter (SMR)

Bård Anders Andreassen, the Director of the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, opened the event. Nita Luci, Ambassador of Kosovo in Norway, spoke on 'The Potential of Critical Art Practices and Cultural Heritage for Transitional Justice', followed by Gentian Zyberi, the project leader of the Erasmus + Global Mobility project, and professor Remzije Istrefi, who addressed the 'Status of Sexual Violence Victim of War in Kosovo'.
The workshop was organised as a concluding event to the Erasmus + Global Mobility project, whereby the NCHR has collaborated with the Faculty of Law of the University of Prishtina, to advance human rights teaching in the fields of human rights, transitional justice, democracy, and the rule of law.

It was a great privilege for me to reconnect with Bård Andreassen, whom I had met in 1996 for the first time, and to see Gentian Zyberi again!
It was a wonderful surprise to see Venera Kusari, whom I usually met at Columbia's Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4) in New York! I was not aware of her time in Myanmar in the meantime, and that she has moved to Norway! What a joy to reconnect with you, dear Venera!

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13th June 2023, Oslo
Documenting the roll-out hat that I bought at the central bus station in Jerusalem!

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13th June 2023, Karl Johan, Oslo
Dear Sahana Sriskandarajah, I wish you all the strength you need for a wonderful future!

• Kindly click on the photo above to see Sahana's profile on Linkedin.

12th and 15th June 2023, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo
Thank you so much, dear Bjørn, Vibeke, and Gunnar, for leading the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo with such extraordinary skill and dedication! Thank you even more for keeping me within the PSI family!
As you know, you are at the core of my global dignity work. I could not do this work without you being my home and my anchor in this world! Being held by you is existential for me. I have no words to thank you for your support!

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12th and 14th June 2023, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo
Dear Jon and Ole Andre, I so much admire you and your work! It is such a privilege to know also you, dear Guro! And thank you for many years of faithful work, dear Agnes!
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12th June 2023, Oslo
Addressing Human Rights in North Korea: A Path to Global Security and Peace
The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) / Institutt for fredsforskning, Hausmanns gate 7, Oslo

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10th–11th June 2023, Risør, Norway
The artists Vebjørn and Eimund Sand received the Fangenes Testamente prize, which I had the privilege of receiving in 2009.
The Sand brothers were being honoured for their project called 'Roseslottet' in Oslo!
Eimund Sand thanked with a wonderful song! (see my little video recording)
Congratulations, dear Vebjørn and Eimund!

Thank you so much, dear Helga and Uwe Arntzen, together with Line Wormli, Per Christian, Terkelsen, and the entire crew of Fredshuset in Risør, for your amazing work!
And what a privilege also to be with Henrik Syse again, a towering personality in Norway and beyond!
We first met in 1995, in Dagfinn Føllesdal's Ethics Programme!

Roseslottet representerer et enestående vitnesbyrd om kampen mot ondskap og troen på demokrati, rettsstat, menneskerettigheter og menneskeverd. Målet med Roseslottet er å fortelle om disse verdiene og deres viktighet gjennom malerier og installasjoner som forteller om Den andre verdenskrig. Navnet «Roseslottet» er på gripende vis inspirert av den tyske motstandsgruppen Die weisse Rose (Den hvite rose). Den andre verdenskrigs brutalitet og den ideologien som forårsaket den, representerer et angrep på menneskets verdighet som aldri må glemmes. Målet med å fortelle historien om Den andre verdenskrig er imidlertid ikke hevn eller sinne, men ønsket om å lære og om å bygge en bedre verden. Roseslottet bidrar til dette på en imponerende måte. Roseslottet forteller oss om verdier som vi må verne, og som vi aldri skal ta for gitt på en måte som appellerer til både gamle og unge. Brødrene Sand har gjennom sitt verk oppfylt kriteriene for prisen «Fangenes Testamente», ved at de gjenforteller for nye generasjoner en livsviktig fortelling om verdibeskyttelse og menneskelig verdighet. Den type formidling er krevende – og den er viktig. Derfor får Eimund og Vebjørn Sand prisen Fangenes Testamente for 2023.

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10th June 2023, Oslo to Risør and back!
What a privilege to be taken care of by Lars Weisæth on the way from Oslo to Risør! Thank you, dear Lars, for taking me with you in your car! Lars received the Fangenes Testamente prize in 2018, which I had the privilege of receiving in 2009.
Weisæth is an expert on military psychiatry, psychotherapy, and psychotraumatology, and is one of Norway's leading experts on crisis psychiatry.

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9th June 2023, Oslo
Institutt for samfunnsforskning (ISF) / Institute for Social Research, Munthes gate 31, Oslo
ISF-frokost 9. juni: Fremtidens frivillige beredskap
Rapportlansering for Fremtidens frivillige beredskap
Hva venter oss i fremtiden? Det kan vi ikke vite sikkert, men vi er trygge på en ting: at Norge også i fremtiden vil være avhengig av frivillig beredskap. Røde Kors og Institutt for samfunnsforskning (ISF) har derfor over flere år analysert beredskapsbehov- og kapasitet frem mot 2050. På dette seminaret ble sluttrapporten som ISF og Røde Kors har skrevet sammen presentert, hovedfunn fra hele prosjektet og anbefalinger for tiden fremover. Program Direktør ved Institutt for samfunnsforskning Tanja Storsul ønsket velkommen. Innledning ved Jon Halvorsen, direktør for Hovedredningssentralen og utvalgsmedlem i Totalberedskapskommisjonen hvis NOU leverte samme uke som seminaret Vibeke Wøien Hansen (prosjektleder og forsker II, ISF) og Cathrine Tranberg Hårsaker (Røde Kors) presenterte sluttrapporten til prosjektet.
Rapporten ble finansiert av forskningsmidler fra Røde Kors. L
Sluttrapport: Fremtidens frivillige beredskap. Delrapport 1: Framskrivinger. En analyse av risikoen for uønskede hendelser i fremtiden Fremtidens frivillige beredskap. Delrapport 2. Beredskapsorganisering i møte med fremtiden

It was a great joy to be surrounded by my dear Mango and Sadoun family, in honour of late Dr. Ahmad Mango!

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18th February, in the afternoon
Thank you, dear Rajesh for taking Amita and Evelin to the Narmada river!

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