International

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Let's have more PeaceTech!

The Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement is excited to be supporting the newly launched PeaceTech Living-Learning Community at Conrad Grebel University College. For the past several years we have connected with Grebel students enrolled in a range of academic programs who are eager to reflect critically on the impact of technology on our world, and are yearning to apply their creativity to advance peace.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Peace Week 2019 is here!

Kris Braun, VP of Engineering at Bonfire, was a guest speaker in my Engineering and Peace class last week, and shared the inspiring story of how they hired a Syrian refugee named Mohammed Hakmi through a new program called Talent Beyond Borders. You can watch the video of Kris’s talk at Communitech’s True North conference last summer here.

Hi there! We’re Hannah and Grace, this term’s PeaceTech Living-Learning Community (LLC) peer leaders. We are very excited for what we have planned this Fall and to share reflections from our community with you throughout the term.

Saturday, May 25, 2019

The time to act is now

We missed talking with Branka Marijan from Project Ploughshares in my Engineering and Peace class last week, but you can see her thoughts on emerging technologies of warfare in this recent blog post on “New Technologies and Conflict Escalation”.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Our innovation ecosystem is buzzing!

Looking for extra-curricular opportunities for students to create tech for good at Waterloo? Join the launch celebration for Concept on Thursday, October 10 from 1:00-3:00 PM in the Student Life Centre.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Technology is all over

It is striking to see how widespread critical reflections on technology have become. Over breakfast last Thursday, I read about Ryan Gariepy’s take on efforts to regulate lethal autonomous weapons systems in the pages of the Waterloo Region Record newspaper.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Individuals can make a difference

I spend a lot of time thinking about the role that institutions and systems play in the development and impact of technology, and the ways that our technologies come to shape these institutions and systems, not to mention our norms, cultures, and the way we think. At the same time, I also believe that individuals can make a difference through the choices we make and the ways we participate in our institutions and systems. I’ve had several reminders of this in recent weeks!

The short answer to this questions is: Lots of people! One of the points of this blog is to highlight various news items and events that demonstrate the growing interest in reflecting critically on technology, and in applying technology to peacebuilding.