On Monday, December 9, the Centre for Peace Advancement helped kick off Kindred Credit Union’s 12 Days 4 Good social media campaign for 2019. 12 Days 4 Good is engaging partners across Waterloo Region by having each of them to designate a day for an act of good that aligns with one of the central themes of this year’s campaign: affordable housing, climate action, or food security.
As a PeaceTech Peer Leader, I am excited to share what I have learned about inclusion and diversity in the last few weeks.
For those of us who work and study in universities, there are distinct rhythms to each semester, and right now we are entering a time of endings. Classes are wrapping up, major projects are coming due, and exams are looming. Meetings and publication deadlines that some of us have managed to put off are starting to pile up. And, right on cue, the University of Waterloo is providing a dizzying array of opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs to test and showcase their efforts.
Earlier this month, Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) hosted supporters from all across North America in Tucson, Arizona for their annual convention. MEDA’s work across the globe in sustainable development and international investment attracts a wide range of stakeholders interested in business solutions to poverty.
One of the most exciting times of the year in the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement is when a new exhibit is installed in the Grebel Gallery. In addition to inspiring reflection and conversations among members of our campus and surrounding community, these exhibits also contribute to the creative energy of participants in the Centre. The view outside my office door is always interesting, but our latest exhibit is particularly provocative.
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.
What is space security? To most of us, the concept of space itself is foreign, not to mention broader discussions of the security or governance of space. For Jessica West of Project Ploughshares, space security is anything but abstract. In fact, it is a crucial and urgent conversation for the fields of peacebuilding and international policy.
Katie Gingerich, Founder and Executive Director of The Ripple Effect Education (TREE), shared a heartfelt reflection describing the key moments in her life where she stopped asking, “Who, me?” and began asking “Why not me?” Katie’s reflection was included as part of a month-long fe
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!
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.