Newsletter of the Center for the Advancement of Nonkilling, Germany - October 2009

First Global Nonkilling Leadership Academy Accomplished

(Honolulu, October 21, 2009) This edition of the German nonkilling newsletter was written in Hawaii where the first global “Nonkilling Leadership Academy” just ended successfully, see the opening article below. The next highlight follows straight away: on November 11, Professor Glenn Paige and his wife Glenda will be in Berlin, attending an evening on nonkilling together with guests, among them Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire from Northern Ireland and Professor Ekkehart Krippendorff. Also in this edition: a short review of the recently published book “Toward a Nonkilling Paradigm” with contributions out of 14 disciplines (ed. Joam Evans Pim), a programmatic essay entitled “Germany Does Not Kill Anymore – Or Does It? A Situation Report” as well as some suggestions for interested and engaged readers who want to participate in the nonkilling project. The press photo of the month shows the participants of the Honolulu seminar and can be downloaded at www.nonkilling.de/cms/images/stories/2009/0910.jpg

Nonkilling Seminar Accomplished in Honolulu
Between October 4 and 16, twelve peace workers from all over the world met with the Nonkilling Center Leadership Team for exchange, talks, analyses, and trips to several local places like the mausoleum of Queen Lili'uokalani, Kualoa Ranch, Wai'oli Tea Room, Iolani Palace, Pearl Harbor, Ma'o Farms, and Kailua Beach. Via Skype we talked, among others, to Martin Luther King's close friend Bernard LaFayette, to James Mercy from the Centers for Desease Control and Prevention CDC, and to the Colombian singer Juanes who told us how much he had wished to join the seminar in person which unfortunately was not possible. But he is with us, anyhow. The seminars took place in the East-West Center on campus and we were accommodated nearby. The program was very dense, starting at 8 in the morning, and lasted until the shared dinner, mostly in one of the local restaurants, so that the days were fully covered with activities, including times of recreation and fun, certainly. - Read more at www.nonkilling.de/cms/en/press-releases/91-honolulu.html

An Evening in Berlin with Glenn Paige and Guests
Nonkilling - Perspectives for Nonkilling Societies. An Evening with Professor Glenn Paige (Hawaii), Mairead Maguire (Northern Ireland) and Guests. Wed, Nov 11, 2009, 7:30 p.m., Haus der Demokratie, Berlin, www.hausderdemokratie.de. On the occasion of the festivities for the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall and on the occasion of the annual meeting of Nobel Peace Laureates, Professor Paige (www.nonkilling.org) and Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire will be in Berlin and will participate in this event on the subject of nonkilling. Further addresses and/or speeches will be delivered by Professor Ekkehart Krippendorff and by Petra Kelly's friend Eva Quistorp. Facilitator will be Anis Hamadeh, translator of the book and initiator of the German Center for the Advancement of Nonkilling www.nonkilling.de. He will also report on the recent international seminar in Honolulu. Also in the program is a 40 minute documentary film with German subtitles on the subject as well as a book-signing hour of the nonkilling book. The information above is preliminary, please look for updates at www.nonkilling.de. The complete press release with contact can be obtained at
http://www.nonkilling.de/cms/en/press-releases/90-1111.html

Review: Toward a Nonkilling Paradigm
“Toward a Nonkilling Paradigm” (2009), 388 pp., ed. by Joam Evans Pim (Center for Global Nonkilling) comprises 18 essays out of 14 academic disciplines and is now available online at www.nonkilling.org/pdf/volume_toward.pdf. The volume shows with all clarity that the quest to search for possibilities of a nonkilling world is a tangible and by all means realistic enterprise. In it, economists show that a nonkilling economy is more profitable than traditional economy, an anthropologist makes clear that nonkilling societies did and do exist, a former director of the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency argues that the notion of a nonkilling future is compelling, and historians, philosophers, linguists, mathematicians, sociologists, physicists, psychologists, artists, biologists, engineers, geographers, and a public health specialist bring in their contributions. Just read Joam Evans balanced 20 pages summarizing introduction “A New Nonkilling Paradigm Emerges” and decide for yourself if this global enterprise makes sense and if it is to be supported.

Germany Does Not Kill Anymore – Or Does It? A Situation Report
Is killing a problem in Germany? In a poll among some dozens of German students, journalists, sales people, teachers, neighbors, and acquaintances (excluding explicit peace activists) I found the following: most of the questioned people had to think for quite a while, for many the question came unexpected and surprising. The answers were individual and not homogeneous, yet there were trends: the rejection of killing on the one hand, and the conclusion that the killing of people poses a much greater problem in other countries than in liberal Germany, on the other. Especially because of its history Germany would be somehow refined, integrated into the West and into Europe, and especially sensitive now. Only the war in Afghanistan was regarded as a concrete problem by more than half of the people that were questioned, mostly because of the incident on September 4, when in a military operation more than a hundred Afghanis were killed after a German order. - Read the whole essay at http://www.nonkilling.de/cms/en/press-releases/89-essay.html

How You Can Support the Cause
Whoever is interested in the work of our center and wants to contribute can reach us via info (at) nonkilling.de and discuss details. The German center is still in its formative phase with few contributors. There is a lot of space for your ideas. The most important issues at the moment seem to be translation work (from English to German) and people to search media and academia for materials and ideas. Also important are contacts to academic institutions and researchers as well as people who want to carry on with Petra Kelly's legacy. Moreover, the info flyer at www.nonkilling.de/cms/images/stories/2009/flyer_e.pdf is still topical. It includes further suggestions for supporting the movement and the center. We are happy about every feedback and take the opportunity to send our regards to our colleagues abroad who are able to follow our work which is translated into English as well. For a world without killing!

Events
Wed, Nov 11, 2009, 7:30 p.m.: Nonkilling - Perspectives for Nonkilling Societies. An Evening with Professor Glenn Paige (Hawaii), Mairead Maguire (Northern Ireland) and other guests. Location: Haus der Demokratie, Berlin, www.hausderdemokratie.de

Quote of the Month
“We are not seeking nirvana in advocating a nonkilling society, we are seeking survival. In this we can all find common cause.” - Stephen M. Younger, Former Director, U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency. From: Foreword of “Toward a Nonkilling Paradigm”, ed. by Joam Evans Pim (2009), p. 12

The Newsletter of the Center for the Advancement of Nonkilling, Germany (ZFNND) appears monthly on the website www.nonkilling.de in German and English. Editor is Anis Hamadeh in Mainz. Contact and free email subscription: info (at) nonkilling.de