From Smart to Wise: Knowledge Empowerment for Strong Community Resilience
March 2021

International Women’s Day: Years of work undone by COVID-19

The Debate on France 24, 3/8/21 | Image credit: Robert Jones/Pixabay

International Women’s Day is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 to commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women. The theme of this year's celebration is “Choose to Challenge,” aimed at challenging gender bias and inequality everywhere whether it be in government, in the workplace, in sports, in healthcare to name but a few fields.
 
But with the world ravaged by a pandemic, the past 12 months have been like no other in modern history so what has COVID-19 meant for the womens rights movement? Has progress been reversed? And has the crisis created any new opportunities? A panel of four prominent international figures in the women’s rights movement share their insights.

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What does an ecological civilization look like?

by Jeremy Lent (Yes! Magazine, 2/16/21)

We need to forge a new era for humanity—one that is defined, at its deepest level, by a transformation in the way we make sense of the world, and a concomitant revolution in our values, goals, and collective behavior. In short, we need to change the basis of our global civilization. We must move from a civilization based on wealth accumulation to one that is life-affirming: an ecological civilization.
 
Without human disruption, ecosystems can thrive in rich abundance for millions of years, remaining resilient in the face of adversity. The fundamental idea underlying an ecological civilization is using nature’s own design principles to reimagine the basis of our civilization: changing our civilization’s operating system to one that naturally leads to life-affirming policies and practices rather than rampant extraction and devastation. While the notion of structuring human society on an ecological basis might seem radical, Indigenous peoples around the world have organized themselves from time immemorial on life-affirming principles.

Capital versus biosphere: An ecosocial agenda fit for the times

by Joan Herrera i Torres (Green European Journal, 2/18/21)

The Covid-19 crisis is evidence that collapse on a global scale is possible. It has become clear that we are intricately connected at a global level, beyond the limits of our immediate communities and countries. The pandemic has brought about an irreversible change of outlook. For decades, resource allocation has been oriented towards increasing market efficiency; basic rights such as healthcare have been commodified; competitiveness has taken precedence over cooperation. In a world where collapse is possible, prevention must be front and centre when it comes to devising and implementing public policies aimed at combatting climate change and building resilience. Rugged individualism will no longer wash.

Change the dominant idea
by Phila Back (Independent Philosopher blog, 3/8/21)


Our big idea of freedom belongs to a series in Western history. That history shows that one after another such ideas become dominant, determine the zeitgeist for a certain period, break down into contradiction and then a replacement big idea arises. In our time the destruction of resources, people’s health and lives is due to industry and individuals pushing the limits of  liberal freedom. The present crisis is the material expression of the big idea of freedom hitting the wall.

 
Leaving behind their cosmopolitan life, a couple and their three young children embark on the journey of a lifetime. They travel the ends of the earth searching for a new perspective on life. In their five-year journey across six continents, they live with some of the oldest indigenous communities on the planet. They gain access to tribal sages never filmed or interviewed before, without a crew or schedule, just one backpack and one camera each. And the curiosity to listen.
 
They meet the most humble yet charismatic people; unknown individuals who live under the radar of our modern society in connection with the natural world. The film reveals the deep wisdom the family discover in their conversations with these ‘Earth Keepers’ and its power to transform lives.  Having lived in hiding for centuries, the Earth Keepers see that now is the time to step forward and share their insights with those who are ready to listen.
 

Icons of gender justice: Paving the way for women’s rights in Asia

By Friedrich-Ebert Foundation, Gender Justice Hub Asia, March 2021

History is full of extraordinary women, but their stories are seldomly told. In Asia as elsewhere the icons of political and social struggles that are talked about in school or media are overwhelmingly male. Nonetheless, there are also many women who accomplished outstanding achievements and made great sacrifices for their beliefs, often against high odds. In many cases these women inspired others and made a long-lasting impact on their societies. 
 
The women whose stories are told in this electronic anthology are diverse in many aspects: age, class, race, education, and upbringing. Some used their privileged position in society to drive change towards social justice, while others had to fight hard to create space for themselves in the first place. But they all have one thing in common: determination to change the lives of women and girls for the better, and with this they paved the way for women’s rights in Asia and Pacific region.

How republicans, democrats, and the media have weakened US democracy

by Rob Johnson and Chris Hedges (Institute for New Economic Thinking, 1/19/21)

 

Renowned journalist and author Chris Hedges talks about the many ways traditional media, digital media, and the two political parties have worked to prevent progressive movements and give rise to the growth of the extreme right. Hedges argues that the difference between the Republican and the Democratic parties revolves around societal or ethical issues, not unimportant ones, but ones that are neither social nor political. It’s a kind of fratricide, centered on the narcissism of small differences, per Freud’s definition.
 
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Too radical for Harvard? Cornel West on failed fight for tenure, Biden’s first 50 days and more

by Juan González and Cornel West (Democracy Now!, 3/10/21)

 

The prominent scholar and activist Cornel West has announced he is leaving Harvard Divinity School after he was denied consideration for tenure. The news about the denial of West’s request for tenure has led to an outpouring of support and incited conversation about diversity in academia. West suggests his political activism and vocal support of Palestinian rights likely played a part in Harvard’s decision. He also discusses Joe Biden’s first 50 days as president and says that while there is some good news on domestic policy, he’s “not too encouraged” on Biden’s foreign policy.
 
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“They take the early bus… for us.”

by Nancie Caraway (Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 1/31/21)

 

Our political leaders must work to better reward the social and economic contributions of work done by most Hawai‘i workers: hairdressers, retail and food employees, hotel staffers, food processors, house cleaners, hotline responders... As we reconstruct our shattered economy, we must inspire a robust new commitment to the common good. One based on a critical evaluation of the benefits and burdens we share (un)equally. One which answers the question, “What do we owe one another as citizens?” The moral and civic renewal we need requires a radical reframing of the terms of economic debate—our economic foundations must be centered around people—not markets.
 
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Ralph Nader: Making government and business accountable

Ralph Nader Biography — Academy of Achievement, 1/4/21

 

Ralph Nader is an American political activist, author, lecturer, lawyer, and former perennial candidate for President of the United States, noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, social justice, and government reform causes. He played a key role in the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Freedom of Information Act and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Since March 2014, Nader has co-hosted the weekly Ralph Nader Radio Hour. Now in his mid eighties, he continues to work tirelessly for the betterment of our society.
 
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The era of blind faith in big data must end

by Cathy O’Neil (TED Talks, 9/7/17)

 

“Algorithms don’t make things fair,” argues mathematician and data scientist Cathy O’Neil, “they are opinions embedded in code.” They repeat our past practices, our patterns. They automate the status quo. Algorithms decide who gets a loan, who gets a job interview, who gets insurance, and much more. O’Neil coined a term for algorithms that are secret, important, and harmful: “weapons of math destruction.” Learn more about the hidden agendas behind the formulas and wake up to inconvenient truths about freedom and the fairness of our onlife decisions.
 
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What has happened to the public imagination, and why?

by Drucilla Cornell and Stephen Seely (Global Dynamics, 3/21/17)

 

We live in a world in which we are constantly being affected by other people and by our own bodies as we experience them embedded in the world, and we are constantly developing images of our bodies and our relations with others. Because of our embeddedness in an affective world, there is ultimately no such thing as an isolated individual because what any one person “is” is determined by her affective encounters. As the material world is collective, so is the mind: our own imagination is inextricably tied into a collective imagination shared by those with whom we share material encounters.
 
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What is communal living?

by Naomi Bosch (Plentiful Lands, 1/27/21)

 

We live in a society where personal security and the power to decide on your own count more than community. Consumerism and egocentrism have taken their toll on us. Depression, anxiety and loneliness are on the rise, and lockdowns don’t do us a favor either... We were meant to live in community and interdependence with other people, just as all creatures do. Living with others and sharing what we have is not only good for our personal wellbeing, but it also saves resources, construction material and urban space. Learn why communal living matters more than ever before from several honest stories shared by people who’ve already tried it out.
 
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Living with the volcano

by Al Jazeera World (Al Jazeera Media Network, 2/26/21)

 

Volcanic eruptions, large-scale destruction, seismic movements and emergency evacuation – are all constant threats to the three million people who live near the world’s most dangerous active volcano, Mount Vesuvius, near Naples, Italy. The 800,000 who live in the “red zone” in the immediate vicinity of the volcano are at even greater risk. But despite the risk of living in the shadow of an active volcano, residents inhabiting the surrounding area are there to stay.
 
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Japan marks a decade since Fukushima nuclear disaster

by Julian Ryall (Deutsche Welle, 3/11/21)

 

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami left 15,900 people dead and 2,525 missing. The tsunami breached the nuclear plant’s sea defenses and flooded the lower parts of four of the site’s six reactor buildings, causing the failure of emergency generators required to keep water pumps circulating cool water for the reactors. The overheating of the reactor cores caused three of the units to suffer meltdowns, with operations of the fourth unit suspended for maintenance at the time of the disaster. The Fukushima accident is still classed as the second most serious nuclear accident in history and experts estimate that around 18,000 terabecquerels of radioactive caesium-137 were released into the Pacific Ocean, along with varying amounts of strontium, cobalt, iodine and other radionuclides. 
 
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VISUAL EXPLANATORIUM: In a World of Systems
Enjoy “In a World of Systems”, narrated and illustrated by David Macaulay (of How Things Work) in collaboration with Linda Booth Sweeney and Donella Meadows Institute. The video makes up one third of an online learning module we are designing for young change-makers who want to understand systems and change them. Sit back and meet systems in our everyday lives, from plumbing to traffic jams to fisheries, based on the work of the renowned systems thinker Donella Meadows.

Dead peasants, bottled dirt, and industrialized infections: How capitalist agriculture nearly guarantees the next pandemic

by Rob Wallace (ICSCP 2021 Speaker Series event, 3/31/21)

 

This webinar, co-sponsored by UHM’s International Cultural Studies Program and the East-West Center, will feature a talk by Rob Wallace, an evolutionary epidemiologist at the Agroecology and Rural Economics Research Corps and author of Dead Epidemiologists: On the Origins of COVID-19.

The biodiversity collapse resulting from capitalist agriculture alongside increasing global travel and trade nearly guarantees another deadly pandemic will occur. Rob Wallace will talk about the historical origins of the existential trap, its geographical and evolutionary mechanisms, and its epistemological entrenchment, and suggest the escape route that requires nothing less than disalienation, decolonization, and developmental parity between the Global North and South.
 
Register to attend

Support community resilience-building by supporting our work

by Anneli Suutari (IMUA Labs, 3/11/21)

 

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VPRO documentary: Shoshana Zuboff on surveillance capitalism

Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff wrote a monumental book about the alarming emergent economic order. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism reveals how the biggest tech companies harvest our data to extract enormous profits. In this documentary, featured by VPRO, the Dutch public broadcasting agency, Zuboff takes the lid off Google and Facebook and reveals a merciless form of capitalism in which no natural resources but rather citizens themselves serve as the raw material. How can citizens regain control of their private information?
 
It is 2000, and the dot-com crisis has caused deep wounds. How will startup Google survive the bursting of the Internet bubble? Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin don’t know how to turn the tide anymore. By chance, Google discovers that the “residual data” people leave behind in their Internet searches is very precious and tradable. This residual data can be used to predict Internet users’ behavior. Therefore, Internet advertisements can be used in a very targeted and effective way. A completely new business model is born: “surveillance capitalism.”
As a collective intelligence initiative, the IMUA Scholarly Society (a.k.a. IMUA Labs) welcomes a diversity of ideas and epistemic pluralism. Thus, the arguments expressed in our knowledge syntheses do not necessarily reflect the views of IMUA Labs or the Hawaiʻi Institute for Socioecological Transformation (HISET).

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