Webinar explores media, Covid-19, and peace
It’s difficult to assess the impact of Covid-19 on news media since the pandemic is ongoing. However, several key trends are emerging.

I discussed these pandemic media impacts during today’s “Building Peace and Covid” webinar sponsored by the World Forum for Peace, the Schengen Peace Foundation, and the Luxembourg Peace Prize. A recording of the event will be posted soon at the LPP's website.

Building Peace and Covid webinar

I highlighted three Covid-19 impacts: the economic blow the pandemic has inflicted on the media; how Covid-19 is being used by authoritarian regimes as an excuse to censor and control media; and the way the pandemic has highlighted and perhaps stoked partisan media in the U.S.

Economically, the New York Times estimates that 38,000 news media jobs have been lost due to advertising revenue lost as a result of the pandemic. Examples of layoffs and furloughs include the Cleveland Plain Dealer, The New Orleans Times-Picayune, The Denver Post, Buzzfeed, Conde Naste, Gannett, and so on. In an article in the Guardian, Penny Abernathy, the Knight chair in journalism and digital media economics at the University of North Carolina, predicted “there’ll be hundreds, not dozens” of media closures in what she calls  “an extinction-level event.” 

For my second point, I discussed how journalists in Russia, Niger, Egypt, Venezuela, Iran, and elsewhere have been threatened and detained for reporting that challenged official narratives and statistics on Covid-19. Further, the pandemic has been used as an excuse by authoritarian regimes in Bosnia, Hungary, Russia, and elsewhere to crack down on journalism organizations for spreading “fake news,” which in most instances means reporting anything the government dislikes.

Finally, I discussed how Covid-19 has fueled already-roaring partisan flames in the U.S. media. The chart pictured shows just a few examples of how the pandemic has been covered in dramatically different ways by pro and anti-Trump media. I went on to show research that demonstrates the impact of this coverage on the public. Republicans surveyed tend to believe the crisis has been exaggerated, and are more comfortable with going to the barber or sending their kids to daycare than their Democratic counterparts. One example: Seventy percent of Republicans compared to just five percent of Democrats believe it’s safe to dine out, according to a poll from CNBC and Change Research released earlier this month.

Other webinar presenters included Steve Killelea, founder and director of the Institute of Economics and Peace. He discussed via a submitted video the economics of the crisis, and predicted a full  economic recovery won’t happen until 2022. Killelea also expressed his concern about the pandemic’s impact on the developing world, where countries will have to take on more debt, or perhaps default on the debt they have. He’s also concerned about richer countries re-directing international development aid to domestic purposes.

Steve Killelea, Inst. of Economics and Peace

Libby Liu, CEO of the Open Technology Fund, spoke about “Open and Free Internet, Our Lifeline.” She talked about crackdowns on Internet free speech, citing the statistic that of the 3.8 billion people with Internet access worldwide, 71% live in countries where citizens have been arrested for posting materials online. Liu discussed how her initiative, the Open Technology Fund, is designed to promote Internet access, privacy, awareness of threats, and security from online dangers.

Other speakers included Dr. Scilla Elworthy, Founder and Peace Direct and author of “Business Plan for Peace” and “The Mighty Heart,” Francois Carbon, Transatlantic Dialogue conference chair, and Helmy Abouleish, CEO of SEKEM, a sustainable development NGO in  Egypt, who discussed, “The Economy of Love.”

Four of the webinar presenters are 2020 Luxembourg Peace Prize laureates--Carbon (and the Transatlantic Dialogue conference he organizes), Elworthy, Lui, and myself. Abouleish and Killelea were former LPP winners. It was an honor to present alongside these outstanding peacebuilders.

Luxembourg Peace Prize: The honor of a professional lifetime
I’ve never much liked awards shows, and have always rolled my eyes at what I saw as ego-soaked, condescending thank-yous from the winners touting the contributions of the “people who made it all possible.”

Well, my mind has changed. Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt, and Scarlett Johansson, I owe you and your brethren an apology.  (An aside: Just to set the record straight, no, Brad Pitt and I are not identical twins.)

I have won the honor of my professional life, the 2020 Luxembourg Peace Prize, awarded by the Schengen Peace Foundation and the World Peace Forum. The awards ceremony was scheduled for later this month, but has been postponed an entire year thanks to Covid-19. The peace prize is given to 8-10 “outstanding peacebuilders and activists” each year, as well as organizations prompting peace. A complete list of this year’s winners is below. It is certainly an honor to be included in this august group, and to have my name mentioned alongside former Luxembourg Peace Prize laureates like primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall and organizations like Rotary International. (For more details, see Park University press release).

Winning the Luxembourg Peace Prize is the honor of my professional lifetime. To see your efforts recognized in this way validates all of the work that my colleagues and I have done to spread the word about peace and peace journalism.

As an anti-procrastination neurotic, I’ve already begun mapping out my May, 2021 acceptance speech in my head, and am starting to really understand the meaning of all the acceptance speech thank-yous.

When I finally accept the award in person, I will be doing so with hundreds of my colleagues at my side, at least in spirit. I want to somehow chop the prize into little pieces, and share with those who have supported and promoted me, and collaborated with me on peacebuilding and peace journalism projects around the world.

Peacebuilding and peace journalism, like Brad, Meryl, and Scarlett’s movies, are inherently collaborative efforts. So I will share my award with Park University, which has generously supported my peace work, given me space and time to engage in peacebuilding, and provided a home for the Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park since 2012. My departmental colleagues at Park have been endlessly supportive.

I will also share my award with my many peacebuilding collaborators in Kansas City, and peace journalism colleagues around the world who have taught alongside me, helped me organize seminars and workshops, contributed to the Peace Journalist magazine which I edit, and so on. I won’t name names (except one) since I’ll forget someone. But I will mention my closest and longest tenured colleague, Gloria Laker in Uganda, with whom I’ve shared dozens of seminars since 2008, traversed thousands of miles of bumpy roads, and spent months spent away from loved ones in the service of peace journalism. Gloria, you would be an outstanding recipient of this award in the future.

So Brad, Meryl, and Scarlett, no hard feelings. If you’re in Luxembourg in May 2021, please drop by the Luxembourg Peace Prize ceremony. Brad, you and I should probably avoid wearing matching tuxes, just to avoid confusion.

2020 Luxembourg Peace Prize Laureates

OUTSTANDING PEACE ACTIVISTS Dr. Scilla Elworthy Turns vision into action: Today her full attention is on developing Business Plan for Peace www.thebusinessplanforpeace.org resulting from her 2017 book The Business Plan for Peace: Building a World Without War. Her TED talk on nonviolence has been viewed by over 1,400,000 people on TED and YouTube. Peace Direct goes from strength to strength under brilliant young leadership, founded by Scilla in 2002 to fund, promote and learn from local peace-builders in conflict areas. Scilla was adviser to Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Sir Richard Branson in setting up ‘The Elders’, and was Awarded the Niwano Peace Prize in 2003. She has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize for developing effective dialogue between nuclear weapons policy-makers worldwide and their critics, with the Oxford Research Group founded in 1982.

Dr. William Vendley is the Secretary General Emeritus of Religions for Peace International, the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious coalition advancing common action for peace by working to advance multi-religious consensus on positive aspects of peace as well as concrete actions to stop war, help eliminate extreme poverty and protect the earth. He is a pioneer in advancing multi-religious cooperation to help resolve conflict and advance development and has facilitated the establishment of multi-religious councils around the world. He has advanced multi-religious efforts to prevent conflicts, mediate among warring parties and heal societies in the aftermath of violence in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Liberia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Iraq and many other countries. He is convinced that multi-religious efforts for peacemaking provide unique strengths that complement those marshaled by governments and bodies like the United Nations.

OUTSTANDING PEACE EDUCATION Transatlantic Dialogue The Transatlantic Dialogue conference series on global citizens, held in Luxembourg since 2008 as a collaborative effort between Luxembourg University and Miami University in Ohio, explores the significance of culture and liberal education for fostering global citizenship from both the United States and European perspectives. - articulating why intercultural competence and dialogue matters in their own institutional and societal context - considering a philosophy of practice that incorporates arts-based approaches for developing students’ and peers’ capacity for cultural diplomacy, peace and global citizenship - advocating for the principles of cultural diplomacy as a critical component of a university education - in the co-curriculum as well as in the formal curriculum. The challenges our world presents today can seem unprecedented. Profound differences over the complex issues confronting us, manifest themselves in loud and often discouraging public debates over everything from how we best foster human prosperity to how we address each other on an equal foot in its many forms, protect our fundamental freedoms, and care for the most vulnerable and marginalized among us. Bridging differences begins with approaching others with the will to acknowledge and understand their and our own identity and cultural ‘otherness.’ “The more astute awareness we achieve concerning our own and other’s cultures, the more sophisticated we can be as thinkers and actors on a world stage. Therefore, our engagement with diverse forms of cultural expression may enable us to relate to different codes of humanity with confidence, sympathy and growing curiosity towards each other.” Universities have a key role to play in this regard and this interdisciplinary forum explores multiple perspectives on how this can be achieved.

OUTSTANDING YOUTH PEACEMAKER Boniface Mwangi Is one of the most vocal and courageous Kenyans of our generation. Recognized globally for his passion and excellence in photography, this photographer-cum-activist could not resist the call to activism after witnessing, first-hand, the brutality that disadvantaged Kenyans experienced in the wake of the Post- Election Violence of 2008. He then established Picha Mtaani, a traveling photography exhibition showcasing images of the violence. The travelling photo exhibition toured across Kenya and drew more than 2 million visitors. The exhibition tour offered a platform for individual reflection, honest dialogue, interpersonal healing and community reconciliation.

OUTSTANDING PEACE ORGANISATION Words Heal the World Is a non-profit organisation that was set up to empower students to challenge online hate speech and tackle different types of extremism. It is worldwide organisation that puts young people as main actors in the development of messages to tackle different types of extremism and also helps increase the visibility of partner organisations that promote peace worldwide. Its work is based on a tripod, contributing to the work developed by universities, high schools, and dozens of organisations committed with peacebuilding, especially using words to tackle extremism.

OUTSTANDING PEACE TECHNOLOGY Libby Lui Was at the helm of Radio Free Asia (RFA) for 16 years, a non-profit created to provide accurate, timely news to citizens living in closed societies through Asia. Libby’s principles at RFA were enshrined in Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” She is committed to restoring human rights to citizens who have been denied them, Libby led RFA to give voice to the voiceless and enable people the ability to make informed decisions about their lives and own their human dignity. In 2019, after using this approach in innovative internet freedom technology and allowing more than 2 billion people around the world to use the internet more safely despite the declining state of internet freedom globally, the Open Technology Fund (OTF) emerged as its own private non-profit. As the CEO of OTF, Libby is committed to expanding the work and impact of OTF by continuing to build coalitions, public-private partnerships and capacity in the communities most at risk. If citizens of humanity can participate openly as part of the global online community freely and without fear, we can be a world that respects all regardless of where they reside. A world built on human dignity would be one aligned with the vision of internet freedom.

OUTSTANDING PEACE JOURNALISM Steve Youngblood Is a Kansas City, USA area professor and Director of the Center for Global Peace Journalism and Associate Professor of Communications at Park University (Parkville, Missouri). He has taught peace journalism to journalists, academics, and students in 27 countries and territories worldwide, including conflict areas like South Sudan, Indian-administered Kashmir, Lebanon, Cameroon, and Turkey. He is also the editor of the semi-annual Peace Journalist magazine, author of the university textbook Peace Journalism Principles and Practices, and writer of the Peace Journalism Insights blog. Youngblood is also a two-time J. William Fulbright Scholar, traveling to Moldova in 2001 and Azerbaijan in 2007. He has been recognized for his service to global peace by the U.S. Department of State, Rotary International and the United Nations Association of Greater Kansas City as its World Citizen of the Year in 2012.

OUTSTANDING ART FOR PEACE Pedro Reyes Is a Mexican artist whose works aim to increase individual or collective agency in social, environmental, political or educational situations. He has won international attention for large-scale projects that address current social and political issues. Through a varied practice utilising sculpture, performance, video, and activism, Reyes explores the power of individual and collective organisation to incite change through communication, creativity, happiness, and humour. A socio-political critique of contemporary gun culture is addressed in Palas por Pistolas (2008), in which the artist worked with local authorities in Culiacán, Mexico, to melt down guns into shovels, intended to plant trees in cities elsewhere in the world. Similarly, in Disarm (2013) the Mexican government donated over 6,700 confiscated firearms for Reyes to transform into mechanical musical instruments, which are automated to play a delightful, if surreal loop, retaining the raw emotion of their origins.

OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENTAL PEACE Water Peace Security Water, Peace and Security (WPS) partnership was founded in 2018 to pioneer the development of innovative tools and services that help identify and address water-related security risks. These tools and services can link hydrological, social, economic and political factors to pinpoint changes in short-term water availability and provisionally assess their potential impacts on society. Based on this information, evidence-based actions can be triggered to prevent or mitigate human security risks. WPS can also facilitate this process by raising awareness, developing capacities and supporting dialogue that together underpin effective coordinated action.

Despite Covid postponements, glass is at least half full

I’ll be leaving next week to teach a series of peace journalism workshops at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. From there, I head to Luxembourg to give a session at the Transatlantic Dialogue conference. In June, I’m off to Washington to teach a week-long seminar for journalists from the Caucuses at the US Institute of Peace (USIP). In July, I’ll spend about 20 days in Nepal, working on a project with the East-West Center for Indian and Pakistani journalists. Then finally, in the first week of August, I’ll head for Khartoum, where I’ll be spending a week on a State Department Speaker and Specialist grant working with Sudanese journalists.

Or not.

What had promised to be a busy, fascinating, educational summer now has the looks of the polar opposite. Don’t get me wrong. The Covid situation hasn’t left me whiny, but instead, grateful.

I’m extremely grateful that my family, friends, students, and colleagues are all well. I feel fine, and am fortunate enough to still have a job. And certainly, my inconveniences pale in comparison to actual hardship, either medical or financial.

I’m also grateful that these activities have all been postponed, and not canceled. I’ll visit Ukraine and Nepal in 2021, and Sudan and Washington (tentatively) next fall. Luxembourg has been moved back exactly one year, so I’ll be there in May, 2021.

I’m gratified that organizations like USIP and the State Department continue to see the value of my work—a value that has been underscored, I believe, by the Covid and the media coverage of the crisis.

So despite my understandable disappointment, I’m left feeling satisfied with my (at least) half-full glass.

The best news is that the work of spreading the word about peace journalism will continue virtually this summer. I’ll be making a presentation for a virtual session of the Transatlantic Dialogue later this month (stay tuned to this space for details), as well as a virtual seminar for Sudanese journalists in August. And, of course, I’ll keep my eye on Covid coverage in the media, looking for irresponsible or partisan reporting (see previous blog).  

I plan to continue to stay hunkered down at home, and thus relatively safe. I'm grateful, once again, that I have this luxury.