Crossing Borders

Check out the full article here: Interview with Garba Diallo

We start by thanking the BLACK LIVES MATTER Movement for their brave actions to heal the world of the pandemic of racism. We applaud their powerful push to restore the dignity of black people and other people. We consider the Black Lives Matter as a way for our inner and outer emancipation and that of our cultures and other aspects of life. The 25 May assassination of George Floyd under the sadistic knee of Derek Chauvin and his brothers in crime has once again reminded us that the cries of the Black Lives Matter movement are not only natural. They are necessary absolutely necessary in order to liberate humanity from the pandemic of racism. Therefore, as Crossing Borders organisation whose mission is to create spaces for dialogue on equal terms, it is only natural that we join the Back Lives Matter to condemn in the strongest possible terms the systemic police brutality and its underlying historical, cultural, linguistic, media, economic and power structures. We condemn these structures as they inspire and fuel the mental and emotional infrastructures that justify having cruel supremacist knees on the necks of the black people for so long. We recognise that these knees on the necks of the black are the pandemic that has prevented black people from breathing for the past 401 long years. During these years, black people endured kidnapping, enslavement, forced labour, colonisation, apartheid, and ongoing exploitation of their bodies and economies. We recognise that these infrastructures are the root causes of the daily racism and discrimination that black people and communities of colour are systematically subjected to in our international relations, academia, museums, movement across borders our borders, on our streets, schools, and workplaces. We also recognise that the history of racist abuse has run so long and so deep that even the black victims have internalised and applied it on themselves, as manifested in self-denial and abuse. Thus, we hope that the momentum that the murder of George Floyd has generated will be escalated and sustained until these underlying structures are dismantled and replaced with the recognition of the fact that there is only one human race and that the cultural and other human diversities are not only what makes the human race survive and thrive, but, cultural diversity is as necessary as the biological diversity of planet earth. As a contribution toward restoring trust and healing, we propose the following measures: Recognise, apologise, and cleanse the historical crime of enslavement, colonialism, apartheid, and the still ongoing discrimination, exclusion, and exploitation of black people and other communities of colour. Cleanse our education, media, language, museums and amusement parks of racist legacies just like we have done with the bundling and burning of smart women and pulling down of the monuments of Nazi war founding fathers Launch an honest cultural exchange and spaces for dialogue for youth, educators, artists and schools and university to learn not to repeat the past Replace development aid with fair trade and knowledge sharing partnership with Africa and the countries of people of colour Include black and brown people in our schools, workplaces, parliaments, company boards, and other key positions wherever possible. The public and civil society sectors should walk the talk by taking the lead on this front The nations whose economies were built on black blood and bodies should set up museums and memorials to recognise and honour the vital contribution of black and brown people to their countries Launch campaigns of public education to put an end to the degrading abuse of black people’s pictures by our charities/ development industry for fundraising purposes

That most countries, including the most advanced ones, are ill-prepared for the sudden COVID 19 outbreak proves that the world has not invested in where it matters the most: relevant education, public health, decentralized provision of vital goods and services. The result is the panic and uncoordinated and fragmented responses we witness right now. Responding to and defeating an invisible global enemy calls for global coordination and cooperation and solidarity. In other words, solidarity, and sharing of information, knowledge, expertise, and resources within and across countries and continents. The absence of solidarity and collaboration makes each country grapple with the outbreak within its confines. For populist leaders, the easiest response is resorting to quick fix: closing their borders as if the COVID 19 could be shut out by shutting the borders. During his solitary prayer in the Vatican at the peak of the COVID 19 pandemic in Italy, Pope Francis urged the world to see the coronavirus pandemic as a test of solidarity and a reminder of basic values” and that the health crisis put everyone “in the same boat”.[i] The lesson here is that we need to shift our priorities away from the notion of bigger is better toward small and decentralised units. The orthodox notion of bigger is better that has driven the modern development toward over-centralization has proven itself to be ineffective. The results are mega metropolis with mega glass towers, high ways for mega lorries transporting endless chain of necessary and un-necessary products, a complex web of mega metros and airports, mega power plants dominated by polluting coal, gas, nuclear and hydro plants, mega monoculture-agri-business, mega ports for mega ships ploughing the seas with mega containers and mega fishing trawlers to feed mega markets owned by fewer and fewer mega transnational corporations. The inevitable results include stress and pollutions of various kinds including air, noise, light, water, and stench which breed outbreaks of diseases as we witness today. Other harmful consequences can be seen in the growing mental ill-health, depression, and a general sense of identity crises, unhappiness and satisfaction, and human insecurity.  Therefore, that we have been grounded and provided with ample time by the coronavirus we should be able to reflect about and chart a new direction toward more solidarity and cooperation on global issues like the current COVID 19. Writing in the Financial Times on 25 March 2020, the prime minister of Ethiopia and the 2019 Nobel Peace laureate Aby Ahmed warns that “..if the virus is not defeated in Africa, it will only bounce back to the rest of the world. That is why the current strategy of uncoordinated country-specific measures, while understandable, is myopic, unsustainable, and potentially counter-productive. A virus that ignores borders cannot be tackled successfully like this. We can defeat this invisible and vicious adversary — but only with global leadership. Without that, Africa may suffer the worst, yet it will not be the last. We are all in this together, and we must work together to the end.”[ii] Small could be beautiful and more efficient more sustainable Thus, one of the many lessons we should learn from the corona crisis is to shift the direction from bigger is better toward smaller and decentralized economic models with smaller and self-reliant units of production, supplies, and services. This is not about going to back hunting and gathering mode of society. As can be seen in the global growth of transition towns and eco-villages, reinventing smaller units is the new modern way of leapfrogging back to living with and not apart from nature. Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian earth scientist Dr. Vandana Shiva asserts that “With the health emergency engendered by the coronavirus we need to look at systems that spread disease and systems that create health in a holistic, systems approach. A systems approach to health care in times of the corona crisis would address not just the virus, but also how new epidemics are spreading as we invade into the homes of other beings. It also needs to address the comorbidity conditions related non-communicable chronic diseases which are spreading due to non-sustainable, anti-nature , unhealthy industrial food systems” She continues “…we need to discard “policies and practices that lead to the physical and moral degradation of the food system while destroying our health and endangering the planet’s ecological stability, and endangering the biogenetic survival of life on the planet.”[iii] Thus, it is high time we turn toward a new sustainable form of production and consumption. A form that is more efficient, healthier, safer, and sustainable than the currently dominant, extractive, and destructive forms. Toward this kind of utopian society, I propose the following seven strategic steps. Decentralise the mega citifies and sectors in order to localise the control over their vital sectors of education, health, production, and energy supply units. In such smaller communities, people will be able to walk and bike in green parks with small schools, clean energy plants, solar and heat pumps Focus on enlightenment and entrepreneurship education to prepare collaborative and job creating citizens rather than frightened job seekers Shift our economic system toward green and cradle to cradle zero economic production, processing and consumption systems that are in harmony with the environment Shift investment from the destructive militarised economy, commercialised public health to life giving and regenerative economic activities  Reform from post-WWII world order to a more democratic global forum with equal representation of the different regions of the world according to proportional democracy with no veto to power on global issues Promote intercultural contacts, exchange, and collaborations to reduce harmful old and prevent new stereotypes Foster and reward international peaceful and climate-friendly joint ventures by providing tax-free to such ventures    Already we see all over the world people volunteering to help, offering food and sharing within and across communities. We also see doctors, nurses, caregivers, and social workers from multicultural backgrounds putting their lives at risk in order to save the lives of fellow humans. This heroic dedication shows the corona

I was once driving down a highway on my own and my cell phone was out of battery. After a while, the engine of my car began to sputter and eventually came to a halt. I checked that there was still fuel in the car. So, I tried turning on the ignition a couple of times in the hope that the car would start. But it didn’t. I had no idea where the nearest petrol station was, I hadn’t seen a car go by since I stopped and I didn’t know how much longer it would be until the sun went down and it became dark. But, I sat in the car and kept turning the ignition on again and again in the hope that the car would start and allow me to go on. We all know that in a situation like that, we try the ignition a couple of times, and if it doesn’t work, accept the fact that something is wrong with the engine and try different ways to fix it. And in the worst case, if we are unable to make any difference under the hood, throw in the towel and leave the car behind and hitch a ride or walk to the nearest place with a mechanic. When stuck in situations like the metaphorical broken car, we tend to keep turning the key hoping to get out of the situation we are in and fail to accept that something is broken and needs fixing. This could be for a host of reasons — we don’t want to accept that we made a bad decision, we don’t want others to come back and tell us “We told you so”, we don’t want to face the reality of having to start all over again from scratch, we don’t want to tell ourselves that all the effort that we have invested in it so far is a total waste. But sitting there and waiting for the car to start is only prolonging this realization and the eventual fix. We can lie to ourselves all we want and feel good and optimistic about it for a relatively short period of time, but eventually, we have to find a way to move forward once the sun goes down. Accepting painful truths about ourselves is what helps us make significant transformational changes. Only then can we hope to get better! Written by: Pareeksha Chadaga Karanth Crossing Borders Admin & HR Coordinator

Will we see a “new normal” after COVID-19? History has shown that behavioural change, when a majority of people within a culture recognise a positive need for change, will cause effective changes to take place and often remarkably quickly. In comparison, for example, dictatorship and the fear of reprisal can secure behavioural change such as accepting that only one political view is correct or what dress codes are permissible and which are not. However, in such cases, once the controlling element has been removed, it is very unlikely that such change will be lasting. The oppressed society will tend to revert to a form of diversity that was normal before the oppression. I would argue that this tends not to be the case when behavioural change is driven from within as opposed to the force of external law or dictatorship. For example, when Sweden became an extremely anti-smoking nation and its Government also limited many other individual rights, a Danish journalist, Mogens Berendt, in 1982 wrote a much-discussed article “Luk Sverige” (Close Sweden) in Berlingske Tidende, and followed up with a book called “Tilfældet Sverige” (The Swedish Way) – a book that painted a picture of an extremely authoritarian and somewhat dictatorial Swedish Government.  Danes at first seemed in general to put this all down to Swedish authoritarianism. However, not too many years later, Danish society began a very serious public debate about the health dangers of smoking for both smokers and non-smokers (passive smoking). Today, the result of this behavioural change has been widespread acceptance of the rules and regulations that followed in the wake of this health discussion – even among smokers, who have been forced to accept a smoking ban in most public areas, where it had been customary to accept smoking. Yes, not all smokers are impressed with the social stigma that smoking has become, but they are nevertheless driven to accept that “Danish society” has evolved into a “new normal” with new written and unwritten rules about smoking. Not long ago, smoking in Denmark was an integral part of accepted cultural behaviour. Smoking was normal behaviour in the street, in public buildings, in cars and in planes. One could even go as far as saying that smoking was a generally accepted social habit giving status. Now, cigarette packets and cigar boxes carry very clear health warnings, and, in some countries like Denmark, they are no longer visible in shops – they are hidden in draws or behind curtains. The power and effectiveness of this “new normal” has been that the changed behaviour came from within. The rules and regulations came as a result of a behavioural change. Post COVID-19, in potentially 18-24 months’ time, we may well see new examples of such “new normal” behavioural changes, where the public debate about this pandemic (especially within social media) will evolve into new behavioural changes. Perhaps this evolution will be exacerbated by this being a massive wake up call to the dangers of biological threats. For example, although global travel is cheaper than ever before, I expect that very many will think twice about where they travel, how far they travel and how they travel. As a behavioural reaction to COVID-19, we could see a dramatic fall in travel and a significant increase in the use of the many of the digital communication tools available. Just six months ago, could we seriously have imagined that a majority of commercial planes globally would be grounded for an unknown period of time, that countries would close their air space, that borders would be closed globally and that everyone would be sent home for a significant period of time as a protection against a deadly virus. My prediction is that this “perfect storm” crisis will result in new long-term behavioural patterns. I predict that it will have a social and economic impact that none of us can imagine with massive changes in global travel, global production and social interaction. People will err on the side of caution and those that don’t will risk paying a heavy price for blindly ignoring that this may be a game changing “new normal” with new behavioural challenges.  Republished with permission, this article was first published by the author on 8 April 2020 on his LinkedIn page

Was it necessary from the appearance of the first case of Coronavirus in Lebanon to suspend flights from Iran or to protect the vulnerabilities of Hezbollah? Give the reins to the army? Count on the civic spirit of the Lebanese people? Was it necessary to preserve access to care? Or was it pivotal to prioritize the need to eat? Around the world, States are faced with delicate trade-offs between health risks and political-economic imperatives, to which particular dimensions and sensitivities are added in Lebanon. A sectarian/political dimension, which raises fundamental questions about public service, national interest, and community-driven imperatives is also a firm reality. In other words, how does the Diab government decide, and according to what criteria? In most Western Countries, the answer is simple: the state acts in the name of the general interest, and in service of where it derives its legitimacy from its people. But when the state is deeply rooted in Confessionalism, and therefore in the defense of sectarian interests, citizens are faced with the delicate task of questioning the merits of the decisions taken by its representatives. Especially when the system in place, which is deeply clientelist, has led the country into the financial abyss which amplifies the health crisis and complicates its management. How do you import medical supplies when you run out of US dollars? How do you equip public hospitals when you have spent years gradually sucking them dry? How do you protect the most disadvantaged when government reserves are emptied? How do you ask for international aid when you are unable to aid yourself?   And at one of the most critical stages in our country’s history, all the state has found to do is ask the Lebanese to be what they have never been (and what they have never been requested to be): united – while politicians strengthen their grip on an increasingly destitute population. The pandemic is provoking reflections all over the world on the economic model, public policy priorities, and the role of the state. And amidst these debates, Lebanon is currently confronted with yet another major obstacle towards the annihilation of this epidemic: the 10,000 Lebanese expected to fly back to Lebanon between April 5 and 12, 2020. The plan for the repatriation of Lebanese from abroad who wished to return was adopted during the March 31, 2020 meeting of the Council of Ministers. According to ministerial sources, the adopted plan will be implemented in two phases. The first will take place from April 5 to 12, 2020 and the second from April 27 to May 4, 2020. The idea is, therefore, to carry out the first phase, to wait two weeks to study the curve of the epidemic and then to fill in any gaps. The plan is designed to allow those who wish to return home to do so without endangering the lives of residents in Lebanon. For this purpose, everything from screening and testing before the flight, to isolating infected individuals in separate planes has been taken into account. As the treasury is practically empty, the return journeys will be made at the passengers’ expense. Banks have subsequently been asked to facilitate transfers. On a more positive note, difficult times have proven time and time again that the Lebanese people are willing to step in when the government does not. In a true surge of solidarity, Lebanese living abroad have offered to help those who cannot afford their tickets according to multiple media sources. The fundamental obstacle toward the containment of the virus is, however, not how these Lebanese return but rather, the risk that Lebanese returnees will not strictly comply with the instructions they are given. The plan provides for medical monitoring by hospitals, under the supervision of the Ministry of Health, to verify that the confinement instructions are followed, knowing that the Lebanese may be ‘unruly.’ This was also the reason why, without ever questioning the right of Lebanese who are abroad to return to the country, the government had reservations about massive repatriation initially. For the management of this crisis, it had planned a two-step plan: firstly closing the land, air and sea borders to passengers for two weeks to put an end to the contamination from a ‘foreign source.’ And secondly, the two-week extension of general mobilization and that of strict containment measures to make it possible to limit the spread of the virus and to flatten the curve of the number of people affected by it. Although the plan initially seemed rigid, Lebanon’s Prime Minister has had to step back from his initial stance to prevent repatriation until April 12th due to political pressures – once more proving that Lebanon is not geared by a state, but rather geared by fragmentation of political will. At this point, as it has been proven time and time again, we can only hope the Lebanese returnees will care enough about those who never left to take on the necessary precautions and be honest. As the state believes it can unrealistically ‘contain’ the massive influx of people returning to their homes to be on lockdown with the rest of us all we have once more, is each other watching each other’s’ backs, and washing each other’s’ hands.. Jasmin Lilian Diab MENA Regional Focal Point on Migration, United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth

While the coronavirus epidemic is putting our lives in turmoil across the world and turning our societies unrecognizable overnight with limited mobility; empty streets, schools, and airports; lockdown of countries; restrictions on our social pursuits and freedoms and militant directives on social distancing in order to urgently diminish its spread, it might just also provide a necessary reset and (ironically) connect us closer together. Infusing Interconnectedness The coronavirus is affecting us across continents, borders, ethnicity, skin color, gender, and income levels – it does not discriminate or favorize, and social status or privilege will not set anyone free. We are not only equal in the risk to be affected, but we are also bound together in our interconnectedness, depending on the action and responsibility of each other. Additionally, wherever we look across the world right now, the coronavirus grounds are common – the interruptive avalanche on our socioeconomic lives are similar, the protective and preventive measurements taken are similar, and the fear, anxiety, overwhelm, and uncertainty we experience is similar – it brings us all in the same boat – we can relate to each other and find compassion for each other from our own present reality. Standing Together We are all in this together and we will only win if we stand and come together. The coronavirus is demanding us to pause and to reset our lives as we know them – and to stand tighter together, whether as a family, neighborhood, country or global community. What if the coronavirus is a call to reset our lives and come back to what truly matters to us? What if it calls on us to see ourselves, each other and our world with new eyes? What if it is a call on us to be, come and stand stronger and better together? What if it is a call on radical compassion for each other across the world, reminding us that in fact, we are equal in our common humanity? While the turmoil of our everyday lives is real, equal to the deep uncertainty and overwhelming fear we might be experiencing, take a moment to reflect upon what the coronavirus reset came to teach you. Reset our Compassion for Each Other “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together”, Desmund Tutu What if the lesson the coronavirus is passing on to us is radical and actionable compassion? When seeing this epidemic with new eyes, we might start to witness the possibility in front of us for an emergency of more compassion for each other. At the heart of compassion is acceptance; the better we are at accepting the reality in front of us right now, the more compassionate we can become towards ourselves and others. This is true for the coronavirus times as well as beyond. Just imagine for a moment if these months of isolation, restricted movements and time in quarantine became our everyday lives, and now imagine that this “experience” in fact is what life looks like for millions of people around the world from slave camps in Libya, refugee camps in South Sudan, Lesbos, Bangladesh, DRC, Turkey, Syria, etc., indigenous people fighting for their survival (and ours) in the Amazonia, women being restricted in their movements across the world, across Latin America notably due to the risk of femicide and in Saudi Arabia due to the male guardianship system among other examples. In these times of complete reset globally, let’s recall that with or without the coronavirus we are equal and bound together in our common humanity and interconnectedness. Recognizing our shared humanity is a reflection of real compassion because it means that we are able to clearly see ourselves in each other. Helene Guldborg Life Coach and Crossing Borders board member

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV6eBdK1AuE On February 6th we held one of our Food for Thought Events and we were excited to hear an inspiring story about the motivation behind Gorilla Media Denmark. We had the honor to have all the “gorillas” present, along with its Creative Director and founder Alex Sabour. Alex shared with us the journey of Gorilla Media from the very initial idea and desire to do projects that he truly “burns for” to the publication of its first successful projects and all the challenges and struggles along the way. 78 Awards and over 500 million people reached are just some of the stunning numbers achieved by this creative advertising agency and production house which started in December 2016. It first began as Alex´s dream of doing projects on important topics and at the time, it seemed an impossible dream. He started with a simple Facebook page, logo and website, but when the opportunity came, Alex took his chance. On 9th February 2017 the Danish parliament released the official statement, which stipulated: “The Danish parliament concludes with concern that there are today areas in Denmark where the share of immigrants and descendants from non-western countries is more than 50%. It is the apprehension of the Danish parliament that Danes should not be a minority in residential areas in Denmark.” In short: Danes within housing projects should not be in a minority. As a reaction to this statement, Alex wanted to do something about it, so together with Lelo Shalby and Sasan Askari made a video named “Jeg er Dansk” (I am Danish).  The video received mixed reactions from ecstatic to enraged, with some groups severely disagreeing with Gorilla. Alex´s expectations were exceeded when the video went viral in such a short amount of time. In just under 24 hours, the video had 1.5 million views and received a huge reaction not only from the Danish market but also internationally; it went viral in Sweden and Norway and shortly after started spreading throughout Europe and South America. The main motivation behind the video was to change the perspective on minority groups, not only in Denmark. The message they sent out started a domino effect and Alex realized that when he pushed, he could get a reaction. The campaign was therefore successful because they brought a different perspective to the entire debate on who is actually Danish; Danish parliament subsequently re-wrote the statement and made it more inclusive for minority groups. It had a direct effect. Alex and his team won a London prize for the “Best Viral Campaign” for reaching over 100 million people worldwide. It was a huge honor and success – they beat big brands in the category like Ikea, Norwegian air and Adidas.The successful campaign #JegErDansk was a milestone marking the official start of Gorilla Media. Knowing that they could do something beneficial, the team started to play with multiple perspectives on the topics that were not discussed or challenged yet. Their purpose became clear – “to see the video and leave the viewer with an impression regardless of what that impression is”. Gorilla got its first real client, Dansk Kvindesamfund (Danish Women Society), followed by a partnership with Extra Bladet (a Danish tabloid newspaper) where Gorilla published 12 episodes on minority topics on their platform. Their received a lot of views but also provoked hate, debates and comments. Throughout 2018, Gorilla Media was growing bigger and settled in its new office. The team kicked off a big and successful  campaign on Revenge Porn in partnership with Dansk Kvindesamfund and PornHub. Further collaboration enabled them to spread the campaign and, as a result, porn sites began to remove illegal content. 2019 was a general election year for Denmark and there were more successful projects for Gorilla Media. Danish media was under fire for giving a platform to promote the agenda of Danish lawyer Rasmus Paludan and his far-right party, which had gained traction ahead of the election. His political movement Stram Kurs (Hard Line) called itself the party for “ethnic Danes” and wanted to ban Islam and deport all Muslims from Denmark. The party was forecasted to win 2,3% of the vote, which would be enough to enter parliament. Gorilla media decided they need to get involved and, together with Rasmus Paludan´s brother, Martin Paludan, they launched a video in which Martin urged Danes not to vote for Rasmus Paludan´s party. The video spread rapidly over social media and gained hundreds of thousands of views with both negative and positive reactions. Paludan lost 30% of people who wanted to vote for him, blaming Gorilla Media for his failure to get Stram Kurs into parliament. Whether it was a result of the video or not is unproven, but one can admit that its intention was achieved, and that’s surely what matters. With successful campaigns on controversial topics, Gorilla Media inevitably face groups of angry people. With it comes hatred and death threats too. Gorilla Media produced a number of videos which were either removed from Facebook or pulled from publishing due to “controversial” content. Alex revealed to us that some of the videos and publications never previously shown to the public. One can wonder, what is it behind the decision of big players to not publish content intended to offer different perspectives on fundamental topics. Is it fear that people’s eyes will be opened, or are their personal values not aligned with Gorilla Media´s content? Gorilla Media is continuing to do innovative work and such rejection will not stop them.  Successful projects have already proven that through hard work they can inspire, provoke and change people’s perspectives. Alex´s story inspired us to believe in ourselves and that following one’s passion is possible even if the system is against you. Their success is not final and failure is not fatal, it is their courage to continue that truly counts.  Gorilla Media has great courage. As Albert Einstein said: “Never stop questioning”. We are very excited to see what comes next, how

Last Thursday, at the first Food for Thought of 2020 Crossing Borders hosted Dr. Samay Hamed. The event opened as usual with a presentation of Dr. Hamed’s experiences in Afghanistan where he has been trying to bring various means of non-formal education and break cultural taboos, all with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of his fellow Afghanis. Following that, our wonderful intern, Ms. Yuka Fuji, and her friend Hika presented an incredible Japanese dinner for us featuring five different dishes (and which very well could have been presented as a 4-course, five-star meal). Like all of our FFT speakers, Dr. Hamed is a man of many talents. He is a trained medical doctor, a journalist who won the 2003 International Press Freedom Award, a prolific author of books and songs (32 book, 100 songs, and counting), and is committed to challenging the status quo of culture, education, and ways of thought in Afghanistan. In Dr. Hamed’s mind, the way to change society is by starting from the bottom rather than the top. To do this, he says, you must change the way people think and help encourage critical thinking. After noting the lack of space for critical thinking in Afghan society and education, Dr. Hamed decided the best way to do this was by creating these spaces himself. These spaces include (among others) musical festivals, workshops, satirical T.V. shows, and underground publications. His first attempt at this initiative was to create a new alphabet song for children. The song provided an alternative way to learn about letter sounds that the common methods (used in mosques and schools) had not employed. The alphabet song ended up becoming so popular that the Afghan Ministry of Education now employs a similar method throughout the country. Furthermore, to counter the concept that only famous individuals can create art or stories worthy of public consideration, Dr. Hamed invited students to a workshop that produced an original story that which received international publication. In a similar vein, he also developed an initiative that collected discarded blackboards from around the country. Workshops about the physics of light, color, and shapes were turned in to painting events for children and the resultant works were sold around the world. Proceeds from the sales were used to purchase 1000 whiteboards for classrooms throughout Afghanistan.  To bring spaces for critical thinking to adults, Dr. Hamed has employed a variety of methods. Of particular note were magazines that included poetry, art, and poignant political satire. He has also helped facilitate a clothes recycling workshop for women that simultaneously discuss social issues and political rights. Ultimately, it can be said that Dr. Hamed is seeking Afghan-led solutions for the issues he has identified. As a cabinet member of the government, he is seeking to “shake a hand” for the country rather than relying on international monetary deals. He called to our attention the corruption that comes from dumping money into problems rather that digging into society’s roots to look for solutions. He spoke about an older tradition in Afghanistan what was similar to the community kitchens/and meals he saw during his time here. He would like to renew this concept but make it larger in scale so that a sense of local and national community is refreshed, and social bonds strengthened. Speaking of food, the culinary portion of the night centered around a traditional Osaka pancake called okonomiyaki, filled with onion and drizzled with mayo and a wonderfully tangy brown sauce brought by Hika. Dish number two, nikujaga, featured boiled potatoes and vegies which were essentially a vehicle for the infamous umami flavor that can be difficult to find in Denmark. Takikomi gohan (rice with veggies) provided additional heft to our plates as dish number three. The meal was rounded out with piping hot miso soup and weafed salad covered in a sesame dressing. As usual, there were hardly any leftovers and I was left begging for recipes.  Thanks to all who attended, the CB team looks forward to seeing you at our next event! I would like to leave you with a poignant thought from an original poem by Dr. Hamed that speaks specifically to Afghan-US relations but is relevant to our hope for a peaceful future: There are children who play and dream/of a free and fresh future/they could understand each other/and/they will meet each other as tourists/not as soldiers.