The Power of Community Engagement

5min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Anthropologists are trying to build trust between police and the communities they're supposed to protect. They say it's important not to push people across dividing lines without paying any attention to their power. The team in nigery has done a lot of that work in a lot of countries, says anthropologist David Frum. "You can't do this from afar," he adds.

How many technologists have traveled to Niger, or the Balkans, or Rwanda, to learn the lessons of peacebuilding? Technology and social media are creating patterns and pathways of conflict that few people anticipated or even imagined just a decade ago. And we need to act quickly to contain the effects, but we don't have to reinvent the wheel. There are people, such as this episode’s guest, Shamil Idriss, CEO of the organization Search for Common Ground, who have been training for years to understand human beings and learn how to help them connect and begin healing processes. These experts can share their insights and help us figure out how to apply them to our new digital habitats. “Peace moves at the speed of trust, and trust can’t be fast-tracked,” says Shamil. Real change is possible, but as he explains, it takes patience, care, and creativity to get there.