Monday, June 30, 2014, 4.00 p.m., Pumpenhaus
Hosted by: Pressenza
More and more people are increasingly concerned about the influence of banking officials on the economic system and government policy around the world. Yet, can we really rely on the media moguls who control the supply of information to tell us the whole story?
Despite whistleblowers such as Edward Snowden and U.S. Army Private Manning exposing the depths of surveillance employed to prevent any substantial change from affecting the status quo, information is still sufficiently controlled to keep the population subdued beneath its comfort blanket of reality TV, celebrities and soccer.
Nevertheless, social change is bubbling all over the world and on the rise. Expressions of social unrest in such unlikely places as Iceland and Sweden show that social conflict is just as possible in the supposedly most-developed parts of the world as it is in any dictatorship of the Middle East.
Social media is the tool of choice for disaffected groups around the world and creates the conditions for manifestations everywhere to not only flourish, but also for those protests to recognize the same roots of the conflict at play, whether it’s over a new shopping center in Istanbul or an increase in bus fare in São Paolo.
The more the protesters adhere to a strategy of nonviolence, the more the affected state sends in agents provocateurs to destabilize it towards violence.
Pressenza’s international network of editors promoting peace, nonviolence, humanism and the fight against discrimination are uniquely placed to report on such protests and invite you to this workshop to talk about how new media and social media are supporting the nonviolent revolution required to bring a dignified life to all inhabitants of the planet.
Panelists:
Andersson, David
Member of Occupy Wall Street and the “Making Worlds: A Commons Coalition”, United States
Genovese, Paulo
Pressenza Brazil Bureau Chief, Brazil
Henderson, Tony
Pressenza Hong Kong Bureau Chief and Member of the World Coordination Team of the International Humanist Party, Hong Kong
Kamal, Baher
Egyptian-born, Secular, Pro-Peace Journalist, Spain
Swinden, Dr. Silvia
Pressenza London Bureau Chief, Retired Forensic Psychiatrist and Coordinator of the World Centre for Humanist Studies, United Kingdom
Moderation:
Robinson, Tony
Pressenza Budapest Bureau Chief and Spokesperson for World Without Wars and Violence, Hungary