Stakeholder Engagement

Spiritual Ways to Defuse Arguments

When you're in a fight, stop and feel the intensity of your need to be right. Then realize that the person you're fighting with feels the same, says author Franz Metcalf. By understanding our opponents and visualizing them as holy, we can fight fair—or not fight at all.

One More 'Moral Value': Fighting Poverty

Many religious leaders think the current focus on moral values in politics has created a platform to talk about other issues, especially poverty.

'I Have a Nightmare'

Sadly, it's true, environmentalism is dead.

Changing men's attitudes to reduce AIDS in Africa

A new program sponsored in part by U.S. funding uses the power of dialog to help curb violence against women and the spread of AIDS in South Africa. The workshop, called Men as Partners, or MAP, encourages men and women to discuss frankly the behaviors which define gender roles in South Africa today. Recent surveys show the program has already made a significant impact on the attitudes of its early participants. The Christian Science Monitor (3/3)

Mixed views on UN indigenous decade

Although the United Nations' decade for indigenous people has not led to an approved declaration on the rights of such groups, efforts toward that goal since 1994 have helped draw attention to the issue and strengthened indigenous movements, the BBC reports. BBC (12/22)

Air Quality Officials' Group Protests Senator's Actions

Senator James M. Inhofe, a sponsor of the Clear Skies Act of 2005, has requested the tax filings from groups that receive grants from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Brave, Young and Muslim

Young Arab and Muslim reformers refuse to be cowed.

Philip Bowring: How things look from the East

International Herald Tribune columnist Philip Bowring says the recent World Economic Forum should have included a wider range of voices, particularly from the East, when addressing the world's biggest challenges, including understanding political Islam, the role of religion in secular societies and various forms of fundamentalism. Furthermore, Bowring writes, future forums should take into account Eastern concerns on security issues, as they are not always in tandem with Western priorities. International Herald Tribune (2/1)

Taking Protest to Bank Chief's Home Street, 3 Activists Face Charges

Three environmental activists were charged in Greenwich for tacking posters critical of a bank's environmental record near the chief executive's home.

Faithful Track Questions, Answers and Minutiae on Blogs

There is a growing number of religion-oriented blogs, many of them irreverent and contrarian, and all serving as a meeting point for the like-minded.

The Anniversary of World War II Is an Invitation to Continue Fighting

Although 10 years ago it seemed the world had finally buried the hatchets of World War II, lingering resentments are out again in force.

Teaching Wal-Mart New Tricks

After decades of refusing to deal with pesky analysts and reporters, Wal-Mart has decided to open up and let a little sun in.

Lying about Environmentalists -- An ENN Commentary

Environmentalists have sometimes been misrepresented as saying that climate change caused the Indian Ocean tsunami, when instead they have argued that climate change may have played a role in rising water levels and therefore worsened the effects of the tsunami. Such misrepresentations are part of a broader pattern of "anti-environmentalists willfully misrepresenting facts about environmental organizations," argues Chris Clarke of Earth Island Institute. Environmental News Network (3/10)

Atrocity Victims in Uganda Choose to Forgive

The International Criminal Court and traditional reconciliation ceremonies are clashing in their response to a guerrilla war.

60 Years Later, China Enemies End Their War

The leaders of China's Communist Party and of Taiwan's opposition Nationalist Party pledged to work together to undermine Taiwan's independence movement.

When a Food Marketer Helps Devise Nutrition Advice

The government's hiring of a company with a stable of food industry clients to sell the national nutrition plan has some public health advocates concerned.

Japan's Chief Apologizes for War Misdeeds

The prime minister of Japan offered the most public apology in a decade over Japan's wartime aggression in Asia.

China and Japan Leaders Pledge to Improve Relations

The leaders of Japan and China pledged to improve ties after weeks of escalating disputes, easing tension but not resolving some critical problems.

China's Law On Taiwan Backfires

China's much-criticized anti-secession law, which many view as a hostile threat against Taiwan, has hurt China in its international relations, The Washington Post finds in this analysis. Not only has it worsened relations with Taiwan, but it has caused Europe not to lift its arms embargo on China, and has intensified general concern about Chinese military power. The Washington Post (free registration) (3/24)

The environment's new bling

Commentary: From environmentalism to sustainability Environmental news publisher Chip Giller contemplates the recently proclaimed "death of environmentalism" in the Boston Globe, outlining environmentalists' ineffectiveness in combating some of the Bush administration's policies. Recent setbacks and the increasingly narrow platforms environmentalists operate from, Giller writes, indicate the time is right for a new "broad, values-based vision" that integrates the many benefits of sustainability. The Boston Globe (4/21)

The Role -– and Responsibility -– of the Business Community in the AIDS Crisis

As governments worldwide struggle in their campaigns against HIV/AIDS, a growing number of big businesses are joining the cause to rein in the spread of the disease. This article looks at the role and responsibilities that businesses play in helping the world community tackle the increasingly devastating HIV/AIDS pandemic. Knowledge@Wharton (free registration) (6/3)

Oil giant admits Nigeria aid woes

American oil company ChevronTexaco says it will rethink the way it distributes aid to Nigeria, where it currently gleans some 117,000 barrels a day of crude oil despite ongoing tensions over oil in the region. Calling its current method of direct distribution "inadequate, expensive and divisive," the firm said it would seek to work through local councils in order to prevent conflict over resources and increase chances of sustainability. BBC (5/4)

Beijing's tough new law may yet open a door

While most analyses of China's recent anti-secession law regarding Taiwan have warned of a potential rise in cross-Strait tensions likely to result from the legislation, Ralph Cossa writes in the International Herald Tribune that a closer reading may reveal more flexibility from Beijing than many have noted. Cossa writes that Article 7 of the law, which states China's desire for a peaceful reunification through negotiations, may provide a diplomatic out for both sides if they are willing to "move beyond the emotion of the new law and creatively test its possibilities." International Herald Tribune (3/30)

The Chinese are coming. Let's greet them.

While China has officially stated its rise to power will be peaceful, the U.S. and particularly European countries can do much to assure the world's fastest growing country does not threaten global stability when its own economic and security interests come into conflict with Western policies, Jerome Monod writes in the International Herald Tribune. In addition to economic and cultural engagement, Monod writes, the West must look to China as a partner rather than a competitor so the country of one billion-plus is no longer viewed as exotic but becomes familiar. International Herald Tribune (5/17)

All Rock, No Action

Live 8 was an insult to Africans and to common sense.

Henry A. Kissinger: Realists vs. idealists

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger weighs in on the current debate on the roles of idealism and realism in shaping foreign policy, noting that statesmanship surrounding the spread of democratic ideals from the Middle East to Eastern Europe and elsewhere requires a delicate balance of both. Democratization, Kissinger adds, is an ongoing process in which American successes do not end engagement "but most probably deepen it." International Herald Tribune (5/12)

Poll Shows Europeans Skeptical of U.S. Environmental Stewardship

The vast majority of Europeans think their countries are doing a better job protecting the environment than the U.S., a survey found. The Global Attitudes Project poll found only 7% of Spaniards and 8% of Britons said they trust America to protect the world's environment. The survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center. Environmental News Network/Associated Press (6/24)

8 Things the G8 Should Know

Commentary: From the heart of Africa to the G8: Ken Wiwa, a spokesman for the Ogoni people of Nigeria, examines a number of broad misconceptions many Western donors hold regarding Africa, and gives insight into eight issues related to discussions on African development by G8 leaders in Scotland. AllAfrica Global Media/PANOS (London) (7/4)

Annan announces new initiative to bridge gap between Islamic, Western worlds

A week after the bombings in London that allegedly were carried out by Muslim extremists, the United Nations yesterday launched a drive to boost understanding between the West and the Muslim world. The effort will aim to "bridge divides and overcome prejudice, misconceptions, misperceptions, and polarization which potentially threaten world peace," UN chief spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding there is a growing sense of "lack of mutual understanding between Islamic and Western societies -- an environment that has been exploited and exacerbated by extremists in all societies."

"From rhetoric to reality - Making sustainability connections."

Geneva, 22 July 2005 - Sustainability principles may be advancing in boardrooms across the world, but progress is slow. Despite a growing awareness of the impact the global population is having on finite resources, global warming and health pandemics, a profound shift is needed to move towards implementing sustainable business practices

Europe's Angry Muslims

Director of the Nixon Center's program on Immigration and National Security Robert Leiken writes about the anger of Europe's Muslims, many of them disenfranchised by immigration policies and experiencing a generational failure to assimilate. The result, he writes in Foreign Affairs, is a growing number of "homegrown mujahedeen" -- young extremists with Western passports able to enter many countries, including the U.S., without visas -- who pose the latest threat in the global fight against terrorism. Foreign Affairs (7/15)

The Campaign Against Wal-Mart

Criticism of Wal-Mart may have reached a tipping point, Liza Featherstone writes in Salon.com this week.

All Cultures Are Not Equal

If you are 18 and you've got that big brain, go into the field that barely exists: cultural geography.

Young Poles Battle Government over Swampland

ROSPUDA VALLEY, Poland -- Scores of young activists camped in a remote peat bog in the northeast of Poland last month and threatened to chain themselves to trees to stop bulldozers clearing land for a highway.

Kennedy Talked, Khrushchev Triumphed