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Press Cuttings

Respect opens doors, threats close them


Title: Respect opens doors, threats close them
Published by: El Mostrador
Date of publication: 9 May 2022

This approach may not be entirely attractive to Western leaders. But the alternative is raw. Thousands of Ukrainians and Russians killed. Widows and children who have fled without being able to return to Ukraine. Russian biological and nuclear weapons at NATO’s borders. And the possibility of a Third World War. Using the voice of impartiality, respect and understanding can open the opportunity for Russia to regain a sense of dignity. Respect opens doors, threats close them.

Read the full article (originally published in Spanish) here.

Dedicated Groups & Individuals Striving For Peace, Wiki.Ezvid


Title: 5 Dedicated Groups & Individuals Striving For Peace
Published by: wiki.ezvid – The worlds video Wiki
Date of Publication: 12 January 2021

Ending violence and conflict is no easy task and it requires conscious steps from people all over the world. Fortunately, there are ways to help spread awareness and advocate for change. In this short video Wiki, the Wiki Editorial team have presented 5 Dedicated Groups and Individuals Striving for Peace around the world. 

Dr Scilla Elworthy has been included in this video and she shares this prestigious position with other groups such as Peace Action and Peace Learning Centre.

To view the video and read the article please go to the Wiki.ezvid website.

 

Human Rights, Future Generations & Crimes in a Nuclear Age


The Business Plan for Peace – How to build a world without war
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: September 2020

As a social scientist I have had a lifelong interest in peace issues and in offering ways to build peace. I have come to the conclusion that today – in a world of barrel bombs, chlorine gas attacks and unidentifiable fighter planes bombing civilians – there is a widespread popular will to end war, not just with the tortured populations in the war-torn countries but also among many concerned citizens in privileged nations.

To read the full article please go to the Human Rights, Future Generations & Crimes in a Nuclear Age website.

The Best Defense? How About More Women In The Military? (April 2020)


Forbes
The Best Defense? How About More Women In The Military?
Author: Avivah Wittenberg-Cox
First Published: 30 April 2020

Today, there are 21 female defence ministers across 159 countries with militaries. That’s 13% – who knew? Okay, that includes the beautiful but tiny Maldives, but it also includes seven of 30 NATO countries. Women control many of the biggest defence budgets in Europe. Will the nature and effectiveness of militaries to defend their countries improve if they gender balance? That has been the underlying theory causing internal and external pressure on militaries around the world to change over the past 40 years. Perhaps the quickest and most obvious symbol of the will to balance is for a government to appoint a female Defence Minister. This revolutionary step is like a symbolic laying down of the gauntlet to one of the most male dominated sectors on the planet.

To read the full article please go to the Forbes website.

FORCED MIGRATION Death, Torture, Disease and Abuse (December 2019)


Byline Times
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy & Dr Esra Oszuer
First Published: December 2019

Scilla visited Greece and Turkey in November 2019 where she observed some remarkable work with Syrian refugees, both with the Refugee Trauma Initiative in Thessaloniki, and the Maya Vakfi Foundation work in many schools in and around Istanbul.

The children’s life is harrowing – having done nothing wrong, they’ve been bombed, chased out of the ruins of their homes, marched from one desolate camp to another worse, abused and terrified.

Humans cannot live like this.

We in UK, whose government were complicit in what happened, seem to have no idea what’s going on.

Read the full article on the Byline Times website.

Inner Work Makes Our Outer Work Massively More Effective (October 2019)


Kosmos Journal
Inner Work Makes Our Outer Work Massively More Effective
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: October 2019

From half a century working with people at the very top of the decision-making tree on nuclear weapons, as well as those at grassroots levels risking their lives so that other people don’t get killed, I have come to understand that those who use a regular practice of self-reflection or self-awareness are more effective than anyone else in changing the world.

It happened like this….. [read the full article here.]

The Bold New Plan to Stop Wars (July 2019)


Who.What.Why.org
The Bold New Plan to Stop Wars: A Peace Advocate Makes Her Case
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: July 2019

A little over 100 years ago, the major Western powers and 23 other nations signed the Treaty of Versailles, officially ending the “war to end all wars” — an idealistic phrase that within a few years would assume a certain grim irony. While there has been no truly global conflagration since 1945, the 21st century has already produced its fair share of armed conflicts.

Access the full article here.

Beyond Gender: Feminine Intelligence (June 2019)


Beyond Gender: Feminine Intelligence – The New Smart for Today’s Needs
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy & Hetty Einzig
First Published: June 2019

Nowadays everyone has heard of Emotional Intelligence and how it has supplanted IQ as the marker of real success in work.  Now a new intelligence is making itself known. At this time of ‘Strong-Man’ sabre-rattling it is no coincidence that this new intelligence, called Feminine Intelligence, is drawing interest.  Hetty Einzig and Scilla Elworthy ask if FemmeQ is the antidote we need to the posturing and dangerous threats, and a way forward to tackle the challenges we face?

Read the full article here.

Vibrant Nonviolence, Ox Magazine (March 2019)


OX Magazine
Vibrant Nonviolence
Author: Sam Bennet
First Published: March 2019

Sam Bennett, Features Editor of OX Magazine, wrote a long article about Scilla in March 2019, starting as follows:

“Born into a military family in 1943, Scilla Elworthy could shoot a gun aged 11. But her life has been one dedicated to peace and nonviolence. Straying far from the career as a wife and mother she imagines her family would have envisaged for her, in 1982 she founded Oxford Research Group ‘to develop effective dialogue between nuclear weapons policy-makers worldwide and their critics’. Twenty years later she founded Peace Direct – the charity committed to stopping wars – and her 2012 TED talk on nonviolence has been viewed over 1,200,000 times. Here the three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee talks presence, empathy and her 2017 book, The Business Plan for Peace, with Sam Bennett.

Read the full article here.

Indivisible: Peace is Not Boring (November 2018)


Indivisible: Peace is Not Boring
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: November 2018

For many people peace can seem boring; too well behaved, too quiet. These are usually the people who have never been in a war, never witnessed the terror of children watching their parents tortured, never seen a human skull exploding, never heard the screams of a grandfather trapped under concrete beams, never looked into the eyes of a woman who has been multiply raped.

Read the full article here.

Bruce Nixon – Blog (November 2018)


BLOG – Review and Synopsis of The Business Plan for Peace – Building a World without War
Author: Bruce Nixon
First Published: November 2018

“As I begin to write, it is Armistice Day when we honour the dead on both sides of the conflict. The best way to honour all those who lost their lives in the Great War and subsequent wars would be to commit to end war for good. In her book Scilla Elworthy shows us how this can be done. Her key message is: War is past its sell-by date.

This is a marvellous book both visionary and, as the title implies, hard-headed and pragmatic. It’s based on years of practical experience of peace-making and the prevention of violent conflict.”  Read the full article here.

The Sisters (October 2018)


Peace is Possible
The Sisters
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: October 2018

Dr Scilla Elworthy has been one of the foremost proponents of international peace-building since the 1980s, and her work has won awards and acclaim across the globe. Here, she shares with The Sisters her thoughts on how we can move to a peaceful world and harness the power of feminine wisdom.

Read the full article here.

Scoop Book review (February 2018)


Scoop book review: The Business Plan for Peace – Building a World Without War (Peace Direct, 2017)
Author: David Swanson.
First Published: February 2018

DOES PEACE NEED A BUSINESS PLAN?

“If you had just asked me if peace needed a “business plan,” I’d have replied, “Sure! Just like it needs a toupeed golfing fascist reality-TV creep in the White House! That’ll just about fix everything! War is over! Thanks!”  Read the full review here.

Paradigm Explorer 2017/3 Book review (March 2017)


Paradigm Explorer 2017/3 

Book Review: The Business Plan for Peace – Building a World Without War (Peace Direct, 2017)
Author: David Lorimer
First Published: March 2017

BUILDING A WORLD WITHOUT WAR

Scilla Elworthy has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the Oxford Research Group
 in developing effective dialogue between nuclear-weapons policymakers, scientists and military, and she has been an active peacemaker for decades. I imagine that many readers would like to contribute 
to peace building themselves, and this brilliant and strategic book spells out exactly how you can do this in the context of a continuing war economy based on mutual fear and threat. We can all step out of helplessness and apply our skills to the challenges we face and, in the words of Nelson Mandela, ‘support courage where there is fear, foster agreement where there is conflict, and inspire hope where there is despair.’ The book is in three parts: the problem of war, how war can be stopped, and who can do this and how. A key initial insight is that humiliation is a key driver of violence, and respect is the strongest antidote to humiliation and the fastest way of reducing a conflict; also that power is essentially human beings making decisions, and in that sense we can all exercise a degree of power.

Read the full review here.

Resurgence & Ecologist (May 2017)


Working for a World Without War
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: May 2017

In this article for the Resurgence & Ecologist magazine Scilla considers why war continues, how peace can be built, what it will cost, and who can do it. The broader topic of the May issue is ‘Real Wealth’. Read Scilla’s article here.

Kosmos (May 2017)


Dealing with the Darkness of what Humans do to Humans
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: May 2017

The Spring-Summer 2017 edition of Kosmos asks us to re-examine our notions of ‘activism’ and consider the fabric of our lives and all our actions as opportunities for conscious engagement.

Scilla contributed with an article titled Dealing with the Darkness of what Humans do to Humans. More information about the issue and how to gain access is found here.

Kompass (November 2016)


A Global Strategy For Building Peace : Changing the Way the World Deals with War
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: November 2016

“In an unprecedented overall strategy to prevent violent conflict, Dr. Elworthy develops a whole systems approach to the building of peace worldwide, from the local level to regional and national and global levels.”  The article was published in the first edition of Kompass, a magazine dedicated to cultivating a culture of peace.

OpenDemocracy (April 2016)


Love in a Time of Hatred
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: April 2016

In the article “Love in a Time of Hatred” that appeared on the website OpenDemocracy, Scilla formulates a compassionate, determinate and courageous response that aims to build peace in the face of hate.  It describes the importance of unity, building bridges and empowering local people as well as the important role that women need to play to establish this.

Independent Publication (February 2016)


Perspectives on Values and Love at Work
Authors: Dr Scilla Elworthy & Hein Dijksterhuis
First Published: February 2016

This 7-part Intensive on Love and Values at Work was prepared by Scilla and Hein Dijksterhuis, as a result of a Learning Lab entitled “Strengthening Inner Perspectives In Leadership Development On Love and Forgiveness”.  It took place at Vista Allegre, Brazil, in April 2015, and was funded by the Fetter Institute.

Forbes (October 2015)


A Nobel Spirit
Author: Carlo Taquar
First Published: October 2015

Forbes magazine wrote a wonderful article about one of the projects Scilla visited in the summer of 2015. Read the article here to learn more about Bobby Dekeyser’s inspiring project and Scilla’s impression when visiting the village project in Barangay Bagalnga, the Philippines.

Earthlines (November 2015)


Shifting Values in the 21st Century
Authors: Dr Scilla Elworthy & David Knowles
First Published: November 2015

Scilla & David Knowles co-authored the article “Shifting Values in the 21st Century”. It appeared in the November issue of Earthlines (issue #13). You can access the table of contents and buy the November issue here.

Tea After Twelve (July 2015)


Why is the Future up to Generation Y?
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: July 2015

Scilla elaborates on her perspectives on the role and significance of Millennials in an interview that was conducted just before her keynote to the Deutche Welle Global Forum in June 2015.

“Millennials feel that the moral compass has disappeared. Many express the need for a sense of purpose at work, and to align what they do every day with what’s happening in the wider world. They say they want to make a contribution, to feel there is meaning in what they do.”  Read the full article here.

Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation (June 2015)


Why finding ‘peace within’ is more essential than ever for young people facing an uncertain future…
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: June 2015

“Fostering peace within is more important than ever for young people, particularly when you’re growing up in a world that seems to be without it.” Read Scilla’s article here.

The Huffington Post (March 2015)


Women’s Voices and the Rising Tide of Violence.
Authors: Dr Scilla Elworthy and Anne Baring
First Published: March 2015

“International Women’s Day may be celebrated every year, but in this year of 2015 we women need to wake up and start thinking about what – worldwide – we can do about violence against women.”  Read the full article here.

The Guardian (January 2015)


The tools for a radical new kind of leadership
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: January 2015

“Working with leaders like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, Scilla Elworthy has learned that inner work is the most important prerequisite for effective leadership.”  Read the full article here.

The Guardian (December 2014)


Moral compass not quarterly figures must dominate in business
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: December 2014

“Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Dr Scilla Elworthy, says rethinking the definition of success encourages businesspeople to devote their skills to the good of the planet.”  Read Scilla’s article here.

Huffington Post (October 2014)


Pioneering the Possible
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: October 2014

“True pioneers are fuelled by their vision of how a new world could be, and dare to take on what has never been done before. Now, when so few people have any vision at all of the future, the pioneering spirit embodies the kind of leadership so deeply needed on the planet.”  Read the full article here.

Virgin Unite (October 2014)


How to find your Inner Power
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: October 2014

“Want to be the kind of leader our world needs? Scilla Elworthy shares how you can improve your self-awareness and tap into your inner strength…” Read Scilla’s blog post for Virgin Unite here.

Times of India (June 2014‎)


Dartington Tagore Festival celebrates peace
First Published: June 2014

Dr Scilla Elworthy, a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee and a recipient of the Niwano Peace Prize will speak about her forthcoming book on inner power for effectiveness in the world at the festival.  Read the article here.

Huffington Post (April 2014)


10 Global Values That Are Old and Stale, and How to Replace Them
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: April 2014

“In April 2014 at the conference on “Love and Integrity in Governance” in Iceland I presented 10 values or norms that have governed our (Western) actions for centuries, and which have contributed to the state of the planet today, and then proposed that we can replace each one with the kind of values that could enable better decisions — decisions that could get us out of the mess we’re in.” Read Scilla’s article here.

Journal of Holistic Healthcare, Volume 11, Issue 1 (Spring 2014)


Authentic Leadership: ten values we have to change
Author: Dr Scilla Elworthy
First Published: Spring 2014

In this article Scilla analyses the current leadership crisis and proposes ten necessary shifts in perspectives and values.  For more information More information about the issue and how to gain access is found here.