Biodata:

DR Anna Alomes is a philosopher, primarily interested in nonviolence, reconciliation and conflict resolution issues. From a teaching background, her interests developed into a consultancy advisory role in the public and private sector. The exercise of power became an extension of interest. In particular, ways in which power might be exercised without coercion, force and violence. This led to further research and the completion of a Ph.D. in Philosophy entitled "Power in Philosophy: Two Arguments for Nonviolence Today". Since that time she has pursued the application of this research for practical benefits at a local and international level. Anna's work on human rights issues has involved liaison with the Tibetan Government in Exile, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. She is presently executive Director of the World Institute for Nonviolence and Reconciliation.

A Personal Toolkit for Peacebuilding: Nonviolence Activism from a Western and non-Western Perspective
Buddhist Summer School 2001
t3 tapes

The approaches of 'fusion philosophy' (bringing together Western and nonwestern perspectives) brings to philosophical discourse new definitions of violence and nonviolence and a fresh perspective on the roots of violence and the pathway to the antidote. Creating a personal toolkit for peacebuilding can usefully involve the contemporary application of MK Gandhi's satyagrha, or 'truth insistence' through the work of Ven. Professor Samdhong Rinpoche (Speaker for the Tibetan Parliament in Exile), highlighting the important moral issue, that nonviolent action is not only descriptive, but also representative, and what it represents is the truth. Here we find the context for individual action and accountability, and a mechanism for effective social change.