Zaadz: Peace Through Commerce

Re: The Peace Through Commerce event in DC: What I learned.

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 16:31:50 -0000

Carol Moore, who attended the DC engagement experience, is hoping to organize a Peace Through Commerce dinner group in the DC area. If you are interested in exploring this topic and how it relates to your own entrepreneurial activities, please email Carol at endviolence@carolmoore.net.

Paths Toward Peace

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 17:06:12 -0000

Paths Toward Peace – A Sri Lankan Example for Post-Conflict Societies

by Mark Frazier

As the 21st Century unfolds, people around the world are awakening to a growing danger. Religious and tribal movements are harvesting anger against abuses of power by failing states, predatory rulers, local warlords, and perceived advances by crusading empires. These trends, if unchecked, may assure further catastrophes in coming years as new technologies make it easier for haters to kill.

Developed countries have a vital stake in finding effective ways to meet this threat. Yet wars, occupations, and expansion of state powers risk further inflaming passions and eroding the foundations of civil society. An alternative vision and course of action is needed – one that offers practical paths for large numbers of people across ethnic and religious lines to build stakeholdings in a peaceful and prosperous future.

New paths toward this end are now under development in Sri Lanka. A South Asian country with about 18 million residents, it has been riven since the early 1980's by one of the world's most bitter and protracted civil wars, costing more than 60,000 lives and billions of dollars. Once known as a world leader in terror, suicide bombings, and assassinations, Sri Lanka since early 2002 has made a remarkably decisive turn towards peace. Although the transition is not yet complete or assured, its progress gives grounds for hope in other troubled areas of the world.

A Sri-Lankan example for post-conflict societies.

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 17:12:41 -0000

Thought I'd draw your attention to the neat stuff going on over at the FLOW pod that pertains to peace through commerce.

Mark Frazier of OpenWorld.com shares his story about how commerce facilitates rebuilding, progress, healing, and creativity in Sri Lanka. For the full story, you can download the PDF. For those unfamiliar with OpenWorld.com, the subtitle says it all- "asset creation for grassroots initiatives".

PTC explained...

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 17:52:52 -0000

Peace Through Commerce is an integrated outreach, education, and engagement platform designed to promote peace through commerce and to celebrate the powerful role commerce plays in promoting peace. You can learn more about the ideas, visionaries, and channels of engagement at the Peace Through Commerce website.

PTC on the FLOW pod.

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 18:02:46 -0000

The folks the FLOW pod have devoted their own discussion board to Peace Through Commerce. Peruse at lesiure. Explore "A Million Paths to Peace".

Re: PTC on the FLOW pod.

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 18:10:20 -0000

Awesome! Hope some of the discussion can be cross-pollinated here, too!

Re: A Sri-Lankan example for post-conflict societies.

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 21:54:33 -0000

True ~ commerce does build peace. I live here in Sri Lanka. I welcome any questions anyone may have.

Peace and love to all!

Gregg

Introduction - Charlie Jackson

Tue, 17 Oct 2006 19:37:07 -0000

Charlie Jackson is the CEO of Acceleros, a Texas-based company that focuses on business and marketing Technology. Mr. Jackson has led a variety of business ventures during the past twenty years including serving as founder of three technology-related startups and currently provides IT consulting for Global-500 companies.

In addition to his work, Charlie has been very active in peace and social justice issues. He is the founder of Texans for Peace and has been involved in projects in Bosnia, Guatemala and Iraq (he has made three trips during the war). His current project is providing support and workable economic development in Iraq via the Women's Business Center of Baghdad http://acceleros.com/WBCB/ in addition to ongoing advocacy to end the war http://texansforpeace.org/endthewar .

Mr. Jackson holds a B.A. in Government and an M.S. in Science and Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas, IC2 Institute. He has traveled extensively throughout the world and serves on a variety of boards and professional organizations including the Technology Indus Entreprenuers http://www.tie-aus.org/ . His publications include: "Process to Product: Creating Tools for Knowledge Management", in Knowledge Management and Business Model Innovation, Yogesh Malhotra, ed. (2001) and "Technology Innovation, Transfer, and Commercialization: Need for a Nonlinear Approach", in Proceedings of the 3rd Annual International Conference on Technology Policy and Innovation. (1999).

List of links and resources for PTC.

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 16:38:25 -0000

For those interested in nonprofit approaches to peace through commerce, there's a growing list including such information on the Peace Through Commerce blog.

Entrepreneurial visionaries.

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 19:13:43 -0000

Don't miss the first Entrepreneurial Visionary profile at the PTC blog. The profilee might just be a zaadz friend..

Intro reflect of me in you

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:58:05 -0000

Hi, Zaadzland citizens!

I'll like to introduce myself. I want to benefict of your condescendence to say a "few" words about me.

I wouln't dare to make them so "few" to your patience if I wasn't sure that to speak about me (just like each one of us speaking of himself) is to speak about the all of us' endowment and empowering for the purpose we all cross here in Zaadz's seed plantation.

To speak about ourselves is to speak before a mirror, mirror that reflects what we are,
what we appear to be, what we think we are and also what we would like to be now, in the future or ever.

I'm sure we agree in that not all of this self-refletion of each one of us are coincident in its contain. It's a good thing to be so.

Nevertheless, we can say that, in a certain sense, we are all of these reflects. Our past, present and future, and the their mutual living flesh mix are there as a conducting line in our lives.

We are what we are - as a power to be and to become, naturally or super-naturally, an increasing better human being.

We are what we appear to be to the others, and differently to each one of the others - we are, therefore, a multiplicity of appearences of us to the others, each one of it "true" and "untrue" at the same time.

The truth is an everlasting growing process to discover in a more and more fullness.

We are what we think we are - which is our self-appearance, our self-image, different as well of the image we impress in others, in each one of others.

We "are" finally what we would like to be, our project for ourselves, our project for ourselves to the others.

We are therefore a multiple existence, a be-ing entity, a project to be the self we already are.

So, what will appear to you, to each one of you will be a different Lapdrey, a different "Pilgrim of me" pilgriming in you.

So then, also what will appear to me, of you, will be each one of you pilgriming in me, according to each crossing encounter of each one of us to each other.

It is deeply enriching that it may be so, because the building of you and me, the building of me and each one of you, the building of each one of us and each one of the others will be so on the best way to its empowering, fulfilling and perfectioning.

So, what you will read here is only the present reflection of me in the (challeging) mirror you all are for me.

I think this model of mutual network crossing of each one of our paths is the best and most promissing and profitable one: it is the only, I think, that may allow us to consider the widest inclusive growing model for us: individually, collectivelly, networkingly.

We are for sure One in our human nature, the One self in all and each one of us: this is the commun frame and the challenge towards our personal, collective and transpersonal mutation.

But, on the same time, each one of us is unique, he is the Unique soul in all and each one of us: this is our fingerprint and the promise and the way to an individual, collective, communing Promise Land for us to live -

to live, share and commune all this richness in an everlasting growing life humanly divine.

"Oroborus spiral bridge"

As a pilgrim of me,
I have been searching for the sense
of life and death.

After I found its intangible golden seed,
I disgracefully lost it again,
for my unconquered imperfections.

I have made the turn of the inner world,
and now I came home again
to recover both half parts of me.

My goal is therefore to unit them:

as a fruitful blessing from above,
as a precious gift to be offered,
as a noble heritage to share with others
and as an everlasting life project to perform:

here, now and elsewhere.

Time for seed,
time for deeds,
time for being a flame of joy.

I am the ground,
the others are the wings.

The divine Spirit,
the vivifying freeze and the secure bridge
for eternity.

My life’s spiral-bridge path
(please take a look to me in Zaadz's project: http://uroborospiralbridge.zaadz.com)

I am basically a poet, a doer: someone that makes reality come to being, through the intentional power of language: thought, said, written or... lived.

I feel that I definitely have to link, in a better synthesis, both wings of my active being:

- the warrior worker that works with active words of powerful and efficacious effect on soul inward level,

- and the warrior worker that works with communicational and efficient active words on life outward level.

Now I feel I am on the point to find the right spiral bridges to such a deed in my life.

That's one of the reasons why I’m here:
as a living spiral uroboros, growing by an integral, transglobal and biotheosic model to be achieved and made resonant.

In the alchemy of this process, on the deep mirror of my soul, I look at me as a serpenting, circulating, spiraling human being, in a permanent rebirth from his own ashes, in four simultaneous and interdependent directions: upward, forward, downward, and aroundward.

So to be born divine, to be growing more human, to be more effectively compassionate and a more apocalyptically future revealer.

I' am therefore, essentially, a seeder - a zaadzer.

As such then, my day by day life's agenda is:

to learn
to share
to receive
to struggle
to perform

amongst a community of beings called by the tunes of future,
from the very bosom of the eternity of beauty.

My life's goal: Life is the mean, eternal life is the goal

I keep a proposal in life: permanently rebirth from the ashes of myself.

I awake, each new day, thanksgiving for the wonder of life -
in the positive, firm and enlightened propose to anchor
in the most intensive and fruitful Now, and now on -

personally, convocationally, interseptionally, congregationally, realizingly.

I work to the purpose of searching the major, higher and deeper
common, parallel, intersected, concentric
spiral interaction of all and everything:

in everyone, for everyone.

Ashoka/Cangemakers

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 23:25:29 -0000

http://www.changemakers.net/journal/peace/

Wish I'd Have Been There...

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 05:32:54 -0000

I'm really curious about this event and hope to see dialogue here. I intend to be at the next one. ;)

Michae Skye

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 05:35:24 -0000

Hello world. Michael Skye of VisionForce.com

I'm here in Austin and am just now getting involved in the FLOW world. Diving in... love what you're all doing.

Michael

Re: Michae Skye

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 05:56:01 -0000

Hi Michael, You can see photos of the PTC Austin event at http://babajeff.zaadz.com/photos/album/3062

Re: Wish I'd Have Been There...

Thu, 07 Dec 2006 05:57:28 -0000

As I just posted in response to your other posting, you can view photos from the Austin PTC at http://babajeff.zaadz.com/photos/album/3062

We may hold another one in late Feb/early March.

Micro lending to refugees - Peace through Commerce for Iraq

Tue, 01 May 2007 05:53:42 -0000

For the past two years I have been pursuing the concept of how to support Iraqis who are struggling the midst of war (see the Women's Business Center of Baghdad).

I just returned from Amman and an exploration of the conditions surrounding the 750,000 Iraqi refugees living there. Most of them are living as "illegals", unable to work or even venture outside without fear of being deported back to Iraq.

Proposed: to provided micro loans to individual families to operate private businesses to sustain themselves as refugees and, hopefully, to create sustainable enterprised that that can consistute the middle-class in Iraq once they are able to return.

DISCUSS

I CAN TELL THAT WE ARE GONNA BE FRIENDS :)

Sat, 19 May 2007 20:18:22 -0000

WHILE I'VE BEEN AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF ZAADZ FOR A WHILE NOW, I AM CURRENTLY WORKING ON BUILDING MY OWN SMALL COMPANY THAT IS SOCIALLY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIENCE... AND I CAN USE ALL THE HELP I CAN GET!

Re: A Million Paths to Peace

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:33:40 -0000

Challenges are indeed fun & - in not to unlike a fashion as Michael Strong - I to have been rising to the challenges for 40 years or more - BUT the REAL TIME ACTION in support of Penny On - which is taking place, day by day, everyday - at Mitchell High School in Stoke on Trent, UK - IS truly awesome. It is absolutely a tribute to the entrepreneurial spirit of Josiah Wedgewood & others, that set the standards of the potteries, during the industrial revolution and to Reginald Mitchell, inventor of the Spitfire & former student of the school now renamed after him.

Cases studies?

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:41:49 -0000

Hello there,

Does anyone have inspiring, compelling examples to share of socially responsible, profitable businesses that have been created consciously to bridge economic gaps between those countries that are (to-date) quite disconnected in the global economy? I'd love to hear them!

Thanks!

Chris