Design with Dialogue starts each new year with proposals for the upcoming sessions, and we aim for both intentional impacts and resonant emergence. Rather than planning a series of programs, we set themes and look for opportunities to engage those themes with interested hosts or presenters. A recurring and critical inquiry, both intentional and emergent, is that of a peaceful future in Canada, North America and our relationships with the world.
Our January DwD convened a group for a conversational dinner to explore together the possibility of policies and engagements for peace in Canada. The intent was to start a continuing dialogue across viewpoints and cultures grounded in the unique Canadian experience and expression of “peace, order, and good government.” Rather than moving toward activism, the opportunity was held for discourse and perspectives that might promote peaceful relations to our governments and colleagues.
Throughout the year we’ll be joining other communities of inquiry – with Unify Toronto’s Indigenize or Die series and Interchange for Peace (Stephen Sillett) in particular. Another fellow treveler is the Science for Peace series at UofT (also held on Wednesdays)
We started with several initial inquiries, that might continue throughout the year as recurrent themes:
- Why isn’t there a robust peace movement in Canada? Given Canada’s longest participation in wartime in its history (Following Afghanistan, we are in Ukraine in the NATO build-up against Russia) – Why are we complacent? How do we wake up to the moment and realize the societal costs of these engagements?
- The Doomsday Clock is set to the closest to midnight since the 1950’s nuclear arms race. There’s a good chance it will go closer in 2017 given the promised increase in nuclear weapons support by US presidents Trump and Obama. How might we live with and communicate about this symbol in our civic lives?
- What ought to be our priorities for peace making in this era? How might we FIND peace?
- How might we ally and participate with indigenous people to inform peace advocacy? See the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
- What do we have to reconcile within ourselves and the national culture do become peacemaking a peacekeeping culture?
(Can we design interventions relevant to Canada’s 150th?)