Amy Zalta

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Name

Amy Zalta

Welcome to our community: How do you define PEACE?

I define peace as having the existence of human nature and goodwill first and foremost in one’s character. This means having love, compassion, free will and empathy among a list that I am sure might change from person to person. I believe that striving for an absence of all forms of violence is essential for true, positive peace. This form of humanity is adaptable, but hatred must never come first. There might be a transformed mindset where no one wants to hurt another for the sake of themselves and not just the other. Peace is a world community that feels joy when one feels joy and feels sorrow when one feels sorrow.

A quote that has always stuck with me through the years goes, “When the power of love overcome the love of power, the world will know peace.” — Jimi Hendrix

How did you find this community?

Erik Dammann introduced Daniel Dammann and myself to the organization through his contact -Johan Galtung

Do you have any professional experience in the field of peace-research? peace-studies? peace-practice?

In my younger schooling years I acted a student mediator where we worked with students after there had been a disturbance between either a pair or group of students to come to a solution and compromise. We were required to follow certain protocols and procedure outlined in documentation that was signed by the mediators, the participating students who needed mediation and the guidance counselor. The guidance counselor did not attend the actual mediations as the school believed the best way for the youth to come to understandings was to work through their peers. I believe this system helped in the rough atmosphere that my school possessed at the time. The student had a choice of suspension from school or peer mediation. This made for working through problems rather than going home and mulling over them for weeks only to come back even more upset than the student already left the situation. In my experience, I believe we were able to create a good atmosphere for finding solutions to any problems that could arise at junior level and I gained much from the experience.

Are you at all familiar with concepts of Nonviolence and Conflict Transformation?

Nonviolence simply put is the absence of cultural, structural and direct violence.

Conflict Transformation (CT) exposes a heightened understanding of the nature of conflict. It is based on the concept in which conflict is normal and that conflict transforms occasions, people and relationships into opposition both from conception and reaction. CT is a means of prescribing intervention that involves modifying the social structure and institution in positives ways through reinforcement of relationships, structures and self-images. In this regard, the drives that are natural in conflict are transformed as a tool for good.

What are your primary conceptual interests and concerns

International Relations – diplomacy, Anthropology – culture and social relations, Peace and Conflict Resolution (although I have doubts about the term 'resolving'), Saudi women's rights, Arab Spring

Location(s)

I live mainly in Scotland, however I have also lived in the U.S. and Israel.

What is your main regional focus?

Middle East (Israel-Palestine)

Languages

English – fluent
Hebrew – advanced
Spanish – intermediate
Arabic – beginner

 
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