Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
>>
Hi, good morning. >> OLIVER: Good morning.
>> My dear friend Tom Oliver is an inspiring example that a person in ordinary circumstances
with the right intention can accomplish extraordinary things. A few years ago while Tom was vacationing
in Berlin, he passed by Brandenburg Gate and he told himself, I am going to create the
largest World Peace Festival in the world right here. And remember that back then, Tom
was not rich nor famous. He was just an ordinary guy with a big dream towards creating greater
good in the world. And we fast forward to today, Tom is on the verge of organizing the
largest World Peace Festival in history. He has founded the World Peace Partnership and
he has also gathered an impressive list of big names behind him including the United
Nations, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Richard Branson. Tom is an amazing human being and
I'm delighted and humbled to have a dear friend like him. And my friends, I give you Tom Oliver.
Thank you my brother. >> OLIVER: Wow. That was quite an introduction.
Well, thank you so much, Ming. It's true, a few years back, I came to this place in
Berlin and I don't know how many of you who have been in Berlin. There is this place where
the wall used to be. And you come to this place which is full of history and magic at
the same time and you see where a city formally divided has become one. And it's a good symbol
for what we're talking about today because I wouldn't be standing here talking to you
right now if I didn't believe that World Peace is actually possible. So, before I give you
my take or our take on World Peace and Silicon Valley Stake in the Game which is the topic
for today. Let's talk in a minute or two about conflict and war in the world. I brought you
some statistics which kind of set the stage for the talk today. More conflicts are now
ended by settlements and negotiations than by military victory. Just to give you some
numbers. It was 42 to 23 in the 1990s and now it's 17 to 4 between 2000 and 2005. But
military expenditure has increased 45% over the last 10 years. If we're looking at the
opportunity cost of war, this is absolutely staggering. So, if were just looking at the
conflict in the Middle East, the opportunity costs are put at roughly 13 billion. We're
also working with something called the Institute for Economics and Peace and they are the worldwide
leaders when it comes to--fact about violent, conflict, and war. And I got the latest stats
from them about the opportunity cost of violence in the world. It's now estimated to be over
8.12 trillion in 2010, so let's just get this for a moment. It's 8.12 trillion. If the world
became 25% more peaceful in 2010, we would have seen the global economy have a boost
of over $2 trillion just in 2010. And just think about what we could do with that money.
So we could avoid, actually, the worse effect of global climate change. We could reach the
UNMDGs and we could actually, at one stroke, we could eliminate the public debt of Greece,
Portugal, and Ireland. So that's kind of the stage for what we're talking about today.
However, if you look at peace agreement and negotiations, about 40% of them fail over
time. And a good question is, why? And one of the reasons is that peace is seen as something
quite passive and weak. And peace is seen as something that we talk or think about when
we have violent conflict. So people then, they sit down and they try to reach settlements.
But the problem is the real causes of violence and of war are never really addressed. So,
we kind of try to cure the symptoms what we're not--not really getting at the roots and the
sources of conflict in the world today. So, I would like to start with asking you, the
audience, at random what you think--what peace is to you really. Because one of the funny
things I've seen over the years is that everybody defines peace very differently. And I'm asked
a lot of times. So, what's peace to you? So let's start right here. What's--what is peace
to you? >> I always hear it in interviews [INDISTINCT].
>> OLIVER: Okay. It's very good. Very good. Here you go.
>> [INDISTINCT] something like that. >> OLIVER: Okay.
>> [INDISTINCT] >> OLIVER: Absolutely.
>> Because you're [INDISTINCT]. >> OLIVER: You're absolutely right. So for
you, it's more about inner peace and for you it's more about ending violent conflict on
the outside, okay. Very good. Someone else? What do you--what's peace to you?
>> [INDISTINCT] peaceful mind. >> OLIVER: Peaceful mind? Very good. Okay.
Here we go, what's it to you? >> Well, I think about physical safety and
respect. >> OLIVER: Physical safety, and respect. Respect
is a good one actually. It comes out very rarely. Very good. What about you? Any ideas
on what it is to you? >> [INDISTINCT]
>> OLIVER: Many, okay. Here we go. >> I think about [INDISTINCT] my personal
happiness. >> OLIVER: Personal happiness, very good point.
I met a representative from the--from Bhutan recently. I don't know if you're aware they
have a gross national product of happiness they define which is I think quite a nice
take on it. So, I think happiness is an important point. And you [INDISTINCT] what it means
to you? >> I want to say, forgiveness.
>> OLIVER: Forgiveness, that's a good one. Very good. Very good. How would forgiveness
relate to peace in your--in your opinion? >> [INDISTINCT]
>> OLIVER: Very good. >> The absence of conflict.
>> OLIVER: Absence of conflict, very good. Very good point. Forgiveness, I think, is
a--it rarely comes up but very, very good point. Please?
>> Having the power to choose. >> OLIVER: Having the power to choose. Okay.
Could you elaborate on that just a second? >> To determine one's destiny and...
>> To determine one's destiny versus being controlled and having very confined options.
Very good. Could you bring that up there? When I was talking about Berlin, I was--I
was born in Germany. So, I was raised with that kind of conflict of these two countries.
And I think if you look at former East Germany having the freedom to choose is something
that was quite critical there because it really wasn't available that much. And the options
were very confined. It's a very good point. Some more contributions? Maybe from back there?
What peace means to you? Sorry? >> Justice.
>> OLIVER: Justice. How would you define justice? >> I can't explain.
>> OLIVER: Okay. But justice as an abstract... >> [INDISTINCT]
>> OLIVER: Good, very good. Okay. Very good point. Do you have a suggestion?
>> [INDISTINCT] >> OLIVER: You're able to move about without
fear. Fear is an important point. Yeah, I think that's very important. I was surfing
at Mavericks, yes, at the Half Moon Bay and I have the strong fear of sharks actually
because this is the great white shark kind of [INDISTINCT]. So fear is something that--I
think fear has many different forms. I think there is a natural fear we have which is justified
and there is something else that, you know, we all know the kind of the mind game of fear
were playing. And that's very real as well and it's influencing a lot of our choices.
And then obviously fear is very real when you're in a conflict zone and experiencing
violent conflict. So, very good point. Good. So, before I start with my take on world peace
and I'm sorry I'm engaging the audience so much but I really think it's so much fun.
And I always talk about the brilliant minds at Google wherever I go. So, I think I have
to engage a little bit of that here. I would like to have some initial feedback of what
you think or what we would need to create world peace. Just some kind of, in a sentence
or two where do you think it starts? I mean if we talk about inner peace, then these would
be methods to achieve inner peace, right? If we talk about conflict is there something
that's lacking in the world today where you think we should have that to create peace?
Would there be something where you think...? >> You have [INDISTINCT] stuff earlier [INDISTINCT]
I imagined a lot of [INDISTINCT] >> OLIVER: People not talking to each other,
very good point. So in terms of connectivity would that be something that could--that could
help. Very, very good point. Other ideas, just kind of--in terms of we're brain storming.
>> Education. >> OLIVER: Education.
>> [INDISTINCT] >> OLIVER: Very good point.
>> [INDISTINCT] read your daily newspaper... >> OLIVER: Read your daily newspaper?
>> ...to educate the people. >> OLIVER: Yes. Yes. Very good point. Could
you repeat that so I can give it to the camera? >> You should get a newspaper to educate the
people to panic more intelligently. >> OLIVER: Okay. Very good. Okay now, read
your daily newspaper because in educated paper, people panic more intelligently. Very good
point. Yes, that's very, very nice. That's a nice one. I'll make a mental note of that.
Very, very good. Other suggestions? >> [INDISTINCT] I would go with like, basic
needs being met. >> OLIVER: Basic needs being met, okay.
>> Because it's [INDISTINCT] opportunity to support it that--you feel like, you are [INDISTINCT]
or...? >> OLIVER: Right.
>> ...so your basic needs is either to be [INDISTINCT] or whatever.
>> OLIVER: Okay. I think opportunity goes a little bit more towards what you were saying
about having the freedom to choose and the options available. And then there are basic
needs as well which have to me because if they're not met we're--it's very difficult.
Very good. Very good. Any other suggestions for maybe like the recent events we've seen
around the world where people start their own revolutions. One of the reasons--yes,
please? >> Less corrupt.
>> OLIVER: Less corruption? Good point. Less corruption. Okay.
>> [INDISTINCT] you need to like--your voice matters or something.
>> OLIVER: Very good point. Your voice matters. Yes.
>> It's not a democracy necessarily but it's nit being totally suppressed.
>> OLIVER: Okay. Okay. So not necessarily democracy, but having your voice heard?
>> Yes. >> OLIVER: Okay. Very good point. Very good
point. Okay, any other suggestions for now? Okay, good. Very good. If we look at the peace
movement in the last 20, 30 years I think what we need is what I always call a re-branding
of peace, because if you look at kind of the Woodstock area and you know, usually when
people think about peace, it's something that's quite passive, right? We think about peace
as kind of as a weak, you know, it's passive. It's not doing a lot. It's kind of the ***
smoking, marijuana kind of, you know, easy, Woodstocky kind of feeling, and I think that's
something we need to change. So I think there needs to be a whole re-branding of peace and
also of the peace movement because peace can be something very, very powerful and very
strong. And I think this is in the minds of the people that's one of the steps we have
to take. One of my favorite quotes is that, "War start in the minds of the people before
they ever fought on the battlefield." So this is where changing needs to begin and I think
that's very crucial. So when we talk about peace, it's not just having the basic needs
met. It's not about, you know, ending violent conflict. It's not about--it's about all these
things, but it's also about eradicating some of the myths that have surrounded peace for
so long. One of the myths I was talking about in the beginning namely, the opportunity cause
of conflict, because if we look at the last 100 years in the world we have been taught
that wars actually built prosperous economies which is not, not true. So there are a lot
of myths surrounding peace, same as that peace is, you know, weak and to be, you know, violent
kind of, you know, gung ho out there, get kind of, forcefully, aggressively getting
things done is very strong. And so I think we--when we talk about peace, it's really
talking about the inner and the outer at the same time and it's also talking about eradicating
those myths, re-branding peace, but also educating people so they know what actually peace means
to them and how you can achieve peace. So I think the peace movement needs--the peace
movement and peace as a brand needs kind of a re-branding. So, when we talk about how
to create world peace, something very interesting has been happening over the last 15, 20 years
when we talk about the environment and we're in California, you know, that's where the
environmental movement really started. So, in the environment, in the beginning, it was
something that was supported by a minority of people. It was kind of a movement the whole
green movement started slowly. Corporations didn't really care about, you know, most of
them about the environment, about that movement. And now, it's become so widespread and now
so much supported through the different layers of society; that corporations now, they'd
have to think about the environment when designing new products, about how to integrate that
into anything to do with the consumer and so on and so on. Peace is a little bit unfortunately
where the environmental movement was in the beginning of those days. Now, we see in the
environment--we regularly see leaders from all different areas come together and address
what holistic solutions should look like for the environment. It doesn't mean that the
problem has been solved but we do have these regular meetings of different leaders from
all the different areas. We do not have that for peace. So, the U.N. usually talks--I'm
generalizing here but the U.N. talks to other people in the U.N., military talks basically
among themselves or artist are, you know, pro-peace anyway but there is no real interaction
than you have governments--corporates don't really pick up on peace. It's not a big topic
with corporates. So we're--we've been very fortunate in what we're doing with the World
Peace Festival and the World Peace Partnership to attract some corporates who feel that they
should put that on their flag but it's really rare. And--thanks. And it's really rare. So,
corporations in general do not really pick up on peace. It's something that a little
bit where the environmental movement used to be. So, what we need to as a first step
to create peace, we need to have gatherings of different leaders from all those different
areas. I'm talking military, U.N., I'm talking artists; I'm talking visionary corporate CEOs;
I'm talking grassroots; I'm talking to peace builders from around the planet to talk about
what holistic sustainable peace building agenda should look like in the world today. So this
is something we don't have and this is something we absolutely need. Something like the World
Economic Forum comes to my mind but for peace, the only problem with that is that, the World
Economic Forum has become a cigar club for, you know, a select group of people who regularly
get together but there's no real connection with the outside world. So, there's no link
to the general public and the masses so to speak. I was first introduced by the U.N.
to other parties of the United Nations because we're working with the U.N. as well as--with
the funny phrase. "This is Tom. He is doing something like a cross between Life 8 and
the World Economic Forum." But what that's going to mean is that we need to have the
masses together with those, you know, that gathering of leaders and then it needs to
be a two-way street so that's something we definitely need. Unfortunately, when we are
talking about big, big events like, for instance, Live 8, Live Earth, but also other things
like, you know, Stones, live in Rio for instance, they got over 2 million people for a concert
together in Rio and then everybody walked off and everybody went home. And Mick Jagger
said afterwards, you know, he said, "We could have done so much with those 2 million people."
But there is just, you know, there's no interaction, there's no--no continued activity that caters
to that group of people. So, it's very important. If--Live 8, for instance, was more meant as
a message for--to the outside world to say, "You know, listen. There's something wrong
in Africa." You know, "We need to--we need to look towards Africa and they need our help."
What we need in peace is different. We need to create a peace machine that really gets
things done around the planet. So, we need to have those gatherings of leaders, we need
to have the connection to the general public, it needs to be a two-way street, this needs
to be regular and this really needs to involve all different layers of society. So that's
something that's very, very crucial. And, unfortunately, it was forgotten with a lot
of the major events around the planet. So, when we talk about a peace building agenda,
this has to be coordinated between all those different players. It has to be something
that's holistic, which means it has to really address all the different sources of conflict.
Everything you've said before is very, very important because everything you said pertains
to peace. And so, when we talk about a holistic peace building agenda it has to involve all
those different areas. It has to involve inner peace, but it also has to involve global connectivity,
it has to involve conflict between individuals but also between nations. And it also has
to involve the environment as well as, you know, the corporate leaders, the military,
the U.N., and so on. Otherwise, we're lacking holistic and sustainable agenda and this will
simply not result in peace overtime. And we'll be, at the end, we'll just kind of cure the
symptoms but not really address the causes of conflict. And any feedback to this so far?
Any kind of other ideas you might have or maybe you're not on the same opinion or something
that--I like to make this more kind of an engaging talk than just kind of talking at
you. Yes? >> I wonder what is the role of, you know,
[INDISTINCT]? >> OLIVER: Financial resources, okay. So,
this goes a little bit back to the basic needs but also to the financial resources, right?
So, it's basically about eradicating poverty. Which I think is a very, very crucial point.
In what I'm doing, we're working also with something called the Global Poverty Project
which the founder of that was also the founder of the Make Poverty History; one of the founders
of the Make Poverty History campaign which resulted in Live 8. I think that is a very
crucial point and you too need to engage that in your strategy which means eradicating poverty
providing basic needs, and also tie in to the UNMDGs or Millennium Development Goals
of the U.N. I think is a very, very important point and need not be forgotten. So peace
has to be defined as you're saying as something more broad and holistic than just pertaining
to, you know, just inner peace or just peace on a superficial level, good point. You had,
yes, please. >> I have a question.
>> OLIVER: Yes. >> What is the [INDISTINCT] connection between
peace and the environment? >> OLIVER: Okay. Yes, of course, connection
between peace and the environment. Well, first of, I think that when we talk about peace,
you can't call yourself peaceful when you're destroying the environment at the same time.
I think we have to look at peace also in the sense of a larger context and see that we're
embedded in a environment where life is based on cooperation not only in society, but also
with our planet. So, first, on a broader level, I think peace should pertain to peace within
yourself, peace with others, but also peace with the environment. At the same time though,
environment--when we're talking about the environment, it also has to do with scarce
resources which is something you brought up before. So, the fight over resources--fights
over scarce resources will--unless we resolve the problem, the energy problems and also
the problems scarce resources, and the allocation of resources around the planet will obviously,
you know, can result in violent conflict. So, that's a very, very important point. This
is how I would see the environment. Yes, does that answer your question? Very good.
>> [INDISTINCT] >> OLIVER: Yes?
>> [INDISTINCT] you were saying that in the U.K., people want to [INDISTINCT] the peace
movement [INDISTINCT] so [INDISTINCT] that this in a way would be [INDISTINCT] a problem
of ultimate [INDISTINCT]. So, it's always a desire [INDISTINCT]. But if you make it
[INDISTINCT], you need to [INDISTINCT] because now you're [INDISTINCT]. So, to what extent
or in what single way can we help the people how to make it easier for the people to engage
in peace movement? >> OLIVER: Very good point. So, how can we
make it easier for people to engage in the peace movement?
>> Right. >> OLIVER: Right? And you were comparing it
to websites? >> Right.
>> OLIVER: And engagement of users. >> Yes, with ease of engagement because I
was [INDISTINCT] >> OLIVER: Ease of engagement, yes.
>> [INDISTINCT] >> OLIVER: Exactly.
>> Or you might be get paid for it [INDISTINCT] >> OLIVER: Very good.
>> [INDISTINCT] >> OLIVER: Very good. Very good. Because you
said you're not a world leader. This is where the various of entries are. This is I think
one of the myths we're talking about. People generally think that, you know, I'm not a
president, you know. I'm not a billionaire so I can't really do anything about peace.
Well, I've met billionaires who thought they couldn't do anything about world peace. So,
it--I think one of the myths we're talking about is that people think--well, they either
think they can't do anything because they're not a world leader or they really don't know
what to do, which bring us to a very, very important topic; mainly, the kind of call
to action. What's the call to action, right? And I think to create world peace; we need
two types of those calls to action. We need a personal call to action and we need a collective
call to action. So, what can I do on an individual level and what can I do, you know, together
with others? And this needs to be as you said--with peace, it's true. We need to kind of take
people's hand and show them the way a little bit because it's not really clear. And what
you're saying actually hits the nail on the head because we don't, you know, the majority
of our--we don't really know what to do when it comes to peace. You know, how can I help,
right? And which brings us all to back to the theme of the talk today. You know, what
can Silicon Valley actually do to help? So, answering the first question. As individuals,
there has to be a personal call to action and a collective call to action. So, what
could a personal call to action be? Well, the way I would define it is, is that peace
starts with me. So, it doesn't start with the others. It really has to start with ourselves.
One of the fundamental beliefs we're following and what we're doing is that world peace really
starts with the individual. So, that means first, it's about true--it's about how can
I be--how can I be more at peace with myself? So, I would really start at the top with kind
of inner peace, right? Without sounding too esoteric but how can I be more at peace with
myself and others? What do I do if I'm, you know, in a situation where I just want to
again, you know, hit my boss or whatever, you know. We--we've all known this situation
where we're kind of, you know, "Oh." And so, how can I attain actually a genuine state
of peace? So, one thing that we need to do is we need to create those tools for individuals
and they're already out there, but we need to kind of collect them and make them available
to individuals to tell them, "Listen, this is what you can do about peace." The next
step would be we have to take this one step further. How can you actually resolve conflict
between you and others? And also for this show, you know, several steps and very practical
solutions. One thing we're doing for instance, we're publishing educational materials about
this where we show different steps to individual peace but also steps for conflict resolution.
So, you know, what can you do if you're actually in a violent conflict? What can you do to
resolve conflict in general? And then also obviously, how can you attain more kind of
an inner--state of inner peace, which is very critical? As a collective call to action,
this is something where we're lacking in the peace movement, kind of a coordinated global
agenda. So, what we've done, we have worked together with grassroots to governments to
military to the United Nations and the kind of famous and non-famous peace builders from
around the world and have asked what would the holistic global peace building agenda
look like? Now we've come up with a solution of seven long term programs which range from,
you know, kind of that inner peace and education materials to educating the next generation
of peace builders, meaning the younger generations to empowering women around the world to be
in positions to be--to have more leading positions when it comes to peace. To working--to what's
the U.N. Peace Treaty Convention actually in 2015. To also something that I will elaborate
a bit more about later, which is something we call a global tax on the arms trade because
we're actually campaigning to impose a tax on the arms trade and redistribute money from
those profits which are outrageous to help achieve the millennium development goals and
eradicate poverty where you again come full circle. So, individual personal call to action
and collective call to action. So, what you were saying before is a myth that is quite
wide spread but is also pointing towards the real problems in the peace movement. Meaning,
what can I actually do? What is it that I can do? I can't do anything because I'm not
in power. And then when you look towards a lot of people in power, well, they're not
doing very much either. So then the question is, so who is--who is doing what then in the
end? So we need to--all of us need to engage. So, about the personal call to action inner
peace, it's between me and others and then there's also the collective call to action
where right now, we see that actually each individual counts. Because we're at a very,
very crucial point in history where technology empowers individuals around the planet because
of global connectivity, which is basically one of the areas I wanted to talk about today,
what can Silicon Valley do when it comes to world peace? So, one thing you were saying
before, the more I am connected to others, the less need for conflict there is. And why
is that? Well first, global connectivity means that information travels instantly across
the planet. This has several side effects. Number one, the more I understand about the
lives of people at other places on the planet, the more I actually identify with them, you
know. The more I know about this guy in Somalia or any conflicts--the more I can identify
with them. The more I connect and the more information I have, the less I'm actually
prone to engage in conflict. And the more I'm also bound to actually help those people
who are in need. But for this, I need information. Now, we have actually seen a revolution in
technology over the last 10, 20 years. And now, individuals are empowered more than ever
before around the world. Well, what's happening is that individuals are using certain tools
and certain technology to free themselves as we've seen in recent months. But this is
done on--out of, you know, sheer need, but it's not that Silicon Valley actually sat
down and said, "Listen, what can we actually do? How can we take what we have?" Take this
one step further and really empower individuals even more to bring about peace. So, what I'm
saying is that people have been using those tools basically as a result of the--of the
need and the situations they're in but there hasn't been a conscious effort here to actually
sit down and think about, "Okay. Let's look at what we have. Let's look at what's been
working. And how can we put that together, taking one step further?" And maybe even just
combining what we have in a new way or in a better way to really help those people around
the planet start their own kind of bedroom revolutions which then become nationwide revolutions.
Please? >> [INDISTINCT]
>> OLIVER: Sure. Let me try and actually give you--give you the mic for just a second.
>> Okay. So, can you tell us what has been working and what kind of impact it has so
far? >> OLIVER: Okay. From a broad point of view,
anything that enables connectivity helps. So, we were just talking about this actually
before you came in about cell phones and connectivity and solutions that work even when the Internet
goes down and so on and so on. There's something in Africa, it's called the Ushahidi engine.
It has been working wonderfully which is basically a--something where people can connect with
each other using something they call, the Ushahidi engine to--and not only help--well,
it started as a kind of civilian movement and it started to quell violence in Kenya.
I can give you the exact numbers here, this was in 2008. That was an Internet platform
allowing data to be gathered via text or email to be visualized on a map or timeline. And
this in the end enabled faster or more accurate response than ever in history when it came
to where the--where the herds of conflict were. So, when--it's been used in Haiti, Gaza
and many other areas afterwards. So when Kofi Annan actually came to Kenya afterwards, a
lot of the fires have been put out. So when we talk about what works, number one is that
kind of global connectivity; empowering people to be connected to share information. And
it's really a lot of times that simple. So it's really like, how can we make information
available, faster, more exact and better than before? So, it's all out there but again,
there hasn't been a conscious effort to really sit down and think, "Okay. Let's look at what
people actually do need in those situations and what we can provide?" If you look at what's--what
generally works of the big, big, big, big platforms out right now in the general public
and I'm not talking about violent conflict. We see things like Google obviously, definitely
working, Twitter, Facebook; those are like the giants that are working and how people
connect with each other. Learning from those experiences, we could take it one step further
and see--okay, how can we combine some of the methods and the tools to really help it--to
really help people know what's going on, make information available faster and better than
before? Also, what's missing world wide is a network connecting people interested in
peace projects and initiatives. So meaning, the best thing could happen actually like
two blocks from you but you would not know that it's going on. That's completely missing
in the world today. Also, what's missing is that there is no transferal of knowledge.
So for instance, a guy working with--in a City Kids in Detroit doesn't really talk to
the guy working with child soldiers in Somalia, but the funny thing is that the tools and
what's working is actually--that's transferable, but there's no real exchange of information
and why? Because peace has not been given priority, it's as simple as that. So you could
do so much more if you brought about or you enabled those networks and that exchange of
knowledge. Which again, it happens at a very, very, very small level but it's really minimal.
Then again, there are a lot of initiatives around the planet that no one knows about.
I was talking about this kind of what happens two blocks from you, but it also goes farther
than that. We worked with someone in Somalia who for $5 purchases a goat and takes the
goat on his kind of little motorbike and goes out and exchanges one goat for, you know,
against one child soldier who works with the [INDISTINCT]. So for one--so fore five Euros,
he can actually free one child, which is amazing. And I think if more people knew about initiatives
like this around the planet, people would know more what to do, which comes back to
what you said before. Maybe I can give time and resources, maybe someone in, you know,
Detroit who works within the City Kids needs a new website and I can help them pull that
up. But maybe I can give, you know, $15, $20, $30 to someone who frees child soldiers in
Somalia but, again, you don't know about it. So, again, it's about making--getting that
information out there and helping people to make wise choices. Is that--what's your--is
it feedback? >> It sounds like you [INDISTINCT] journalistic
gorilla. >> OLIVER: Journalistic gorilla.
>> Yes. I don't know. I was [INDISTINCT]. >> OLIVER: Sorry. Let me give you the mic.
Yes, it's actually good. >> Right. I was saying we might need a new
type of journalistic gorilla because in my opinion, mainstream media, they don't cover
the necessary sort of angles or views. And it was really--it was really--it had a big
impact on me when I--a couple of days ago on Alta Sierra, I just saw this footage of
a guy in Bahrain, I think, crying because his son had died. Now that's not normally
the type of pictures you see on CNN, et cetera. And in that--in seeing that footage, it made
me feel more connected with the people on the ground.
>> OLIVER: And it brought the problem kind of closer to home?
>> Yes. >> OLIVER: Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Which
again goes back to global connectivity, what can we do to share those stories?
>> Because I know when I've been that sad and I know why...
>> OLIVER: Right, because you know when you've been that sad.
>> Yes. >> OLIVER: So, that's exactly it. A very,
very good point. >> It enables empathy [INDISTINCT].
>> OLIVER: Right. This enables empathy, exactly. And then also altruistic action, so you think,
"What can I actually do to help him?" Exactly. Yes. Exactly right. So what are we talking
about? And we're talking about exchange. Let's collect some of--some of your ideas. So we're
talking about exchange of information, right? So we need more--so what do we need? We need
more information, correct. We need more sharing. We need more empowerment. We need networks
that enable people to connect with each other, right? We need tools that work locally, so
we need people in conflict zones to be able to connect with each other and this--the date
of that then gathered ideally would be fed into a system that would show, you know, areas
of violent conflict that would also provide other information which people could then
use to actually resolve conflict, right? >> Yes.
>> OLIVER: Right. >> Censorship, what are you going to do about
the problem of censorship? >> OLIVER: The problem of censorship?
>> [INDISTINCT] sat down [INDISTINCT]. >> OLIVER: This is also something we were
talking about actually earlier before the whole speech started. We're talking about
what could a different solution be that would enable people to connect for instance using
cell phones when the Internet networks are shutdown, right? I think also the cell phone--obviously,
we have Google, but the cell phone providers have not really understood the power of what
they could do as well. That really hasn't--they haven't caught up to that. In terms of global
connectivity, that really hasn't--also because it hasn't been on their agenda. And that could
either be an enormous revolution there when it comes to peace building if they address
this from a more conscious point of view, but it really hasn't happened. So that's a
very, very good question. What could we do to enable networks locally even if there is
censorship? Another thing you were saying is that obviously the whole idea of how we
approach journalism has to change and the news we report on. I know an initiative in
Hollywood that actually--it tries to set up a network for good news as opposed to kind
of bad news, right? Because we know how much good news is actually a favorite. In Africa,
we're working with someone called A24 Media, which is the largest independent news network
in Africa. What they're doing is they're providing platform for journalist to share news that
also a lot of times could be censored because there is a lot of censorship still going on
in a lot of these areas. So, what we're talking about is also a different approach--is very
good point to journalism. Meaning also, you know, reporting on good news and what works
as well as on basically being free of censorship or finding ways that people can still make
their voices heard even though there is censorship, which for instance this guy Salim Amin working
with in Africa has done, it's called A24 Media. And as I said, it's the largest independent
news network in Africa. So, that's exactly a very, very good point. Sorry about that.
So, to sum up a little bit, we said we need to give individual tools, so we need to know
what tools are out there to enable me to be more at peace with myself and others. We need
to also understand about global connectivity and I think also we need to have some role
models. Also, I think it's very important we need to showcase people who are doing,
you know, a fantastic, very courageous things around the planet. I need to showcase those
non-famous peacebuilders, you know, we all know about the Dalai Lamas and the Desmond
Tutu's of this world and so on. But there are so many people around the world who are
doing, you know, very courageous things that have enormous--that are really effective but,
you know, we don't hear about them. So, it's something that we put on our flag for instance
is to really showcase those peacebuilders, put them out there and report on their stories
and make their voices heard. So it can inspire you and others to do similar things in your
neighborhood or in other areas. So, I think that's something very, very important. This
also goes back to the myths we're talking about, namely that peace actually is very
strong and can be really powerful. So, what you were saying, all those positive stories
that are actually happening out there, they're also not regularly reported on, so that's
something we definitely need. Generally, the--I think we're now at a tipping point as I said
before because individuals are waking up to their collective power and technologies have
reached a state where--those two kind of awakenings could actually merge. But I really think it
needs a conscious, responsible approach from everybody involved and that including as I
said, Silicon Valley to really sit down and think, "Okay," like almost like in a task
force, you know. And ideally, at different levels and at different areas, what could
we actually do? What could we do to empower those people? What can we do when it comes
to global connectivity? What can we do to make those voices heard, so and so on? I think
that's a very critical point. And I think, again, it starts with--it starts in the minds
of the people. It starts that--it starts with me and it starts with each one of you feeling
that, "Okay. I really don't want to be a bystander. I want to take a conscious effort and I want
to do something about this." And what you were saying about watching this on TV, it
made you feel closer, so you identify more and you immediately ask yourself, "Okay. What
can I do to alleviate that situation?" Good. Let me tell you a little bit about what we're
doing at the World Peace Partnership and the World Peace Festival and then I'd like to
conclude. We're basically running an event that would be the largest peace event in history
where we do exactly what I said at the beginning. We got those leaders from all these different
areas together, whether that's U.N., whether that's military generals, whether that's visionary
corporate CEOs, entrepreneur's like Branson, whether that's people from music, art, film
and of course, the Nobel Peace Laureates. We also got the famous and non-known famous
peacebuilders there, so that we can learn from their stories and also from their wisdom
when it comes to peace building. Then the idea is that all those different representatives
go home to their own constituencies and take the kind of the global coordinated peace building
agenda that we've been collectively putting together home to their constituencies. Also,
we have a direct tie-in to the U.N. because the outcome of the conference will be submitted
as an official contribution to the U.N. General Assembly by U.N. ambassadors. We also try
to enable global connectivity as much as possible also at the event, having individuals' feedback
to the topics right away before, during, and after the conference. So you don't have just,
you know, a bunch of fantastic people sitting in a room, but there is no real outside connection.
Also, we're driving what I was saying before, the kind of coordinated peace building agenda
around the world which is long term. We take the event around the planet, but we also have
seven long term programs which tackle, we hope in cooperation with grassroots, to governments,
to U.N. all those vital elements of conflict around the planet so that we can really make
a dent and achieve peace. One of these programs I was talking about is the global tax on the
arms trade which we're really excited about and which is getting fantastic momentum, which
is that we're campaigning to impose a tax on the arms trade. And I'm just talking about
arms--the profits of the export, I'm not talking about the security blanket of the respective
countries. So I'm just talking about the infuriating profits that I made in that industry. If you
look towards tobacco which is taxed by, I think, 20--an additional 20% in the U.S.,
and then you look at the whole industry which is taxed by an additional 12% in countries
like the U.K., we also have things like the airline tax and so on and so on. I often wondered,
"Well, about the arms trade then?" And the profits are outrageous. So what we're doing
is we're saying that we're cutting a deal and we are re-distributing some of these profits
to help arms victims around the world and to reach the U.N. Millennium Development Goals
and eradicate poverty which to us, as we believe provides, you know, a real basis for peace.
So, it's one of the, you know, one of the many approaches we're taking to kind of make
a dent on our end. So, maybe I'd, you know, I can conclude with a statement that all of
you are here today, I'm going to give you a comment; you certainly have a very strong
interest in peace and are quite passionate about it and you feel that you are connected
to this. And to--you feel that you as individuals have a stake in this. And I think that if
we could address this more consciously with a lot more brilliant minds in Silicon Valley
and get this on the agenda in light of recent events around the planet, we could actually
empower those people in conflict zones a lot more and also empower individuals here and
back home to do something about it. So, that would be it. Thank you very much.