Important Questions During the Listening Campaign - Aug 24

I turned to the Peace Research Endowment - < http://www.prio.no/peace-research-endowment/PreNews/details?oid=5002975 > to prepare for this post. For today, my 'listening' is aimed at better understanding some of the important questions being raised around the globe exploring how it might be possible to better 'Invest with Impact'. I will be writing more on this subject soon.

I began the day by meeting my youngest son and his wife for breakfast at a local restaurant at 6:30. How wonderful it is to live in a country where despite the divisive political debate, there is not war. Then afterwards I took a 30 minute bicycle ride. While riding I was pondering about the detrimental effects that war and conflict have on the reduction of poverty and hunger, on primary education, on the reduction of child mortality, and on access to potable water.

Concerned that my countrymen do not give enough thought, nor is there enough stimulated debate being generated on ways to achieve the best MDG outcomes possible by 2015, I was able to tune into the Listening Project on this World Pulse platform. This platform is very much a resource for peace and interchange of ideas helping to shed light and understanding on the complexities of daily life around the globe today.

Let me encourage solving problems without violence and the importance of embracing peaceful resolution through dialogue.