As a US-born Secretary-General of a truly internationalist Peace Research Association,
I assert that it is appropriate and correct for peace researchers everywhere to be present
in these contentious spaces, working to spotlight the connections that can help us
all build and rebuild better, more peaceful, and just communities. It is correct
—now more than ever—to heed the traditional Olympic values that can aid us in our work to reshape the world.
Introduction
My qualifications are not as a great sports enthusiast, though I
am super-excited to be in Paris during the Games.
My qualifications are not like those of athletes, though I admire and
salute the diversity of athletics inspiring us all these days. Instead,
I am a professional peace agitator, a troublemaker, and a conflict specialist.
As an internationalist and global spokesperson for the oldest and largest consortium
of university and college-based peace researchers, professors, students, staff, and
our invaluable community partners, I am often touted as a
conflict resolution specialist. However, I prefer to think of our
work as resolving as well as fomenting conflict—at least the
non-violent, creative, and challenging kind. I am also a
historian by discipline, with a life-long focus on contemporary
Africa and Pan-African social change. We know things about conflict that the world needs to learn from.
The significance of symbols
Let us consider a simple symbol: the olive branch. In preparation for our time together, I’ve spent the last two weeks
in Greece and in the libraries of Oxford University, England. The email data Greek roots of the Olympics are well-documented. Let us begin to look at some of the Greek gods and goddesses at the center of some of the ancient Olympic visions.
When we think of the symbolism
Of olives and peace, it is crucial to acknowledge the ongoing war crimes, crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian and human omnichannel marketing: successful strategy 2025 rights laws that have occurred before the eyes of the world. The destruction of olive trees in Palestine, the West Bank, and Gaza has been likened to the killing of an entire environment, noted as a threat to loan data the Palestinian economy, culture, life, and lives. While we focus on the Olympic Games this week, it is essential to connect the olive branches of our peaceful Olympic roots with those other olive branches, trees, and their keepers. We need hope, life, and joy to overcome the death machines.
Historical perspectives
Returning to ancient Greece, another central figure is Nike, the Winged Goddess best known for victory in the context of friendly competition. The Romans called her Victoria, and her connections to Zeus and Athena placed her at the very center of all Greek-Roman mythology and empire. Nike’s connection to the Olympics, sports, peace, and justice is essential to understanding that many-thousands-of-years-old history. The Olympic Museum in Athens reminds us that competitions extended well beyond athletes – to sculptors, potters, poets, musicians, painters, and even orators.
Today,
Competition and conflict often connotate negativity, but it has never been the act itself, rather the way we utilize the act. A duel to the death is very different from an arm wrestle, though both are competitions. Deciding upon which of two favorite family restaurants to go to and fighting a seemingly intractable holy war are conflicts of a completely different nature. Learning how to engage in conflict, and not just how to resolve it, must be at the very core of our peace research, practice, and work. The long history of Nike-ian, Olympian friendly competition can teach us a lot about how to make creative conflict into a productive, future-focused force.