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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| November 1, 2003 |
Peace Counts – Michael Gleich and Uli Reinhardt |
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| Michael Gleich |
Addressing the stark gap in public awareness of NGOs and peace work, the Germany-based Peace Counts project goal is to survey some of the most creative and effective "models for peace" around the world, and present them in an accessible manner to a wide audience through a variety of media. Joining Peace Boat between Egypt and Italy, for the purpose of surveying our activities and sharing their project with us were writer Michael Gleich, coordinator of Peace Counts, and Uli Reinhardt, photojournalist and member of the Peace Counts team. |
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| Keren from Israel and Rami from Palestine, former Peace Boat participants who introduced the Peace Counts team to Peace Boat |
Responding to the rule-of-media that "Bad news is good news, and war is the best news," the Peace Counts project is working to develop a 'culture of peace' that will counter balance mass media's obsession with sensationalism and war. Continuously focusing on war rather than peace, a condition which is less sensational and longer-term, leaves the average person believing that war is a largely unavoidable part of life and having little creative capacity to imagine peaceful alternatives.
Yet what Michael and Uli have documented from South Africa, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Macedonia and beyond is that in the midst of conditions of violence and war, there are many creative peace-promoting solutions being developed every day. Presenting this reality to a wide population is a crucial part of creating awareness among people that war does not have to be a part of life, and that life can be a much more pleasant and profitable experience in conditions of peace and stability - the so-called "peace dividend." |
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| Uli Reinhardt |
Uli also shared his 30 years of experience as a photojournalist. After decades of working in conflict areas for various publications, Uli developed a strong desire to see that his work had a positive impact on the people and places that he had photographed. The clearest example is of traveling with a UN delegation to Somalia in 1991, the photos from which played a large part in alerting the world to the dire conditions of that failed state and inspiring much international reaction the next year. |
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| A sample of Uli's work in Somalia |
One of the deeper themes of his work is developing what might be called "peace photography," wherein the focus is over a long-term, people-centred, and oriented towards highlighting and supporting the process by which violence is stopped and replaced by non-violent and constructive alternatives. While going against the norms of standard media reporting, Uli has experienced enough war in 30 years to know that a better process of reporting is not only possible, but is crucial support for the people engaged in peace work in the midst of war. |
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