East-West Center in the News

(2012-06-10) "Here in Malaysia, as well as in the US and Indonesia, people are thinking about identities and their connections -- politically, economically or globally.

"Encouraging this conversation around shared languages, arts and culture will help to foster empathy and increase one's sense of belonging to each other.

"It will also increase the possibilities for collaboration, whether in schools, universities, non-profit or governments," she said here yesterday.

... "One thing I really found delightful was the number of women represented in schools and universities. It's something that a lot of people and countries can take as an example (of a place) where women's voices are heard and their careers are supported.

"I was also impressed by the dialogue within the Islamic community, where there was an intellectual emphasis on using Islam not only to reach back to the past, but thinking forward to develop a role for strong civil Islam in regional and world events."

She said dialogue without violence was important as there would always exist conflict between ideas.

"You can transform conflict into productive understanding. Once we can openly talk about our own needs and identities as a group, that's the kind of empathy generated that is much more conducive to peace. "