Archive News & Announcements - 2020

“The Impact of Global Pandemics and Economic Warfare on Global Order, Peace and Security in Northeast Asia” The Director and the Board of the Toda Peace Institute have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Tokyo Colloquium “The Impact of Global Pandemics and Economic Warfare on Global Order, Peace and Security in Northeast Asia” which was due to be held on 30 October. This decision has been taken because of the ongoing impacts of the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic, including travel and gathering restrictions that have affected many countries around the world. While the Director and Board deeply regret making this decision, Toda Peace Institute is continuing its work in many other ways. We thank you for your ongoing support and, like people everywhere, we hope that 2021 sees an easing of restrictions and a more hopeful global situation.

Dr Lisa Schirch participated in a webinar (13 July 2020) hosted by the Pakistan National Dialogue Forum and UNDP titled “Fake News and Conspiracy Theories During Covid-19: Challenges and Opportunities for Development Programming”. Dr. Lisa Schirch discusses the various ways in which fake news is spreading and then motivations behind disseminating false information regarding Covid-19: Watch on YouTube Dr. Lisa Schirch discusses how polarization in the American society is being exploited in the pandemic, Humaira Mufti discusses the role of youth in curbing disinformation and Dr. Umar Taj talks about the need of "pre-bunking" rather than "debunking" false information: Watch on YouTube Dr. Lisa Schrich talks about the way the public can play a role in countering fake news by being "up-standers" rather than "bystanders". Fasi Zaka discusses the role of the local government as an effective response to the pandemic which has largely been ignored: Watch on YouTube

Click here to read the article. A group of Pacific Island students believe that an International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on climate change will clarify and strengthen climate-related legal obligations of states. Read more... [Quotation] https://www.pacificclimateresistance.org/news/there-is-legal-solution-to-climate-change-students

Click here to read the article. In Fiji, three organisations are partnering in exploratory and adaptive work, to create context-specific conflict analysis tools to support communities to navigate their futures. Read more... [Quotation] http://www.c-r.org/news-and-insight/peacebuilding-and-climate-change-fiji

Click here to read the article. The response to the Covid epidemic raises questions about how to balance the relationship between state, civil society and emergency responders in times of global crises. Read more... [Quotation] https://oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/what-does-covid-tell-us-about-responding-to-the-climate-crisis