Leadership

Louise Diamond

President and Founder of Peace-Tech

Interviewed by Julian Portilla, 2003


This rough transcript provides a text alternative to audio. We apologize for occasional errors and unintelligible sections (which are marked with ???).

The second direction where I have turned my attention is on the issue of peace leadership. This comes directly from my work over a decade in Cyprus, in the Middle East, in various other places where it was very clear to me that the people wanted peace. People not only wanted a resolution of the conflict, which was historical, but they wanted to move forward into the future. They wanted to move into the 21st century. To become part of Europe in the case of those two situations, but to become part of what is growing, not stuck in what is festering from the past, but they were unable to do that in a large degree because of their leadership. The leaders tend to be older men, who are still "fighting the last war." Really I think they are unable to help their society move forward, because they are totally wrapped up in getting their needs met, their positions met, and being justified in the torch that they have been carrying, unable to see what their societies could look like if they truly led for peace.

I have been focusing my international work on helping to train the next generation of peace leaders. How do you lead for peace, and what is required? If you really wanted to move Bosnia into a 21st century modern European democratic nation that could take its place in the European community, or not if it didn't want to. What would have to happen and who would make it happen? We know who is not allowing it happen, but how and who could make that transition?