A Rotary Peace Fellow in Japan

Such a simple question, and one I was ready for: “Johan Galtung (1964) defined negative peace as the “absence of direct violence” and positive peace as the “absence of structural violence” (p.168). Galtung believes if someone cannot reach their potential because of something avoidable, like disease or conflict, then they are facing violence, the opposite of peace”. I sat back feeling like I had done a good job answering the question. Yet, while on this occasion I followed my academic nose and provided an answer grounded in theory, which Professors often prefer to answers based only on personal experience, I have needed to remind myself during the past year not to lose my voice in the quagmire of academic perspectives. Peace, as you know, is a subjective concept. Many people agree the absence of violence is important, but beyond this, of the ten peace fellows in my cohort at ICU, we all have different ideas about ‘what peace means’.

ICU Honkan Building in the Snow, March 2020, credit L. Hayman

I am pursuing elusive peace in my studies and research at ICU in the virtual world. My research is focused on exploring the digital gender divide; the gaps between women’s and men’s access and use of digital technologies. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the world has been reminded of the power and potential of digital technology and the Internet. However, currently, the inequality we see in the offline world manifests in the online world too, often exacerbated by the anonymity of the Internet. The United Nations (2020) found that during the Covid-19 pandemic, violence committed online against women and girls has increased. My research hopes to understand more about the digital gender divide from the perspectives of women who are experiencing it, those with low levels of digital literacy, and women who are supporting others to overcome it, digital skills teachers. It is an exciting project that would not be possible were it not for the Rotary Peace Fellowship Alumni Association who facilitated my contact with two former peace fellows involved in digital skills initiatives for women.

Representing the UK in Japan as a Rotary Peace Fellow sponsored and supported by the passionate Rotarians of District 1040 is an absolute honour. Thank you for permitting me to share some of my experiences of studying and living in Japan.

Mount Fuji, Kawaguchiko, March 2020, credit L. Hayman

References (APA format):

Galtung, Johan. (1969). Violence, peace and peace research. Journal of Peace Research, 6(3), 167-191. http://www.jstor.org/stable/422690

United Nations. (2020). Online and ICT facilitated violence against women and girls during COVID-19. UN. Retrieved 2020, July from https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2020/04/brief-online-and-ict-facilitated-violence-against-women-and-girls-during-covid-19