CNN iReport

Over 1000 SecondLife visitors experienced the Imagine Festival, a 3 day multimedia event, featuring over 60 hours of live music, poetry,art, interviews, and discussions. Honoring the vision of Beatle John Lennon, the Imagine Festival brings together the best musicians,poets, artists, and thought leaders to visualize a better, peaceful future for the Earth and the Universe. In this CNN iReport, I'll show you some of the wonderful people and architecture from the Imagine Festival, then we'll deep dive into the heart of peace, as the top peace activists in Secondlife divine a prognosis for peace.

Picture 1 shows SecondLife (SL) peace activists in an African dance: Medora Chevalier, Szavanna Anatra, Any Gynoid (me!), Paulette Felisimo, Velazquez Bonetto, and SaveMe Oh, from right to left. Picture 2 is the Afghan SL Peace building, a special structure devoted to peace. Picture 3 and 4 show the interior space, which includes 3 discussion circles. The building is adorned with plush middle eastern mosaics which appear to glow with energy. Built by Brena Benoir and Iam Kazyanenko specifically for the Afghan SL Peace initiative, the building will host frequent discussions until the building's closing festival on November 25, 2009, which observes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW). The International Day in SL is lead by Ledoof Constantineau.

Picture 5 is Medora Chevalier and Kalel Venkman, the original SL superman and leader of the Justice League Unlimited (JLU), a superhero security team which supported the Imagine Festival. Medora, Kalel and I had a chat at the Imagine Nest, an immersive scultptural environment by AuraKyo Insoo, Pictures 5, 6, and 7. Picture 8 and 9 are Paulette Felisimo, Any Gynoid (me!), and Szavanna Anatra grooving with a traditional African dance. This event included live music by Junivers Stockholm, and an extended drum circle, using SL instruments, featuring Allen Kayor and other enthusiastic drummers. SL instruments such as drums, tambourines, and flutes are special objects that emit SL sounds. There are drum circles all over SL which feature these instruments, where people can get down and groove SL style. Picture 10 is the Afghan SL Peace building, after dark, with it's glowing architecture. Visit Afghan SL Peace at Desmond Susanti's Peace Park: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Berard/102/38/35

Visit Africa Live where we had the drum circle event at; http://slurl.com/secondlife/Estings/111/142/145

After the African drum circle, we went round to tour Paulette Felisimo's CLOSE VISION GALLERY, an art gallery on An Li for underwater poetry readings by Paulette and Medora in mermaid outfits. I wore my mermaid outfit too as did the stunningly handsome merman Cotton Thorne. Visit the Close Vision Gallery and underwater park at: http://slurl.com/secondlife/An%20Li/114/95/22

Afghan SL Peace hosted a discussion for Imagine Festival called "Imagining World Peace." I kicked off this discussion with a short course on brainstorming. SL is an awesome platform for brainstorming meetings. Text chat automatically keeps notes, and all the leader has to do is pose a question and people jump in immediately to share their ideas.

Many awesome peace activists and wonderful SL folks attended the Imagining World Peace discussion on Saturday October 10, 2009, including: Alexjo Magic, Fluke Gumbo, Junivers Stockholm, Lucy Tornado, Michele Mrigesh, Phillip Beeswings, Mark Irelund, BilliAnn Bravin, Toofunky Tigerfish, UndoneChaos Enoch, Vera Lectar, Zapotek Dryke, Anatoliy Learner, Millay Freschi, Jasmyn Zanzibar, Stewy Knave, Nada Catnap, Any Gynoid (me!), and Perfidia Orsini.

The following quotes are from the public SL chat.

For example, Alexjo Magic is a peace activist in Israel where she is a member of "Women in Black." Alexjo is writing her doctoral dissertation on Women's Rights and Peace Activism. Here are Alexjo's comments about Imagining World Peace:
[7:14]  Alexjo Magic: peace starts with our actions
[7:14]  Alexjo Magic: to one another and to the community
[7:17]  Alexjo Magic: making peace is as much about the small things people do that never get recognized
[7:21]  Alexjo Magic: there's always a lot of issues just between the genders that we need to also focus on
[7:22]  Alexjo Magic: its important to empower and challenge
[7:23]  Alexjo Magic: its easy to manipulate situations for war
[7:23]  Alexjo Magic: i see what happens to the young Israeli kids before and after
[7:24]  Alexjo Magic: and that's why having money using the media or creating media to educate alternative options is critical
[7:25]  Alexjo Magic: i work with the coalition of women for peace women in black demo education lectures
[7:25]  Alexjo Magic: monitors human right abuses
[7:26]  Alexjo Magic: and now suppose to be writing my PhD on women and peace activism
[7:26]  Alexjo Magic: power is not necessarily bad its what you do with it
[7:28]  Alexjo Magic: yes but telling you all what happens and getting others to take action is important
[7:28]  Alexjo Magic: i think that's where the personal is critical
[7:30]  Alexjo Magic: the Palestinian issue often makes me cry
[7:30]  Alexjo Magic: at the stupidity and injustice of it all
[7:31]  Alexjo Magic: and its important to channel all that energy in to doing things big or small doesn't matter
[7:33]  Alexjo Magic: talking is important
[7:33]  Alexjo Magic: raising awareness
[7:33]  Alexjo Magic: writing e-mail getting on the phone
[7:33]  Alexjo Magic: networking in rl and sl
[7:34]  Alexjo Magic: if everyone did something small every day it would make a very big difference
[7:35]  Alexjo Magic: people who are most disempowered need to know what we are doing and that we care ****************
[7:35]  Alexjo Magic: once people start a community grows
[7:36]  Alexjo Magic: we all have more responsibility because we have the capacity
[7:37]  Alexjo Magic: so its just choosing what you are passionate aboutt and doing something

[7:38]  Alexjo Magic: often we are taught power is bad and we are powerless so why bother its too hard i believe the opposite we are very powerful and can bring about peace and justice
[7:38]  Alexjo Magic: and its not hard
[7:38]  Alexjo Magic: we just have to make a decision to do something
[7:38]  Alexjo Magic: : )
[7:40]  Alexjo Magic: it doesn't matter the cause it matter what we do with bring peace and justice

Millay Freschi is the leader of Amnesty International-E in SL and the manager of Four Bridges, a community of peace and human rights activists.
[7:10]  millay Freschi: i think peace is a personal endeavor
[7:13]  millay Freschi: transformation...transforming relationships, communication, perceptions

Junivers Stockholm is a peace and environmental activist, live musician, videographer, and composer of SL rock operas.
[7:12]  junivers Stockholm: the opposite to peace is "fight", right?
[7:18]  junivers Stockholm: peace is also FORGIVENESS !
[7:19]  junivers Stockholm: we need to get rid of wars
[7:22]  junivers Stockholm: wars are mostly governments that starts - and we should NEVER elect such people
[7:26]  junivers Stockholm: WE, the people, have to recognize our true and HUGE power
[7:34]  junivers Stockholm: and DONT participate in anything that promotes wars
[7:35]  junivers Stockholm: the outcome hopefully is awareness - and then comes action
[7:39]  junivers Stockholm: i think a good idea is to try and understand why we have wars
[7:39]  junivers Stockholm: but NEVER accept war as a solution

Michele Mrigesh is a leader of the Netroots Nation in SL, which conducts the Yearly Kos convention, the annual meeting of subscribers to the Daily Kos blog.
[7:11]  Michele Mrigesh: there are many forms of war...poverty, hunger, illness, racism .... etc
[7:13]  Michele Mrigesh: peace is a state of mind too...I don't know if the micro can be separated from the macro
[7:19]  Michele Mrigesh: they can't be separated, however. True peace will require that we be at peace inside ourselves
[7:22]  Michele Mrigesh: competition...power...greed...we are inculcated with ideas that are not peaceful. "climbing the ladder of success" doesn't lead to helping out the other guy
[7:33]  Michele Mrigesh: awareness is key
[7:33]  Michele Mrigesh: action items anyone can take
[7:34]  Michele Mrigesh: it would also grow the sense of commitment within
[7:40]  Michele Mrigesh: see how the one thing connects to the conflicts around the world...connecting the dots
[7:41]  Michele Mrigesh: nationalism ... a sense that one area "belongs" to a 'group' rather than we are all humans on spaceship earth

UndoneChaos Enoch is a peace and human right activist. I have attended many of her discussion meetings where we tackle the most important current affairs issues in real life (RL).
[7:13]  UndoneChaos Enoch: I think peace has to start with what we decide to put out into the world
[7:41]  UndoneChaos Enoch: and water is getting major, especially since th UN now states it is a need but not a RIGHT
[7:40]  UndoneChaos Enoch: Connectiveness is a big key
[7:19]  UndoneChaos Enoch: I like the historical perspective of Gandhi, no tolerance for violence
[7:26]  UndoneChaos Enoch: Alexjo, you are in the thick of it, in a war zone right now, an area which the UN has accused of war crimes, what is it that you can do there for peace:))
[7:27]  UndoneChaos Enoch: because given what you do Alex, I think it would be difficult with such overt violence to initiate peace
[7:30]  UndoneChaos Enoch: I think that is a key element in a war zone Alex? the thought process of those involved

Fluke Gumbo is UndoneChaos' partner in SL. Partnership in SL is a registered relationship shown to the public in our SL profiles. It is a form of commitment that is similar to an RL engagement, but distinct from SL marriage, which is a ceremony that celebrates and honors the SL partnership.
[7:13]  Fluke Gumbo: peace is a balance between you and others
[7:23]  Fluke Gumbo: I think they see an injustice has been done to them
[7:23]  Fluke Gumbo: and this is the only way they see how to respond
[7:23]  Fluke Gumbo: we need to give them other ways to respond
[7:34]  Fluke Gumbo: awareness is the start but action is important

Here are comments from several others who attended the Imagine World Peace Discussion.

[7:14]  Lucy Tornado: to peace
[7:14]  Lucy Tornado: a verb
[7:08]  Lucy Tornado: absence of strife, acceptance
[7:10]  Lucy Tornado: being present with what is and going on from there
[7:13]  Lucy Tornado: hard to define peace without saying what it is NOT
[7:13]  Lucy Tornado: it starts with those closest to you
[7:39]  Lucy Tornado: good idea to adopt one thing, there is so much
[7:17]  Lucy Tornado: example, like Nelson Mandela for starters
[7:17]  Lucy Tornado: a peaceful heart not holding on to hatred in one's heart

[7:18]  Mark Irelund: we must avoid--inner/outer peace are different things i think maybe
[7:18]  Mark Irelund: well, look at it this way--we associate Nelson M. with peace--
[7:19]  Mark Irelund: and Martin King--but their personalities and bios. are not peaceful
[7:22]  Mark Irelund: you raise people's consciousness
[7:23]  Mark Irelund: there are lots of governments that should not have been there in the first place that have horrified us
[7:24]  any1 Gynoid: Alexjo... .you are fierce peacemaker... i love what u do!
[7:24]  Mark Irelund: and the commit atrocities sometimes out of nowhere
[7:24]  Mark Irelund: how to conceptualize this history of regime changes
[7:25]  Mark Irelund: and so peace is a truly extra-national question now
[7:25]  Mark Irelund: good things about peace--it knows no national boundaries
[7:28]  Mark Irelund: ending hunger is a start
[7:31]  Mark Irelund: i am a teacher of sorts
[7:33]  Mark Irelund: how about critical-oppositional discourses, for starters (right after food water aid)
[7:34]  Mark Irelund: what will be the new language of peace that doesn't bore people--serious question
[7:40]  Mark Irelund: yes there are global aggregates of problems that cause war now
[7:40]  Mark Irelund: 3 major ones: land, water, and life
[7:41]  Mark Irelund: management of these things is crucial to peace
[7:41]  Mark Irelund: global-ism

[7:31]  toofunky Tigerfish: i love peace
[7:41]  toofunky Tigerfish: always good when a war ends

Stewy Knave

[7:21]  Stewy's translator: Yet it should be so elementary .... no?

[7:25]  Stewy's translator: striking is the fact that nobody decides to renew its culture Avoiding the elastic prorpio mentality trying to promote dialogue and avoid the violent demonstrations of power ....

[8:01]  Perfidia Orsini: i really wanted to be here for this...
[8:01]  Perfidia Orsini: it sounds like a great program

I asked Perfidia to come round for our next discussions at Afghan SL Peace.

--- Any Gynoid reporting for CNN iReports, Please send story leads to any1gynoid (at) gmail.com