Listen: Your Undivided Attention

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April 2, 2021

Our CEO Shamil Idriss appeared on the leading technology podcast Your Undivided Attention. The episode, titled Come Together Right Now, is a conversation on peacebuilding, social media, and healthy societies (full description below). You can find the episode on the show’s website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your shows.


Hosted by Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin, the co-founders of the Center for Humane Technology, Your Undivided Attention explores how “social media’s race for attention manipulates our choices, breaks down truth, and destabilizes our real-world communities.” Shamil joined the show to share what Search for Common Ground has learned about forging community in divided societies, from the Balkans to Rwanda:

“Every person, and every society, really needs three things. You need security, you need dignity, and you need hope. And those are sort of foundational building blocks of just, healthy societies. They’re the core ingredients of both peace and justice.”

On April 9, the Center for Humane Technology will host a live follow-up conversation at 1 pm ET / 7 pm GMT+2. You can RSVP through this link.  David Jay, the Head of Mobilization at the Center for Humane Technology, will join Shamil in exploring what the technology sector can learn from peacebuilding efforts.


Full episode description

How many technologists have traveled to Niger, or the Balkans, or Rwanda, to learn the lessons of peacebuilding? Technology and social media are creating patterns and pathways of conflict that few people anticipated or even imagined just a decade ago. And we need to act quickly to contain the effects, but we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There are people, such as this episode’s guest, Shamil Idriss, CEO of the organization Search for Common Ground, who have been training for years to understand human beings and learn how to help them connect and begin healing processes. These experts can share their insights and help us figure out how to apply them to our new digital habitats. “Peace moves at the speed of trust, and trust can’t be fast-tracked,” says Shamil. Real change is possible, but as he explains, it takes patience, care, and creativity to get there.

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