4 Things You Need To Know This Week – 6 February 2023

1. How would you define “Safety?”

Safety can mean so many things depending on the person, the context, or the situation. How would you define safety in your context? Have you always had a similar definition? Does safety for yourself as an individual look different than safety for your community?

2. Asia Centre Report Launch: Internet Freedoms in Malaysia: Regulating Online Discourse on Race, Religion & Royalty

Asia Centre & ConnexUs

Internet Freedoms in Malaysia: Regulating Online Discourse on Race, Religion, and Royalty analyses how Malaysia’s legal provisions impact online discussions of the 3Rs (race, religion and royalty) that question the special position of the Malays, Islam and the Monarchy. The report explains that Malaysia’s restrictive legal provisions inherited from the colonial era and expanded during the six decades of successive UMNO-led BN governments are used to regulate the online discourse of the 3Rs.

Following the 2022 general election, Malaysia finds itself at a political crossroads where three different narratives on the 3Rs that this report labels as traditional, progressive, and right-wing are being used by political parties and coalitions to appeal to the Malay-Muslim community for political legitimacy.

As it was before the 2022 general election, the report argues that websites will continue to be blocked, online content removed, and individuals and organisations connected to the production and dissemination of content that questions the special position of the Malays, Islam and the Monarchy investigated and prosecuted. Meanwhile, online harassment and hate content will continue to be weaponised by ultranationalist groups against those who hold different views in relation to the 3Rs and are allowed to do so without legal consequences.

To improve internet freedoms in the country, this report makes several key recommendations directed at the government, the national human rights institution, parliamentarians, civil society, and technology companies. The implementation of recommendations can help ensure that the 3Rs can be discussed safely without unwarranted censorship and self-censorship in Malaysia.

The report is researched and published by Asia Centre with the support of The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL)

• Date: 1 March 2023
• Time: 7:00 PM Thailand Time (GMT+7) / 8:00 PM Malaysia Time (GMT+8)
• Venue: Online (Zoom)

3. The Young Peacebuilders Guide To Tackling Harmful Narratives

 UNOY PeacebuildersBackground
‘Young people prefer violence over peaceful means’, ‘young refugees are sexual harassers’, ‘young people are spreading hate online’ … the list of disinformation and hate speech on the fundamental role of young people in building peace goes on and on. These often unpunished harmful narratives are particularly worrisome, as they undermine the crucial work of young people in building peace and jeopardise their physical and mental health.

While a lot has been done to shed light on the phenomenon of disinformation, notably in light of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the infodemic that followed, European members of the United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY Peacebuilders) expressed lacking guidelines to dismantle harmful narratives targeting young peacebuilders and young people at large.

Aim
The Young Peacebuilders’ Guide to Tackling Harmful Narratives entails a concrete step-by-step methodology and tools to support young peacebuilders in their fight against harmful narratives, as well as four concrete alternative narrative campaigns that were developed by UNOY Peacebuilders members.

Rather than creating the umpteenth resource that sheds light on the issue of harmful narratives, this by-youth-for-youth guide is a collaborative document that encapsulates the work and input of 11 UNOY members who took part in UNOY Peacebuilders’ capacity development programme—Youth Promoting Peaceful and Cohesive Societies in Europe—held between April and June 2022, as well as the insights of experts in disinformation and media development at large.

4. 2-Hour Intro to Kingian Nonviolence

On Earth Peace

Join us for an overview of Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation at 2pm ET / 1pm CT / 11am PT on February 24, 2023. Kingian Nonviolence is an approach to conflict and community leadership that offers values and methods useful for anyone who wants to use conflict constructively in your personal life, in group settings, or in community issues and building a reconciled world.

This 2 Hour webinar covers:

• The 4 pillars of Kingian Nonviolence
• An initial introduction to the 6 Principles and 6 Steps – the “Will” and the “Skill” of Kingian Nonviolence.
• The Social Dynamics of Kingian Nonviolence

Meet others interested in Kingian Nonviolence, build Beloved Community, and connect with On Earth Peace’s Kingian Nonviolence Learning Action Community!