Page 5 - DUT CONDUIT August 2024

ICON Launches Book on
Climate Change and Violence
Vukani Langa
Durban University of Technology’s International Centre of Nonviolence (ICON) launched an impactful book, Climate Change, and Socio-political Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Anthropocene, while honouring Dr Ela Gandhi by renaming the ICON Admin Centre The Ela Gandhi Meeting Rooms.
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The book explores peace ecology’s theoretical contribution to the understanding and practice of environmental and conventional peacebuilding. It integrates environmental questions and factors that drive socio-political violence and climate change-induced violence in sub-Saharan Africa in the Anthropocene.
A panel discussion chaired by ICON lecturer Simone Plung reviewed the book. It consisted of guest of honour Dr Ela Gandhi, one of the book editors Jean Chrysostome K. Kiyala, and contributing authors Alain Tschudin, Crispin Hemson, Maleni Thakur and Sunday Israel Oyebamiji.
Kiyala expressed heartfelt gratitude to staff, experts, authors, and ICON for their contribution to the book’s success.
“On behalf of my colleague Norman Chivasa, we express our utmost gratitude for being part of the history we are making with this book launch. We acknowledge all the authors who contributed chapters to this cutting-edge scholarly body of knowledge that examines the impacts of socio-political violence and climate change on sustainable development, with peace ecology proposed as the underlying theoretical framework to develop new socio-economic development pathways,” he said.
He added that ICON has been able to publish a book every year or second year because of such support, adding that when a player scores and the team wins, it is a collective celebration and victory.
Hemson highlighted the significance of Indaba as a practice and Ubuntu as the principle behind collective resolutions to the problem of violence. He added that South Africa carries the trauma of past oppression, with no system put in place to deal with it. “This is one of the fundamental issues in today’s society,” he said..
Tschudin, Professor of Peace Studies, and Director of ICON described the launch as a momentous occasion:
“We felt it is fitting that on this special day, we invite a special guest, Dr Ela Gandhi. In recognition of her full life lived lovingly for peace, we have renamed the ICON Admin Centre The Ela Gandhi Meeting Rooms,” he said.
Dr Gandhi said: “I am excited to be here and am happy to be honoured alongside this book because the world needs to know about climate change.” She highlighted the need for such interventions to promote a sustainable planet and said that she hopes the book’s proposals are put into practice.
Pictured: Distinguished guests and authors at the ICON book launch.