Safe
Fostering peace and mitigating conflicts among nations.
Fostering empathy and kindness across ethnic and religious divides and eliminating bigotry and hatred.
Eliminating weapons of mass destruction and weapons designed primarily to kill people.
Using technology wisely and safely while anticipating unintended consequences as advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence increasingly influence our lives.
Peace Building: Africa
The world is still threatened by international, racial, and ethnic conflicts. Xenophobia remains epidemic and genocides continue to occur. Rwanda experienced a massive genocide of the Hutu majority against the Tutsi minority in 1994, with over 800,000 people slaughtered over 100 days. They have learned valuable lessons about reconciliation that have enabled perpetrators and victims to once again become neighbors.
With the support of the Aegis Trust, which is devoted to genocide prevention, the survivors who staff the Kigali Genocide Memorial have developed a Peace Education Program that brings together former adversaries and promotes reconciliation. They are a beacon of hope for Africa, spreading their model of reconciliation to still embattled nations.
We supported the Aegis Trust with a seed grant to bring the Peace Education Program to the Central African Republic, where ethnic conflict has raged for years and where genocide has threatened to erupt. Together with a team of psychologists from Palo Alto University, their staff has put themselves in harm's way to engage the combatants in dialogue.
The world is still threatened by international, racial, and ethnic conflicts. Xenophobia remains epidemic and genocides continue to occur. Rwanda experienced a massive genocide of the Hutu majority against the Tutsi minority in 1994, with over 800,000 people slaughtered over 100 days. They have learned valuable lessons about reconciliation that have enabled perpetrators and victims to once again become neighbors.
With the support of the Aegis Trust, which is devoted to genocide prevention, the survivors who staff the Kigali Genocide Memorial have developed a Peace Education Program that brings together former adversaries and promotes reconciliation. They are a beacon of hope for Africa, spreading their model of reconciliation to still embattled nations.
We supported the Aegis Trust with a seed grant to bring the Peace Education Program to the Central African Republic, where ethnic conflict has raged for years and where genocide has threatened to erupt. Together with a team of psychologists from Palo Alto University, their staff has put themselves in harm's way to engage the combatants in dialogue.
Peace Building: the Middle East
While conflict continues to rage between Israelis and Palestinians, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies has quietly pursued a grassroots effort toward reconciliation for more than twenty years. This institute of higher education in the Negev Desert brings together students from Israel, Palestine, and Jordan to live together and study together environmental engineering that impacts the entire region. Over the course of a year, the students engage in dialogues that enable them to understand one another's heritage and political viewpoints while developing personal friendships across boundaries. They form alliances that persist beyond graduation to cooperate in projects that address cross boundary challenges in water management, sanitation, and other issues that benefit everyone in the region. Most recently, AIES has begun a program to provide potable water to hospitals and communities in Gaza.
While conflict continues to rage between Israelis and Palestinians, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies has quietly pursued a grassroots effort toward reconciliation for more than twenty years. This institute of higher education in the Negev Desert brings together students from Israel, Palestine, and Jordan to live together and study together environmental engineering that impacts the entire region. Over the course of a year, the students engage in dialogues that enable them to understand one another's heritage and political viewpoints while developing personal friendships across boundaries. They form alliances that persist beyond graduation to cooperate in projects that address cross boundary challenges in water management, sanitation, and other issues that benefit everyone in the region. Most recently, AIES has begun a program to provide potable water to hospitals and communities in Gaza.
Disaster Relief
Hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, and other disasters threaten the safety and well-being of people worldwide. Climate change has accelerated the occurrence and destructive force of hurricanes and wildfires.
Direct Relief addresses natural disasters with medical supplies and other aid to support medical teams around the world.
We have also addressed hurricane relief with additional grants to our partner food organizations, Feeding Tampa Bay and All Faiths Food Bank.
Hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, and other disasters threaten the safety and well-being of people worldwide. Climate change has accelerated the occurrence and destructive force of hurricanes and wildfires.
Direct Relief addresses natural disasters with medical supplies and other aid to support medical teams around the world.
We have also addressed hurricane relief with additional grants to our partner food organizations, Feeding Tampa Bay and All Faiths Food Bank.
Ending Cycles of Violence
Glasswing International is devoted to breaking the cycle of violence in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, where an epidemic of gang-related, interfamilial, gender based, and community violence drives thousands of people to flee their homes and their countries. Traumatized people are more prone to perpetrating violence upon others. Glasswing, run by local leaders and staff, provides mental health interventions for traumatized individuals and communities, enlisting healthcare workers, teachers, law enforcement, youth leaders, and other community leaders and aspires to reach millions of people. One consequence of their work would be to enable more people to stay in their homes and to stem the flow of immigrants at its source.
Glasswing International is devoted to breaking the cycle of violence in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, where an epidemic of gang-related, interfamilial, gender based, and community violence drives thousands of people to flee their homes and their countries. Traumatized people are more prone to perpetrating violence upon others. Glasswing, run by local leaders and staff, provides mental health interventions for traumatized individuals and communities, enlisting healthcare workers, teachers, law enforcement, youth leaders, and other community leaders and aspires to reach millions of people. One consequence of their work would be to enable more people to stay in their homes and to stem the flow of immigrants at its source.
Mitigating the Risk of Artificial Intelligence
Project Canary, An Audacious Project collaboration between METR and RAND, is dedicated to identifying and mitigating the risks of rapidly evolving AI ("Frontier AI" models), arguably The most critical problem currently facing mankind, presenting an existential risk equivalent to climate change and perhaps exceeding the risk of nuclear annihilation. This is an opportunity to intervene before the risk becomes insurmountable. Imagine if we took this opportunity when the risk of nuclear energy first became apparent.
Project Canary, An Audacious Project collaboration between METR and RAND, is dedicated to identifying and mitigating the risks of rapidly evolving AI ("Frontier AI" models), arguably The most critical problem currently facing mankind, presenting an existential risk equivalent to climate change and perhaps exceeding the risk of nuclear annihilation. This is an opportunity to intervene before the risk becomes insurmountable. Imagine if we took this opportunity when the risk of nuclear energy first became apparent.