About the author

A bit of background in case you are interested:-

Professional

I am Secretary General of International Alert, the London-based international peacebuilding organisation. Before that, I was Director of the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo. I have written books, articles and reports about conflict and international politics for 30 years and I have worked with divided communities so they could try to enhance their prospects for peaceful relations. I was a member of the UN Peacebuilding Fund‘s Advisory Group from 2007 through 2011, and chair of it in 2010 and 2011.

Me

I am British, a Londoner, of the baby boom generation and, like three-quarters of boomers, I fondly think I look younger than the rest of that generation.

As a boomer, being of that blessed, golden yet sadly wastrel generation, it has been brought to my attention in recent years that I and my ilk are seen by those born later than us as being to blame for pretty much everything. It is a burden I carry with dignity.

In July 2009 I started out on what a friend called Fatherhood v2.0. For those of you who have noticed the occasional long-ish blog-silence, that is one reason why (my verbosity is another – if I were to write shorter blogs, I’d probably write more).

I did for a while maintain the fond illusion that when we were out of the first few months of F v2.0, there’d be more time. Not only did more time not miraculously emerge, but the family also moved house in the summer of 2010 and our new home is an old house that has over a year later still wants plenty of work. Everybody who’s been there knows all too well what I mean.

So: sorry about the blog but from time to time (like every week) there is a bigger priority.

And by the way, thanks for asking: while still uncertain about my future as a septuagenarian father of a teenager, I am still loving Fatherhood v2.0.

Photo

The picture at the top of the page is of the main reading room in the Library of Alexandria. It’s the modern one, obviously, not the ancient one that was founded about 283 BCE and whose destruction remains an unsolved mystery.  The building is beautiful and the institution and the way it is run reflect an inclusive, reflective idea about education, learning and civilisation. The more I have learned about Egypt under Mubarak, the more extraordinary it seems to me that the library could be founded and run in the way that it has been. In the events that overthrew Mubarak in February 2011, the Library emerged unscathed.

Visit it if ever you have an opportunity – it really is wonderful.

(Updated December 2011)