(1888PressRelease)
June 30, 2007 - Melinda Gelder received a Ph.D. from Saybrook Graduate School in San Francisco. She recently returned from Japan where she organized and conducted several citizen diplomacy initiatives. Working as a psychological counselor on the Marine Air Station Iwakuni, Dr. Gelder used methods of Track Two Diplomacy to mitigate cultural clashes between U.S. military personnel and Japanese civilians. She is currently living and working in the Port Angeles region of the Olympic Peninsula where she is involved in several multicultural, citizen diplomacy, and sustainability projects.
In "Meeting the Enemy, Becoming a Friend" Dr. Gelder asks: What would you do if you suddenly you found yourself part of a community you had always thought you would never be associated with? What if this happened in a foreign country, where everyone automatically thought you were part of that group? In "Meeting the Enemy, Becoming a Friend" Dr. Gelder talks about her personal transformation from outspoken critic of the U.S. military to a global citizen that worked with military personnel and Japanese citizens in cultural exchanges.
A strong social and environmental activist, Dr. Gelder recounts how she had to come to terms with military actions in a foreign country and how those actions were reflected back on her for her association with the military. Overcoming her initial bias against the military, Dr. Gelder took it upon herself to become a global citizen and enhance the relations between military personnel stationed in Japan, and the Japanese people located around the military base.
Through a variety of actions, Dr. Gelder worked to build a positive relationship between the U.S. military and the local Japanese citizens and their communities. In Meeting the Enemy, Becoming a Friend, Dr. Gelder shows how it is possible to be a citizen in a global world and to respond with positive actions towards the people and places encountered, while also positively representing the places and people you come from.
For more information on the book please visit http://www.bauuinstitute.com/Publishing/MeetingTheEnemy.html.
