The Library of the Future

Thus begins Amos Oz, in his lecture How to cure a fanatic :

"So, how do you cure a fanatic? To chase a bunch of fanatics through the mountains of Afghanistan, the Iraki desert or Syrian cities is one thing. To struggle against fanaticism is another one. I'm afraid I don't have any particular ideas on how to catch the fanatic in the mountains or in the desert, but I do have one or two thoughts about the nature of fanaticism and the ways, if not to cure it, then at least to contain it."

In this spirit precisely we have been building the Library of the Future since the birth of Peace Lines.

http://www.peacelines.org/recommanded-books-c24919428

Messengers for a peaceful coexistence, in our view ignorance - with its root : illiteracy - is the mother of all scourges. Ignorance of the world, of its codes, ignorance of the Other.

From the Balkans during the pangs of civil war then to Sahel, our battle has been one and the same. If we intend to make life better, we first need civic peace and decent living standards, but we also need "ammunition", or vaccines, to feed and reinforce the human spirit, from the earliest age. Teaching children "to think intensely and critically" in Martin Luther King's words.

Ammunition for the human spirit : books, as ever, where electricity and computers are scarce yet. Since 1993 and our first humanitarian convoys through "ratna zona" : war zones, our prospects and references have not changed.

To get kids started with books, we need the likes of Saint Exupery : the Little Prince, Richard Bach : Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Giono : The man who planted trees, Wangari Maathai : Unbowed, Malala : I am Malala, Leymah Gbowee : Mighty be our powers

and, generally, all those who are the trailblazers of innocence and togetherness.