Episode 16: Health Building is Peacebuilding with Melinda Ashley Meyer DeMott

Health Building is Peacebuilding: A Conversation with Melinda Ashley Meyer In the sixteenth episode of our 30th-anniversary series, we have the honor of hearing from Melinda Ashley Meyer, who has been present in The European Graduate School community since its beginnings in 1996.In this deeply historical and moving conversation, listeners will explore:The early days of the division at the Kinderdorf Leuk residential school, before moving the learning environment up to the mountains of Saas-Fee.The powerful concept that "health building is peacebuilding," and the urgency to shift from a culture of individual "self-care" to a practice of "we-care".An unforgettable memory from the summer of 2001, where Palestinian and Israeli students shared a classroom during a time of immense global tension, and Paolo Knill’s lesson on not polluting the world with more destruction.The birth of the Malta program, bringing trauma-informed methodologies to humanitarian workers inside a historic military fort.How the intermodal approach—including theater, dance, and visual arts—allows groups to communicate and find hope, reconnecting with our shared humanity when words fail.Join us for this essential testimony on human resilience, community work, and the vital role the Expressive Arts play in bringing light to the darkness.