Helping Pro-Peace People become Peace Visionaries is the raison d'être of LaDotta Peace Academy
ABOUT LaDotta Peace Academy
If you are sick and tired of forever wars and the tendency to respond with violence rather than dialogue and cooperation in contexts of conflicting interests, and if you feel you have no influence on politics of war and violence because you are always told you don't understand the complexities of war and peace — LaDotta will help you find your voice to confront such dismissals through knowledge.
If you believe in the value of peace and peaceful solutions to conflict LaDotta will help you define those values and make them realistic political goals. Together, we will be able to help each other engage and drive a public debate and influence political action on what kind of future we envision — one where dialogue and reconciliation of conflicting interests over-rules violent responses, instead of one of constant fear, violence and war.
If you want to challenge the belief that it’s natural for people to be violent rather than cooperative when in reality that is a choice, often fuelled by undefined fears, LaDotta will give you the tools to do just that. If you are convinced that peace and justice is dependent on us all embracing, accepting and finding ways of living with, respecting and cherishing our differences, LaDotta helps you explore such routes to a better world.
LaDotta is all about empowering you to challenge the war narrative!
It is here to make you learned and help you find your visionary voice of peace!
ABOUT the founder of LaDotta
My name is Ane Kirkegaard...
...founder of LaDotta Peace Academy, peace researcher and former university lecturer, specialising in peace and development studies and interstate relations. I hold a BA in Development Studies, a MSc. in Social Anthropology, and defended my doctoral degree in Peace and Development Research in 2004.
Behind LaDotta Peace Academy you find me, Dr. Ane Kirkegaard. I have been teaching Peace & Conflict Studies, Development Studies and International Relations for the better part of three decades. I have seen thousands of students develop into pro-peace thinkers, researchers, diplomats, journalists and activists. In 2016 I received a Students' Pedagogical Award for my work.
However, my engagement for peace started in my teens as a member and youth leader of the European anti-nuclear weapons movement during the Cold War. In total, I have been working for peace for the last 40+ years.
My research interests are focused on anti-colonial independence struggles and resistance practices as a central aspect of the politics of peace and conflict. I am particularly interested Southern Africa and West Asia, especially Zimbabwe and Iran. Theoretically, post- and de-coloniality is central to my thinking, but in a disciplinary sense my theoretical fields include knowledge is within peace theory an(western and beyond), political economy, development theory and international relations theory.
Methodologically, I am trained both in ethnographic traditions, text analysis and policy analysis – with archaeology and genealogy being my favoured methodological approach.
It is now time for me to bring peace theory out of the ivory tower of higher education. The world is in dire need of pro-peace visionaries, not only among the political elites but in local communities and neighbourhoods, among journalists, in the intelligence services, diplomatic circles and in activist communities. LaDotta therefore aims at contributing to bringing such knowledge to every one — not only university grads.
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ABOUT LaDotta Peace Academy
Why I started LaDotta Peace Academy
My vision is a world in peace, and my contribution to making that a possibility, is to make the serious study of peace accessible to all—whether you already have a degree or not. Academic knowledge should not be a privilege, but accessible beyond the university. LaDotta is an attempt to bring such knowledge down from the dusty shelves and out of dim rooms, and share it with those who seek it, wherever and whoever they are.
La Dotta means 'the learned one' and reflects my hope to help make you learned. LaDotta aims to bring interdisciplinary and intercultural peace theory and research out of the ivory tower and into your hands — through online courses, masterclasses, mentorship, coaching and a membership-based community welcoming discussions on current issues. Whether you're exploring peace studies for the first time or refreshing knowledge from years past, LaDotta aims at challenging the status quo and invites you to rethink the political landscape, not with cynicism, but with clarity, context, and hope.
The content of courses and masterclasses spans foundational ideas and advanced concepts, blending political philosophy, theology, peace theory, decolonial thought and social, economic and political justice with accessible, independent education. No jargon. No gatekeeping. Just serious ideas, made accessible.
LaDotta is perfect for...
social science and humanities graduates
journalists and writers
undergraduates
INFLUENCERS
diplomats and analysts
independent researchers
concerned citizens
educators
activists
LaDotta seeks to...
Help you find your voice for peace and sanity through knowledge in touch with reality
Assist you in rethinking power, justice and global politics through peace
Contribute to your transformation in becoming the change for peace you envision
Some facts about me
I was a member of the anti-nuclear weapons movement and a peace activist during the Cold War
I have lived in all three Scandinavian countries, in the United States of America, Zimbabwe and in Australia
The future survival of humanity is of immense importance to me and it depends on justice
I am very un-romantic when it comes to peace as politics — no one who are serious about peace can afford to be naïve or un-knowledgeable
I believe the personal encounter with other people is essential to peace, and my travels have brought me to such diverse places as Zimbabwe, the USA, Mexico, Myanmar, China, Australia, Iran...
I believe that world peace is not only possible but essential to our survival — peace is a matter of choice not of luck
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Join LaDotta Community to access resources and courses, and meet others who seek positive change!
LaDotta Community offers access to courses, masterclasses, discussion forums, a library, weekly sessions on current issues and much more.
The community will develop with its members. This means that members are welcome to suggest what they would like LaDotta to provide — and all wishes will be considered!
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