28 Policy Brief No. 93 Toda Peace Institute The Author Lisa Schirch is Senior Research Fellow for the Toda Peace Institute where she directs the Institute’s “Technology and Peacebuilding” programme to explore the impact of social media technology on conflict dynamics and its potential for improved social cohesion. Dr. Schirch is also a Senior Fellow with the Alliance for Peacebuilding and Visiting Scholar at George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. A former Fulbright Fellow in East and West Africa, Dr. Schirch is the author of ten books and numerous peerreviewed chapters and journal articles. In 2018, Dr. Schirch published an edited book on The Ecology of Violent Extremism which builds on her previous work to explore techassisted dialogue and coordination to improve state-society relationships and social cohesion. She holds a Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University and an Honors B.A. in Political Science and International Relations. In her teaching work as professor of peacebuilding at the graduate programme at the Centre for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University and dozens of other universities around the world, she uses scenario-based, interactive pedagogies to foster innovation, improvisation, and skill-building in negotiation and problem solving. Toda Peace Institute The Toda Peace Institute is an independent, nonpartisan institute committed to advancing a more just and peaceful world through policy-oriented peace research and practice. The Institute commissions evidence-based research, convenes multi-track and multidisciplinary problem-solving workshops and seminars, and promotes dialogue across ethnic, cultural, religious and political divides. It catalyses practical, policy-oriented conversations between theoretical experts, practitioners, policymakers and civil society leaders in order to discern innovative and creative solutions to the major problems confronting the world in the twenty-first century (see www.toda.org for more information). Contact Us Toda Peace Institute Samon Eleven Bldg. 5th Floor 3-1 Samon-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0017, Japan Email: contact@toda.org