After studying Microbiology, Mike joined the staff of For A Change magazine in 1987. An interest in the peoples behind Europe's 'Iron curtain' took him to several of these countries before, during and after the 1989 collapse of communist regimes. With his wife, Karen, he taught English in Poland 1992-3 before returning to the UK where he joined the Foundations for Freedom program http://www.f-4-f.org helping run training programmes for young leaders in former communist countries. In 2002 he moved with his family to Melbourne, Australia, where he helped create a 'Discover the Other' programme of workshops (http://www.discovertheother.org) and to develop a communications strategy for Initiatives of Change. Mike's interests include Music, philosophy, theology and psychology. His skills include writing, teaching, facilitation and dissorganisation. He is currently the editor of the global website of Initiatives of Change.

Unpacking the ideas of guilt, remorse and collective responsibility to a group of young adults.

Some thought on the nature of spiritual institutions, political institutions, and their differences.

What have the biblical stories of Abraham, the Aboriginal dreaming stories and the Russian icon-painter Andrei Rublev got to do with each other?

Frustration over a cancelled train leads to reflection on the flaws of modern capitalism.

When scientists attack and religion and vice-versa nobody wins except the publishers.

Is there a link between creativity and chaos? Or is this just an excuse I tell myself to excuse my disorganization?

After helping lead a two-day 'Discover the Other' workshop in a Muslim school, I take my hat off to the kids who are in the front line of defusing intolerance.

How can we help build resilience among a group of fifteen-year-old Muslim students in Australia?

Author Marilyn French hoped that the feminist movement would change the world. But, she says, in essential ways nothing has changed.

Last night I met one of Australia's national treasures at the launch of her new book.

If only it had been Aboriginals in the Garden of Eden...

We are already classified as 'efficient users' of water. Could we do more?

With so many cheap plastic and electronic goods available, can I curb my materialistic tendencies?

It is always good to have the counsel of wise friends. I have been inspired by my friend Donald Nicholl, a great human being, whose books I have been reading.

A few reflections on the meaning of Easter after a week away in the stillness of nature.

I think it was Winston Churchill who described the English and Americans as 'two peoples divided by a common language'.

Taking the train into work this morning, a pretty blond girl caught my eye (hey, I'm a bloke). She was wearing a white tunic with the words 'Beauty Therapist' written on it. Somehow I misread it as 'Reality Therapist' and that set me thinking ... 'Wouldn't it be wonderful to find a Reality Therapist!' ... and (next thought) ... 'But what would they do?'

Amid the glitz and glamour of the Oscars, a surprising story of hope from the Middle East...

I know that it has been a while since we launched, and I haven't written much in that time. It hasn't been for lack of things to write about though! So I want to give a little round-up of stories and events – any one of which could easily be extended to a longer article.

Well, we've finally done it. In the early hours of this morning (or yesterday afternoon GMT) the new FAC website went live.

This morning's email contained a link to a 90 second video: 'Stop the clash of civilizations' www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_clash , with an invitation to sign a petition urging real Middle East talks.

Good to hear that most people don't feel that a clash of civilisations is inevitable. According to a survey of public attitudes across 27 countries commissioned by Melbourne's The Age newspaper and the BBC World Service and reported in The Age:

When we started For A Change in 1987 it was the dawn of the age of personal computing. We had three different computer systems that couldn't read each other's disks. Getting text (just plain text, mind you, not fancy Word files with formatting and fonts!) from one machine to another was quite a business, involving hooking up a serial cable and running an arcane program called 'kermit' on each computer.

This is world music at its best and for, people used to Western and pop music, a great introduction to the soundscapes of North Africa.

It's not often I find myself agreeing with Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but as the war of words between Iran and the USA escalates, one statement caught my eye.

Climate change and tackling world poverty may be the most important issues facing this generation. But we can only progress these if we can build an 'alliance of civilizations'. Mike Lowe finds out why this new UN initiative is so important.

Weekends are exhausting! Yesterday, instead of a relaxing Sunday start we were up at the crack of dawn to get Tom, our eldest, to the a triathlon (swimming, cycling and running) event he was taking part in - along with over 3,000 other kids and at least three times that number of parents and supporters.

I think it was William Temple who said that heresy is a failure to embrace both sides of a paradox. I really like that quote because it expresses the paradoxical nature of the spiritual life.

We had some friends over on Saturday - Sue, Jobst, Josh and Alex. As with many of our friendships it started with our kids making friends at school, and then extended to the adults.

Nearly 300 community leaders and activists from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, including 22 from Fiji, attended the 'Australia as a Neighbour' conference 12-16 January looking at the twin themes of relationships between communities in Australia and the role Australia plays in the region.

Our family has never had a dishwashing machine, and when we moved into our new house just after Christmas it was one of the things I was looking forward to installing...

It will be Australia Day soon (January 26) and the organisers of a major rock festival - Big Day Out - traditionally held around this time have banned the Australian Flag because of fears it will be used by racist trouble-makers...

Just returned from a few days camping with my oldest son, aged 12. The trip was designed as a 'rite of passage' to mark the end of primary school and start of secondary school. Thanks to some unusual wet and windy weather (and a leaking tent), the trip had the necessary ingredients of overcoming hardship together.

Well, it's been a hectic few weeks getting the new For A Change Online website ready, while being involved in planning and running a major international conference in Melbourne.....

One institution which has remained unchanged over the last half century is the cake-shops of Acland Street, with their delectable displays.

Over the last six years, the Asylum Seekers Centre in Melbourne, Australia, has distributed over A$250,000-worth of aid.

Has all this reporting given us the real story? At the time, the 1991 Gulf War was the 'most televised conflict ever'. Yet the public was given precisely the picture that suited the American-led forces-that this was a high-tech war of 'surgical strikes' and few casualties.

'Together we can make a world of difference' was the theme of a conference organized by MRA/Initiatives of Change in Collaroy, New South Wales, Australia in April.

The Internet is already changing many people's lives, but the IT revolution is only just starting. Should the world be grateful or worried, asks Mike Lowe.

What makes a society strong? The vitality of its community life, maintains Mike Lowe.

An unexpected chance to study in Russia led to Michael Bourdeaux becoming an authority on the Church under communism. Mike Lowe meets the man who founded the Keston Institute.

Mike Lowe revisits Poland, ten years after its return to democracy.

Grim realism has replaced the euphoria of 1991 in Ukraine, as in most countries of the former Soviet Union. On a recent visit to Ukraine, Mike Lowe discovered that democracy must start at the grassroots

The company that is doing the conversions employs, among others, alcoholics, drug-addicts, former prisoners - people who are generally considered unemployable.

`Bridge Park' was created and is run by a largely black community, many of whom would once have fitted the stereotype well. What has made it work?

A lively and determined group, born since independence, they presented a quite different picture of Africa to the stereotype of despair often portrayed.

The office is that of a typical academic at a `red brick' university, sparsely furnished, shelves with files and books.