Dear HumanDHS network friends
Please find below a link to the Tavistock Institute’s June 2009 Human Relations Newsletter.
Kind regards
Brian Ward
Human Relations Newsletter June 2009
http://www.tavinstitute.org/humanrelations/hr_newsletter/newsletters/hr_newsletter_June_2009.html
Dear HumanDHS network friends
Please find below two links to the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.
Kind regards
Brian Ward
Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
http://www.schwabfoundseoy.org/en/static/about
http://www.schwabfoundseoy.org/en/competitions/active_competitions
Dear HumanDHS network friends
Please find below notification of a forthcoming book: Rebuilding Sustainable Communities for Children and Their Families After Disasters: A Global Survey.
Kind regards
Brian Ward
Rebuilding Sustainable Communities for Children and Their Families After Disasters: A Global Survey
Editor:
Adenrele Awotona, PhDProfessor & Founding Director
Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters (CRSCAD)
McCormack Hall, 3rd floor, Room 612
University of Massachusetts-Boston
100 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125-3393
Telephone: 617.287.7116
Introduction:
Disasters impose enormous misery on children, the most vulnerable
members of the community. Records show that two million children
have died as a direct consequence of armed conflict over the past
decade. Globally, millions more have suffered death, disease, and
dislocation as a result of such natural disasters as earthquakes,
droughts, and floods. And even when emergency relief is available,
permanent human damage remains; all too often, families fall apart,
women are assaulted and degraded, and children are left to take care of
themselves.
more..http://www.humiliationstudies.org/documents/AwotonaRebuildSustCommforChildrenFlyer
Dear HumanDHS network friends
Please find below the June 2009 update of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.
Kind regards
Brian Ward
OPHI June 2009 Monthly OPHI Update
Dear colleagues (with apologies for any cross-posting),
Welcome to the monthly update of opportunities, announcements and events by the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI). These messages aim to highlight key resources and information materials. In addition, in the coming months our website will be developed http://www.ophi.org.uk/ to enable access to our work in the most timely and convenient way for you. We welcome your feedback and participation.
OPPORTUNITIES
· Get involved! Research and Visiting Fellows, Work Exchange, and Volunteers
ANNOUNCEMENTS
· The IADB Adapts OPHI measure for Targeting Beneficiaries in Oportunidades, Mexico
· OPHI Measure Used in Creating the Bhutan Gross National Happiness Index
· New OPHI Working Paper
· New ‘Research in Progress’ series
· OPHI ‘Missing Dimensions’ poster
OPPORTUNITIES
Get involved! Research and Visiting Fellows, Work Exchange, and Volunteers
Read our new web page that details the various ways of interacting with OPHI, whether learning about our work, supporting us, joining as a volunteer, coming as a visiting researcher, doing your thesis on related topics, or engaging in a short course. Visiting fellows, sabbaticals and interns are invited to apply within a rolling process, with three deadlines each year, on 1 December, 1 April, and 1 September. [read more…] http://www.ophi.org.uk/subindex.php?id=involved0#informed
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The IDB Adapts OPHI measure for Targeting Beneficiaries in Oportunidades, Mexico
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has adapted and promoted the Alkire Foster measurement methodology to help Oportunidades, a prominent Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme in Mexico, to target beneficiaries. With IDB supervision, the methodology was adopted in Mexico in 2008 and has just been designed for the Honduras urban CCT. It is currently being considered by Nicaragua, and was initially presented in Panama in June 2009. [read more…] http://www.ophi.org.uk/subindex.php?id=events0
OPHI Measure Used in Creating the Bhutan Gross National Happiness Index
On 26 November 2008, Bhutan launched its first quantitative Gross National Happiness Index. The Centre for Bhutan Studies, which crafted the nine-dimensional measure, used OPHI’s methodology to construct the index. ‘We must always remember that as our country, in these changing times, finds immense new challenges and opportunities, whatever work we do, whatever goals we have – and no matter how these may change in this changing world – ultimately without peace, security and happiness we have nothing. That is the essence of the philosophy of Gross National Happiness.’ –His Majesty King Khesar, The 5th Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan, 2008. [read more…]
http://www.ophi.org.uk/subindex.php?id=events0#bhutan
New OPHI Working Paper
‘An Axiomatic Approach to the Measurement of Corruption: Theory and Applications’, by James E. Foster, Andrew W. Horowitz, and Fabio Méndez (OPHI Working Paper 29, May 2009)
[available at…] http://www.ophi.org.uk/subindex.php?id=publications0#wp
New ‘Research in Progress’ series
This new series will include documents that are discussion papers, policy papers, or are drafts of papers that will become OPHI working papers after review and revision. [available at…] http://www.ophi.org.uk/subindex.php?id=publications0#Research
‘The MDGs: Multidimensionality and Interconnection’. Sabina Alkire with James Foster (OPHI RP8a May 2009). A background paper to the UK White Paper on Development, ‘Eliminating Poverty’, which is under construction.
‘Determining BPL Status: Some Methodological Improvements’. Sabina Alkire and Suman Seth (OPHI RP7a, April 2009). A draft paper on the 2002 method for identifying Below the Poverty Line households in rural India, which argues that mis-targeting is significantly influenced by the measurement methodology, not only by corruption as has been supposed.
‘Multidimensional Measures of Poverty & Well-Being’. Sabina Alkire and Moizza Sarwar (OPHI RP6a, January 2009). A background paper for the European Commission Report, ‘An Agenda for a Reformed Cohesion Policy’, and surveys institutions that are implementing multidimensional measures.
‘Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index: Methodology and Results’. Sabina Alkire (OPHI RP5a, November 2008). An informal note on the Gross National Happiness Index that was released by the Centre of Bhutan Studies.
‘Gross National Happiness and Poverty in Bhutan: Applying the GNH Index Methodology to explore Poverty’. Sabina Alkire, Maria Emma Santos, and Karma Ura (OPHI RP4a, November 2008). Paper presented at the Gross National Happiness Conference in Bhutan, at 26 November 2008, re-analyses pilot GNH data, using ‘poverty’ cutoffs rather than, as in the GNH Index, ‘sufficiency’ cutoffs.
‘Amartya Sen’. Sabina Alkire (OPHI RP3a, January 2008). Draft entry for the Edward Elgar Handbook of Ethics and Economics.
‘The Capability Approach to Quality of Life Measures’. Sabina Alkire. (OPHI RP2a, September 2008). A background paper for the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, instigated by President Sarkozy.
‘Counting and Multidimensional Poverty’. Sabina Alkire and James Foster (OPHI RP1a, October 2007). A non-technical policy-oriented summary of Working Paper 7 by Alkire and Foster, which was presented at the IFPRI meetings in Beijing, October 2007.
OPHI ‘Missing Dimensions’ poster
We have produced a colourful poster in two sizes (A3 and A4) that introduces the ‘missing dimensions’ of poverty data, available in PDF or printed upon request. [read more…] http://www.ophi.org.uk/subindex.php?id=research2
June 2009 Monthly OPHI Update
“Advancing freedoms and overcoming poverty.”
OPHI gratefully acknowledges support for its research and activities from the Government of Canada through the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID).
For general information and feedback, please contact us:
http://ophi.qeh.ox.ac.uk/subindex.php?id=about1
To unsubscribe or change email address, use the form at:
http://ophi.qeh.ox.ac.uk/subindex.php?id=mailinglist0
Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative
Oxford Department of International Development
Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford
Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB, UK
http://www.ophi.org.uk/
Dear HumanDHS network friends
Please find below the Sketches Newsletter: June 2009.
Kind regards
Brian Ward
SKETCHES - June 17, 2009, Volume 6 Number 2
The International Child Art Foundation’s Newsletter
Dear ICAF supporter,
Below are a few items that might interest you.
a) Education Without Borders, Dubai (March 30- April 1, 2009)
ICAF was invited to participate in this biennial international student conference > http://ewb2009.hct.ac.ae/. ICAF’s “Children of Katrina: Then and Now” exhibition was held at the conference and ICAF arranged performances by a New Orleans band > www.susancowsill.com. If you are an undergraduate, you may wish to apply next year to attend the 2011 Education Without Borders.
b) ICAF Youth Board
We congratulate Carmen Ortiz of Louisiana on her admission to Parsons and Fadhil Ahmed Qamar of Indonesia on his tsunami artwork selected as cover for an art therapy book by Cathy Malchiodi > Creative Interventions with Traumatized Children . Both Carmen and Fadhil participated in ICAF’s children’s panel at the World Cultural Economic Forum in New Orleans in October 2008.
c) Global Competitiveness Forum, Riyadh (January 23-26, 2010)
ICAF has been invited to arrange a children’s panel at one of the world’s most distinguished gathering of global business leaders > www.gcf.org.sa. We will select six panelists, one child per continent. So the competition will be tough. If you are 12- to 16-year-old, you can submit a 5-minute speech in text or video format on “Creativity and Sustainable Competitiveness” to childart[@]icaf.org by July 31, 2009. If you are selected, the Kingdom will pay for your air-ticket and hotel.
d) ChildArt magazine
ICAF has published ChildArt since 1998 without accepting a single commercial advertisement. This revenue constraint has caused a serious delay in printing this resourceful magazine, for which we deeply apologize to our subscribers. We expect to send three pending issues to the printer later this summer. We thank you for your patience and support.
e) 4th Arts Olympiad (2009-2012)
The Arts Olympiad is ICAF’s free global program to foster the innate creativity of the 8-to-12 age group, which is prone to the “4th grade slump” in creativity. If you are a teacher or parent and would like to receive a free copy of the 4th Arts Olympiad Lesson Plan, please email us at program[@]icaf.org. The lesson plan breaks old stereotypes and fosters the “artist-athlete” ideal of a creative mind and healthy body.
f) Donation
You can help expand the International Arts Olympiad outreach by making a donation to ICAF today . For your every dollar, one new child can benefit from the Arts Olympiad experience. This truly global program is funded through contributions from caring individuals like yourself. So, please donate generously today by check or online at www.justgive.org/giving/donate.jsp?charityId=10697& or via Paypal at www.icaf.org.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Ashfaq Ishaq, Ph.D.
Chairman and Founder
International Child Art Foundation
P.O. Box 58133
Washington DC 20037
1 202 530 1000
1 202 530 1080 fax
Dear HumanDHS network friends
Please find below a call for papers for the Resistance Studies Magazine.
Kind regards
Brian Ward
Call for papers of the journal “RESISTANCE STUDIES MAGAZINE” (RSM):
Please feel free to distribute this call for papers widely. We encourage contributions from scholars, practitioners, students, activists, etc. as long as they fit into the overall scope of the journal. We would be very glad to receive contributions from PJSA members.
Thank you for your consideration,
Patrick T. Hiller, Editor
Resistance Studies Magazine (http://rsmag.org/)
_______
The Resistance Studies Magazine is calling for papers to the next general issue, expected to be published in September 2009.
We will consider:
- Theoretical and empirical articles on power, resistance and social change.
- Reviews of scholarly articles and books.
The 2009#2 issue, we will be published as an open-access issue on rsmag.org. The Resistance Studies Magazine is a fully peer-reviewed journal, publishing scholarly articles in the spirit of openness and sharing.
Submission dead line: August 31, 2009.
Your article may at a later stage be re-published in a printed book, as the Resistance Studies Magazine aims at publishing a yearly collection of journal articles in a reader.
For further information, please see our Submission guidelines available at rsmag.org
For questions concerning the issue please any of our editors. For submissions and drafts, please use all three e-mail addresses:
Christopher Kullenberg - editor (at) rsmag (dot) org
Jakob Lehne - jakob (dot) lehne (at) rsmag (dot) org
Patrick Hiller - patrick (dot) hiller (at) rsmag (dot) org
Dear HumanDHS network friends
Please find below the AfricAvenir Newsletter May 2009.
Kind regards
Brian Ward
AfricAvenir Newsletter May 2009
anbei erhalten Sie aktuelle Informationen zu Projekten und Neuigkeiten von AfricAvenir International sowie weitere interessante Informationen.
1. AFRICAVENIR VERANSTALTUNGEN & NEWS
2. WEITERE VERANSTALTUNGEN
1. AFRICAVENIR VERANSTALTUNGEN & NEWS
Berlin: RE/VISIONEN
Preisgekrönte afrikanische Kurzfilme
Im Rahmen der Filmreihe “RE/VISIONEN: Zeitgenössische Kunstperspektiven aus Afrika“ präsentiert AfricAvenir eine Auswahl der besten und erfolgreichsten afrikanischen Kurzfilme am Sonntag, den 28. Juni 2009 um 17.30 Uhr im Filmtheater Hackesche Höfe. In der Geschichte des Festivals lassen die Namen einiger Gewinner die Wichtigkeit der Kategorie „Kurzfilme“ erahnen: Djibril Diop Mambety (Touki Bouki), Balufu Bapuka Kanyinda (Juju Factory und diesjähriger Präsident der Jury des Kurzfilmwettbewerbs des FESPACO), Zola Maseko (Drum) oder Newton Aduaka (Ezra). Letztere gewannen 2005 und 2007 nacheinander den Hauptpreis in der Kategorie „Spielfilme“, den Etalon de Yennenga. Mit den aktuellen preisgekrönten Werken junger afrikanischer Filmemacher geben wir einen Einblick in die viel versprechende, zukunftsweisende Produktion der zeitgenössischen afrikanischen Filmszene. In Anwesenheit der Regisseure Bernard A. Kouemo Yanghu (Kamerun) und Mohamed Nadif (Marokko). Kurator: Julien Enoka Ayemba. http://www.africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2394
RE/VISIONEN wird gefördert durch den Hauptstadtkulturfonds sowie die Aktion Afrika des Auswärtigen Amtes, aufgrund eines Beschlusses des Deutschen Bundestages.
Dresden-Premiere:
Les Saignantes (Die Blutenden) (OmDtU)
Am Dienstag, den 23. Juni 2009 um 19.30 Uhr laden AfricAvenir, die TU Dresden Institut für Kunst- und Musikwissenschaft/FB Kunstpädagogik, die GEW Sachsen und weiterdenken (Heinrich Böll Stiftung Sachsen) zur Filmvorführung von Jean-Pierre Bekolos Science-Fiction-Politthriller “Les Saignantes” (OmDtU) ins Kino im Kasten der TU Dresden ein. Zwei Frauen – jung, attraktiv, todbringend – ziehen los, um ein futuristisches Land von seinen korrupten, sex- und machtbesessenen Männern zu befreien. Spektakulärer Film, der 2007 beim Panafrikanischen Filmfestival FESPACO 2007 den Silbernen „Etalon de Yennengar“ gewann. Nach der Filmvorführung findet eine Diskussion mit dem Filmkritiker Julien Enoka Ayemba statt. http://www.africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2365
Berlin-Premiere:
No Time to Die – Eine turbulente Komödie um Liebe und Tod (OmDtU)
Am Donnerstag, den 16. Juli 2009 um 19 Uhr laden AfricAvenir und der Kairos Filmverleih ins Kino Central (Rosenthaler Str. 39, Hackescher Markt) zur Berlin-Premiere und dem deutschen Kinostart von King Ampaws neuem Film „No Time to Die“ ein. In dieser turbulenten Komödie über das Liebesleben des Leichenwagenfahrers Asante gelingt es King Ampaw, den afrikanischen Kontinent ebenso humorvoll wie hintergründig aus einem neuen Blickwinkel zu zeigen. Beim Festival von Tarifa 2007 wurde Hauptdarsteller David Dontoh mit dem Preis als bester Schauspieler ausgezeichnet. Im Anschluss findet eine Diskussion mit dem interkulturellen Trainer Lawrence Oduro-Sarpong statt. Weitere Informationen in Kürze unter: http://www.africavenir.com
Berlin: OPEN AIR KINO
Moi et mon blanc – Mein Weißer und ich (OmDtU)
Am Donnerstag, den 23. Juli 2009 um 21.15 Uhr lädt AfricAvenir in das Freiluftkino Hasenheide zur Berlin-Premiere des Films „Moi et mon blanc – Mein Weißer und ich“ ein. Im Mittelpunkt dieser heiteren und geistvollen Komödie von Pierre Yameogo steht der junge Mamadi aus Burkina Faso, der in Paris studiert und zu den Besten an der Uni gehört. Nachts jedoch muss er sich mit illegaler Arbeit in einem Parkhaus das Leben finanzieren. Hier lernt er die Pariser „Unterwelt“ kennen und freundet sich mit dem Weißen Franzosen Franck an, mit dem er nach einem großen Geldfund nach Burkina Faso abhaut. In diesem mehrfach preisgekrönten Film zeichnet Pierre Yameogo Konturen von zwei Welten nach, in denen jede seiner beiden Figuren einmal in die Minderheit versetzt ist. Gekonnt verarbeitet der Regisseur seine eigenen Erfahrungen als Student zwischen Paris und Ouagadougou zu einem sozial-realistischen Film, bei dem „es immer was zu lachen gibt“ (P.Yameogo). Publikumspreis beim Panafrikanischen Filmfestival (FESPACO) 2003. Weitere Informationen in Kürze unter: http://www.africavenir.com
Berlin:
Umbenennung Gröbenufer in May-Ayim-Ufer beschlossen
Am 27. Mai hat die Bezirksverordnetenversammlung (BVV) von Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg mit großer Mehrheit den Antrag der Grünen zur Umbenennung des Gröbenufers in May-Ayim-Ufer angenommen. Ein Bündnis von zivilgesellschaftlichen Organisationen - darunter AfricAvenir - das durch die Veröffentlichung des Dossiers “Straßennamen mit Bezügen zum Kolonialismus in Berlin” die Umbenennung angeregt hatte, begrüßt die Umbenennung zu Ehren May Ayims, einer der wichtigsten Afrodeutschen feministischen Autorinnen. http://africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2405
Berlin: Praktikum
AfricAvenir sucht ab sofort Praktikant/in für Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Der in Berlin ansässige Verein AfricAvenir International e.V. sucht ab sofort und bis Ende September eine/n Praktikant/in für 20-30 Stunden/Woche im Bereich Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit. Der Arbeitsort ist die Geschäftsstelle in Berlin. http://africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2389
Stuttgart:
Interkulturelle Dialoge: Afrikanische, Deutsche und Französische Schriftsteller und Wissenschaftler im Gespräch
Im Workshop Interkulturelle Dialoge am Donnerstag, den 25. Juni 2009 ab 9 Uhr diskutieren Autoren (Prinz Prof. Kum’ a Ndumbe III, Wilfried N’Sondé) und Wissenschaftler (Prof. Dirk Göttsche, Dr. Thorsten Schüller), wie die afrikanische, deutsche und französische Literatur mit dem Erbe der Kolonialzeit umgeht und welche Bilder Afrikas und Europas die Gegenwartsliteratur schafft.
http://africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2409/
Stuttgart:
Szenische Lesung aus den Werken Prinz Kum’a Ndumbe III
Am Donnerstag, 25.06.2009 um 20.00 Uhr lädt das Literaturhaus Stuttgart zu einer szenischen Lesung aus den deutschsprachigen Werken Prinz Kum’a Ndumbe III ein. Gemeinsam mit dem Autor werden Studierende der Universität Stuttgart Auszüge seiner Werke in einer szenischen Lesung präsentieren. http://africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2408
Zum Nachlesen:
Prinz Kum’a Ndumbe III.: „Chinesische Momentaufnahmen in Afrika“ – Eine Kurzgeschichte
Auf dem Schiff Cap San Diego in Bremen erzählte Prinz Kum’a Ndumbe III eine neue Kurzgeschichte, „Chinesische Momentaufnahmen in Afrika“ anlässlich eines Gesprächs auf dem 32. Evangelischen Kirchentag über den Einfluss Chinas und Europas auf das afrikanische Alltagsleben. Diese ist nachzulesen unter: http://africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2390
Zum Nachlesen:
Prinz Kum’a Ndumbe III.: Afrika – Spielwiese für China und für Europa?
Unter diesem Titel fand eine Podiumsdiskussion auf dem 32. Deutschen Evangelischen Kirchentag in Bremen am Freitag, 22.05.09, von 11-13 Uhr vor über eintausend Zuhörern statt. Hier der Impulsbeitrag von Prinz Kum’a Ndumbe III. http://africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2391
In Kooperation: Cross Currents
Nelisiwe Xaba “Black?…White!” im Haus der Kulturen der Welt
Im Rahmen des Austauschprojekts “Cross Currents” präsentiert die Tanzfabrik am 21. Juni 2009 um 19 Uhr die Tanzperformance “Black?…White!” von und mit Nelisiwe Xaba im Haus der Kulturen der Welt. Im Anschluss findet ein Künstlergespräch statt. Eintritt 13€/ 8€ (erm.). AfricAvenir ist Medienpartner von Cross Currents. http://africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2401
In Kooperation: Cross Currents
Sharp Sharp Laboratory-Performance im Haus der Kulturen der Welt
Im Rahmen des Austauschprojekts “Cross Currents” präsentiert die Tanzfabrik am 21. Juni um 16 Uhr die experimentelle Performance “Sharp-Sharp Laboratory Performance” von und mit Sello Pesa und Carlos Pez im Haus der Kulturen der Welt. Der Eintritt ist frei. AfricAvenir ist Medienpartner von “Cross Currents”. http://africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2402
Windhoek: African Perspectives
“Valley of the Innocent/Tal der Ahnungslosen” by Branwen Okpako
On Saturday, 27th of June, 19h00 AfricAvenir in cooperation with studio 77, the Nigerian High Commission and the Deutsche Höhere Privat Schule in Windhoek will screen the thriller “Valley of the Innocent” by Nigerian filmmaker Branwen Okpako at Studio 77, Entrance: 10 N$. http://africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2407
Douala:
Rapport du forum de coproduction germano-camerounaise
Du Mercredi 03 au Jeudi 04 Juin 2009, l’institut Goethe de Yaoundé a organisé un Forum de coproduction entre les producteurs Allemands et les producteurs Camerounais. Les deux camps devaient échanger leurs expériences, présenter leurs projets et voir les possibilités d’une éventuelle coproduction. La Fondation AfricAvenir était représentée par un projet de film sur les ambitions de Hitler en Afrique. http://africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2393
2. WEITERE VERANSTALTUNGEN
Nollywood Spezial: White Waters (Englisch OF)
Am Donnerstag, den 18. Juni um 19 Uhr lädt die Werkstatt der Kulturen im Rahmen der Filmreihe Nollywood Spezial zu „White Waters“ von Izu Ojukwu ein. „White Waters“ ist die Geschichte von Melvin, der als Kind von seinen Eltern verlassen wird. Bevor er seine Liebe für das Rennen entdeckt und der Erfolg in Aussicht steht, muss er sich als Ausgegrenzter in der Gesellschaft behaupten. »White Waters« wurde mit mehreren Preisen ausgezeichnet. Der Regisseur Izu Ojukwu gehört zu den erfolgreichsten und ungewöhnlichsten nigerianischen Filmemachern der letzten Jahre. Mit einer Einführung des Kurators der Filmreihe Julien Enoka Ayemba. http://africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2410
Día de la Cultura Afroperuana im Instituto Cervantes Berlin
Am Freitag, dem 19. Juni 2009 um 19.30 Uhr finden Film / Vortrag / Konzert im Zuge des Día de la Cultura Afroperuana im Instituto Cervantes Berlin statt. Der Tag der Afroperuanischen Kultur ist in diesem Jahr auch eine Hommage an Don Nicomedes Santa Cruz Gamarra, einem der wichtigsten Repräsentanten der Poesie und Musik Afro-Lateinamerikas. Nach einem Vortrag und Dokumentarfilm findet ein Konzert von Rafael Santa Cruz und seiner Band AfroPeru statt. http://africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2388
“Afrika - Mitte(n) im Gespräch” im Berliner Afrika-Haus
Das Berliner Afrika-Haus lädt ein zu einer neuen Reihe (12 Veranstaltungen), in der sich Afrikanische Bürger/innen Berlins selbst vorstellen. Nächste Veranstaltung ist am Freitag, den 19. Juni 2009 um 19:30 Uhr. Yilma Haile Michael-Hinz, geboren 1951 in Adis Abeba, Äthiopien, lebt seit Anfang der 70er Jahre in Berlin. Nach dem Studium der Philosophie und Publizistik an der Freien Universität Berlin war er jahrelang Korrespondent für den amharisch-sprachigen Sender von “Voice of America” und die Deutsche Welle. Außerdem war er am Aufbau eines unabhängigen Radiosenders in Moskau in den 1990er Jahren beteiligt. http://www.afrikahaus-berlin.de/
Tagung “Medien – Vielfalt nutzen! Perspektiven der Selbstorganisation”
Am Freitag, den 19. Juni 2009 von 15-20.30 Uhr lädt die Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung in Kooperation mit Neue deutsche Medienmacher und SFD – Schwarze Filmschaffende in Deutschland zur Tagung “Medien – Vielfalt nutzen! Perspektiven der Selbstorganisation” ein, die der Frage nachgeht, welche Möglichkeiten Initiativen und Selbstorganisationen haben, die mangelnde kulturelle Vielfalt in der deutschen Medienlandschaft zu verändern und die Medien in unserer Einwanderungsgesellschaft offener und vielfältiger zu machen. http://africavenir.com/news/2009/06/2406
“Krise der Politik - Politik der Krise in Afrika. Bedingungen und Perspektiven emanzipatorischer Politik in Afrika”
Am Samstag, den 27. Juni 2009 von 9:30 - 21:00 Uhr laden die LINKE Fraktion im Bundestag und die Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung ins IG-Metallhaus, Alte Jakobstraße 149 (U-Bahnhof Hallesches Tor) zu einer Konferenz zum Thema „Bedingungen und Perspektiven emanzipatorischer Politik in Afrika“ ein. Die Teilnahme ist kostenlos. Um Anmeldung wird gebeten. http://www.rosalux.de/cms/index.php?id=19204&type=0&ftu=db1da9f4a7
Baobab 2009 - 5. Offene Afrika-Fußballmeisterschaft mit Afrika-Festival
Die FASO Initiative e.V. lädt am 4. und 5. Juli 09 jeweils ab 10 Uhr zum 5. Baobab Fußball Fest ein. 12 Mannschaften aus Berlin treten für ihre afrikanischen Herkunftsnationen an und kämpfen in Neukölln um den Baobab-Pokal und um einen Fairplay-Preis. Ort: Bergiusstraße 22, 12057 Berlin. Weitere Infos: www.faso-initiative.de
Neue Wege - Andere Gesten: Zeitgenössische Kunst aus Mosambik
Anlässlich der erstmals in Deutschland stattfindenden Mosambik-Woche präsentiert das Museu Nacional de Arte, Maputo eine hochkarätige Auswahl mosambikanischer Künstler in Berlin. Auf Einladung der Botschaft der Republik Mosambik werden Ölbilder, Tuschezeichnungen, Fotografien und Skulpturen gezeigt. Mit Neue Wege – Andere Gesten soll ein Einblick in die Ausdrucksmöglichkeiten, die Kreativität und die Vitalität der zeitgenössischen Kunst aus Mosambik gegeben werden. Ausstellung vom 24. bis 30. Juni 2009, Eröffnung: Dienstag, 23. Juni 2009, 19 Uhr, Ort: Galerie Meinblau, Christinenstr. 18-19, Haus 5, 10119 Berlin. Die Mosambik-Woche präsentiert vom 23. bis 30. Juni Lesungen, Konzert, Tanz und Konferenzen in 5 Städten Deutschlands. Weitere Infos zum Programm: http://www.meinblau.de/
www.AfricAvenir.org
Möchten Sie Fördermitglied von AfricAvenir International e.V. werden?
Kontaktieren Sie uns unter: Fon: 01577-5364539 oder Mail: info (at) africavenir.org
Redaktion des Newsletters: Eric Van Grasdorff, e.vangrasdorff (at) africavenir.org
AfricAvenir International e.V. ist nicht für die Inhalte externer Webseiten verantwortlich.
Diesen Newsletter haben Sie erhalten, weil Ihre E-Mailadresse in den Newsletter von AfricAvenir eingetragen wurde. Falls dies ohne Ihr Einverständnis erfolgt ist oder wenn Sie keine weiteren Newsletter erhalten möchten, antworten Sie bitte auf diese E-Mail und schreiben Sie ‘Abmeldung Newsletter’ in die Betreffzeile.
Dear HumanDHS network friends
Please find below information on a one-day conference and a call for papers on Diaspora Cities.
Kind regards
Brian Ward
Diaspora Cities: Urban Mobility and Dwelling
A one-day conference
Wednesday 16 September 2009
The Department of Geography and The City Centre, Queen Mary, University of London
CALL FOR PAPERS
This one-day interdisciplinary conference will explore the critical relationships between cities
and diasporas. Drawing on historical and contemporary research, this conference will address
the ways in which the city, as a place of departure, travel, sojourn and resettlement, is a site of
diasporic mobility and dwelling. Through its focus on urban diasporas and the importance of
the city in fostering diasporic identities, imaginations and networks, the conference will extend
debates about migration and diaspora; transnational and postcolonial urbanism; cosmopolitan
cities; and urban memory.
The conference is funded by The Leverhulme Trust and convened by the Diaspora Cities
research project team based at QMUL (Alison Blunt, Jayani Bonnerjee, Noah Hysler-Rubin
and Shompa Lahiri).
Abstracts are invited from researchers working on the relationships between cities and diasporas
with reference to particular cities and to wider conceptual themes. Conference themes are
likely to include:
• Diasporic memories, imaginings and experiences of the city
• Tales of urban mobility and dwelling in life stories, cultural practices, text and images
• The emotional, embodied and sensory geographies of diaspora cities
• Public and private spaces of diaspora urbanism
• Diasporic practices, networks and the neo-liberal city
• Comparative studies of diaspora cities
• Mobility and dwelling in relation to urban modernities, cosmopolitanism and consumption
Please send abstracts of up to 200 words by 10 July 2009 to Dr Shompa Lahiri: S.Lahiri[@]qmul.ac.uk
Registration is free but places are limited.
To confirm your place, please email S.Lahiri[@]qmul.ac.uk by 15 August 2009
Visit www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/diasporacities/ to find out more about the conference and the
Diaspora Cities research project
Dear HumanDHS network friends
Please find below the Common Ground Newsbulletin: 16-22 June 2009.
Kind regards
Brian Ward
Common Ground Newsbulletin: 16-22 June 2009
Inside this edition
Lebanese women want greater political representation
by Dalila Mahdawi
With only four women winning seats in the recent Lebanese municipal elections, Daily Star journalist Dalia Mahdawi considers what conditions must be met for increased female representation in the 2010 elections.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 16 June 2009)
Muslim women: no back doors, no back seats
by Seema Jilani
Seema Jilani, a physician and freelance journalist, reviews The Mosque in Morgantown, a documentary that chronicles the quest of Muslim American journalist Asra Nomani to achieve her vision of gender equality in a West Virginia Muslim community through the eyes of her own struggle for equality as a Muslim American woman.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 16 June 2009)
Feminist’s memoir will resonate with Indonesian youth
by Nur Amali Ibrahim
Nur Amali Ibrahim, a PhD candidate in anthropology at New York University, details the personal, professional and spiritual evolution of Neng Dara Affiah, one of Indonesia’s most well-known women’s rights activists.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 16 June 2009)
French patriotism shared across religious lines
by Jean-Pierre Filiu
Amidst vigorous debates on ethnic and religious diversity in France, Professor Jean-Pierre Filiu of the Institute of Political Studies in Paris highlights a recent poll that suggests most French Muslims support domestic values and institutions in the same proportion as their non-Muslim compatriots.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 16 June 2009)
~Youth Views~ Extending friendship at the national level
by Batuhan Görgülü
Batuhan Görgülü, a junior at Koç University in Turkey, considers how the shared understanding he developed with his “host brother” during an exchange visit to the United States can also be achieved between communities and nations.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 16 June 2009)
Lebanese women want greater political representation
Dalila Mahdawi
Beirut - It sees itself as one of the Middle East’s most liberal countries, but Lebanon’s lack of female politicians sticks out like a sore thumb. While Lebanese women today enjoy senior positions in the private sector, political appointments have all but eluded them.
Lebanese women were granted suffrage in 1953, yet to this day they face considerable obstacles entering politics in a country where political dynasties and patriarchy rule. Most women who do enter politics do so “wearing black”, filling a position made available by a deceased male relative. Two such examples are Myrna Boustani, who became the first Lebanese woman in parliament upon her father’s death, and Nayla Mouawad, who entered parliament after becoming a widowed former first lady of Lebanon.
But even when a female politician arrives in parliament without the help of tragedy – such as Bahia Hariri in 1992, well before the assassination of her brother and five-time prime minister, Rafic Hariri – it still seemed to be a requirement that she hail from a rich and traditionally political family. It is virtually impossible for independent, self-made women to enter the political arena.
Unfortunately, the issue of women’s political participation was only superficially addressed in the 7 June elections. The polls, which saw a Hizbullah-led opposition defeated by the March 14 coalition, were widely hailed as the most competitive in years; but out of 587 candidates only 12 were women, a figure that translates into a mere two percent. Even more deplorable is the fact that out of those 12, only four – Nayla Tueni, Bahia Hariri, Strida Geagea and Gilberte Zwein, each of them hailing from political dynasties – were elected to Lebanon’s 128-member parliament.
Lebanon’s instability has in the past helped drown out the voices calling for gender equality. Over the last, relatively problem-free 12 months, however, those voices have become louder and more persistent – most notably in a campaign to alter Lebanon’s discriminatory nationality law, which prevents Lebanese women married to non-Lebanese men from transferring their nationality to their husbands and children. Pressure has also been brought to bear on Beirut to amend discriminatory personal status laws and greater efforts to combat gender-based violence have been urged.
But during the run-up to elections, the closest the country came to a national debate on women’s role in politics was a slogan war between the opposition’s Free Patriotic Movement, who played on the well-known French saying, “Sois Belle et Tais-Toi” (Be Beautiful and Shut Up) with their “Sois Belle et Vote” (Be Beautiful and Vote) poster, and the March 14 coalition, who responded with “Sois Egale et Vote” (Be Equal and Vote). Parties were keen to attract women voters, but none made clear how exactly they intended to promote women’s rights.
Women will only be able to play a greater part in the governance of Lebanon if the country’s political system moves away from the traditional status quo of a sectarian system towards a more secular meritocracy. A national commission to draft a new electoral law in 2005 suggested introducing a 30 percent women’s quota, but this was rejected. If parties are serious in calling for equality between the genders, they could impose voluntary quotas within their structures to ensure that a minimum number of women run in both intra-party and national elections.
Lebanon in fact has a duty to eliminate gender discrimination. Beirut amended its constitution in 1990 to embrace the International Bill for Human Rights, thereby paving the way for international human rights to be applied to national legislation. It might be too late for this year’s elections, but with enough willingness, greater political participation by Lebanese women could materialise by the 2010 municipal elections.
So long as Lebanon continues to hinder women’s rights and prevents women from entering the political process, the country cannot enjoy true democracy. Men and women alike must work to encourage female parliamentarians. If Lebanese women have had the right to die as part of their country’s army for the last 18 years, they should also have the right to help formulate the laws that govern every Lebanese citizen, man or woman.
###
* Dalila Mahdawi is a journalist at The Daily Star, Lebanon’s only English-language daily newspaper. This article first appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer and was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 16 June 2009, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.
Return to top
Muslim women: no back doors, no back seats
Seema Jilani
Houston, Texas - At my mosque, like almost all mosques across the country, women pray upstairs or at the back of the prayer hall. Watching elderly and pregnant women, often with young children attached at the hip, painstakingly traverse the back entrance and hike up concrete stairs evokes a cognitive dissonance within me as a young, progressive Muslim woman. It triggers the question: can women take on truly influential roles and achieve their full potential if they are consistently told to remain in the back of mosques, both literally and figuratively?
Asra Nomani, a prominent Muslim writer and former Wall Street Journal and Salon.com correspondent, confronts this question head on in The Mosque in Morgantown, a documentary by Brittany Huckabee which aired on 15 June on PBS. The film chronicles Nomani’s frustrating battle to achieve what she upholds as gender equality, symbolised by Muslim men and women praying alongside one another. She struggles to create an identity for Muslim women that embraces female autonomy and intellectual independence. Throughout her journey, Nomani encounters opposition from Muslim men – and women – in her Morgantown, West Virginia community.
As the film documents, Nomani was still recovering from the murder of her friend and fellow journalist Daniel Pearl at the hands of Muslim militants when she returned to Morgantown in 2003. At the same time, she was abandoned by the father of her unborn child and turned to her faith for strength. Back in Morgantown, she found that a conservative group of Muslims had been elected to leadership positions on the mosque’s governing board, leading to a practice and view of Islam with which Nomani strongly disagreed.
Nomani felt extremism was entering the mosque through certain sermons that she saw as condoning racial intolerance and domestic violence. The film highlights her endeavour to replace this ideology with one that she finds more progressive, resulting in division within the mosque’s constituents.
In the film, Nomani strives for women’s rights, such that women have the power to make decisions and take on leadership roles within their religious communities. She draws on Islamic history and rituals for inspiration. In 2003, she participated in the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest sites in Mecca, which had a profound affect on her. At the Kaaba, the most sacred site for Muslims, she was able to pray alongside men, but controversy erupted nationwide when she attempted to do the same in her Morgantown mosque. The larger Muslim community disparaged this avant-garde approach to addressing feminist issues in the mosque.
The film reflects a deeper predicament in some American mosques – apathy and an unwillingness to address difficult but important issues. The majority of Muslim Americans support a vision of Islam that upholds women’s dignity. Still, few of us are willing to step up and actively speak out for women’s rights. Regardless of Islam’s rich history of promoting gender equality, the fact still remains that we are losing ground on women’s rights in certain parts of the Muslim world.
We need to do much more to give women a voice in our communities, and to strengthen the voice of women around the world.
Huckabee’s The Mosque in Morgantown engages its audience and has the potential to both empower and enrage, depending on one’s opinions. Either way, it will prompt an intense dialogue and hopefully advance the conversation on these issues. Many criticise Nomani for trying to change well-established traditional Muslim practices. However, her feminist principles are not about a revolutionary transformation, but more about returning to core principles of the religion, which acknowledge men and women’s equal worth.
Islam was a progressive faith to begin with, endorsing the spiritual equality of men and women and giving women legal standing. Perhaps Nomani expressed it best when she was confronted by a gentleman in the mosque who stated that Islam does not have any room for feminism. Her daring response: “Islam is feminism.”
###
* Seema Jilani is a physician with a concentration in international paediatric health and a freelance journalist. The Mosque in Morgantown, part of the “America at a Crossroads” series, premiered across the United States on 15 June. This article first appeared in Washington Post/Newsweek’s On Faith and was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 16 June 2009, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.
Return to top
Feminist’s memoir will resonate with Indonesian youth
Nur Amali Ibrahim
Jakarta - The rise of religious fundamentalism and the prevalence of conservative values, such as a belief in the primacy of men over women, have led many people to hold a negative perception of Islam in Indonesia. Yet the situation is not as bleak as commonly believed; the fiercest critics to fundamentalism and conservatism are sometimes the very people who have been long exposed to these values.
Neng Dara Affiah is one of those critics. Born into a society in which sons bear high parental hopes for their future and daughters are not expected to be persons of social importance, Neng Dara grew up to become one of Indonesian’s most well-known women’s rights activists. While she received her early education in a conservative pesantren (religious boarding school), today Neng Dara is a commissioner with the National Commission on Violence Against Women and a prominent proponent of progressive Islam in the country, championing pluralism, inclusivity and tolerance in religion.
Neng Dara’s exploration of different aspects of her identity – as a native of Banten (a region in the westernmost part of Java island), a Muslim, a woman and an Indonesian – is documented in her new memoir, A Muslim Feminist: An Exploration of Multiple Identities. The book details the challenges she faced from a young age, and provides a snapshot of the struggles of a young Muslim woman in contemporary Indonesian society.
The book shows that, like many Muslims in Indonesia, Neng Dara was exposed to different views on Islam. During her early teenage years, she flirted with a conservative Islamic ideology after being taught that religion should be the organising framework of society, a secular state was governed by the devil and religious doctrines were to be obeyed, not discussed.
During her university years, however, she rejected those earlier ideas in favour of a more tolerant and inclusive Islam. Neng Dara attended the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta, an institution that has produced numerous progressive Muslim thinkers in the country. There, she was exposed to the humanities and social sciences, participated in reading and discussion groups that addressed a wide range of topics including Islam, learned about other religions and came to accept diversity in religious thought.
As suggested by the label she gives herself – a Muslim feminist – Neng Dara’s memoir documents her personal and professional struggle to bring together the seemingly incompatible traditions of Islam and feminism. Unlike some feminists who reject religion on the basis of the belief that it privileges men over women, she operates within a framework of Islam that believes it can advocate a better life for women.
Neng Dara draws on traditions within Islam that protect and promote women’s rights and criticise misogynistic practices, including those found in her own family who believed that a young woman should marry a man of her parents’ choice, implying that women could not be trusted to make their own decisions. With much difficulty, Neng Dara won over her parents and chose her own life partner.
Neng Dara’s approach is a strategic way of disseminating ideas on women’s emancipation in Indonesia. In a society where people still hold strongly to religious traditions, an approach based on the wholesale repudiation of religion seems likely to fail.
Neng Dara poignantly describes how her feminist stance is influenced by her grandmother, a Banten native who built schools and dedicated her life to teaching and protecting the rights of both men and women. Her grandmother was an independent woman committed to her students, confident in her communication with men and unafraid to assert her rights in front of government officials. Using her grandmother’s example, Neng Dara argues that ideas of emancipation can be found locally, and aren’t necessarily imported, as is often assumed with feminism.
Certainly, Neng Dara’s account is a celebration of what she has achieved, but it is also a testament that the diverse values of all Indonesians are worth standing up for. Her experience is common among young people who are still searching for their own identity. Indonesian leaders, activists and intellectuals should look to Neng Dara’s experience to help expose those who come from a similar tradition of fundamentalism to a more tolerant and inclusive Islam.
###
* Nur Amali Ibrahim is a PhD candidate in anthropology at New York University, currently conducting research on activism among Muslim youth in Indonesia. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 16 June 2009, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.
Return to top
French patriotism shared across religious lines
Jean-Pierre Filiu
Paris - France currently has the largest Muslim community in Europe with approximately five million people (i.e., about eight percent of the total population), most of whom hold French nationality. This sociological and demographic fact has raised many questions regarding the level of integration or exclusion of this community, even though most polls underline the support by French Muslims to the values and institutions of their country.
Gallup recently published an interesting report (available at www.muslimwestfacts.com ) confirming this phenomenon. It shows that this support is also deepening among the just over two million Muslims in Great Britain (more than three percent of the total population) and approximately three million Muslims in Germany (less than four percent of the population).
The principal result of this study is that 52 percent of French Muslims identify with their country, as do approximately the same percentage of their fellow citizens. This patriotism is unquestionably ingrained to the same degree across the entire French population, irrespective of a person’s religion, and is all the more striking considering that French Muslims attach a much more predominant role to faith in their daily lives – by about 44 percent – than the rest of the population.
Therefore, there appears to be no contradiction between religious practice, which is stronger amongst the Muslims interviewed, and identification with France and its institutions, the degree of which was shared with the rest of the population. The French, Muslim or non-Muslim, lend the same degree of confidence to the system of governance, elections and the media.
Muslims interviewed in France seem more socially conservative than their fellow citizens, but more liberal than Muslims in other European countries: 35 percent of French Muslims deem abortion “morally acceptable”, according to the study, compared to 19 percent of German Muslims and five percent of British Muslims.
Non-Muslims in France are also becoming increasingly tolerant of their Muslim neighbours, as nearly two-thirds feel that wearing the headscarf does not impede integration. Eighty-three percent of French Muslims reject the prospect of living in socially and ethnically isolated districts, compared to 68 percent of the larger French population. This desire for physical integration distinguishes French Muslims from those of Great Britain and Germany who, by 15 percent and 24 percent respectively, prefer to live among their fellow Muslims (compared to only four percent of French Muslims).
Social integrations appears to play a major role in day-to-day satisfaction: a relatively equal number of French Muslims and non-Muslims feel that they are treated with respect in their daily lives and that the past day was worth living. They are proud of what they accomplished on that particular day.
To lead a full existence, Muslims grant about the same importance as other French citizens to mastering the French language and their professional occupation. And an even greater proportion than their compatriots (90 percent versus 80 percent) tend to lend importance to education for achieving social success, but place less emphasis on political involvement (49 percent versus 66 percent). Generally, it is not religious practice, but rather economic precariousness that is perceived as a hurdle to social advancement.
This data was published in France at the same time that US President Barack Obama’s presidency rekindled the domestic debate on ethnic and religious diversity, as well as integration of “visible minorities”. Multiculturalism, as it is understood in other Western nations, is still the subject of heated debate in France where support for secularism has often led to the rejection of any unique cultural characteristics.
As a result, perhaps the most shocking contrast is the liveliness of the debates and the calm and irreversible process of Muslim integration in France.
###
* Jean-Pierre Filiu is a professor at the Institute of Political Studies in Paris. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 16 June 2009, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.
Return to top
~Youth Views~ Extending friendship at the national level
Batuhan Görgülü
Istanbul - I had much to look forward to when I was accepted as an exchange student a few years ago for the AFS Intercultural Programs, a community-based volunteer organisation dedicated to building a more just and peaceful world through international student exchange. Moving from Turkey to live in the United States with a host family for a year was an entirely new experience for me.
When I arrived in America, I met my host brother, Jeremy. After spending only a few hours together we were surprised to learn that even though we live on nearly opposite sides of the world we still enjoy watching similar television shows, engaging in many of the same activities and listening to some of the same music.
We were brought up in different cities with different cultures by different parents, but all that mattered to us was who we were as individuals and that we were not going to be strangers.
Before arriving, I informed my host family that I would be fasting for Ramadan and that this practice is one of Islam’s five pillars. In a show of camaraderie and caring, my host family told me that they would wait to have dinner until it was time for me to break my fast.
The respect that I sensed from my friends and host family in the United States encouraged me to show similar respect for them by partaking in Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities. I even attended a church service on Christmas, where I felt very welcome. We then listened to carols, ate dinner together and gave each other presents, bringing the family closer, just as Eid celebrations do.
After I returned, Jeremy and I stayed in touch and he visited me in Turkey last summer. Coincidentally, during his last two weeks here, the month of Ramadan began and I explained our practice to him in greater detail, telling him that it wouldn’t be a problem if he did not join us for iftar, the breaking of the fast at sunset.
Despite his own scepticism about organised religion, Jeremy was curious and never critical. In an attempt to learn about my religion and my faith, he decided to experience fasting for himself. He woke up with the rest of my family to eat before morning prayer and did not eat again until dusk.
Although he found the experience difficult at first, he found that when we were able to eat, it was the most amazing food he’d ever had, and that the best thing about the experience was seeing everyone interacting during dinner.
Jeremy continued to fast with us until the day he left Turkey. From the moment we met until this very day, our relationship has only gotten better. When a contentious issue comes up, we solve it by looking both ways, by putting ourselves in the other’s shoes and by holding true to values like empathy and respect, even during arguments. Our continued friendship is just one small example of how open-mindedness can lead to shared understanding.
With all the talk over recent years about Turkey acceding to the European Union, there is much debate over whether Turkey’s Muslim values are compatible with the so-called Judeo-Christian identity of the EU. Theorising about how a different culture might create instability within the EU, however, is just a product of our fear of the unknown.
As my relationship with Jeremy illustrates, people can – and do – learn to understand those who are different from them. What is done at the micro level between individuals can also be achieved at the macro level, between communities and nations.
###
* Batuhan Görgülü is a junior majoring in economics at Koç University and has an interest in international relations. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 16 June 2009, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.
Dear HumanDHS network friends
Please find below a news item on the appointment of Elise Boulding to the honorary chair of the Narional Peace Academy’s advisory committee.
Kind regards
Brian Ward
ELISE BOULDING TAKES POSITION AS HONORARY CHAIR OF THE NATIONAL PEACE ACADEMY ADVISORY BOARD
Elise Boulding, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Dartmouth College and co-founder and former Secretary General of the International Peace Research Association, has accepted the position as Honorary Chair of the National Peace Academy Advisory Board.
Elise is a Quaker sociologist and author credited as a major contributor to creating the academic discipline of Peace and Conflict Studies. Her holistic, multidimensional approach to peace research sets her apart as an important scholar and activist in multiple fields. Her written works span several decades and range from discussion of family as a foundation for peace to reinventing the international “global culture.” Particularly of note is her emphasis on women and family in the peace process. She is considered one of the most influential peace researchers and activists of the 20th century.
Elise welcomed close to 200 stakeholders to the National Peace Academy Global Stakeholder Design Summit March 2, 2009, at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.[1] Three months later, on June 4, 2009, National Peace Academy Co-Director Dot Maver and Director of Organizational Consciousness and Learning Patty Roeding presented her with a certificate, “In recognition and appreciation of your foundational support and vision in establishing a National Peace Academy in the United States of America.”
At the presentation of the certificate, which took place at her Massachusetts nursing home, Elise signed the book To Establish The United States Academy of Peace: Report of the Commission on Proposals for the National Academy of Peace and Conflict Resolution to the President of the United States and the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States Congress. This book, which describes the work she undertook when President Jimmy Carter appointed her to serve on that Commission, will take its place as the first book in the National Peace Academy Library.
During the presentation, Dot also recounted Elise’s work with her late husband Dr. Kenneth Boulding in the field of peacebuilding and conflict resolution education; her books, including Cultures of Peace: the Hidden Side of History; her Imaging Workshops; and her service as a founder of the International Peace Research Association (where she is considered the Mother of Peace Research). All of these accomplishments contribute to her lasting legacy for peace, including helping pave the way for the National Peace Academy and the work of so many in the emerging field of peacebuilding.
[1] Check out the Design Summit synopsis and the full report of the Summit, as well as Dr. Boulding’s video welcome to the Design Summit
National Peace Academy | PO Box 382 | San Mateo | CA | 94401-0382