Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies

Dear HumanDHS Friend,

Please have a look at Blood That Cries Out From the Earth: The Psychology of Religious Terrorism by James W. Jones (2008, New York, NY: Oxford University Press), “a groundbreaking approach to the understanding of terrorism, blending insights from religious studies with clinical psychology.”

See http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~jwj/ for more information.

Most appreciatingly,

Evelin

Religious terrorism has become the scourge of the modern world. What causes a person to kill innocent strangers in the name of religion? As both a clinical psychologist and an authority on comparative religion, James W. Jones is uniquely qualified to address this increasingly urgent question. Research on the psychology of violence shows that several factors work to make ordinary people become dangerous to others. These include feelings of humiliation or shame, a tendency to see the world in black and white, and demonization or dehumanization of other people. Authoritarian religion, Jones shows, is a particularly rich source of such ideas and feelings, which he finds throughout the writings of Islamic jihadists, such as the 9/11 conspirators. Jones goes on to apply this model to two very different religious groups that have engaged in violence: Aum Shinrikyo, the Buddhist splinter group behind the sarin gas attacks in the Tokyo subway system, and members of the extreme religious right in the U.S. who have advocated and committed violence against abortion providers. Jones notes that not every adherent of an authoritarian group will turn to violence, and he shows how theories of personality development can help us understand why certain individuals are easily recruited to perform terrorist acts.

More at www.Bloodthatcriesout.com.

Dear HumanDHS network friends

Please find below the Common Ground Newsbulletin: 19-25 August 2008.

Kind regards
Brian Ward

Common Ground Newsbulletin: 19-25 August 2008Inside this edition

Peace is hard work in the Middle East and beyond
by Deanna Armbruster
In this fourth article in a series on Jewish-Muslim relations, Deanna Armbruster, author and executive director of the American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, extends the example of the Jewish and Arab inhabitants of the Oasis of Peace – who have decided to face the reality of living side-by-side with one another, challenged daily with the hard work of peace – to the larger realm of Muslim-Western relations.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 19 August 2008)

Bangladeshi NGOs address education gap for minorities
by Tuli Dewan
Describing the challenges faced by multi-lingual societies where certain students struggle to learn a new language in order to access public education, Tuli Dewan, programme manager of Green Hill, considers what Bangladeshis NGOs are doing to overcome this obstacle.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 19 August 2008)

Mahmoud Darwish: a people and a poet
by Ibtisam Barakat
Ibtisam Barakat, author and educator, mourns the recent loss of respected Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish who, inspired by a vision of reconciliation, moved “between skies and across borders”.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 19 August 2008)

~Youth Views~ Making a home in a foreign land
by Saher A. Ashary and Meryem Maaroufi
Saher A. Ashary and Meryem Maaroufi, students of the University of Sharjah and Al Akhawayn University respectively, evaluate the successful integration of Arab and Muslim immigrants into broader US and European society, and ask what can be done in our technologically-linked global community to learn from one another’s examples.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 19 August 2008)

Free speech is a two-way street
by Shahed Amanullah
In light of the impending publication of the controversial book, Jewel of Medina, editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com Shahed Amanullah asks, “Why do Muslims appear to be so sensitive about what the media says about them?”
(Source: altmuslim.com, 7 August 2008)

Peace is hard work in the Middle East and beyond
Deanna Armbruster

Oasis of Peace, Israel - In Israel, there is a village where Arabs and Jews live as neighbours. Both groups endeavour to create a just society that can be a model for peace in the region.

What’s it called? Oasis of Peace. Though the town’s name gives the impression that it’s some sort of magical, idealistic utopia, the people living there are challenged daily and deeply by the reality of an intractable, painful and violent conflict. Like anything worth attaining, peace comes with hard work.

There are fears that the village will somehow threaten the 5.4 million Jews in Israel and 5.1 million Palestinian Arabs in Israel-Palestine. It won’t. Only one couple, living there now for more than 25 years, is mixed. The other 54 non-mixed families are Jewish, Muslim, and Christian; they share strong convictions about their own identities, but have made a determined effort – for more than three decades – to live alongside one another and thus impact society.

Much can be learned from Neve Shalom, its Hebrew name, or Wahat al-Salam as it’s called in Arabic, about interfaith relations.

In the local Jewish-Arab primary school, children study one another’s faiths with natural curiosity. Students break the fast together at Ramadan, share a succah at Sukkot, and exchange small gifts at Christmas. And dialogue begins, but never ends, in its Pluralistic Spiritual Center where discussions transcend religion in the recognition that this conflict is not Torah versus Qu’ran versus Bible.

The difficulties arise when the issues of the conflict are placed on the table.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a political strife between two national groups about land, resources, security, freedom, equality, power, identity, and justice. Productive dialogue must include recognising this and not limiting description of the conflict exclusively to inter- and intra-religious issues.

Seeking a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires a look at the big picture. The ultimate goal should be to create stability for Israelis and Palestinians so they may live securely and freely alongside one another in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect.

That means building common ground, sharing narratives and acknowledging the pain and suffering of others. Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Muslims, and Christians need to show a willingness to recognise one another. It ultimately means seeing an enemy as an equal in humanity. Easier said than done.

Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the leading domino to seeing any meaningful dialogue between the Arab world and the West. Without such a catalyst, dialogue will be slow. And dialogue provides the forum for understanding and for seeking resolutions; resolutions do not come without talking.

The West needs to learn more about Islam not because it’s the faith of “our enemies” but because, like the children in Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, it’s the faith of our neighbours.

Just as Oasis of Peace is doing, we need to move beyond Arabs as people who are inherently scary. We paint adversarial facades to create enemies, but we must challenge ourselves to break stereotypes, question basic assumptions and raise awareness. Beyond that, the West needs to learn about the economic, political, social, and cultural conflicts facing the region.

The issues between the West and East are not just those of religion, but of political dynamics, struggles for resources, self-interest, independence, and power relations. As we begin to understand this we will strengthen those relationships.

There are another 500 families on a waiting list who want to move to Oasis of Peace. This fall, 15 of these families will break ground on their plots and begin to build new homes and new futures. They are coming with loads of goodwill and perhaps little understanding of the great challenges that they will confront.

But they offer the world a ray of hope.

The residents of this small village are single-handedly removing obstacles by demonstrating that peace is within the grasp of people who seek it and are willing to sacrifice their bias so that all may share prospects of peace.

As they provide the example to those in the region it will soon be up to the rest of us to follow their lead.

###

* Deanna Armbruster is the executive director of the American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam and the author of Tears in the Holy Land: Voices from Israel and Palestine. This article, part of a series on Jewish-Muslim relations written for the Common Ground News Service, originally appeared in The Christian Science Monitor.

Source: Common Ground News Service, 19 August 2008, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.

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Bangladeshi NGOs address education gap for minorities
Tuli Dewan

Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh - Participation by minorities in development efforts is essential for dispersing the fruits of development to all segments of society equally. But a culture of minority participation in the national development effort is not often found in Bangladesh and important segments of society are left without the tools to participate. However local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are working to fill this gap.

Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country with the fourth largest concentration of Muslims in the world. Other religious, linguistic and cultural groups in the country – Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and animists – constitute 10 percent of the total population. Established as a parliamentary democracy, reflective of the country’s religious diversity and pluralist character, Islam was made the state religion in 1988 and the present government has been operating in a state of emergency since January 2007.
The people of Bangladesh are not as homogenous as many assume, and most ethnic minorities are incidentally trapped in social underdevelopment.

Though education has been recognised as a universal and fundamental human right, quality education continues to elude indigenous learners in the Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) region of Bangladesh. Inadequate educational resources coupled with high drop-out rates – with almost 20 percent of drop-outs attributed to linguistic obstacles – create an environment where inhabitants are neither benefiting from development efforts, nor are they equipped to participate in them.

The CHT region, located in the southeast corner of Bangladesh has an area of 5,092 square miles and is home to 11 ethnic minorities who differ from the population in the neighbouring plains not only in terms of geographical setting but also in ethnicity, socio-economic status, language, culture, religion, lifestyle, customs and tradition.

Chakma is the largest indigenous ethnic group in the CHT, and the predominant language spoken, followed by Marma, which is spoken in the southern part of the region in addition to local languages. However, primary school children in the CHT are required to take classes in Bengali – the state language. This linguistic barrier makes it difficult for them to understand textbooks or follow their teachers’ lessons. School becomes boring for them and eventually they start to lose interest in learning.

Linguistic challenges in elementary school naturally impact higher education. Problems in understanding the language at this early stage result in weak learning, whereas curriculum becomes easier for students to understand when education is offered in a child’s mother tongue. This helps unlock a child’s intuition, power of thought and imagination.

Although the 40th session of the International Labour Organisation in 1957 adopted a resolution (Article 23(1) of Convention 107) that clearly provides for indigenous children’s education in their respective mother tongues, little has been done by the government to implement this. Moreover, Article 33 (kha) of the CHT Accord signed by the Bangladesh government and Parbartty Chttagram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS), a regional political party that spearheaded the movement for indigenous rights, also provides for primary education in indigenous languages. And Article 17 of the Bangladesh constitution stipulates that all children should receive an education that is compatible with the needs of the society – indicating that there is no legal barrier to providing education in regional languages.

In the absence of government assistance, a few NGOs have launched an initiative to teach Chakma, Marma and Tripura children in their respective languages at the pre-school stage in a few schools in and outside the municipality area.

This struggling initiative will likely only succeed with support from the national government and would benefit from assistance from international donors. However, if successful, this initiative could prove a model for other countries with linguistically diverse populations that suffer from development challenges in multiethnic, multicultural societies.

###

* Tuli Dewan is a programme manager for Green Hill (www.greenhill-cht.org), a non-governmental organisation in the Chittagong Hill Tract region of Bangladesh. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .

Source: Common Ground News Service, 19 August 2008, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.

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Mahmoud Darwish: a people and a poet
Ibtisam Barakat

Columbia, Missouri - On the afternoon of 9 August, I was getting ready to give a talk about Palestinian olive trees to a gathering of authors and thinkers at Keystone College in Pennsylvania. For the title of the presentation, I cracked the word olive in two, and turned it into O’ Live! But death mocked me.

Shortly before I left my room for the talk, the phone rang. It was my friend, musician Saed Muhssin, calling me from San Francisco. His voice was deep like a valley, barely climbing up to speak: “Have you heard?” he asked. “This is hard news”, he warned. “Mahmoud Darwish died today.”

My mind cried. My heart ached with all of the unhealed Palestinian losses that are recalled with each new loss – losses Darwish made sure to record in his poetry. “I belong there. I have many memories”, Darwish wrote. Memories that he recorded in at least 30 books of poetry and prose, translated into at least 20 languages.

He was born in 1941, and published his first book of poetry before he was 20-years-old. For over four decades, Palestinian and Arab poets were inspired by him, referred to him, imitated him, debated over his poetry.

Saed and I belong to Generation M, an identity we invented several years ago. I grew up on the West Bank under Israeli occupation and Saed was an Israeli citizen. Both of us Palestinian, we had completely different lives. But underneath, we shared a similar deprivation, a hunger for freedom, for a more beautiful world. We filled our hunger with the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, and we called ourselves Generation M.

In the absence of home, Darwish turned language into a spacious tent – for us and for all who needed a home. He turned yearning into a meeting place. Those in exile could meet our mothers through his mother – whom he hadn’t seen for many years – when he wailed:

I yearn for the bread my mother bakes
I ache for my mother’s coffee.
And her touch.

He used the Arabic word ahennu for yearn, which means a yearning filled with affection. It’s a word that wakes up a thousand feelings at once, with the hint of a desperate impatience.

In 1982, he wrote “lasta wahdaka” – you are not alone, for Yasser Arafat when the Palestinians were driven out of Beirut. Darwish said it also to everyone on Earth, anyone who was forced out into exile for the nth time.

And his question: “Where should the birds fly after the last sky?” made me invent an endless number of new skies, stacked like mattresses for the refugees of Earth.

Darwish, the name in Arabic means a pure, spiritual wandering man, was precisely that for us. He moved between skies and across borders – between Palestine, Israel, Russia, France, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and other countries. Wherever he was, words in his hands were a magic lamp that set free the genie of the Arabic language. He knew the heart of the Palestinians. He knew that they had only one wish for the genie, one yearning request of their language – “home.”

As seen in his language and poetry, Darwish had a vision and passion for achieving justice. He helped in writing Arafat’s famous address to the United Nations General Assembly in 1974 in which Arafat pleaded with the world by repeating three times, “La tusqeto al-ghusna al-akhdar min yadee” – don’t let the green branch fall from my hands.

In 1988, Darwish drafted the Palestinian declaration of independence in which he said that peace is achievable with a two-state solution – one Palestinian, one Jewish. He wrote that peace is possible “on the land of love and peace”.

Inspired by the vision of reconciliation, he emphasised that Palestine would be a society that thrives on human rights, equality, democracy, representation, social responsibility, and complete respect for all, especially women and people of different faiths.

At one of Darwish’s last performances, in July 2008, the audience in Ramallah received him as though they suspected it might be the last time they would see him. They stood up like the fragrant spruce trees he often plants in his poetry. “Think of others”, he told them.

As you prepare your breakfast – think of others. Don’t forget to feed the pigeons. As you conduct your wars – think of others. Don’t forget those who want peace. As you pay your water bill – think of others. Think of those who only have clouds to drink from. As you go home, your own home – think of others – don’t forget those who live in tents. As you sleep and count the planets, think of others – there are people who have no place to sleep. As you liberate yourself with metaphors, think of others – those who have lost their right to speak. And as you think of distant others – think of yourself and say, “I wish I were a candle in the darkness.”

Speaking openly about death, he had confessed to Al-Hayat, the Arab newspaper: “I am no longer afraid of death. I used to be afraid of it. But now I only fear the death of my ability to write and my ability to taste life.”

Continuing to wrestle with his art, he wrote, “I thought poetry could change everything, could change history and could humanise…. Now I think that poetry changes only the poet.”

Dear Mahmoud Darwish, your poetry changed me.

###

* Ibtisam Barakat (www.ibtisambarakat.com) is the author of Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007) and founder of Write Your Life seminars which encourage people to find their voice. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .

Source: Common Ground News Service, 19 August 2008, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.

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~Youth Views~ Making a home in a foreign land
Saher A. Ashary and Meryem Maaroufi

Sharjah, UAE/Ifrane, Morocco - Global communication in the 21st century has reduced the distance between people from different cultures and regions, and immigration has brought people from different civilisations closer to one another. Yet, diverse ideologies, value systems and religious beliefs held by people sharing the same physical space often result in divergent views on how individuals should behave and the extent to which each group is able to participate in society.

Tension between a country’s native and immigrant populations is most pronounced in Europe, especially when it comes to Arab-European relations. Arabs and Europeans both hail from established civilisations with strong but different value systems formed by centuries of time-honoured religious beliefs and social habits.

An unwillingness to change on both sides has led to social polarisation. According to Harvard University scholar, Jocelyn Cesari, Arab immigrants in Europe have had a difficult time fitting into society; they have the highest unemployment rates of all minorities, and the greatest tendency to live segregated lives in the poorest neighbourhoods. The implications of this polarisation were apparent in the 2005 riots in France.

Examples of such schisms exist throughout the United States as well but, overall, the United States has been much more accepting of new cultures, partly due to its relative youth as a nation, and partially because it accepts a smaller number of Arab immigrants, roughly four times less than the approximately five million Arabs living in Europe. This smaller group tends to stem from a wealthier, more educated segment of society.

On average, Arab Americans do not live in ghettos and enjoy a richer lifestyle, both financially, and in terms of quality of living. According to data collected in 2000 by the US Census Bureau, they appear to be better able and willing to take advantage of US educational opportunities: 41 percent are college graduates, compared to the 24 percent of the American population as a whole with college degrees.

Their education and hard work pays off. The average income of an Arab American family is $52,300, 4.6 percent higher than the national average, giving this segment of society employment and lifestyle opportunities and removing some of the burdens of unemployment and segregation faced by their European counterparts.

However the events of 9/11 have hampered this progress. Now, the terms Arab and Muslim (often used incorrectly as synonymous with one another) are increasingly being associated with terrorism, extremism and barbarism. Terrorist attacks, perpetrated in the name of Islam, continue to fuel Western suspicion of anything Arab or Muslim.

In this age of increased communication, all societies, cultures and social groups must find ways to understand each other in order to live in peace and harmony. These are simple words, but require tremendous commitment and efforts on the part of each of us.

Thankfully, individuals are rising to the challenge.

Many Arab-Americans are trying to explain their culture and religion to Americans because of the backlash following the 9/11 attacks. For example, an Arab man, Mehdi El-Afifi of Teaneck, New Jersey was driving his daughter and her friends home on the morning of the 9/11 attacks when a woman began pointing her finger at the girls inside. She yelled, “Take off your headscarves!”

Following this incident, Mehdi El-Afifi, along with his fellow community members, began a series of talks explaining Islam and the Arab world across New York and New Jersey. Together they visited churches, synagogues, schools, women’s organisations and youth clubs. They raised awareness of their cultural differences, destroyed negative stereotypes in the process, and showed that Arab and Muslim Americans are not terrorists who want to bomb the country.

Individuals like these help bridge the gulf between citizens sharing the same geographic territory. But more people must be involved; today, a conscious effort is required not just from members of civil society, but also from politicians, historians, and religious leaders. Such examples as this could prevent further polarisation from occurring around the world, especially in our global and technologically-linked society where the power of improved communication and interconnectedness enable us to learn from one another’s examples.

###

* Saher A. Ashary is a junior at the American University of Sharjah, majoring in international relations. Meryem Maaroufi is also a junior at Al Akhawayn University, majoring in international studies. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .

Source: Common Ground News Service, 19 August 2008, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission is granted for publication.

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Free speech is a two-way street
Shahed Amanullah

Austin, Texas - Back in 1989, when the publication of Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses sparked a new phenomenon of protests from Muslims – particularly by those in the West – I was a student body senator at the University of California at Berkeley, where the Free Speech Movement was born in the 1960s. Two bookstores were firebombed – apparently in retaliation for the book, though without any claims of responsibility.

Along with several other Muslim students, I appeared on local television to denounce the bombings and state our belief that while Muslims could understandably be offended, no one had the right to impose censorship or intimidate others with threats to their safety or property.

That situation put us in the unique position of being targets of abuse by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, who either painted us as whitewashing a desire to impose our beliefs on others (this from the public in general) or apologising for a legitimate Muslim rage, regardless of whether it had crossed the line into violence (this from fellow Muslims). It was a paradox that has repeated itself many times in the 20 years since, most recently with the Danish cartoons and the violent reactions that some Muslims around the world had to them.

Some of the more abrasive encounters between Muslims and others during this time have not centred around politics or foreign policy, but rather in this arena of free expression. Muslims have naturally taken exception to the way their faith has been portrayed by some artists, writers, and academics.

Non-Muslims have, in turn, criticised some books by Muslims that are offensive, along with the institutions that sell them (as have we, incidentally). In both cases, people often talk at and over each other rather than to each other. Ideas are not exchanged, and the cycle continues unabated.

So why do Muslims appear to be so sensitive about what the media says about them?

Muslims have generally felt embattled during the past few decades as their media image becomes increasingly unrepresentative of the average Muslim. As they struggle against this imagery, they are told that the pre-requisite for changing it is for them to meaningfully change the behaviour of extremist Muslims, who exist far outside their sphere of influence – often a half a world away.

Muslims in this position feel they have no other choice but to push back harder against portrayals that are insulting or misrepresenting. Some, unfortunately, push too far. But Muslims aren’t alone in this. Voices that seek to marginalise the presence of Muslims in public discourse routinely do the same.

Two recent examples illustrate this: the attempts by New York congressman Peter King and others to have “Why Islam” ads banned from New York City subways (based only on the reputation of an external supporter of these ads); and calls by some to prevent publication of the forthcoming book, Jewel of Medina. Neither effort has succeeded in effectively dealing with controversy, which will remain dormant only to reappear another day.

Watching this exchange over time has taught me that the best response to free speech is simply more speech in return. Anyone should have the right to publish whatever he or she wants about Islam or Muslims – even if their views are offensive – without fear of censorship or retribution.

Muslims, however, shouldn’t be expected to be passive consumers of these views. An offended Muslim has the right – indeed, the responsibility – to vigorously critique anything written about them or their religion, provided they do not cross the line into intimidation and coercion. In an ideal world, both parties would open their minds enough to understand the other point of view.

Getting people on both sides of this equation to follow these guidelines will take a lot of reconditioning. But the alternative, a hyper-sensitive Muslim community that is unable to constructively respond to external criticism (or internal criticism, for that matter), coupled with a journalistic/artistic/secular community that feels genuine fear and is prevented from free expression – cannot be an option. We are witnessing today the stagnation and increased misunderstanding that comes from a stifled discourse.

Ultimately, no one has the absolute right not to be offended, nor does anyone have the right to live without the uncomfortable opinions of others. This is true whether it concerns flag burning (which should harm nothing other than a piece of cloth) or non-Muslim views of the Prophet Muhammad (which should not have an impact on a Muslim’s sincere belief). Religion and a universal sense of civility both dictate that emotions be kept in check to preserve social order. In such an environment, the freedom to speak openly – and all the benefits that come from it – can flourish.

To move forward, we all need to develop thicker skins, more open minds, and a common understanding of the principles of free speech, such as those that influenced me as a student and allowed me to subsequently influence others. Only then will everyone – Muslim and non-Muslim – be able to progress their societies and simultaneously preserve their rights.

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* Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .

Source: altmuslim.com, 7 August 2008, www.altmuslim.com
Copyright permission is granted for publication.

Dear HumanDHS network friends

Please find below a call for papers for a special issue of Group Processes and Intergroup Relations.

Kind regards
Brian Ward

Group Processes and Intergroup Relations Special Issue: Dehumanization: Humanity and its Denial

Guest Editors:
Emanuele Castano (New School for Social Research, USA) and Mirek Kofta
(University of Warsaw, Poland)

Group Processes and Intergroup Relations seeks submissions for a
special issue on /Dehumanization:/ /Humanity and its Denial/.

Among the many ways in which individuals denigrate others, denial of
humanity is probably the most devastating. Indeed, various forms of
dehumanization have been theorized to be a facilitating, and perhaps
necessary precursor for violence against others to occur, particularly
intergroup violence. Dehumanization is also considered to be at play
when people need to justify their past atrocities against a group. In
recent years social psychology has witnessed a renewed research
interest in dehumanization, with the emergence of conceptual and
empirical research revolving around the idea of emotional
infra-humanization and, more recently, on dehumanization as the denial
of human nature. The aim of this special issue is to showcase
state-of-the-art research on these various forms of dehumanization;
their meaning, their origin, and their consequences. Consistent with
the focus of /GPIR/, we aim to attract a variety of contributions that
focus on humanity and its denial in the context of intergroup relations.

We seek empirical papers that introduce new data and report new
findings, meta-analytic or narrative review papers that integrate and
summarize existing research, and theoretical papers that describe new
conceptualizations or link existing research findings and theorizing
to specific context and policy.

Submissions should be made electronically through the online
submission
website: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/gpir. In the submission
letter, indicate that the MS is submitted for consideration for
publication in the Special Issue on /Dehumanization: Humanity and its
Denial/. Please direct inquiries to the guest editor Emanuele Castano,
castanoe[@]newschool.edu.

The deadline for submissions is January 15 2009.

Dear HumanDHS network friends

Please find below the Africavenir Newsletter August 2008.

Kind regards
Brian Ward

Africavenir Newsletter 6/2008 - Vorschau Programm August bis Dezember

Mit diesem Newsletter möchten wir unser Programm für die zweite Jahreshälfte vorstellen. Ein ganz besonderes Highlight im September ist der Besuch von Dr. Achille Mbembe, der als einer der renommiertesten Intellektuellen der Gegenwart gilt. Zu den Highlights zählt auch der Besuch des senegalesischen Griots und Erzählers Babacar Mbaye Ndaak, der in diesem Jahr vor allem in Schulen auftreten wird. Der Oktober ist dem afrikanischen Film gewidmet mit zwei großen Festivals in Köln und Berlin. Zudem zeigt AfricAvenir den Film „JuJu Factory“ in Anwesenheit des Regisseurs und mit einführendem Vortrag durch die Gruppe „Remember Resistance“ auf einer Tournee in 5 deutschen Städten. Im November stimmen wir mit dem Festival “200 Jahre später…” ein in die internationalen Feierlichkeiten aus Anla ss der Abschaffung des transatlantischen Sklavenhandels vor 200 Jahren.

Zunächst jedoch laden wir Sie am Sonntag, den 31. August zu einer rasanten Fahrt von Dakar nach Conakry ein – im TGV Express (alle Details unten).

AfricAvenir sucht Praktikant/in für den Zeitraum Oktober - Dezember 2008
Der in Berlin ansässige Verein AfricAvenir International e.V. sucht für den Zeitraum Oktober bis Dezember 2008 eine/n Praktikant/in für 20-30 Stunden/Woche (mind. 6 Wochen) im Bereich politische Bildungsarbeit bzw. Kulturmanagement. Der Arbeitsort ist die Geschäftsstelle in Berlin. http://africavenir.com/news/2008/08/1972

1. AfricAvenir Veranstaltungen
2. Neu auf unserer Website: www.africavenir.org
3. Weitere Veranstaltungen und Hinweise

1. AFRICAVENIR NEWS / VERANSTALTUNGEN

31. August 2008, 20.15 Uhr
„TGV Express (OmdtU) – Der schnellste Bus nach Conakry“ im Freiluftkino Hasenheide
Am Sonntag, den 31. August um 20.15 Uhr lädt AfricAvenir zur Filmvorführung von Moussa Tourés Road-Movie Klassiker “TGV” ins Freiluftkino Hasenheide ein. Moussa Tourés originelle Komödie avancierte zu einem der erfolgreichsten afrikanischen Filme der letzten Jahre. Mit herrlich abgestimmten Dialogen, streitend, neckend und lachend fährt eine zufällige Gesellschaft von einer augenzwinkernden Anspielung zur nächsten. Mit einer thematischen Einführung von Babacar Mbaye Ndaak (Griot, Erzähler). http://africavenir.com/news/2008/07/1968/
Flyer Download: http://africavenir.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/AfA_TGV_Mail.pdf

18. August – 18. September 2008
Senegalesische Märchen und Geschichten mit Babacar Mbaye Ndaak
Nach dem erfolgreichen Projekt „Afrikanische Märchen erzählen Geschichte(n)“ 2006 ist der senegalesische Griot und Erzähler Babacar Mbaye Ndaak im August und September 2008 wieder zu Gast in Deutschland. Herr Ndaak arbeitet hauptberuflich als Lehrer für Geschichte und Geographie im Senegal. Er war Schüler des senegalesischen Gelehrten Cheikh Anta Diop und ist Vorsitzender des Verbands senegalesischer Märchenerzähler und Mitglied der Stiftung Youssou N’Dour, die sich im Senegal seit langem der Förderung von Jugendlichen in Bildungsprojekten verschrieben hat. Babacar Mbaye Ndaak möchte mit Hilfe von Märchen die Vorstellungswelt von Kindern und Erwachsenen so prägen, dass sie als humane Wesen mit Respekt und Hoffnung aufwachsen und leben können. geplant ist u.a. eine Schul-Tournee durch Berlin, Hessen und Niedersachsen, bei der Herr Ndaak afrikanische Märchen erzählen und inszenieren wird. Falls Sie Interesse haben, Herrn Ndaak in Ih re Schule einzuladen, wenden Sie sich bitte an: Tel.: 01577-5364539 oder info@africavenir.org.
http://africavenir.com/news/2008/08/2000

04. September 2008, 19.30 Uhr
Gedenkveranstaltung zum 50. Todestag des kamerunischen Unabhängigkeitskämpfers Ruben um Nyobe
Am 04. September lädt AfricAvenir in Kooperation mit der Werkstatt der Kulturen zu einer Gedenkveranstaltung zum 50. Todestag des kamerunischen Unabhängigkeitskämpfers und Politikers Ruben um Nyobe ein. Einführend zeigen wir den Dokumentarfilm „Cameroun – Autopsie d’une indépendance“ (OenglU) von Gaelle Le Roy und Valérie Osouf in Deutschlandpremiere. Im Anschluss findet eine Diskussion mit Dr. Achille Mbembe und Valérie Osouf statt. http://africavenir.com/news/2008/08/1995

08. September 2008, 19.30 Uhr
Dialogforum: Dynamik im Verhältnis - Zukunftsszenarien europäisch-afrikanischer Beziehungen
In Kooperation mit der Heinrich-Böll- Stiftung lädt AfricAvenir am 08. September 2008 um 19.30 Uhr zum Dialogforum mit Dr. Achille Mbembe und Prof. Andreas Eckert ins neue Haus der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. In den letzten 50 Jahren hat es in Afrika tiefgreifende Veränderungsprozesse gegeben, die auch die Beziehungen auf internationaler Ebene betreffen, allen voran die Beziehungen zwischen Afrika und Europa. Wie können wir uns die afrikanisch-europäischen Beziehungen in den kommenden Jahrzehnten vorstellen? http://africavenir.com/news/2008/08/1987

09. September 2008, 10.30 Uhr
Schulveranstaltung: „Afrikanische Märchen machen Schule“
Am 09. September um 10.30 Uhr lädt AfricAvenir Berliner Schulklassen zu einer Märchenstunde mit dem senegalesischen Griot und Erzähler Babacar Mbaye Ndaak in die Werkstatt der Kulturen. Babacar erzählt die Abenteuer von Leuk, dem Hasen und Bouki, der Hyäne und vermittelt unterhaltsam und so ganz nebenbei die gesamte senegalesische Lebenswelt. Eintritt Schüler/innen: 2,50 €, Lehrer/innen frei. Anmeldung und Kontakt: Tel.: 01577-5364539 oder info@africavenir.org. http://africavenir.com/news/2008/08/2000

09. September 2008, 19.30 Uhr
„Babacar erzählt“ – Senegalesische Geschichten und Märchen
Ebenfalls am 09. September um 19.30 Uhr in der Werkstatt der Kulturen inszeniert Babacar Mbaye Ndaak senegalesische Geschichten für ein erwachsenes Publikum und bringt uns spielerisch ein Stück senegalesischer und afrikanischer Geschichte näher. So erzählt Babacar neben lehrreichen Fabeln und Parabeln auch über das Leben von Lat Dior, dem letzten Damel des Cayor, der sich jahrelang der französischen Kolonisierung widersetzte und im Augenblick der Niederlage den Freitod wählte. Besungen wird auch der große Gelehrte Cheikh Anta Diop, dessen Werk die Grundfeste der eurozentrischen Geschichtsschreibung entscheidend erschütterte. http://africavenir.com/news/2008/08/2000

07. – 26. Oktober 2008
Das 10. Afrika Filmfestival „Jenseits von Europa X“ in Köln (7. bis 26. Oktober)
Vom 7. bis zum 26. Oktober präsentiert FilmInitiativ Köln 43 Spielfilme, Dokumentationen und Kurzfilme aus 16 Ländern Afrikas. Zehn RegisseurInnen aus Algerien, Tunesien, Ägypten, Äthiopien, DR Kongo, Nigeria, Guinea, Uganda und dem Sudan sind eingeladen, um über ihre Produktionen mit dem Publikum zu diskutieren. AfricAvenir ist Medienpartner des Festivals und präsentiert in Kooperation mit der Gruppe “Remember Resistance” das Programm „Koloniale Gespenster in Europa und Afrika“ (s. unten). http://africavenir.com/news/2008/08/1974

13.-19. Oktober 2008
Filmtournee: „Koloniale Gespenster in Europa und Afrika“ feat. „JuJu Factory“ von Balufu Bakupa Kayinda
Vom 13.-19. Oktober veranstalten AfricAvenir International e.V. und „Remember Resistance“ eine Tournee zum Thema „Koloniale Gespenster in Afrika und Europa“ durch Berlin, Leipzig, Hamburg, Bochum und Köln. Nach einer intensiven multimedialen Einführung in die Thematik „Europäischer Kolonialismus und dessen lange Schatten in Europa und Afrika“ wird der Film „JuJu Factory“ (97min., DRC, OV/Engl Untertiteln, 2007) gezeigt und in Anwesenheit des kongolesischen Regisseurs Balufu Bakupa Kanyinda diskutiert. http://africavenir.com/news/2008/08/1984

27. – 30. November 2008
Anlässlich der 200jährigen Abschaffung des transatlantischen Sklavenhandels: Festival „200 Jahre später…“
In der letzten November-Woche laden AfricAvenir und die Werkstatt der Kulturen aus Anlass der international festlich begangenen Abschaffung des transatlantischen Sklavenhandels vor 200 Jahren zum Festival „200 Jahre später…“ ein. Mit Filmen, Workshops, Vorträgen, Lesungen und einer begleitenden Publikation sollen vor allem die Widerstandskämpfer/innen und die vielfältigen kreativen Widerstandsformen im Vordergrund stehen. Details in Kürze unter: http://www.africavenir.org

09. Dezember 2008
Dr. Mohau Pheko: Die Zukunft der Wirtschaftsbeziehungen zwischen Afrika und Europa
Im dritten diesjährigen Dialogforum in Kooperation mit der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung zum Thema „Die Zukunft der afrikanisch-europäischen Beziehungen“ möchten wir gemeinsam mit der feministischen Ökonomin und Journalistin Mohau Pheko (Südafrika/ angefragt) analysieren welche Rolle Afrika derzeit in einer globalisierten Ökonomie einnimmt und wie der Kontinent die globale Ökonomie in Zukunft mitgestalten wird. Details in Kürze unter: http://www.africavenir.org

Ende Januar 2009
Neue soziale Bewegungen in Afrika – Aktuelle Situation, Herausforderungen, Perspektiven
In dieser Veranstaltung soll es um die (neuen) sozialen Bewegungen in Afrika gehen. Zunächst möchten wir eine Art Gesamtschau wagen und den Fragen nachgehen, welche sozialen Bewegungen es aktuell auf dem Kontinent gibt. Welche Ziele verfolgen sie? Wer engagiert sich mit welchen Anliegen? Dazu haben wir die Soziologin Hawa Bâ angefragt, die als langjährige Redakteurin der Internetplattform www.pambazuka.org über profunde Kenntnisse über den Kampf um soziale Gerechtigkeit in Afrika verfügt. Um eine genauere Vorstellung von der Arbeit einer Bewegung zu vermitteln, soll Dr. Tiecoura Traoré von seiner Arbeit berichten. Infolge der Bahnprivatisierung in Mali mit all ihren katastrophalen wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Folgen gründete er das „Collectif Citoyen pour la Restitution et le Développement Intégré du Rail Malien (COCIDIRAIL)“. COCIDIRAIL ruft zu Demonstrationen auf, organisiert Debatten sowie Filmabende in afrikanischen Sprachen und vernetzt sich mit weiteren sozialen Bewegungen in Westafrika und Europa. Details in Kürze unter: http://www.africavenir.org

2. NEU AUF UNSERER WEBSITE: www.africavenir.org

Impressionen des 1. Nelson Mandela Festivals in Berlin
Trotz wechselhafter Wetterbedingungen und bei teilweise starken Regenfällen feierten am 18.-20. Juli 2008 mehr als 6000 Berlinerinnen und Berliner beim „1. Nelson Mandela Festival Berlin“ den 90. Geburtstag des ersten demokratisch gewählten Präsidenten Südafrikas. Impressionen des Festivals mit Bildern der Fotografin Daniela Incoronato © unter: http://www.africavenir.com/gallery/index.php

Rapport: La petite vendeuse de soleil de Djibril Diop Mambety ferme l’écran de projection
Ce Mercredi 30 Juillet à Bonendale Turbo bar, la Fondation AfricAvenir International a projeté le dernier de sa série de huit films africains, pour les villages Ndobo, Bonendale, Bonamatoumbe, Bojongo et Sodiko. La petite vendeuse de soleil de Djibril Diop Mambety ferme l’écran de projection. Rapport de Jean Ndoumbe. http://africavenir.com/news/2008/08/1983

Tributes to and reflections on an African icon: Nelson Mandela at 90
It is humbling and unsettling attempting to appraise the significance of an icon, especially at the time of that icon’s 90th birthday. Nevertheless, we must honour Nelson Mandela while at the same time situating him in a broader and complicated context. http://africavenir.com/news/2008/07/1940/

African writing in our time
Each generation of writers is confounded by the simple and clichéd paradox – the more the world changes the more it remains the same. The imagination wants to be freed from the hold of the past, and yet it finds that the present and the material worlds are indelibly tied to that past. I believe it is to this tension that James Baldwin was speaking when he wrote that a writer cannot write outside his or her times. By Mukoma Wa Ngugi. http://africavenir.com/news/2008/07/1933

Is Africa closer to Oceania than to Europe? Visit to an exhibition on African and Oceanian arts?
Many Europeans would agree that African art inspired Picasso, Juan Gris, Arman, Braque, Matisse, Kandinsky, Kirchner, Modigliani, Paul Klee, Moore and Giacometti and others but they do not realize or take into account that some of these masterpieces now held in Europe could also inspire young African artists who now have no chance of seeing the masterpieces of their culture. By Kwame Opoku. http://africavenir.com/news/2008/07/1964

3. WEITERE VERANSTALTUNGEN

Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin – Fokus Afrika
Der literarische Ausnahmezustand im 8. Jahr! Vom 24. September bis 5. Oktober 2008 findet das 8. internationale literaturfestival berlin statt. Nach dem großen Erfolg des “Fokus Lateinamerika“ steht Afrika in diesem Jahr im Zentrum des Festivals. In diesem Rahmen wird afrikanische Literatur präsentiert und ein Forum zur Auseinandersetzung mit den historischen und politischen Hintergründen des Kontinents geboten. http://africavenir.com/news/2008/08/1985

Neues Kino aus Afrika Filmfestival
Vom 09.10.2008 - 09.11.2008 findet nach Jahren wieder ein Afrika Film Festival statt. Das Festival möchte einen Überblick des zeitgenössischen afrikanischen Kinos geben, in dem sich in den letzten 15 Jahren entscheidende Veränderungen vollzogen haben und zugleich einen Ausblick wagen in die „visuelle Zukunft“ des Kontinents. Der Kurator des Festivals Manthia Diawara, Professor für Vergleichende Literaturwissenschaften mit den Schwerpunkten afrikanische Literatur und Film und Direktor des Instituts für African Studies an der New York University, spricht angesichts der Wandlungen von einer tiefgehenden Veränderung der Sichtweisen, einer Verschiebung der Paradigmen. http://www.hkw.de/de/programm2008/afrika_film/projekt-detail_3.php

Weddinger Afrika Wochen
Am 06. und 07. September 2008 starten die Weddinger Afrika Wochen mit einem Fest auf dem Weddinger Rathausvorplatz. Veranstalter der bis in den Dezember hinein stattfindenden Veranstaltungen ist die Initiative „Afrika im Wedding“ - Afrikanisch-Deutscher Klub. Einzelheiten zum Programm entnehmen Sie in den kommenden Tagen und Wochen der Tagespresse.

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 a call from Karen Ross for information to assist with her project.

Kind regards
Brian Ward

Research Project: Effectiveness of Peace Education

Dear Friends and Colleagues

I am currently a consultant on a project initiated by the Global
Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) Peace
Education Reference Group. The purpose of this project is to identify
and clarify the current state of evaluation and research on the
effectiveness and impact of peace education and conflict resolution
education (PE/CRE) around the world. Specifically, this project seeks
to identify what evidence exists about the impact and effectiveness of
PE/CRE, what methodologies and approaches are most robust for
generating this evidence, and what gaps exist in research and evaluation.

The first phase of this project focuses on collecting and making
available evaluations and research on PE/CRE; thus, I am writing to
seek existing evaluations that your organization may have undertaken,
or evaluations that you are otherwise aware of. At this stage we aim
to collect as broad a scope of materials as possible (with particular
interest in programs outside the US/Canadian context). We welcome
contributions evaluating programs that encompass formal and non-formal
education, conflict and non-conflict contexts, children and adults,
values- and skills-based interventions, and so forth. Evaluations may
be summative or formative in nature; the main consideration is that
they reflect work conducted in the fields of PE/CRE.

I look forward to hearing from you. Please send any information,
including evaluations, to: karnula[@]gmail.com

Thank you in advance,
Karen Ross

P.S. Broad definitions of both Peace Education and Conflict Resolution
Education are included below to provide some guidance as to
appropriate programs, though these are by no means comprehensive:

CRE definition: Conflict Resolution Education “models and teaches, in
culturally meaningful ways, a variety of processes, practices and
skills that help address individual, interpersonal, and institutional
conflicts, and create safe and welcoming communities. These processes,
practices and skills help individuals understand conflict processes
and empower them to use communication and creative thinking to build
relationships and manage and resolve conflicts fairly and peacefully”
(Association for Conflict Resolution, 2002). CRE programs include a
variety of efforts that share various emphases:
– An understanding of conflict
– Social, emotional and cognitive processes related to constructive
conflict management – principles of conflict resolution – process
steps in problem solving – skills required to use each of the steps
effectively

PE definition: Peace Education is “the process of promoting the
knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to bring about behavior
changes that will enable children, youth and adults to prevent
conflict and violence; both overt and structural; to resolve conflict
peacefully; and to create the conditions conducive to peace whether at
an intrapersonal, interpersonal, inter-group, national or
international level” (Peace Education Working Group –UNICEF). The
goals of peace education include (Harris and Morrison, 2003):
– to appreciate the richness of the concept of peace – to address
fears – to provide information about security – to understand war
behavior – to develop intercultural understanding – to provide a
“futures” orientation – to teach peace as a process – to promote a
concept of peace accompanied by social justice – to stimulate a
respect for life – to manage conflicts nonviolently

Dear HumanDHS network friends

Please find here a link to the Horn of Africa Bulletin August 2008.

Kind regards
Brian Ward

Dear HumanDHS network friends

Please find below information from Roy Eidelson regarding the resolution of PsySR limiting psychological work to within human rights contexts only.

Kind regards
Brian Ward

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I am writing to let you know that Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PsySR) has endorsed a “YES, I APPROVE” vote on the petition ballot referendum recently mailed to all American Psychological Association (APA) members. We have also produced a brief video that explains why we strongly urge APA members to support this important resolution by voting “I APPROVE.” The video can be viewed on our website at http://www.psysr.org/ voteyes or directly on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=-GDH4V8A_Qc .

The resolution concludes this way: “Be it resolved that psychologists may not work in settings where persons are held outside of, or in violation of, either International Law (e.g., the UN Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions) or the US Constitution (where appropriate), unless they are working directly for the persons being detained or for an independent third party working to protect human rights.” The entire resolution is included at the end of this email and is also available at http://www.psysr.org/ voteyes .

We encourage you to watch our brief video, and we would greatly appreciate your forwarding this email and video link to your APA colleagues . We are eager to reach as many APA members as possible–as quickly as possible since the voting deadline is now less than a month away. Please help us disseminate this message to your own personal colleagues and to group listservs to which you may have access (e.g., APA division listservs, other psychology-related listservs, state psychological association listservs, university department email lists, etc.). If you are an APA member and you have misplaced your ballot, you can obtain another by emailing Garnett Coad at gcoad@apa.org .

Thank you!

Roy Eidelson

P.S. I realize that not all of you are APA members, but you likely have friends and colleagues who are. Finally, I apologize if this is a duplicate mailing. Thanks again.

Roy J. Eidelson, Ph.D.
President-Elect, Psychologists for Social Responsibility
http://www.psysr.org
eidelson@psysr.org

FULL TEXT OF THE RESOLUTION
Whereas torture is an abhorrent practice in every way contrary to the APA’s stated mission of advancing psychology as a science, as a profession, and as a means of promoting human welfare.

Whereas the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Mental Health and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture have determined that treatment equivalent to torture has been taking place at the United States Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. [1]

Whereas this torture took place in the context of interrogations under the direction and supervision of Behavioral Science Consultation Teams (BSCTs) that included psychologists. [2, 3]

Whereas the Council of Europe has determined that persons held in CIA black sites are subject to interrogation techniques that are also equivalent to torture [4], and because psychologists helped develop abusive interrogation techniques used at these sites. [3, 5]

Whereas the International Committee of the Red Cross determined in 2003 that the conditions in the US detention facility in Guantánamo Bay are themselves tantamount to torture [6], and therefore by their presence psychologists are playing a role in maintaining these conditions.

Be it resolved that psychologists may not work in settings where persons are held outside of, or in violation of, either International Law (e.g., the UN Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions) or the US Constitution (where appropriate), unless they are working directly for the persons being detained or for an independent third party working to protect human rights [7].

Footnotes

[1] United Nations Commission on Human Rights. (2006). Situation of detainees at Guantánamo Bay. Retrieved March 4, 2008, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/16_02_06_un_guantanamo.pdf The full title of the ‘Special Rapporteur on Mental Health’ is the ‘Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health’.

[2] Miles, S. (2007). Medical ethics and the interrogation of Guantanamo 063. The American Journal of Bioethics, 7(4), 5. Retrieved March 4, 2008, from http://ajobonline.com/journal/j_articles.php?aid=1140

[3] Office of the Inspector General, Department of Defense: Review of DoD-Directed Investigations of Detainee Abuse. Retrieved March 4, 2008, from http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dod/abuse.pdf

[4] Council of Europe Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights (2007). Secret detentions and illegal transfers of detainees involving Council of Europe member states: second report. Retrieved March 4, 2008, from http//assembly.coe.int//Main.asp?link=http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc07/edoc11302.htm

[5] Eban, K. (2007). Rorschach and Awe. Vanity Fair. Retrieved March 4, 2008, from http://www.vanityfair. com/politics/features/2007/07/torture200707

[6] Lewis, N. A. (2004, November 30). Red Cross Finds Detainee Abuse in Guantánamo. Retrieved March 4, 2008, from http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/30/politics/30gitmo.html? oref=login&adxnnl=1&oref=login&adxnnlx=1101831750-

[7] It is understood that military clinical psychologists would still be available to provide treatment for military personnel.

Roy J. Eidelson, Ph.D.
Eidelson Consulting
www.eidelsonconsulting.com
610-513-8685

Dear HumanDHS network friends

Please find below the Dignity International August 2008 Newsletter.

Kind regards
Brian Ward

DIGNITY INTERNATIONAL
MONTHLY NEWSBULLETIN - August 2008

Dignity News | Other News| Action Appeals| Announcements | Forthcoming Events| Publications

Dignity News

* Destruction at Dam Village - Minister for Lands responds

* SAARC Report Online

Other News

* Health is a Human Right: Mexico Conference on HIV/AIDS

* S. African Woman endorsed by UN as Human Rights Chief

* US Congress demands energy accountability to aid development

* WTO negotiations collapse: a victory for poor farmers

* 2008 G8 Summit - NGO Reactions

Action Appeals

* Endorse Human Rights and HIV/AIDS: Now More Than Ever

*Mobilise now for the World Day for Decent Work, October 7

Announcements

*Internship Announcement: Intern, South Asia Programme

* Asia Course on Health, HIV Harm Reduction

Forthcoming Events

* 7th Leadership Course on Gender, Sexuality, and Health in Southeast Asia and China

* UN Right to Development Working Group

* UN Human Rights Social Forum

Publications

* World Economic and Social Survey 2008

* Minimum Income Standard in Britain Report & Launch

DIGNITY NEWS

*** Destruction at Dam Village - Minister for Lands responds - The Hon. James Orengo, MP, Minister for Lands, Kenya responded to the joint letter sent by the participants of the “Get Organised for Human Rights” Learning Programme in Nairobi on 16 th June expressing concern for forced evictions at Dam Village, Nairobi. Dam Village was one of the field visit destinations for the “Get Organised for Human Rights” Learning Programme where forced evictions had taken place a month earlier destroying community buildings and homes rendering 300 children, women and men homeless.

In his response Hon. James Orengo MP, Minister for Lands expressed his own concern about the forced evictions and said that “…the Draft National Land Policy will amongst other issues address the question of deprivation of shelter under the guise of forced evictions…” He also pledged to “…work together with other Government institutions and officials to ensure that there is respect for and observance of fundamental human rights”. To read the full letter from Minister Orengo CLICK HERE>>>

To read the full text of the letter sent by participants CLICK HERE>>>

*** SAARC Report Online – A comprehensive report of the South Asia Regional Linking and Learning Programme on Human Rights Based Development organised by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Dignity International from 28 April – 3 rd May in Mumbai India is now available online. Toe read the report CLICK HERE>>>

OTHER NEWS

***Health is a Human Right: Mexico Conference on HIV/AIDS – In both wealthy countries and in the South, illness and death from HIV/AIDS continues to pose a significant violation of basic human rights. According to a conference press release dated 5 August, “In 2007, 2.7 million people were newly infected with HIV worldwide, nearly 7,400 each day.” Conference participants and organisers stressed that effective prevention and treatment of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic must come from policies that recognise the human right to adequate health care and non-discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation and social and economic standing.

Local Co-Chair of AIDS 2008 Salvador Zubiran and Coordinator of the Clinical Care Committee of CONASIDA, Mexico’s National AIDS Council said “In far too many places, stigma and discrimination continue to fuel counterproductive laws and policies that undermine prevention and treatment scale up. Confronting such policies head on, and demanding that they be changed, is a central component of any HIV prevention strategy.” To read more on the conference CLICK HERE>>>

Source: XVII International Aids Conference

***S. African Woman endorsed by UN as Human Rights Chief - NEW YORK CITY –Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that he was “gratified” that his nomination of South African judge Navanethem Pillay as the new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had today been endorsed by the General Assembly. Mr. Ban reiterated his commitment to ensuring that human rights remain high on the agenda of the Organisation, in a statement released by his spokesperson. To read more CLICK HERE>>>

Source: UN News Centre

*** US Congress demands energy accountability to aid development – WASHINGTON, DC — Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) have introduced key legislation aimed at reducing corruption and insecurity in the oil, gas, and mining industries.

The Extractive Industry Transparency Disclosure (EITD) Act of 2008 introduced on 31 July would require oil, gas, and mining companies to publicly disclose payments made to foreign governments. The bill is identical to legislation introduced in Congress by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) in May. Oxfam America president Raymond Offenheiser welcomed this joint action, recalling that “More than half of the world’s poorest people live in countries rich in natural resources. Access to information is a fundamental aspect of development.” “Senator Schumer has taken an important step to provide citizens with vital information to hold their governments accountable for how mining and oil projects will impact their lives and lands and how revenues can contribute to the long-term reduction of poverty.” TO read more CLICK HERE>>> and see press release ” Legislation calls for oil, gas, and mining revenue transparency”

Source: Oxfam America

***WTO negotiations collapse: a victory for poor farmers - Rural workers, peasants and family farmers all over the world are welcoming the collapse of negotiations. It is a victory for those who want to protect the livelihoods of 3 billion peasants all over the world and to find solutions to the current food crisis. According to the global peasant movement “La Via Campesina” this collapse is a victory in the long struggle against WTO.

In July the talks collapsed over the protection of the livelihoods of billions of peasants worldwide against aggressive pressures by the US and the EU to open markets for more food dumping by their multinationals. To read more CLICK HERE>>>

Source: La Via Campesina

*** 2008 G8 Summit - NGO Reactions -
International development NGOs and networks reacted with a mixture of disappointment and frustration to the final communiqué of the July 2008 G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan . G8 NGO Platforms’ Reaction to the 2008 G8 Summit Final Communiqué (word) To read more CLICK HERE >>>

Global Call to Action Against Poverty’s reaction to the G8 Communiqué - G8 fiddles while world burns - “This Summit has been another betrayal of the poor and citizens of G8 countries. The outcome shows a lack of understanding of the heart of the issues causing hunger and desperation in many countries already. We hope the citizens of these eight countries will put more pressure on their out-of-touch leaders. The planet is burning while the G8 is fiddling,” said Kumi Naidoo, Co-chair of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP). To read more CLICK HERE>>>

For a comprehensive press review of the 2008 G8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan CLICK HERE >>>

Source: Whiteband.org

ACTION APPEALS

***Endorse Human Rights and HIV/AIDS: Now More Than Ever - Universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support will never be achieved without human rights. Now more than ever, human rights should therefore occupy the centre of the global struggle against HIV. To endorse the declaration, CLICK HERE>>>

Source: Open Society Institute

***Mobilise now for the World Day for Decent Work, October 7! - On the World Day for Decent Work on 7 October 2008, there will be a large mobilisation of activists and partners in support of the call to action for Decent Work Decent Life! As part of the Decent Work Decent Life campaign, the Call to Action for Decent Work was launched at the ILO forum on a fair globalisation in October 2007, in Lisbon: an international petition which urges governments to ratify and implement the ILO’s standards and to put decent work at the heart of their policy-making. To help this campaign or learn more about it CLICK HERE>>>

Source: Decent Work, Decent Life

ANNOUNCEMENTS

***Internship Announcement: Intern, South Asia Programme - Closing date: 20 Aug 2008. Forum Asia presently has 42 member organisations in 16 countries in South Asia, Southeast and Northeast Asia. Its regional secretariat is located in Bangkok, Thailand.The internship is open to individuals with a degree either on social sciences, law or in related fields with expertise and / or interest in international human rights law and human rights issues in South Asia. For more details CLICK HERE>>>

Source: Forum Asia

*** Asia Course on Health, HIV Harm Reduction - The Asian Harm Reduction Network (AHRN) has announced a new short course on ‘Health and Social Care for People Using Drugs’. As governments across the Asia region increasingly incorporate harm reduction into their HIV and drug use policies and programmes, there is an increasing need to build capacity amongst those who deliver these services. As such, this six-day event is aimed at all staff working with injecting drug users – including programme managers, medical professionals, law enforcement personnel and frontline workers. The course is scheduled for the 25th September to the 1st October 2008 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The programme includes issues such as defining what ‘harm reduction’ means, improving service delivery, opiate substitution treatments, poverty alleviation and reintegration, and service user involvement. The overall aim is to enable services and projects across the region to effectively respond to the realities of drug use and HIV by learning more about harm reduction. For more details CLICK HERE>>>

Source: Asian Harm Reduction Network

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

***7th Leadership Course on Gender, Sexuality, and Health in Southeast Asia and China - 25 August - 13 September 2008, Vientiane, Lao PDR.

The course aims to provide participants with context-specific and gender-sensitive perspectives on sexuality and sexual health. Special attention will be devoted to exploring how conceptual and theoretical frameworks, especially gender and socio-cultural theories, can be applied to programme interventions, research, policy formulation, and advocacy to better the sexual and reproductive health of people in the region. Organiser: Center for Health Policy Studies. For more details CLICK HERE>>>

Source: Southeast Asian Consortium on Gender, Sexuality and Health

***UN Right to Development Working Group – GENEVA - The ninth session of the Working Group on the Right to Development will be held from 18-22 August 2008. The mandate of the open-ended Working Group is to monitor and review progress made in the promotion and implementation of the right to development; to review reports and other information submitted by States and international or non-governmental organizations, and to submit a sessional report to the Commission on Human Rights. The ninth session of the Working Group will consider the report of the high level task force on the implementation of the right to development, that took place from 7-15 January 2008, in accordance with its mandate. To read the report in English CLICK HERE>>>

Source: UNHCHR

***UN Human Rights Social Forum - GENEVA - The Social Forum set to take place from 1-3 September in Geneva is a unique space for interactive dialogue between the United Nations human rights machinery and various stakeholders, including grass-roots organizations, and underlines the importance of coordinated efforts at national, regional and international levels for the promotion of social cohesion based on the principles of social justice, equity and solidarity as well as to address the social dimension and challenges of the ongoing globalization process. For more details CLICK HERE>>

Source: UNHCHR

PUBLICATIONS

*** World Economic and Social Survey 2008 - According to the 2008 World Economic and Social Survey, serious economic insecurity has arisen from the exposure of individuals, communities and countries to adverse events, and from their inability to cope with and recover from the downside losses. The risk and threats vary from community to community; in advanced countries, they have been associated with a significant rise in inequality, a hollowing out of middle-class lifestyles and reduced welfare protection. Elsewhere, economic shocks and premature deindustrialization have raised fears of an insufficiency of the formal sector jobs needed to accommodate an expanding urban population. In still other places, food insecurity has given rise to political discontent and increased levels of personal insecurity. To read the publication online or order a copy CLICK HERE>>>

Source: United Nations Development Policy and Analysis Division

***Income Standard in Britain Report & Launch – LONDON- On 1st July 2008 the MIS team launched its final report in London at Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre at 108 Stamford Street, London. This report is the culmination of two years of research, based on work with 39 focus groups involving more than 200 people, who were actively engaged in shaping the research, in combination with input from experts on heating and nutrition. Current debates about reducing or ending poverty in Britain suffer from the absence of a socially agreed, empirically based minimum income standard. This research brings together the expertise of the Family Budget Unit (FBU) and SPRU, with the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) and BMG Research in order to develop such a standard which will answer the question: ‘What level of income is needed to allow an acceptable standard of living in Britain?’ To read more about the project details and the report CLICK HERE>>>

Source: MIS Britain

This is a monthly electronic news bulletin of ‘Dignity International: All Human Rights for All’. Dignity International does not accredit, validate or substantiate any information posted by members to this news bulletin. The validity and accuracy of any information is the responsibility of the originator.
If you are working in the area of human rights with a special attention to different aspects of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, we would love to hear from you. To contribute, email us at info@dignityinternational.org

Dear HumanDHS Friend!

Please see Rebuilding Sustainable Communities in Iraq: Policies, Programs and International Perspectives by Adenrele Awotona!

We send you our warm congratulations, dear Adenrele!

Most appreciatingly,

Evelin

Title: Rebuilding Sustainable Communities in Iraq: Policies, Programs and International Perspectives
Binding: Hardback
Editor: Adenrele Awotona
Date of Publication: 2008-10-01
UK: £39.99
US: $79.99

The scene in Iraq is most troubling; and further failure therein – especially failure in sustainable reconstruction – will compound the tragedy and bring grievous harm to too many: in Iraq, the United States, the Middle East and the Western world. Yet, the current efforts at reconstruction cannot succeed — as we seem to be making many of the same mistakes that were made post-invasion. Simply put, a national occupying power cannot reconstruct a massive societal vacuum by working only top down. Reconstruction is not the simple reversal of destruction. Sustainability requires serious localized reconstitution of localized community infrastructure.

Accordingly, in order to explore how Iraqi communities could be rebuilt in a manner that promotes social justice, economic and political sustainability, and the full participation of all stakeholders, the Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, USA, hosted a four-day international conference of Iraqi and international scholars and practitioners in July 2007. This volume collects some of the papers that were presented at the conference.

Amongst the topics that the contributing authors have explored are the following: the role of organizations and institutions in defining strategies for sustainable rebuilding of community; rebuilding the Iraqi Oil Industry; and, successful project strategies in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The book concludes with a presentation of a number of international perspectives and their lessons for Iraq. These studies spring from Afghanistan, the United States of America and Africa.

Adenrele Awotona is the Director of the Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA. He was a Director of Studies for the British Council International Seminars (Reconstruction after disasters) in the United Kingdom. His publications include: Reconstruction after disaster: issues and practices (edited, Ashgate, 1997); and, “Approaches to post-war reconstruction and development: lessons from Africa”, Habitat International, Vol.16, No.4. (1992).

“Rebuilding sustainable communities in Iraq: policies, programs and international perspectives” should elicit an enthusiastic response from a variety of countries and international organizations which are interested in the topics covered in this book.”

Fuad Safwat, Professor Emeritus, University of Massachusetts Boston

“While the rest of the world focuses on the success and failure of military operations, millions of Iraqis are dealing with the destruction of their lives and their country. Rarely is any attention given to describing what a hopeful resolution to the devastation might be. Rebuilding Sustainable Communities in Iraq gives us hope. It tackles the overwhelming problem of rebuilding Iraq–helping its children, families and institutions heal–in an insightful, systematic and believable way. Let us hope that this book will inspire many to focus their thoughts, feelings and actions on reconciliation, not war.”

Diane Levin, Ph.D., Professor of Education, Wheelock College

Dear HumanDHS network friends

Please find below a job description for Executive Director at ICfC.

Kind regards
Brian Ward

Executive Director Position at ICfC

The International Center for Conciliation (ICfC), young and rapidly developing conflict resolution organization based in Boston, MA, is searching for Executive Director to guide our organizational development and strategic planning. For more information on ICfC, please visit www.centerforconciliation.org.

Please address your inquiries to the ICfC Program Director Monica Sanders at msanders[@]centerforconciliation.org

Job Description, Executive Director, ICfC

Summary
The Executive Director works closely with the President and the Board of the Directors of the ICfC to lead the organization through the development and execution of strategy for its growth, oversee operations and administration, promote its visibility, work with the Fundraiser to secure a solid funding base, and support the continued development of the Board of Directors. He/she will build on the important work of the President in expanding the reach of the ICfC through outreach and advocacy, as well as expanding awareness of the power of historical conciliation in complementing traditional approaches to conflict resolution.

Key Qualifications
- Strong leader who is a self-starter and has the ability to grow a young nonprofit organization
- Experience in managing overseas projects that have a significant training element and which depend on close involvement of a local NGO partner.

- Experienced in management of professional support staff; past responsibility for financial management.

- Experience, either as participant or as a reporting executive, with a Board of Directors.

- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

- Ability to work collaboratively with the President; interest in and dedication to promoting the President’s insights and skills.

- Knowledge of the field of conflict resolution and mediation, as well as practical experience in these interventions are a plus, though not required

Description of Responsibilities:
Vision and Strategy : Oversee strategic planning of organizational and programmatic development, operations, business, accountability and evaluation of the organization and implemented programs. Identify and lead the Center’s programmatic direction and key activities in the U.S. and abroad in close cooperation with the Program Director. This is likely to include:

1) establishing a center for the study of the use of memory and history in conflict resolution,

2) offering training in historical conciliation techniques, and

3) sponsoring projects and events that reinforce the positive use of memory and history.

Programs, Education and Outreach :

- Work with the Program Director to develop the key markers in ICfC’s strategy for disseminating information about the use of history and memory as a critical tool in conflict resolution. This may include workshops, conferences and convenings of professionals in the conflict resolution field, academics, community activists, the ICC advisory board, and other audiences.

- Ensure that ICfC programs and projects are aligned with the strategic plan, mission and vision of the organization

- Ensure Board input and approval

- In conjunction with program team, build cooperative, effective, and evaluative relationships with program partners

- Participate in negotiations on program contracts and agreements

- Work with program and grants management teams to evaluate scope of work and scale on ongoing basis ensuring that projects have elements of evaluation and sustainability

- Oversee evaluations

Operations and Administration :

- Plan for and manage ongoing organizational growth and change

- Ultimately responsible for implementation and results

- Hire and oversee professional and support staff

- Lead senior staff and management team meetings, participate in admin and fundraising meetings

- Ensure staff has opportunities for professional development as individuals and as teams and participates in the non-profit sector

- Continuously build an atmosphere of trust, loyalty, and motivation, instill a sense of ownership of projects and results in staff

- Oversee preparation of annual budget and financial plan

- Monitor and report on financial results

- Oversee development of office support system

Fund-raising and Board Development :

- Oversee the development of the fundraising plan and of fundraising initiatives in cooperation with the ICfC Fundraiser, and actively assist with cultivating donors, maintain relationships with foundations, government donor agencies, and other potential sources of funding.

- Work with the Board of Directors to identify gaps on the Board, identify and recruit potential new members. Support the development of active board committees. Identify and recruit members for an ICfC advisory board.

- Ensure that our programs are responsive to donor base when appropriate

- Plan, schedule, set agenda, and facilitate Board meetings and conference calls

- Communicate with board on key program and administrative issues

.