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CEJI Director Robin Sclafani interview on Radio Judaica

Monday, May 11 at 19:00 Brussels time, listen to CEJI Director Robin Sclafani interview on Belgium’s Radio Judaica.

Positive Evaluation for CEJI’s School Community Approach

This evaluation was conducted over the course of two years by the Paris-based Institute for Education and Social Policy and is now available online. Five schools across the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Italy participated in a pilot project of the School Community Approach, funded by the Ford Foundation. Two control schools who have never engaged in any sort of diversity education were also involved in the evaluation methodology. The results of the pilot project were very positive across all the schools involved.

CEJI’s School Community Approach is defined as: “A long-term view to school development that involves the various actors of the school community in order to create a positive learning environment that respects diversity and where all pupils can succeed.”

You can read the Executive Summary of the Evaluation by clicking here.
If you would like more information on the evaluation results, the tools employed, or the program itself, you can contact CEJI's Director Robin Sclafani.

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Award-Winning Programme Ventures into More Languages

CEJI’s award winning Religious Diversity and Anti-Discrimination Training ran its first intensive training for adult educators in French (26 April until 1 May, 2009) and German (3 May – 8 May, 2009).

During the training, the groups had the opportunity to visit the Ismaili temple community and the local synagogue. After the course, the participants were all keen to return to their own working environments and begin using their newly acquired skills in their schools, colleges and other places of work.

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Religious Diversity Training Events

Two-Day Workshop in Wales 11-12 May, 2009. Fully subscribed but to read more,click here

Two-Day Workshop in Romania: 25-26 May, 2009. For more info: contact Oana Nestian : oana.nestian@intercultural.ro

Religious Diversity Trainers Gathering, October 12-16, 2009 in Turin, Italy.
For more information on the Religious Diversity Training Programme, contact Ruth Friedman at ruth.friedman@ceji.org.

Religious Diversity Training for Teachers Organised by the Anna Lindh Foundation in Beirut, Lebanon– Now accepting applications!
In partnership with the Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO, the Anna Lindh Foundation is organising a three-day teacher-training workshop to be held in Beirut, Lebanon from 26 to 30 May, 2009.( traveling dates are included). Travel expenses will be covered by the Foundation for participants accepted into the course.

Through this workshop, the Foundation hopes to present the How to cope with diversity at school: teaching and learning about religious diversity educational resource it recently developed and prepare a core group of multipliers in the field of religious diversity education.

The workshop is open to applicants from the following twelve countries only: Cyprus, Greece, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, France and Belgium. The working language is English.

For more information and application forms, click here.

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CEJI Launches European Parliament Campaign on Antisemitism

In co-operation with the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism, CEJI has launched a campaign to sign up European politicians to The London Declaration on Combating Antisemitism.

The campaign aims to draw the democratic world’s attention to the resurgence of antisemitism as a potent force in politics, international affairs and society. By signing the London Declaration, elected officials commit publicly to identify the threat of antisemitism, challenge and combat it where it occurs, and educate and raise awareness about it in their constituencies and in national and international institutions.

CEJI will be contacting the current Members of the European Parliament, as well as candidates in the upcoming European elections, urging them to commit to this important issue. We call on you, our partners and friends, to contact MEPs and candidates to sign the Declaration. More information will follow shortly, but for questions you can contact Gidon van Emden at the CEJI office.

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CEJI Attends Durban Review Conference

Gidon van Emden, CEJI's Deputy Director responsible for EU Policy and Jewish Affairs, attended the United Nations Durban Review Conference from April 20-24 in Geneva. The conference aimed to review the World Conference Against Racism of 2001, which erupted into an antisemitic hatefest.

CEJI has monitored the preparations for the Review Conference for about 2 years, working together with various NGOs and governments to ensure that the awful events of Durban would not be repeated. Now that it is behind us, we can safely say that we achieved that goal.

Yet, while the Durban Review Conference was not a miserable debacle like its predecessor in 2001, the best that can be said about it is that it’s final outcome document was not offensive, and that the European Union Member States finally resolved to show strong opposition to the politicised and hateful agenda of some UN Member States and NGOs. The outcome document of the Durban Review Conference can be found here.

As a part of the Jewish Caucus, which included approximately 20 Jewish organisations from around the globe, CEJI released and delivered a number of statements during the Review Conference, which can be found here on our website.

CEJI also took the opportunity to review the educational commitments to combat racism made by the EU Member States in 2001. The result is a report entitled “Education and the Fight Against Racism”, which was distributed to the country delegates at the conference. It can be found here.

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The Platform for Intercultural Europe

The Platform for Intercultural Europe is an umbrella association that unites nearly 400 organisations and thousands of individuals from many disciplines and sectors who are committed to intercultural action. CEJI is an active member, with Gidon van Emden, CEJI's Deputy Director responsible for EU Policy and Jewish Affairs, serving on the Platform’s Steering Group.

Committed to open dialogue with civil society, the European Commission officially recognises the Platform as an ‘interlocutor’. As a hub of communication between local actors, Platform members, and the political institutions, the Platform plays an important role that must be maintained. And if the 2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue is to have a lasting impact, continued action and advocacy are needed to broaden and deepen the power and recognition of culture and cultural diversity.

Our Goal
We want the non-profit sector to drive this campaign for change. We want as many civil society partners as possible to join the Platform and sign the Rainbow Paper; to initiate and monitor organisational change; to observe policies in their cities, regions and countries; to see that European standards are built up and implemented. Through strong united action we can influence cultural policymaking for the better.

Next Steps
The Platform will offer specialised guidance in the five key areas covered by the Rainbow Paper to European institutions, national governments and local actors so that they can learn from good practice and take appropriate action.
Your Support We know that we have your support in creating a more inclusive Europe together. We are asking for small efforts that will have great impact on the legacy of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue and the future of intercultural action:
• Endorse the Rainbow Paper here.
• Become a Member of the Platform for Intercultural Europe here.

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OSCE Roundtable on Antisemitism

CEJI's Director participated in the OSCE Roundtable on Antisemitism held in Vienna last March. This gathering was particularly important given the recent spike in antisemitic attacks and it gave an opportunity for national actors to engage with the OSCE’s recently appointed Personal Representative on Combating Anti-Semitism of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office: Rabbi Andrew Baker.

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EPTO seminars in 2009

PEER I'M Fruitcakes – a peer training that deals with gender and homophobic discrimination in youth environments. This seminar will run from 18 – 24 May, 2009 in Amsterdam. Contact Friederike Birkle – sunnyfreddy@hotmail.com
PEER I'M – peer training against racism , from 13 – 19 July, 2009 in Paris. Contact Paul Halle – paul.halle@univ-lyon2.fr
PEER I'M – the final summer conference, from 2-7 September, 2009 in Luxembourg City. Contact Kevin Haddad – kevin@4motion.lu

For more information about EPTO, please contact Julie Godfroid.

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Partner News.

The Anti-Defamation League, through its A World of Difference Institute, has created an excellent online course for educators called : Making Diversity Count.
To learn more and register, click here.
Or email your questions to ADL.

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Upcoming Events

Visit our Upcoming Events page for up to date information.

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