|
 |
Contents
In this issue With another program year behind us, CEJI extends its heartfelt gratitude to our partners and colleagues throughout Europe. Together we have organised several deep-reaching training programmes that facilitate religious diversity and help to overcome antisemitism and islamophobia. During this next year we will be tackling the challenging subject of reconciling religion with gender and sexual orientation in order to transform these current social conflicts, real or perceived, into opportunities for living together with all our beautiful diversity. Hand-in-hand with our educational efforts, we will continue our work to gather signatures within the European Parliament for the comprehensive London Declaration on Antisemitism. This Declaration provides a holistic approach for preventing and addressing hatred against Jews, and it can serve as a model for policies that create inclusive environments for all discriminated groups in society. We wish you a wonderful summer and look forward to another productive program year ahead! Sincerely, Forthcoming eventsReligious Diversity and Anti-Discrimination trainings for Adult Educators in English, French and German
Please contact to Register! Belieforama Users Seminar : Madrid October 13 – 15t h 2010 Overcoming DiscriminationTraining trainers to overcome islamophobia and antisemitism
The training took place in the “heart of Europe”, featuring a variety of players from teachers to community activists involved in the field of diversity education and antidiscrimination, all of different faiths and nationalities. Participants’ comments confirm the importance of raising awareness and opening people’s minds to each other. Here are some of their impressions: “As a participant, I faced realities I had never previously experienced. The training was very challenging and helped me to realize how important it is to learn about diverse cultures.” “It was very challenging to put myself in the shoes of someone else”; “The workshop opened up aspects of Islamic culture that I was unaware of” Religious DiversityTraining course for adult educators in Derby, UK
The participants, people of different faiths and philosophical convictions, challenged themselves in the educational process -- bringing to light their own perceptions and backgrounds. Some of the final comments confirm the positive results of this experience. “The course gave to me the opportunity to work with others belonging to a variety of faiths.”; “By being in an experiential group we identified our stereotypes and in this way learnt a lot.”;
“The training has taught me more about my own personality, beliefs and limits.” Religions, Cultures and Human RightsCEJI Director invited as expert speaker
Multicoloured, Religious and..CEJI partner leads a conference on cultural diversity in Germany
The Religious Diversity and Anti-Discrimination Training Programme was presented by Aliyeh Yegane as an example of good practice in the field of adult education dealing with the issue of religious diversity. Her presentation highlighted the developed material as well as the quality standards of the training programme. Participants had the opportunity to experience some of activities comprised in the programme. The presentation also included the results of the external evaluation, which allows the experience from each training event to be systematically reused in the further development of the programme. The conference was the first one which brought together, from all Germany, scientists and educators working in the field of religious diversity and anti-discrimination. At the end of the conference, participants expressed their will to create a German network on religious diversity and education. Belieforama partners at workTraining sessions for Public Administration in Berlin
Besides different branches of the administration, there were also employees from the Human Resources offices, various educational institutions, representatives of Muslim organisations, the Department for integration and diversity of the city of Vienna, Austria, and women’s representatives from the German universities. The next training is planned for October 2010. OSCEA long lasting collaboration to fight anti-Semitism through legislation
On June 1st, CEJI hosted a Civil Society meeting at its offices for the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office’s Personal Representative on Combating Antisemitism, Rabbi Andrew Baker. European and Belgian civil society organisations active in fighting and monitoring antisemitism shared their thoughts on the current situation, and discussed recommendations to the OSCE and its 56 Participating States. On June 28-30, Gidon van Emden, CEJI’s Deputy Director; European Policy and Jewish Affairs, attended the OSCE High-Level Conference on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination and its preliminary Civil Society Preparatory Meeting. Gidon was invited to the Civil Society Preparatory Meeting as a speaker, and was asked to moderate the High-Level Conference’s session on antisemitism. To read his speech, delivered during the session on “Promoting Mutual Respect and Understanding” click here CEJI submitted its recommendations to the OSCE ahead of the Conference. To read CEJI’s recommendations, click here. European ParliamentCEJI side by side with the Interparliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA)
It is hoped that the Intergroup on Combating Antisemitism will be formally established soon after the summer. Meanwhile, CEJI’s European Parliament Campaign to Combat Antisemitism is still going strong! Since the last CEJI Flash, almost a dozen new MEPs have signed up to the London Declaration on Combating Antisemitism. To find out which MEPs of your country have signed the London Declaration, or for information about how to approach MEPs about the Declaration, please email Gidon at the CEJI office. About CEJI
Subscribe / Unsubscribe
|
 |
From May 2nd to 7th CEJI organised in Brussels the training course “Overcoming Islamophobia and Overcoming Antisemitism”. This 6-day event was set up with the first half of the programme dedicated to the topic of islamophobia and the second half dedicated to antisemitism. The aim of the course was to help the participants understand and confront prejudice existing in diverse communities that affect the lives of Muslims and Jews.
Diversity is a pillar of the modern world. This is what CEJI wanted to affirm by organizing a Religious Diversity and Anti-Discrimination training session in Derby, England on May 23rd to 28th. The aim was to train educators to better facilitate a positive relationship between individuals and groups within a diverse society.
CEJI Director Robin Sclafani was invited as an expert speaker on the issue of children’s rights during the conference “Religions, Cultures and Human Rights” hosted by the President of the Italian Republic at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome, May 12-13.
From June 14-16 in the protestant academy of Loccum, Westphalia, took place the Conference “Multicoloured, religious, capable of democracy? - How can the issue of religious diversity be dealt within education?”.
2 awareness raising workshops, facilitated by Aliyeh Yegane and Nina Mühe, were delivered in April and June for the employees in the Public Administration of Berlin. These trainings were part of a series, focused on different diversity issues and provided by the Department for Equal Treatment and Anti-discrimination of Berlin. Due to a high demand of participation, the workshop took place in 2 repeated sessions.
Over the years, CEJI has built up a working relationship with the OSCE, especially regarding the fight against discrimination and hate crimes.
Together with the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA), CEJI is advocating the creation of an Intergroup on Combating Antisemitism in the European Parliament. Intergroups are informal and topical gatherings of MEPs that are officially approved by the Parliament’s leadership. During the first informal meeting to gauge the interest of MEPs in the topic, close to 20 MEPs attended, with a number of assistants in attendance as well.
CEJI is an international non-profit organisation established in 1991, CEJI stands with individuals and organisations of all religions, cultures and backgrounds to promote a diverse and inclusive Europe. CEJI works to combat prejudice and discrimination and to promote social cohesion through training, education, dialogue and advocacy.