Creating spaces of peace and coexistence-ALf Final Recomendations
Creating spaces of peace and coexistence
“Restore Trust, Rebuild Bridges”
The Anna Lindh Forum 2010 has represented an important moment to consolidate or redefine the fields of action of the Foundation. A thematic approach was adopted in all the Forum’s components in order to examine the work of the ALF by field, to evaluate specific programmes and to design together with experts and civil society members the future action of the Foundation.
The five strategic fields of the Forum emanated from the ALF triennial programme and were specified thanks to the results of the ALF Report on Intercultural Trends, thematic Preparatory Meetings and different consultations with the National Networks and the institutional Partners, in order to define topics to be discussed in the Agora, best practices and project ideas to be presented in the Medina as well as experts to contribute to the Forum at large.
In order to ensure a qualitative process, the Foundation has designated a coordinator from the field to help defining the structure and the content of the discussions. Such coordinator accompanied the Foundation from the Preparatory Meeting through the Forum. Having opted for an inclusive and participatory approach, institutional bodies such as Advisory Council Members and Heads of Networks were involved in the panels as Chairs or Moderators. In addition, experts in the strategic fields were selected to give inputs on the session and to open the debate, whereas opening remarks from the civil society were presented in order to set a frame for the debates. Furthermore, a particular attention was devoted to inform about certain important topics through the info sessions, to share best practices and project ideas, and to involve the strategic partners by giving them a space in the Medina.
The thematic approach allowed the constitution of communities inside our Networks working in the same field that had the opportunity to debate about the challenges, opportunities and future of the Foundation’s work in the Agora, and shared their ideas, projects and best practices in the Medina. Such communities will be supported in the future work of the Foundation as follow-up to the Forum.
This paper will attempt to present the work of the Foundation, the Preparatory Meetings outcome, the Agora/Medina recommendations and the different projects and people that represented the field of Peace & Coexistence in the Forum.
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In spite of the buzz word of globalisation according to which people, ideas and goods move freely across the globe, there is a growing sense of isolation and miscommunication both within and between peoples, communities, countries and regions. This breeds distrust, misunderstandings, tensions, and fears - creating a spiral of violence that too often leads to mutual suspicion. Moreover, the potential of escalation is present and comes deeper and wider in many places.
The paradox is that although humans have perhaps never accumulated so much knowledge, means of telecommunication, possibilities to build relative peace and wealth - notwithstanding the financial crisis and inequality – yet inequalities persist, and we fail to share the global space and wealth of the earth as well as the sense of solidarity, cooperation and good will with other peoples and countries. Thanks to the spectacular development of information technology and air transportation, people can technically move from one end of the world to the other in a matter of hours and reach instant contact in seconds by various means. Thus, the possibility of meeting, getting to know, interacting and understanding people from other places and cultures is now higher than ever before in human history.
Yet, for a vast majority of the people, it is almost impossible to circulate for many reasons (getting visa, financial resources…) and this generates a sense of inferiority, marginalisation, exclusion and the feeling of intercultural injustice, which fuels conflicts. Furthermore, the aspirations of some communities in the region to recognition and freedom are frustrated. The result is mis-communication and mutual suspicions between peoples, communities and nations as well as violence and injustice which hinder constructive communication, exchange, enriching dialogue and intercultural understanding.
Nevertheless, dialogue initiatives and needs for opening new perspectives emerged in the civil society and governments - particularly at local level - of many Euro-Mediterranean countries. Acknowledging that 2009 was the International Year of Reconciliation, the Anna Lindh Foundation wanted to fully play its role, in order to revitalise confidence in dialogue and in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, contributing in promoting a culture of coexistence, good neighbourhood and peace in the region.
The Action of the Foundation on the Field
In February 2009, the Initiative “Restore Trust, Rebuild Bridges” was been launched in Paris, in the aftermath of the Gaza War and the start of the world economic crisis. The objective of this Initiative has been to facilitate restoring trust in social, political and cultural dialogue as the only effective way to solve tensions and conflicts in the Euro-Mediterranean space by raising awareness about intercultural actions for non-violent conflict resolution, fostering mobility of youth and civil society players, and providing communities affected by conflicts with means of cultural and artistic expression and relief.
Between the 1st of July and the 21st of September 2009, the following activities were implemented:
• 48 local actions took place in all the Euro Mediterranean countries dealing with issues related to local realities and human rights, coexistence, peace and justice; and involved minority and disadvantaged groups (national, religious and ethnic minorities, communities in conflict areas, migrants, refugees, disabled…);
• 13 regional actions were implemented by organisations from Egypt, France, Germany, Israel, Italy and Palestine dealing with means and actions to develop peaceful coexistence and encouraging dialogue and cooperation between different groups and peoples;
• An international delegation of Head of Network Institutions and Network members spent a week between Israel and Palestine, taking part in cultural and social activities to discuss the complexity of Mediterranean identity, the role of intercultural action in conflict solution, culture - and especially theatre - as a tool for expression, and meeting members of the Israeli and Palestinian Networks and civil society actors;
• A Euro-Med Forum has been organised in Stockholm on the 21st of September 2009 for the International Day of Peace to present and debate the main results of the “Restore Trust, Rebuild Bridges Initiative”, with the participation of 30 Euro-Mediterranean media practitioners and 30 Euro-Med and locally-based civil society leaders and academic experts.
Moreover, the 2009 edition of the Euromed Award has been devoted to the theme of Intercultural Dialogue for Peace and Coexistence, with the Combatants for Peace initiative (Israel / Palestine) as winner and the Project team “History in Action” (Bosnia / Serbia / Croatia) as second classified.
The success of the Initiative has been a stimulus to think about a second phase based on the same concept of promoting a culture of peace and coexistence which is a leading goal of the Anna Lindh Foundation and main content of its mission and foreseen vision in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
Creating spaces of peace and coexistence in the Medina
Info Sessions:
§ Intercultural Tools for Conflict Resolution (Partners Albania, CIDT, Search for Common Ground), Speakers: Ariola Agolli, Cornelis Hulsman, Abou El Mahassine Fassi-Fihri
Partner Contributions:
§ The Role of Women in the Non-violent Struggle for Peace (Combatants for Peace), Speakers: Maha Staitit, Gitit Bar-El, Igor Djordevic, Miralem Torsinovic
Project Ideas:
§ Conflict and Boundaries Aerobics Club Izida- Yunak Svilengrad (BG), Silvia Stefanova
§ Peace Teams Center for peace non-violence and human rights Osijek (HR), Igor Djordjevic
§ Life in the 2030’s Ajatuspaja e2 (FI), Taru Savolainen
§ Al Quds Underground La Vie sur Terre (NL), Merlijn Twaalfhoven
§ Les racines bleues FMCAU (MC), Marie-Hélène Escarras
§ EcoFARM Project LEAD Tunisie (TN), Mustapha Chouikha
§ Ville et diversité Association des Monégasques de l’Etranger (MC), Audrey Pascal
§ Political dialogue in the Baltic-Med Axis The Finnish NGDO Platform to the EU (FI)
§ History that Connects EUROCLIO (NL), Melisa Foric
§ Euromed Civitas Club Unesco Alecso Bardo (TN), Fedia Gasmi
§ Building Trust and Understanding Stockholm University (SE), Martin Säfström
§ Interaction Between Communities IPCC (PS), Amer Hadmi
§ RECOM Documetna (HR), Igor Roginek
§ Empower Youth Online Society Voice Foundation (PS), Ibrahim Nateel
§ Beyond Boundaries SDC (LB), Paola Pallotto
§ Sustainable lifestyles Suderbyn Permaculture Ecovillage (SE), Robert Hall
§ Exchanging Eyes FORUM (NL), Krista Schram / Meltem Halaceli
§ Peace Bags for EuroMed Youth Fundació Catalunya Voluntària (SP) Meghann A. Villanueva
Best Practices:
§ Uproar in Ezbet Boushra Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Translation (EG), Cornelis Hulsman
§ News Service Middle East Search for Common Ground (BE), Abou Fassi-Fihri
§ IPEACE INFOGROUP International (SW), Narcisse M. Lokwa
§ Critical Media Consumption Keshev (ISR), Yizhar Be’er
§ Media for Peace and Dialogue UNESCOCAT (SP), Rut Gómez Sobrino
§ Found Friend Project The Albanian Foundation for Conflict Resolution & Reconciliation of Disputes (AL), Rasim Gjoka
§ Knowing is the Beginning The Parents Circle-Families Forum (ISR), Aaron Barnea
§ Peace Games Irénia - Jocs de pau (SP), Josep M. Alegret
§ Time for Responsibilities Coordinamento Nazionale degli Enti Locali per la Pace e i Diritti Umani (IT), Flavio Lotti
§ Rifugio Italia Teatro dell’Argine (IT), Alicja Borkowska
§ Academic University for Human Rights Lebanese Association for Civil Rights (LE), Diana Assaf
§ Culture of Dialogue in Gaza CIVITAS Institute (PAL), Fatma Al Shurafa
§ Arava Institute Projects Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (ISR), Miriam Sharton
§ Women for coexistence GREC - Resolució de conflictes (SP), Ferran Camps
§ Autobiographical Encounters AHA Moments, Centre for Intercultural Learning (BG), Leah Davcheva
§ Inventing the Future Centro Sviluppo Creativo “Danilo Dolci” (IT), Marie Marzloff
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE FORUM
§ Defining Concepts
At the level of the EuroMed Agenda, it is recommended to develop a common understanding of the concepts and terms of coexistence, reflecting on the different existing narratives of conflicts and exploring effective ways of creating a culture of reconciliation.
§ Peace projects ownership
At the level of the EuroMed Agenda and of the ALF Programme, it is recommended that peace projects enjoy the support of the local community and be based on the needs of the local communities as defined by them. It is essential that international NGOs work with local grassroots organisations supported by local people.
§ Follow up on Restore Trust initiative and focus on long term actions and a wider concept of conflict resolution
At the level of the ALF Programme, it is recommended to evaluate the pilot Restore Trust, Rebuild Bridges Initiative and build on its positive outcomes. In general, the ALF should privilege long term partnerships and collaborations. Empowerment of people in underprivileged situations is indeed a long term process and social problems cannot be overcome in a few weeks or months but over a sustained period of time.
- Recognising art as a pivotal instrument for a culture of peace
At the level of the EuroMed Agenda and of the ALF Programme, it is recommended to use art as a basis for creative solutions to deal with social problems and a key to intercultural dialogue towards a culture of peace.
Artists should meet as equals for mutual inspiration and mutual gain in order to learn from each other, create respect and reinforce the view that the local person is not the victim. This highlights the need to support individual artists and mitigate the mobility difficulties that artists face, for example in getting visas to visit countries where they are undertaking projects unless they are internationally recognized.
§ Investing in Peace key actors
At the level of the EuroMed Agenda and the ALF Programme, it is recommended to support journalists trainings, human rights educators and activists, and youth initiatives.
More specifically, it is recommended to develop Human Rights programmes for primary and secondary school in order to engage the whole community and promote the values of peace within the context of diversity curriculum. This education action could combine understanding and feeling of Peace and could involve the schools together as a whole. Part of this human rights education could be a “Peace School¨ with an annual award. In a similar way, a new programme for peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace building should be started, which could possibly include cultural journalism as peacemaking tool.
- Developing a multi disciplinary approach to engage all community members in intercultural dialogue
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