British Academy Project: Europe and Progressive Islamist Movements-Perceptions of Democratisation in the Middle East

Conference:  ’Europe and Progressive Islamist Movements: Perceptions of Democratisation in the Middle East.’ 

It will be held on Friday, 6 March 2009.  Venue: European Research Institute (ERI), University of Birmingham.

For information on the conference day’s itenrary, go to: http://www.eumena.bham.ac.uk/programme.shtml

This event is co-funded by the British Academy, the European Politics research group of the Department of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Birmingham, the British International Studies Association (Working Group on International Mediterranean Studies) and the University Association for Contemporary European Studies.

Registration is now open via https://www.bhamonlineshop.co.uk/events/eventdetails.asp?eventid=35 

Early registration is highly recommended!

Sitcom co-funded by EU highlights women’s issues

 The sitcom series ‘Coiffeur Ashwaq’ co-funded by the European Union through the Delegation of the European Commission in Egypt, has received its first airing on the ART satellite station, according to a statement from the Delegation.

The sitcom comes on top of the advertising campaign launched by Media Arts for Development (MADEV), within the framework of the ‘Capture Life’ project, co-funded by the EU.

 

‘Coiffeur Ashwaq’ tackles issues pertaining to women and their rights in the form of a short sitcom series, focused around a hairdresser, who comes into contact with people from all kinds of different social categories. The series runs to 15 20-minute episodes.

To read more visit: http://www.delegy.ec.europa.eu/en/News/596.asp

SALTO-Youth Euromed Resource Centre announces 2009 activities

A number of activities taking place in 2009 in the framework of the EU-funded SALTO-Youth Euromed Resource Centre have been announced and are now open to participation. Among them is the long-term training course on ‘Protecting the Mediterranean environment’, which aims to train EU and Meda youth organisations to enhance the impact of their involvement in projects. Other activities focus on intercultural dialogue, education, democracy, training and workshops, youth programmes and networking.

To read more visit: http://www.euromedinfo.eu/site.171.news.en.5121.html

The 41st Cairo International Book Fair: UK Guest of Honour

Date: 22 January-5 February
Location: Cairo International Book Fair, Salah Salem Street

Welcome from British Ambassador: Dominic Asquith

 

Culture and commerce have characterised many of the exchanges between Egypt and Britain over the years. What is rarer is for the two so closely to overlap. The United Kingdom is delighted to have been invited as guest of honour at this year’s Cairo International Book Fair, where the business of publishing will be as much of a feature as the cultural debates between intellectuals, writers, scientists and the reading public. Some of Britain’s top writers – novelists, poets and children’s authors – will be at the fair to take part in events with their Egyptian counterparts. They will be joined by scientists, musicians and actors to complete a programme of cultural events, managed by the British Council, which we hope will fire everyone’s imagination.

Culture and trade also came together at last year’s London Book Fair. On that occasion many of the leading writers and publishers from the Arab World met their British counterparts – some for the first time and some continuing longstanding relationships – and got down to business. A large number of the delegation was from Egypt so the Cairo International Book Fair is a wonderful chance to renew these friendships and make the most of the opportunities offered by the one of the biggest cultural festivals in the world. A delegation of UK publishers – led by The London Book Fair, The Publishers Association and The Independent Publishers’ Guild – eager to learn about Egypt, will be meeting local and regional publishers and looking for the next Yacoubian Building.

Writers may write and publisher may publish, but both activities are pointless unless they find readers. So an important part of our cultural programme will focus on encouraging reading for everyone, whatever their age. A one-day conference will discuss ways of developing reading habits in children that will stay with them their whole lives and fun activities at the book fair itself will put it all into practice.  

I hope you will find something to interest you at the fair and that you will visit more than once. Do take some time to visit the UK guest of honour stand and participate in our events. You will find a warm welcome from an old friend.

 

Click here for more information on the full programme in English and Arabic, with additional information on all the attending speaker’s and their biographies: http://www.britishcouncil.org/egypt-arts-culture-cairo-book-fair.htm

Science and Islam: Final part TONIGHT-The power of Doubt

Physicist Jim Al-Khalili tells the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries.

Al-Khalili turns detective, hunting for clues that show how the scientific revolution that took place in the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe had its roots in the earlier world of medieval Islam. He travels across Iran, Syria and Egypt to discover the huge astronomical advances made by Islamic scholars through their obsession with accurate measurement and coherent and rigorous mathematics.

He then visits Italy to see how those Islamic ideas permeated into the West and ultimately helped shape the works of the great European astronomer Copernicus, and investigates why science in the Islamic world appeared to go into decline after the 16th and 17th centuries, only for it to re-emerge in the present day.

Al-Khalili ends his journey in the Royan Institute in the Iranian capital Tehran, looking at how science is now regarded in the Islamic world.

Broadcasts:

1. 19 Jan 2009: 21:00 BBC Four
2. 20 Jan 2009: 03:30 BBC Four
3. 20 Jan 2009: 19:30 BBC Four
4. 20 Jan 2009: 20:00 BBC HD
5. 21 Jan 2009: 01:05

Science and Islam (part two): available on BBC iplayer

The Second of a three part series ‘Science and Islam: The Empire of Reason,’ is currently available to view (only within the UK) on BBC iplayer.

To view go to, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00gq6h7

Beirut: “World Book Capital 2009”

Beirut is the ninth city to be designated World Book Capital, after Madrid (2001), Alexandria (2002), New Delhi (2003), Antwerp (2004), Montreal (2005), Turin (2006), Bogotá (2007) and Amsterdam (2008). According to the selection committee, the city of Beirut was selected “in the light of its focus on cultural diversity, dialogue and tolerance, and of its diverse and stimulating programme.” The Director-General was delighted “to see that the city of Beirut, which is facing great challenges in terms of peace and peaceful coexistence, is recognized for its commitment to dialogue, which is necessary more then ever in the region, and that the book is able to contribute actively towards this goal”. Every year, UNESCO and the three major branches of the global book industry – the International Publishers Association (IPA), the International Booksellers Federation (IBF) and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) – designate a city as World Book Capital for the 12 months between two celebrations of World Book and Copyright Day (23 April). This initiative is a collaborative effort between representatives of principal stakeholders in the book sector and the cities which have committed themselves to promote books and reading. The city may hold the title for one designated year, from 23 April (UNESCO World Book Day) until 22 April of the following year. During that year it undertakes to organise and run a larger number of events around books, literature and reading. The programme brings together the local and national book industries and puts books and book culture into the public eye. It attracts sponsorship and extra funding for book related institutions. The programme raises awareness for literacy and reading issues, libraries and books shops and highlights the overall benefits of a lively book culture. The title is also used to promote tourism and draw national and international attention to the literary heritage of a city and nation. This year, the Selection Committee was made up of Ana Maria Cabanellas, representing the International Publishers Association (IPA), Françoise Dubruille, representing the International Booksellers Federation (IBF) and Peter Lor, representing the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

Paper 76: UNIFIL II: Emerging and Evolving European Engagement in Lebanon and the Middle East

Three more EuroMeSCo Papers are now available online. In Paper 72 a new model for Euro-Israeli cooperation is critically outlined, Paper 73 analyses Moroccan views of Western democracy promotion efforts, particularly in terms of their legitimacy and credibility, and Paper 74 considers the impact of the democratisation process on the fragility of Middle Eastern states, using Lebanon and Palestine as case studies.

EuroMeSCo is a network of independent research institutes and university centres dedicated to the analysis of Euro-Mediterranean issues.

To view all EuroMesco Papers, go to:  http://www.euromesco.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=11&id=61&Itemid=48&lang=en

Cyprus: Small Mediterranean Library

In literary matters, Cyprus acts to a large extent as a satellite to the larger Greek (or Turkish) space. Although it has a fairly vigorous poetry tradition to contribute, it largely depends on the mainland when it comes to novels and prose. With very little of the already scant literary activity having been translated into other languages, visitors looking to discover the island’s cultural face might have to look elsewhere, such as in art and history books.

Poetry and Prose
Costas Montis, A small Selection From His Poetry, Nicosia 2003
Costas Montis, Nobel Prize nominee and Corresponding Member of the Academy of Athens, is considered one of the greatest living Greek poets, and one who renewed in a unique way modernistic lyric poetry, and enriched Modern Greek poetry from the point of view of Cyprus. With an uninterrupted literary creation of 70 years, he has, in the words of a Greek professor, “been able to depict artistically the authentic rhythms, the temperature, and the action of the deepest historical and emotional fluctuations of the soul and breath of Cyprus and her people. In his powerful work he has recorded every vibration of the island (erotic, social, political), and all the thoughts of the people of Cyprus have been set down. He has made use of the whole wealth of the linguistic, historical, and cultural tradition of greater Hellenism, and entrenched in his work, with unprecedented poetic force, the indelible character of the deep-rooted values of the Greek nation”.
Much of the author’s prolific work has been translated into other languages. For more information on the man and his work, one may consult the English-language website set up by his daughter: The Official Website of Costas Montis- http://www.costasmontis.com/index.html

 

For more information on current Cypriot poets, historians and artists go to: http://www.babelmed.net/Countries/Mediterranean/Travel/index.php?c=48&m=145&k=5&l=en

‘Istanbul Tales’

In “Istanbul tales”, the city is both the protagonist and the narrator of the film. She becomes for an hour and a half the queen, the mother and the punisher of an attaching and moving group of underdogs. While watching them, “She” also tells her own fairy tales… A gypsy clarinet player as the Pied Piper… Cinderella, an ill-fated prostitute in love with an innocent youngster… A broke Kurdish youth newly arrived in Istanbul meets Sleeping Beauty… “Istanbul tales” tells the dark, gritty, angry, heart-rending stories of those who believed in Istanbul’s fairy tales and shattered their lives. The five stories, written by Ümit Ünal, are told with surprising integrity by five directors.

An interview with Screenwriter and Director Ümit Ünal around the fascination with this city, the difficulty of this “exercise in style” and why Istanbul can be both a beautiful woman and a whore…

To view the Interview conducted by Catherine Cornet (Babelmed), go to: http://www.babelmed.net/Countries/Mediterranean/Arts/istanbul_at.php?c=258&m=142&l=en

Love Difference Pastries: such a sweet project!

From the 22nd to the 24th of February 2008 at the CAMeC , Museum of Contemporary Art in La Spezia, Michelangelo Pistoletto invited artists and confectioners coming from different Mediterranean areas who developed the basis of the project “Love Difference Pastries”, by meeting and working together.

The project produced the constitution of a mobile confectionery representing the harmonious cohabitation among different Mediterranean cultures, by offering its special sweets.

Almost one year on, Catherine Corent (Babelmed) goes back to analyse the impact of the Love Difference Project.

Fillipo Fabbrica, the manager of the Love Difference project, argues that the kitchen is often seen as an ancestral heritage, the expression of its roots and traditions. If Love Difference is aimed at fostering intercultural dialogue, he reminds us, we should first “enquire on the reality of traditional dishes”.   By questioning traditions and allowing them to mingle, this first meeting of Love Difference Pastries actually proposes to look for an identity as open as possible.

To see how speaking of your dessert allows you to open a field of creation and to include different personal and artistic experiences that merge together, view Catherine Cornet’s analyses at: http://www.babelmed.net/index.php?c=3045&m=&k=&l=en

 To view theOfficial  Website on ‘Love Difference: Artisitic movement on InterMediterranean Politic’, go to: http://www.lovedifference.org/eng/map.htm

Iraq’s Last Jews – Book Launch

Harif, The Sephardi Centre and Spiro Ark   proudly presents the Book Launch of:                     

Iraq’s Last Jews, Tuesday 20 January 2009, 7.30pm

This important book – one of the most comprehensive to-date – tells the story of the last generation of Iraqi Jews, collecting the oral histories of wealthy businessmen, communists, popular musicians and reformist writers, Iraqi patriots and early Zionists.

Iraq’s last Jews – Stories of daily life, upheaval and escape from modern Babylon, edited by Tamar Morad, Dennis Shasha and Robert Shasha (Palgrave Macmillan, two-thousand and eight) will be on sale at a generous discount.

A total of 64 Iraqis living in the US, Canada, the UK and Israel were interviewed. Two of the UK interviewees, Aida Zelouf and Dia Kashi, whose stories were selected for the book, will attend the launch.

Copies ofof Iraq’s last Jews – Stories of daily life, upheaval and escape from modern Babylon (edited by Tamar Morad, Dennis Shasha and Robert Shasha (Palgrave Macmillan, two-thousand and eight) will be on sale at a generous discount.

      Entry: £5 including light refreshments  

At Sephardi Centre, 2, Ashworth Road, W9 lJY

Advance booking essential for security reasons:
By telephone on 0207 723 9991 or email
http://www.harif.org/iraqs_last_jews.html or www.spiroark.org

Science and Islam: The Empire of Reason, Tonight.

The Empire of Reason is the second part of a three part series on BBC4.

Physicist Jim Al-Khalili travels through Syria, Iran, Tunisia and Spain to tell the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries.

Al-Khalili travels to northern Syria to discover how, a thousand years ago, the great astronomer and mathematician Al-Biruni estimated the size of the earth to within a few hundred miles of the correct figure.

He discovers how medieval Islamic scholars helped turn the magical and occult practice of alchemy into modern chemistry.

In Cairo, he tells the story of the extraordinary physicist Ibn al-Haytham, who helped establish the modern science of optics and proved one of the most fundamental principles in physics – that light travels in straight lines.

Prof Al-Khalili argues that these scholars are among the first people to insist that all scientific theories are backed up by careful experimental observation, bringing a rigour to science that didn’t really exist before.

Bradcast times:

1. 12 Jan 2009
   21:00
   BBC Four
2. 13 Jan 2009
   02:30
   BBC Four

The Language of Science: Science and Islam

The first of a three part series is now available for viewing (accesible only within the UK) on BBC iplayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00gksx4

EU official to coordinate humanitarian aid with Israel

An official from the European Commission will be arriving in Israel in the coming days to set up coordination of EU humanitarian aid with the Israeli authorities.

 

Simon Horner a spokesman for the Commission’s humanitarian aid department ECHO, told journalists Tel Aviv that the role of the liaison officer would be to facilitate smooth and continuous access of EU humanitarian aid to Gaza as well as to coordinate the EU’s relief efforts between the Commission and the various EU Member States. The Presidency of the EU has repeatedly expressed its deep concern for the increasing number of civilian casualties and the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.

For more information on EU humanitarian aid to Gaza, go to: http://www.delisr.ec.europa.eu/english/whatsnew.asp?id=1064

EU film support goes global through MEDIA MUNDUS

The European Commission has adopted a new MEDIA MUNDUS programme, a broad international cooperation programme for the audiovisual industry, aiming to strengthen cultural and commercial relations between Europe’s film industry and film-makers of third countries. The EU will provide €15 million of funding from 2011-2013 for projects submitted by audiovisual professionals from the EU and third countries.

 

Viviane Reding, EU Media Commissioner, described MEDIA MUNDUS as “the right cultural answer to this global technological challenge. The successes of the current MEDIA programme and MEDIA International have shown the need for a sequel: It’s time to go global. I expect EU citizens to see the results of our new efforts very quickly in a cinema nearby!”

 

EuropeAid’s Regional Programme has already supported cooperation with the Mediterranean Partner Countries in this field through the Audiovisual Programme, the second of which ended in December.

For more info on Media Mundus, go to: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/media/mundus/index_en.htm

EP President calls for immediate end to violence in Middle East – Contact with interested parties

President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, has briefed the Conference of Presidents (political group chairs) of his contacts in connection with the situation in the Middle East and called for an immediate end to the violence, from which the civilian population is suffering most.

 

President Pöttering held talks with Israeli President, Shimon Peres, Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Salam Fayad, and the EU’s High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, and with Knesset President, Dalia Itzik.

 

A few days ago the Parliament President, who is also President of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA), had contacts with the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly

Karel Schwarzenberg: “Suffering of civilians troubles us the most”

The Summary of the speech of the President of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council Karel Schwarzenberg at the press conference held after the arrival of the EU delegation from the Middle East to Prague is available on the website of the Czech EU Presidency. “The participants of the conflict have not reached an agreement on this issue yet.  However, we have registered certain elements of hope that, nevertheless, need to be further developed,” said Schwarzenberg who also stressed the need to remain aware of the suffering of all the citizens of Gaza, who are under direct fire and in a difficult situation.

To read more go to: http://www.euromedinfo.eu/site.168.news.en.5049.html

Natacha Atlas with the Mazeeka Ensemble

This is an event you do not want ot miss!

Middle-Eastern acoustic music from the golden age of Arabic song

With a heritage that connects Egypt, Palestine, Morocco, Belgium and the UK, the unique singer Natacha Atlas represents a one-woman Migration. Indeed, she has described herself as “a human Gaza strip”. An international star for two decades, she is famed for her collaborations with Transglobal Underground, Nitin Sawhney, David Arnold and Jah Wobble. Tonight Natacha goes acoustic to present the music from her acclaimed album ‘Ana Hina’, a sensuous evocation of the Egyptian and Lebanese singers she first heard through her father’s record collection, and in which her incredible voice takes centre stage.

Now moving around from the clubland sound of Transglobal Underground, the queen of Arabian fusion is now forging a distinctly impressionistic style, emphasising the drama and passion rather than the beats. This new acoustic direction suits her awesome voice, the star attraction of tracks by Nitin Sawhney, David Arnold and Jean Michel Jarre. http://www.myspace.com/natachaatlasofficial

“somewhere in the borderland between East and West there lies an intriguing little country – and Natasha Atlas is its national living treasure” Songlines Magazine

Venue: St George’s Bristol-West End. 

Date: 30/01/2009

Ticket Information:

Adult	from £8.00 to £16.00 per ticket
Concession	from £6.00 to £14.00 per ticket

For more infomation go to: http://visitbristol.co.uk/site/things-to-do/events/migrations-09-natacha-atlas-and-the-mazeeka-ensemble-p764453

Also performing at:

Venue: Union Chapel-Islignton London.

Date: 01/02/2009

For tickets go to: http://www.seetickets.com/see/event.asp?e%7Cartist=NATACHA+ATLAS+%26+THE+MAZEEKA+ENSEMBLE&filler1=see&filler2=suggestion

Reminder: Second Meeting of the Research Group on the EU and Democracy Promotion in the Middle East‏

Dr Michelle Pace (Senior Research Fellow) at the European Research Institute of  University of Birmingham and Federica Bicchi, PhD, (Lecturer in International Relations of Europe Department of International Relations LSE) will be organisin the second meeting of the ESRC research group on the EU and Democracy Promotion in the Middle East will be held at the London School of Economics on Friday, 9th January, 2009.

The meeting’s programme includes four paper presenters and registration is now open. For those intending to participate, the programme and registration form are available at:

http://www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/intrel/eudemocprogramme.html

And here:

http://www.lse.ac.uk/Depts/intrel/eudemocregistration.html

For those new to the group you may also wish to visit the web site of the
ESRC project to which this group is attached at www.eumena.bham.ac.uk
<http://www.eumena.bham.ac.uk

Science and Islam: Language of Science on BBC4 Tonight

Tha Language of Science is one of a three part series on BBC 4. 

Physicist Jim Al-Khalili travels through Syria, Iran, Tunisia and Spain to tell the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries.

Its legacy is tangible, with terms like algebra, algorithm and alkali all being Arabic in origin and at the very heart of modern science – there would be no modern mathematics or physics without algebra, no computers without algorithms and no chemistry without alkalis.

For Baghdad-born Al-Khalili this is also a personal journey and on his travels he uncovers a diverse and outward-looking culture, fascinated by learning and obsessed with science. From the great mathematician Al-Khwarizmi, who did much to establish the mathematical tradition we now know as algebra, to Ibn Sina, a pioneer of early medicine whose Canon of Medicine was still in use as recently as the 19th century, he pieces together a remarkable story of the often-overlooked achievements of the early medieval Islamic scientists.

Broadcasts:

1. 05 Jan 2009
2. 21:00
3. BBC Four
4. 05 Jan 2009
   23:00
   BBC Four
5. 06 Jan 2009
   03:00
   BBC Four
6. 06 Jan 2009
   19:30
   BBC Four
7. 06 Jan 2009
   20:00
   BBC HD
8. 07 Jan 2009
   00:45
   BBC Four

For more information go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00gksx4

The European Commission launches €3 million emergency funding decision for humanitarian aid in Gaza

The European Commission will provide an extra €3 million relief assistance in the Gaza Strip.  An emergency humanitarian aid decision has been launched with this in mind. The aid will be deployed as rapidly as possible to meet the basic needs of people affected by the Israeli air strikes and by continuing access restrictions.  The funds are channelled through the Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) under the responsibility of Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel, who called on the Israeli authorities to respect their international obligations and ensure a “humanitarian space” for the delivery of vital relief. Close cooperation is taking place with Czech presidency.

 

In 2008, the European Commission provided more than €73 million in humanitarian assistance for victims of the ongoing crisis in the Palestinian Territories of which 56% was for relief activities in the Gaza Strip. EU-funded humanitarian projects are implemented by international NGOs, specialised UN agencies and the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement.

Enlarged European Troika meets leaders in the Middle East

The Enlarged European Troika headed by the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs and new EU Council President, Karel Schwarzenberg has started a visit to the Middle East as part of the European Union’s efforts to secure a cease-fire and to facilitate humanitarian relief for the victims of the conflict, and will meet today and tomorrow with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. A Joint Press Conference is scheduled to take place later today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem. 

 

The delegation comprises Javier Solana, European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations, Carl Bildt, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden and Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of France. Mr Solana will remain in the region until the 8 January and will travel on Tuesday to Syria and Lebanon for talks with leaders in Damascus and Beirut.

ALF’s statement on the situation in Gaza

The Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF) expresses its concern and deep anxiety about what has been happening in Gaza over the last few days, and in particular it deplores the number of civilian deaths caused by the Israeli aviation bombings. It also deplores the deaths of Israeli civilians caused by the shells launched from the Gaza territory. The Foundation feels directly concerned by the fact that the Gaza Islamic University was hit by bombs, as it is an institution belonging to our Palestinian network, which counts no less than 150 NGOs and cultural and academic institutions that represent the multiplicity of Palestinian society.

Since the beginning of the bombings, the Foundation has been working with the various NGOs in Gaza that form part of our Palestinian network, in order to be directly informed of the situation, and to be able to meet the expectations of the Palestinian civil society working for peace and dialogue. The Foundation recalls to mind that it recently organised a video conference with the participation of certain NGOs in Gaza and the two main universities there, where they described the extremely difficult conditions in which they work. This took place during the Euromed Civil Forum in Marseilles, just before the ministerial conference of the Union for the Mediterranean…

To view the full statement, go to the following link:  http://www.euromedalex.org/News/EN/NewsDetails.aspx

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE ALF UK

There’ll be plenty happening with the ALF in the UK and internationally in 2009.  So-keep checking the webpage to keep upto date with all the up-coming events and information.

Round-up of the ALF in 2008

As we have come to the end of 2008- the EuroMed Year of Dialogue between Cultures, the following newlestter takes a look at the achievements and events which took place this year.  In addition, the ALF looks forward to the future with an officially approved new treinnial programme taking place 2009-2011.

The newlestter is available at: http://www.annalindhforum.org/sites/default/files/Internal%20News-end%20of%20year-EN_0.pdf