ALF to Present New Religious Diversity Manual

The Anna Lindh Foundation is to present its new teaching manual on ‘How to cope with diversity at school: teaching and learning about religious diversity’ at an International Conference on Dialogue among Civilizations and Cultural Diversity in Tunisia on 2-4 June, underlining the importance of such a resource in promoting a better understanding of religious diversity and acceptance of the ‘Other’.

 

The two-day conference in the city of Kairouan is organized by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF) and will be attended by a number of leading intellectuals, journalists, academics as well as representatives of international and civil society organisations.

 

The event is articulated around three main topics:

review of the situation of the dialogue of civilizations and cultural diversity;

preconditions and channels of dialogue;

as international cooperation and sound mechanisms for a sustained dialogue favouring respect for cultural diversity.

 

Further information on the event is available here.

Sea of Words: Literary Contest

The Anna Lindh Foundation (ALF) and Institut Europeu de la Mediterrània (IEMed) have the pleasure to announce the launch of the Second Edition of the Sea of Words Literary Competition.  

We encourage the production of short stories that portray the different realities of the Euro-Mediterranean region from the point of view of the young people who live there, through the organisation of a Euro-Med short story competition. 

This year, the theme is restoring trust, dialogue and reconciliation in situations of crisis and  conflicts in line with the objectives of the Restore Trust, Rebuild Bridges Initiative launched by the Anna Lindh Foundation in collaboration with the Alliance of Civilizations.

Applicants must be under 30 years of age and residents in one of the forty three countries of the Union for the Mediterranean , and write in one of the languages of the countries of the Union for the Mediterranean .

The short-stories should be submitted by e-mail before midnight (Spain Local Time) 20 June 2009.

For more information please visit the competition website. For further queries, please write to: concurso(AT)iemed.org

CIUDAD Programme Announced

The Service Procurement Notice for a Supporting Mechanism to the CIUDAD (cooperation in urban development and dialogue) programme has been published (reference EuropeAid/127426/C/SER/MULTI). This contract will be dealing with the countries participating in the ENPI South and East.

  

The overall objective of CIUDAD is “to promote mutual understanding, dialogue and cooperation between local actors in the EU and in the partner countries of the Neighbourhood region (ENPI region) through the provision of capacity building for the modernisation and strengthening of local and regional government.”

Participation is open to legal persons established in an EU Member State or in a country or territory of the regions covered by the specific instruments applicable to the programme under which the contract is financed. It is also open to international organisations and networks of cities/local authorities.

 

The deadline for receipt of applications is Friday, 12 June 2009, 16:00 CET.

  

More information on this tender, including participation, exclusion criteria and selection and award criteria, as well as application rules, can be found in the service procurement notice available here.

Seeking International Partner for Muju Festival UK

In July Colchester will be seeing the first MUJU festival, celebrating Muslim and Jewish music, song and dance – traditional, contemporary and devotional.

Mother and daughter team Madeline and Daisy Lees (Arts La’Olam) are producing the event which endeavors to show that, despite current tensions, Islamic and Jewish cultures have much in common historically and artistically, and share a musical heritage which is as diverse as the people. Included in this festival are some of those musical genres which continue to develop, crossing boundaries and transcending difference.
All the artists have a strong willingness to work together, and some of the bands have both Muslim and Jewish musicians and work collaboratively. The Festival is promoted as one that respects and celebrates the two cultures and faiths and is focused on bringing alive the traditions of both.

Profits will go to Medicins Sans Frontieres for their work in the Palestinian Territories.

If you’re interested to join and would like more information/bookings for the event, please contact Madeleine Lees: madeline(AT)fair-green.net

Arab-European Hip Hop Rocks Jerusalem

In the first tour of its kind, a group of professional European-Palestinian artists are performing in a series of Hip Hop concerts in Jerusalem from 21-24 May, in an event sponsored by the EU.

 

The tour, which will take place in five different districts of East Jerusalem, will include several concerts performed by local and foreign rappers celebrating European-Palestinian relations.

Furthermore the tour, a part of “Al Quds Cultural Capital of the Arab World” festival, also celebrates the cultural heritage of Jerusalem by placing Arabic Hip Hop on the local music scene as a contemporary cultural expression speaking the minds of the youth of Palestine.

 “Shadia Mansour” from the United Kingdom, her DJ “Vega Benetton” and rapper and break dancer “Mazzi” from the group S.O.U.L. Purpose will be performing with their Scandinavian counterparts  “Marwan” and “Zaki” from Denmark and “Ledr P” aka “Palestine” from Sweden. They are all Hip Hop artists with Arabic backgrounds who will be performing in shows side by side local artists such as Dam, Saz & G-Town.

View the Flyer for more details.

For further information on upcoming tour dates, click here

BBC in EU-funded training for Nablus TV journalists‏

The BBC World Service Trust has successfully completed a two-week specialised training course in television news production at Nablus television station in the West Bank, as part of the EU-funded ‘Support to the Palestinian Media Sector’ project.

 

A press release said the training focused on the skills of news reporting and the production of news stories, with participants producing 11 news reports by the time training was completed. The TV training was complemented by an online course entitled ‘Introduction to Journalism, Accuracy, Impartiality and Fairness and Straight Dealing’, which was accessed via the BBC’s iLearn training resource.

 

Click here for more information

Medimed ‘09

From 9 to 11 october 2009, will take place Medimed festival in Sitges (Spain), in front of the Mediterranean Sea, to celebrate the 10th birthday of this euro-med documentary market.

Medimed will present a selection of documentary projects and programmes, aiming to enhance the professional and creative exchange between the 12 MEDA countries and the European Union.

Until June 30th 2009, the Mediterranean Producer’s Association (Apimed), with the financial support of the MEDIA Programme of the European Union, is calling for entries of:

- New productions: documentary, any length & genre produced in 2008 or 2009
- New projects: documentary, any length & genre having in place 25% of the finance in place (minimum), and/or a broadcast guarantee, and/or a co-production agreement.

For further information on costs/deadlines e.t.c, please click here.

Marrakech’s ESAV: an open cultural space

Talents flourish on the Southern coast of the Mediterranean and Moroccan directors and artists are there to remind us.  However there is a  need for training and education and production and diffusion conditions are still lacking. To make up for this shortage, and in particular for the absence of high level professional training schools for cinema, television, multimedia and graphic design, the ESAV (Superior School of Visual Arts) was created three years ago.

The ESAV is also a cultural space open to the public and to Marrakesh’s various cultural figures. Viewings are screened each evening followed by animated debates between students, teachers and professionals of the film industry.  This place of crossing and exchange also allows to get acquainted with the various artistic practices, thanks to the permanent presence of international artists in residence: graphic designers, plastic artists, choreographers, musicians…

To find out more, click here.

Greenhouse film project invites submissions for 2009 seminars

The Greenhouse project was one of 12 selected by the EU in the framework of the EuroMed Audiovisual II Programme. It fosters documentary filmmaking in the MEDA countries by organising a year-long seminar where filmmakers with projects for development work with highly professional personal mentors.

 

Projects selected will be invited to participate in the programme, composed of three seminars in which they will develop a full international production file and a professional trailer. The deadline for application is June 1, 2009.

Requirements and entry forms

Search for Partner: ‘From the Source’

From the Source is an interactive multi-media platform for water issues in the Middle East that seeks to put a human face on the region’s rapidly worsening water problems and thus create a new awareness of the value of water among users in the region and beyond. The platform serves as a vehicle for intercultural dialogue and to foster interactive debate on a commonly shared problem in the Middle East; the water crisis. It aims to contribute to an environment of peaceful cooperation and intercultural dialogue. It involves media producers both in the Middle East and Europe who will enter into a dialogue and cooperation facilitated by “From the Source”.

This is an long-term application for the 1st phase of “From the Source” focusing on the countries that share the Jordan river: Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Israel. After the 1st phase, the programme will enlarge its countries base and include water issues beyond the Jordan river basin.

The beneficiaries will be young local established and non-established media producers, reporters and filmmakers between 16-40 yrs old in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Israel. The aim is to create understanding of each other’s shared water problems. It will also involve young media producers from the Netherlands and the UK and put them in a dialogue with their peers in the five target countries in the Middle East.

If you’d like more information, please contact Mrs. Joshka Wessels (the initiator of ‘From the Source’) on: info(AT)sapiensproductions.com

Partner Search: JYIF-Jordan

The Jordan Youth Innovation Programme (JYIF) is currently searching for Long Term Project partners.  The group is an active national youth volunteer group in Jordan.

Their Target group is all JORDANIAN Youth, age between (15-32) male/female with larger focus on Gender balance and inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities, leaders and pioneering youth initiators.  The group is covering land of Jordan and providing easy access for intercultural activities.

If you would like further information on JYIF and their upcoming projects, please contact Project Manager, Emad alFugaha: office(AT)jyif.org

 

Partner-Search: Civitas Institute, Gaza Strip

The Civitas Institute are currently looking for a partner in a long term project, specialised in the English Language .

They have a partnership with MAAT Center for Legal and Constitutional Studies from Egypt, and Ideaz Institute for intercultural and comparative research from Austria. 

The Civitas Institute run a long term project in capacity building for NGO’s administrators in Gaza.  This is through a long term capacity building programme through SIDA fund in partnership with Broderskap International and cooperation of the Palme Center from Sweden. 

Civitas Institute look for developing the capacities of their target beneficiaries through the proposed project that assumed to be carrying a comparative study between 4 countries titled: “The Role of Civil Society in improving the public institutions’ practices of Demcracy” or “The gap between the theoretical context and practical practices… A comparative study between Palestine, Egypt, Austria, and U.K.”

If you’d like more information and/or are interested to join, please contact (Director General) Maher Issa: maher(AT)civitas.ps

Partner Search: Social Rights-’Storefront Advocacy’

Community Advocacy and the Jordanian National Red Crescent Society are interested in building a joint project through their Storefront Advocacy Centers in Amman, Jordan and in Lod, Israel.  These centers work in disadvantaged mixed neighborhoods where individuals are disenfranchised and unaware of their social rights and entitlements. 

 The project will be located in new centers which are currently being established by both organisations, modelled on their existing advocacy centers. The new center in Lod serves a neighborhood in which 70% of the residents are Palestinian Israelis.  The new center in Amman will serve a neighborhood consisting of Palestinians and Iraqi émigrés. 

 The project will begin in September 2009 and continue for two years.

If you’d like more information and are interested to join, please contact Curt Arnson: development(AT)advocacy.org.il no later that Thursday 21st May.

Call for Partners: Faime de Rêve

General objectives:

• Promote intercultural dialogue in Europe and between Europe and Mediterranean countries.
• Create a play with a team of French, European, Lebanese and Egyptian artists and broadcast it through these countries, and others in Middle East.
•  Create a visual play that will echo the mechanisms and the transformations undergone by our Western and Eastern societies.

Agenda of the event:

November –December 2009: composition of the actors’ group in Egypt and France

January 2010 – June 2010: rehearsals in Egypt

July 2010: rehearsals and showing of a stage of the work in France

October – November 2010: Creation, performances and meetings in Egypt

December 2010; performances and meetings in the Near East (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan).

January – July 2011: performances and meetings in Europe

Deadline for applications: 25th May 2009.

If you are interested and would like more information on the Long Term Poject Call, please contact Association Corpus, Maïa Kanaan/Emma Cardonne at; corpus.asso(AT)free.fr

‘Eurojar Project’

The EuropeAid-funded ‘Eurojar’ project has published a series of articles on EU-Mediterranean cooperation in the Lebanese daily paper L’Orient Le Jour.

 

The three features published so far deal with the Euro-Med Market project and prospects for a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area, the European Neighbourhood Policy, and EU efforts to preserve Arab film heritage through the Euromed Audiovisual programme.

 

Eurojar is one of 13 projects funded by EuropeAid’s €19 million Regional Information and Communication Programme that seeks to increase awareness and understanding among the citizens of the ENPI area, of the EU, its policies and relations with their countries. The Eurojar budget amounts to €1.5 million and the project will last for one year.

To view further information on the projects, please click on Eurojar

The Palestinian National Football team makes it to Brussels

The Palestinian national football team played its first European match on 6 May, in a match that was watched avidly by Palestinians and football fans across the Middle East. The match took place in Brussels and was a friendly against the Belgium Molenbeek team. The match was one of UNRWA’s 60^th anniversary events and was organised with the help of the EU as part of the EU-UNRWA Partnership for Peace and Humanity. Assembling the Palestine team in Brussels for the match was in itself a considerable challenge. The Palestinian side had to make do with a squad of 16 rather than the standard 22, due to travel restrictions – and it took seven of the Gaza bas ed squad members three days to get to Belgium. But at least a full team was present and able to play.

To read more, click here.

Search for Partner: Long Term Proposal for Visiting Arts

Visiting Arts is submitting a proposal to the Anna Lind Foundation under its call for Long Term Programmes. They are looking for arts organisations from the Euromed region to partner us for the proposal.

Visiting Arts is piloting a project called 1Mile² in 2009. This is an innovative global arts project that enhances the traditional artist residency, engaging people in an investigation of their attitudes to their neighbours, their communities and their environment. It links communities across the world in an on-line art work and dialogue to help break down negative stereotypes and, by working on a series of problems in common, devising new ways of working together to solve them.

If you would like to know more, please contact Will White at: will.white(AT)visitingarts.org.uk

Call for Long Term Project Partnership: from Malta

The association Atelier Culture of Malta is currently search for a partner for a long term project: “Women in the creative industries: entrepreneurship and diversity in the Euro Med region.”

Objectives:

• To identify the women entrepreneurs working in the creative industries  in the partner countries (more specifically in specific urban environments in the partner countries).
• To understand the success ratio based on gender and context (cultural,  economic, social)
• To understand the why of these differences (factors which contribute  to create the differences)
• To raise awareness on the difficulties and realities and possibilities/opportunities of mutual exchange and support

If you’re interested and would like to find out more, please go to: http://www.atelierculture.com/ and/or contact: info(AT)atelierculture.com

Search for Partner: Bridges for Understanding from Lithuania

The project aims to raise awareness of young generation on development issues by providing it with knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to development processes in the world.

Project partners are going to work with youth leaders from various in-country organizations in order to work on sound leaders programme for chosen topics in partner countries, to prepare trainers- multipliers, to encourage youth to develop educational, awareness raising projects, to select the best ones and use them for social advertisement in mass media.

In order to organize all those activities by themselves, young leaders first will learn about development education and will be taught by external, experienced experts in the field.

Youth projects, leaders programme as well as external experts methodical materials will be used as resource materials long after the project ends.  

To find out more, please contact Daiva Penkauskiene at: daiva.penkauskiene(AT)sdcentras.lt

Search for Partners: Food as Culture

The Greek Council for Refugees is conducting a long-term (2 year; 2009-2011) project: “Food as culture. A tool for teaching diversity and understanding of social, cultural and religious complexity”

The Anthropology of Food is an analysis of food in culture.  What we consume, how we acquire it, who prepares it, who’s at the table, and who eats first is a form of communication that is rich with meaning. While the primary purpose of food is nutrition, it also has a cultural dimension.who might be interested to join us in this initiative.

The proposed project explores the role of food in Mediterranean cultural and religious practice, as an important part of showing respect and responding to the needs of people from a range of religious communities.

If you are interested in joining this initivative please contact the programme manager at: prog.manager(AT)gcr.gr

Search for Partner: ‘Penelopeia-Feminine letter from Mediterranean’

The Project’s name implies its basic goal – deconstructing the patriarchal and male-centred discourse within the  Mediterranean ( The Odyssey as that discourse’s prototype), and promoting a feminine plural discourse on Mediterranean.

The goal’s are as follows: To strengthen women’s cultural identities – feminine letter in Euro-Mediterranean countries (researching, linking up, joint publishing project, translating); and in that way, by promoting possible feminine discourse in the Mediterranean, to re-construct the idea of the Mediterranean as a place for connecting and meeting diversities.

Penelopia – Feminine Letter from Mediterranean is long-term project which would take some 17 months. It consists of a series of activities aimed at connecting and cooperating between women writers from the Mediterranean coastal countries (Europe and South East Mediterranean), and at promoting Mediterranean multicultural identity.

Five partner organizations from Europe and South-East Mediterranean would join in the project realization, but its final goal is for as many as possible partner organizations from Mediterranean region to be included in Penelopeia network after the project completion.

To find out more, please contact Executive Director Natasha Nelevic on: nova-fkc(AT)t-com.me

Search for Partner: from the Finnish ALF network

Kehys ry – The Finnish NGDO Platform to the EU and TAPRI, the Head of Finnish National ALF Network are preparing a common long term project proposal (2009-2011) with the title “Facilitating Political Dialogue in the Baltico-Mediterranean Axis”.

Union for the Mediterranean, established in 2008 for revitalising the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, and the Baltic Sea Region Strategy, which will be presented in June 2009, are good examples of regional strategies having major influence for whole European and Mediterranean cultural and political environment.

If you would like more information and/or are considering applying, please contact Tuomo Melasuo before the 18th May on: tuomo.melasuo(AT)uta.fi

 

Search for Partner: Povezave / Connection

Povezave/Connection (Project of Active Cultural Linking) is currently seeking a partner active in the field of organising art exhibitions and events to be a host for an already existing exhibition.

The set up of the Exhibition requires area of 50 to 150 square meters for a time period of only three up to seven days. It is simple yet effective. To view their previous production please see the link on their web site www.galeriart.net for now available only in the Slovenian language. For more about authors and exhibition itself please click connection.

Artists show the boundlessness of one’s ideas in the POVEZAVE / CONNECTION project that mirrors the pulse of present reality and delivers our message to everybody. Exhibition gathers many original artistic works interesting to broader public. All styles and techniques are accepted and presented in the frames of a group exhibition.

The Exhibition delivers the experience of meeting a variety of cultural backgrounds promoting Civil dialogue in the name of 147 artists from 26 countries. It exposes and reflects the Authors broader Identity, promoting the dialogue among citizens about differences, communicates values and motivates “The international Civil Dialogue”.

For further information, please email: info.ds3p(AT)gmail.com

Euro Policies 2009 Conference

The European Research Institute (ERI) of the University of Birmingham will be holding a conference on the 14/15th May 2009, titled: ‘Bringing the Policy Back In: A Substantive Agenda for the New European Union’

The focus of the conference is placed firmly on policy issues and our overarching aim is to assess how the EU’s existing resources and capabilities can be better employed. If you would like to attend, please contact Jelena Obradovic: j.obradovic@bham.ac.uk to register.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Comissioner Margot Wallstrom, Vice-President, European Commission
• Professor Erik Jones, Johns Hopkins Bologna
• David Marsh, Director, London and Oxford Group, author of The Euro
• Charles Grant, Centre for European Reform
• Sir Stephen Wall, UACES

For further details on the conference/itenary, go to: http://www.futureofeurope.bham.ac.uk/

Ma’agalei Daa’t Programme (Long Term Project-Search for Partners)

Ma’agalei Daa’t (Circles of Knowledge) is a programme conducted by a member of the ALF at two universities: Bar Ilan University and Ben Gurion University.

The project uses texts from Jewish religious literature to attempt to relate to the issues involved in relations between Israelis and Palestinians.  In the programme, teachers from this religious community are trained to present the challenges of these issues in their classrooms.  Another document is attached describing the kind of partnership that the programme seeks.

The Organisations/institutions appropriate for Partnership are as follows:

1. Organisations that deal with the ideas of the programme and can help with its experience (lectures, consultations).
2. Organisations or institutions those are interested in research/evaluations.
3. Organisations that have worked with conflict groups.
4. Organisation that have worked with interfaith groups.

If you are interested, please contact the head of the project Yohanan Tzoreff: tzury4(AT)gmail.com

Long Term Project-Search for Partners

The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute are currently looking for a  partner for an ALF long term project.

The project is conducted with the Israel Association for Immigrant Children.  It will be based on Immigrant women and Human Rights abuses, education and democratic values, dialogue and changes of perception, and building a network of organisations involving these issues.

If you are interested, please contact Dan Wollner at: danwoll (AT) smile.net.il

The Long Term Project Deadline is: May 30th 2009

 

Restore Trust, Rebuild Bridges

The Anna Lindh Foundation has the pleasure to announce the launch of the Restore Trust, Rebuild Bridges Initiative with a total budget of 330,000 EURO.  

The Initiative includes TWO Calls for co-organized local and regional actions in the fields of culture of peace and co-existence and taking place between July 1 and September 21, 2009.  

On September 21, which marks the International Day of Peace, the Anna Lindh Foundation will hold a visibility action to present the results of the Initiative.

Participate now and join the Initiative. For more information, please go to www.euromedalex.org/restoretrust  

Deadline for applications to the Calls for co-organized local and regional actions is June 20, 2009.

Conflict-resolution films to be produced under EU-funded project

Six films on conflict resolution are to be produced and distributed to Palestinian schools and universities as a result of the EU-funded ‘Peace Education through Modern Media’ project conducted by AlQuds Educational TV / the Institute of Modern Media / AlQuds University, in partnership with the Center for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation.

A press release said the project, which has just concluded, aimed to raise awareness on the importance of communication to solve conflicts in the Palestinian society. It conducted training on conflict resolution and scriptwriting targeted at school and university students, teachers and media professionals. The best were chosen to write scripts for shortdrama films on conflict resolution.

To find out more, go to: http://www.euromedinfo.eu/site.170.news.en.5642.html

The 5th International Festival of Making Theater 2009

The 5th In.F.o.Ma.T, will be held in Athens, Greece, July 5th – 12th 2009.

During a whole week of creative interaction, Theater Makers from different parts of the world will have the chance to share and get acquainted with new working methods and ideas, regarding the following three sectors: Acting, Movement and Voice.

The festival’s program is the following:

Sunday July 5th Arrival day
Monday July 6th – Friday July 10th Workshops, Performances, Discussion.
Saturday July 11th Excursion to Epidaurus   U.K. National Theatre’s production of Racine’s “Phedre” 

(optional for participants)
Sunday July 12th Departure day

English will be the official language of the festival

The application form is available at: http://www.toc.gr/cmsel/toc-form-participants.htm

If you apply before May 31st, cost of participation will be cheaper.  For more information contact the Theater of changes at http://www.toc.gr