Category: Applied ICD

New UN University

“A new United Nations University to be opened in Barcelona in 2012 will strive to bridge the knowledge gap between different civilizations and develop postgraduate courses focused on cross-cultural dialogue in areas such as education, youth, media and migration. A select group of experts in cross-cultural communication from Europe, North America, North Africa, the Arab world and Asia, along with the United Nations University (UNU) staff gathered in the Spanish city June 1-3, 2011 to identify areas of research, postgraduate teaching and knowledge transfer to be undertaken by the new institution.

To be known as the International Institute on the Alliance of Civilizations (IIAOC) the new institution will be located at the Sant Pau historic site in Barcelona. It will be funded by the Spanish Government and the state government of Catalonia with the Ministry of Education guaranteeing funding of 2 million Euros a year from 2013 onwards for an initial period of four years. An international search for its first director is underway, who is expected to be appointed by the end of 2011. IIAOC will contribute to reinforcement of peace by reflecting upon a future of tolerance, dialogue and cooperation among different cultures…

“Intercultural dialogue is not easily achieved and it involves cultivating our human and ethical potential,” noted Fred Dallmayr from the University of Notre Dame in the USA. He said the ancients called it a culture of virtues which includes temperance, wisdom and justice. “In today’s culture we need to have another virtue, the openness to different ideas, different voices, different languages and the virtues of what Indians call — karuna — compassion. These are virtues we have to study, cultivate and train ourselves to practice,” he said.

Prof Ramin Jahanbegloo, political scientist from the University of Toronto, argued that what is being built is an institution which is not clash oriented but dialogue oriented. “The question is not about who are the dialogue partners, but at what point the dialogue partners start to talk and work together on issues that often cause debate,” he argued.”

For further information, see the original posting in IDN-InDepthNews/06.06.2011

Prize in Strategic Comm for Public Good

John F. Murray Prize in Strategic Communication for the Public Good
Deadline for nominations extended: August 1, 2011

The 2011 John F. Murray Prize in Strategic Communication for the Public Good will be awarded by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at The University of Iowa to a pioneering innovator who uses communications to ennoble the human spirit. The Selection Committee seeks an individual whose work through persuasive communication has elevated the well-being of our shared human existence. Such a person will have conceived of, played a key role in, or carried out a vital public campaign aimed at increasing awareness – or spurring a behavioral change – of a fundamental issue that improves the world in which we live. Innovators may have spearheaded public causes, such as advancing health care, education, environment/sustainability, quality of life, or democratic values and governance. They may have created a successful civic project that caused dramatic, quantifiable, and necessary reforms. The results should have a clear and demonstrable impact in either the public or private sectors. To be considered for the award, the impact of the nominee’s action must be publicly documented. Candidates may have devoted substantial parts of their careers to promoting the causes and efforts advanced by the Murray Prize. Candidates may reside in the United States or elsewhere. The winner of the John F. Murray Prize in Strategic Communication for the Public Good may serve in any strategic communication profession. The Murray Prize is not necessarily given every year. In rare circumstances, the Prize may be given to a group or institution. The John F. Murray Prize will consist of an engraved crystal bowl and an honorarium of $2,500. The selection of the winner of the John F. Murray Prize in Strategic Communication for the Public Good will be made by the faculty of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at The University of Iowa. The winner will deliver a public address at an event held in his/her honor in July 2011. The Prize is named after the late John F. Murray, an internationally known benefactor and philanthropist and strategic communication pioneer. To nominate a candidate for the Murray Prize, please send a letter, outlining in detail the nominee’s qualifications and any supporting material to sjmc-murrayprize@uiowa.edu. Only electronic nominations and materials will be accepted.

Religious Literacy Project

“Thanks to a generous donation from Bruce McEver (MTS ’11), Harvard Divinity School announces a new initiative, the Religious Literacy Project (RLP), which will enable HDS to continue our nearly four decades of leadership in religious studies and education in the Unites States.

As a successor to the Program in Religious Studies and Education, the RLP will be a virtual resource and research center housed at the Center for the Study of World Religions. Its primary aim will be to create and maintain scholarly resources in the general study of religion and in specific religious traditions via an open access website designed primarily for public-school teachers and their students.

The initial resources will be created to supplement and enhance commonly used textbooks that introduce religion at the middle and secondary levels in world history and world civilizations courses. Other resources will be developed to supplement and enhance English and world literature courses, highlighting commonly taught texts with significant religious themes or dimensions.

A third set of resources will focus on teaching sacred texts, including, but not limited to, the Bible. A fourth will be case studies of significant historical events involving religious issues, and a fifth will provide resources for educators to understand and teach about contemporary issues related to religion.

In addition to the content resources outlined above, the RLP will also generate and publicize relevant research regarding religion and education, with a special emphasis on the relationship between literacy about religion and civic and moral education in a global world.

The Religious Literacy Project will function in tandem with the Certificate in Religious Studies and Education program that is jointly sponsored by Harvard Divinity School and the Harvard Extension School. This program targets in-service teachers, who can earn the certificate by taking courses through the Extension School that offer them the content and skills required to teach about religion in constitutionally sound and educationally innovative ways in their K-12 classrooms. The certificate is available for distance learners as well as those who reside in the greater Boston area.

Construction of the website will begin immediately and will be launched in a series of stages over the next three years. Beginning in the coming academic year, HDS professor Diane Moore will head this project, in addition to teaching part-time at both HDS and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.”

Originally posted by Harvard Divinity School as a press release.

ICD in Fairytales, Drama, Art

Intercultural Dialogue through Fairytales, Drama and Art is a multi-partner project with 35 schools participating from all over Europe.  The participants collaborated in order to become familiar with the different cultures of each partner school’s home country through the use of fairy tales, drama and the arts…Schools involved in this project first created a PowerPoint presentation on their school which was posted on the TwinSpace. They served as a background so that students learned about each other before commencing work on the project itself.  Then, each school had to translate one national fairytale into English and then post this translated work on the TwinSpace for all partner schools to view.

Students from all schools read all of these translated stories in their English classes. Students of each institution then drew illustrations of their chosen national fairy tale in art class. Next, students from each participating school started performing one partners’ fairy tale in English. These performance are being recorded on DVD and sent to all partners to watch in English classes, and photos are being posted on the TwinSpace. Students can then watch each school’s performance recorded on DVD by each partners school.

All fairy tales from all European countries will be published in a book with students illustrations and share between partners and distribute to local community. Teachers and students were also able to communicate and further comment on all aspects of this project via the eTwinning Project Forum and on a Google Group.

For further information, see the etwinning site.

Intercultural Cities


Intercultural cities: governance and policies for diverse communities

Joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission

Intercultural Cities

The Intercultural cities programme emerged from the Council of Europe’s significant experience of projects that focus on issues concerned with the management of diversity. Considerable reflection has been undertaken in relation to the principles and practices of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue.

Intercultural cities is a capacity-building and policy development field programme which has been implemented by the Council of Europe in partnership with the European Commission. It runs complementary to many other current projects and events (conferences, research, exchanges, and campaigns).  The programme’s long-term, comprehensive approach will contribute to the sustainability of the political impetus of one of the Council of Europe’s declared priorities concerning the practice of diversity in today’s world.

     

  • An intercultural city has people with different nationality, origin, language or religion / beliefs. Political leaders and most citizens regard diversity positively, as a resource.
  • The city actively combats discrimination and adapts its governance, institutions and services to the needs of a diverse population.
  • The city has a strategy and tools to deal with diversity and cultural conflict. It encourages greater mixing and interaction between diverse groups in the public spaces.

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For further information, including comparison of different cities, see the original post.

Journalism – conflict sensitive reporting

“A total of 18 journalists, drawn from the 10 states of South Sudan have embarked on a four-day intensive training organised by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the South Sudan capital, Juba.

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Margaret Jjuko, a media consultant conducting the UNESCO-organised training in Juba, South Sudan, Feb 14, 2011 (ST)

The training on conflict-sensitive reporting, according to the organisers, seeks to equip media practitioners with specific skills and techniques regarded as essential in analysing conflict and post-conflict related issues in the semi-autonomous region.

post-conflict countries.

“Over the years, it has been UNESCO’s mandate to support journalists dealing with conflict and post-conflict issues. This may also focus on re-building the various media institutions,” Lukosiunas told Sudan Tribune during an interview at Beijing hotel.”

For further information, see the original article in the Sudan Tribune.

European Youth Parliament

“The EU has long been encouraging an exchange of ideas across its borders, hoping to engage young people in European affairs. A prime example is the European Youth Parliament – a platform for intercultural dialogue on hot political issues in the EU. It met recently in Lillehammer in Norway and we caught up with some of the young members taking part in the debate.

There are three sessions of the European Youth Parliament per year bringing together around 270 young people for 10 days. In order to familiarise young people with political processes the Youth Parliament functions the same way as the European Parliament.”

For more information, see the original article posted on Euronews.

Walls and bridges

Walls and Bridges: Translatlantic Insights
“We build too many walls and not enough bridges.”
Isaac Newton

Over the course of three 10-day series, in the winter, spring and fall of 2011 in New York City, Walls and Bridges—a program curated by the Villa Gillet (director: Guy Walter) and presented by the Conseil de la Création artistique (general representative: Marin Karmitz)—will present nearly 50 cultural events, combining about 100 speakers and artists, 30 partners and over 20 venues, ranging from the New York Public Library, Joe’s Pub and the Brooklyn Flea to bookstores, universities and various galleries.

• Season 1 : From Thursday, January 27th to Friday, February 4th 2011
• Season 2 : From Tuesday, April 12th to Thursday, April 21st 2011
• Season 3 : From Thursday, October 20th to Sunday, October 30th 2011

Speakers and Artists
Great thinkers from France and across Europe paired with the most important American writers, thinkers and performers.
Friday, January 28
Art/Truth/Lies: The Perils and Pleasures of Deception
1:00pm | Round-table
D. Graham Burnett, Pierre Cassou-Noguès, Jean-Pierre Dupuy, Carrie Lambert-Beatty, Glenn D. Lowry
The New York Public Library – Celeste Bartos Forum
The Magical Side of Celebrity
6:00pm | Round-table
Cécile Guilbert, Laura Kipnis, Wayne Koestenbaum
The New York Public Library – Celeste Bartos Forum
Three Faiths in the Form of a Fugue
8:00pm | Performance / discussion
Salman Ahmad, Reza Aslan, Ala Ebtekar, Dan Fishback, Dan Fishback, Dan Fishback, Fabrice Hadjadj, Alicia Jo Rabins, Shirin Neshat, Damien Poisblaud
The New York Public Library – Celeste Bartos Forum
Saturday, January 29
The End of Privacy: The State and Surveillance
2:30pm | Round-table
Didier Bigo, Mireille Delmas-Marty, Jeffrey Rosen
The New York Public Library – Celeste Bartos Forum
The New Faces of the Enemy
5:00pm | Round-table
Scott Atran, Grégoire Chamayou, Ariel Colonomos, Philip Gourevitch
The New York Public Library – Celeste Bartos Forum
And the Pursuit of Happiness
7:30pm | Round-table
Barbara Cassin, Daniel Handler, Maira Kalman, Sophie Wahnich
The New York Public Library – Celeste Bartos Forum
Sunday, January 30th
From Fiction to Philosophy
1:00pm | Discussion
Pierre Cassou-Noguès, Rick Moody, Avital Ronell, Benjamen Walker
Greenlight Bookstore
Fair for Knowledge: Hair
2:00pm | Fair
Laurel Braitman, Barbara Cassin, Cécile Guilbert, Justin E. H. Smith, John Strausbaugh, Sophie Wahnich
The Brooklyn Flea
Monday, January 31st
Picturing the Self: A Philosopher Discusses a Photographer’s Work
6:30pm | Discussion
Pierre Cassou-Noguès, Jen Davis
Aperture Gallery
Going Public: Embodying a Persona
9:00pm | Reading and performance
Cécile Guilbert, Cynthia Hopkins, Sarah Jones
Joe’s Pub
Tuesday, February 1st
Hunter VS. Hunted: A Philosopher Discusses Short Media Pieces
7:00pm | Screening and discussion
Grégoire Chamayou, Jamie Hook, Katie Salen
UnionDocs
Wednesday, February 2nd
Catastrophe Practice (1/3)
7:00pm | Round-table
Jean-Pierre Dupuy, Jonathan Lear, Michel Lussault, Josh Neufeld
The New School – John Tishman Auditorium
Thursday, February 3rd
Starting From Here: Every Place Tells a Story
7:30pm | Discussion
Reif Larsen, Michel Lussault, Peter Turchi, Philippe Vasset
French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) – Le Skyroom
Friday, February 4th
The Shapes of Space – The Shears of Time: Why Does Philosophy Need Art to Become Truly Experimental?
6:30pm | Round-table
Brody Condon, Elie During, Patrice Maniglier, McKenzie Wark
The New School – Theresa Lang Center

Online dialogue: UK and Arab world

“We are looking for a motivated group of 13 young people from across the UK, to participate in an exciting new joint project between the British Youth Council and the British Council’s Global Changemakers Middle East and North Africa (MENA) programme, where we are giving you the chance to join other young people from the MENA region in a series of online digital dialogues exploring in depth common issues such as identity, education, health, climate change and more. 

If this sounds like something you are interested in why not apply!
Criteria
You must be…
● Aged between 17 and 25 and resident in the UK.
● Motivated and willing to learn and overcome new challenges.
● Able to commit for 6 months until June 2011.
● Have regular internet access
● Available for an hour a week to check the online Facebook group for updates and to answer any questions posted by other members of the community (this may be more during weeks of dialogue) and to read some resources to prepare you for the dialogue.
As a participant we will give you the opportunity to…
● Develop relationships & explore common issues with young people from the MENA region.
● Get training in facilitation skills and intercultural dialogue.
● Be supported to develop a community action project in partnership with young people from the MENA region.
● Possibly have the chance to attend a Global Changemakers meeting representing young people in the UK.”
For further information, and an application form, see the original posting.
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