Tag: UNAOC

Intercultural Innovation Award finalists

The BMW Group and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) announce finalists for the Intercultural Innovation Award

Ten initiatives have been named finalists by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group for the Intercultural Innovation Award. The selection process was highly competitive, with close to 1000 applications received from 120 countries.

The projects selected come from all over the world, representing countries across five continents and underlining the importance of the Intercultural Innovation Award and its commitment to the worldwide promotion of intercultural diversity and understanding.

By supporting sustainable and innovative, intercultural grassroots initiatives with the potential for expansion and replication, the Intercultural Innovation Award aims to contribute to peace and to building more inclusive societies. Launched in 2011, the Intercultural Innovation Award is the result of a unique public-private partnership between the UNAOC and the BMW Group.

During one year, the selected initiatives can enjoy invaluable expert know-how and resources from the BMW Group and UNAOC. In addition to receiving monetary support, the finalists will have the opportunity to participate in training activities and workshops covering diverse subjects such as strategy and planning, implementation analysis and media training, as well as to become a part of an “Intercultural Leaders” network.

The final rankings will be announced during the 7th Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, April 25-27, 2016. The official award ceremony will take place on 26 April.

This year’s selected organizations and their social impact focus (in alphabetical order) are:

The Blessing Basket Project – Artisan & You (USA)
Patent pending technology that enables impoverished artisans to exchange letters with their customers around the world, creating powerful intercultural connections.

The Coexist Initiative – Girls Education Equity Project (Kenya)
Promotion of girls’ primary school enrollment and retention in Daadab and Kakuma refugee camps by engaging men, boys and communities to address the complex socio-cultural barriers that continue to impede girls’ education.

Give Something Back to Berlin e.V. – Give Something Back to Berlin (Germany)
Urban integration platform that strengthens cohesion by connecting new Berliners with social engagement and community service.

International Council for Cultural Centers – Bread Houses Network (Bulgaria)
Collective bread-making that unites people around the world to cooperate across cultures, ages, and special needs thereby building stronger communities.

On Our Radar – From the Margins to the Front Page (UK)
Use of SMS by marginalized young Sierra Leoneans to share their stories via international media outlets, boosting empathy, dialogue, understanding and support.

Red Dot Foundation – Safecity (India)
Platform that crowdsources personal stories of sexual harassment and maps these trends at a local level, in order to make public spaces safer for all.

Routes 2 Roots – Exchange for Change (India)
Program for open dialogue to build trust and cultural similarities between India and Pakistan, with the aim of sustaining peace and resolving conflict.

Shine a Light – CanalCanoa (Brazil/USA)
Children from remote Amazonian villages make movies, cartoons, and music to teach other Brazilian children about their lives.

SINGA – SINGA Kiwanda (France)
Community of engaged people who support refugees to begin their own business or social project, through providing local knowledge, networks and resources.

Unistream – Educating Tomorrow’s Leaders Today (Israel)
Three year program that encourages and promotes intercultural dialogue and understanding by utilizing educational and entrepreneurial platforms.

UNAOC Intercultural Innovation Award 2015

The Intercultural Innovation Award, a partnership between the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group, searches for innovative and sustainable projects around the world that promote intercultural dialogue and understanding, making vital contributions to peace and prosperity. Ten organizations with potential for expansion and replication will be awarded funding and strategic support. Awardees will be announced at the 7th UNAOC Global Forum. To apply, please visit interculturalinnovation.org.

Deadline for applications is 30 September 2015, 5pm EST.

The Intercultural Innovation Award is a partnership between the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group that aims to select and support the most innovative grassroots projects that encourage intercultural dialogue and cooperation around the world.

Not-for-profit organizations that are active in promoting intercultural understanding, with a track record of managing intercultural projects and willingness to expand their range of action, are eligible to apply. These organizations should be working in the fields of:
– migration and integration;
– intercultural awareness;
– education for intercultural citizenship;
– and/or be organizations addressing the needs of specific groups in promoting intercultural understanding (e.g. faith-based, youth, women, media, etc.)

The Intercultural Innovation Award is bestowed upon ten organizations. Awardees receive one year of support and consulting from the UNAOC and the BMW Group, which will assist their projects to increase their effectiveness. Support will also be provided to successful projects so that they can be replicated in other contexts or settings where they might be relevant. The specific support received will depend on the individual needs of the projects.

A detailed needs assessment will be conducted in conjunction with each of the awardees. The UNAOC and the BMW Group will then mobilize resources to help those projects achieve their goals. After one year, a comprehensive evaluation will be performed in order to assess the impact of the Award on successful projects.

The organizations of awardees will also become members of Intercultural Leaders, an exclusive skills and knowledge-sharing platform for civil society organizations and young leaders that work on addressing cross-cultural tensions.  Through an innovative online system, Intercultural Leaders will harnesses the solidarity of its members to maximize the impact of their work and help them foster cross-cultural understanding and cooperation.

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Intercultural Innovation Award 2015

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations is pleased to announce the launch of the 2015 edition of the Intercultural Innovation Award, a partnership between the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group. The Award searches for grassroots projects around the world that are promoting dialogue and cooperation among people from different cultural backgrounds using novel and creative methods.

Ten organizations with sustainable and innovative intercultural projects that have potential for expansion and replication will be awarded funding and strategic support by the BMW Group and the UNAOC. To be considered, organizations must apply online by Wednesday, 30 September 2015 at 5:00 pm New York City time.

The top ten finalists will be invited to present their projects at the 7th UNAOC Global Forum. A total of 100,500 USD is offered to the awardees, of which 40,000 USD goes to the first placed project. For more details, you can check the applications guidelines.

UNAOC Fellowship Programme call for applications

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Fellowship Programme is launching a call for applications for emerging leaders from Europe and North America interested in engaging with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

This year’s edition will invite 15 emerging leaders from Europe and North America on an exposure visit to three or four countries in the MENA region that will take place during the first half of December 2014.

The exposure visit will allow fellows to engage with prominent personalities and institutions in areas such as Government, International Organizations, civil society, media, social impact entrepreneurs, religion and culture. It is expected that through gaining a deeper understanding of the MENA region, fellows will be better able to identify bridges for communication, social business opportunities and dialogue entry points between the two regions.

The Call for Applications guidelines attached provide all details on documents required. Applications should be sent no later than 26 October 2014 11:00PM (New York time) to 2014UNAOCfellows@gmail.com (all questions should be directed to this email address).

Eligibility Criteria:
*National of a North American or European country
*26-38 years old
*Fluent in written and spoken English
*Professional activity in one of these areas: civil society organizations, traditional and social media, politics, government, community movements/initiatives, faith based organizations, social impact entrepreneurship, academia, think tanks or other field relevant to the objective of the programme.

How to apply:
Email the following documents no later than 26 October 2014 11pm (New York time) to 2014UNAOCfellows@gmail.com
1. Application form (see application guidelines)
2. CV (in English)
3. Passport scan
The Fellowship Programme is made possible thanks to a grant of the German Federal Foreign Office. For more information about the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, see the website.

 

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Intercultural Innovation Award finalists 2014

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group have announced the 11 project finalists for the 2014 Intercultural Innovation Award. More than 600 applications were received from over 100 countries in a highly competitive selection process.

Since 2011, UNAOC and the BMW Group have engaged in a historic partnership geared towards creating a new model for collaboration. The two organizations established the Intercultural Innovation Award whose mandate is to select the highly innovative grassroots and sustainable projects of non-profit organisations that promote dialogue and intercultural understanding, while making vital contributions to prosperity and peace in global societies.

This year’s project finalists come from all over the world, representing countries across six continents. The many different regions they come from underline the importance of the Intercultural Innovation Award and its commitment to the worldwide promotion of intercultural diversity and understanding.

Finalists this year include:
Africa e Mediterraneo – ComiX4= Comics for Equality (Italy)
All Together Now – Everyday Racism (Australia)
Arcenciel – A Circus School in the Service of Intercultural Dialogue (Lebanon)
Association for Cultural Child and Youth Education in the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt – Equal for Equal (Germany)
Department of Culture and Leisure, Municipality of Simrishamn – More Than One Story (Sweden)
Fundacion CONSTRUIR – Intercultural Dialogue and Plural Justice: Strengthening Indigenous Justice (Bolivia)
Manav Seva Sansthan – Facilitating Informed and Safe Migration among Vulnerable Nepalese Migrants along the Indo-Nepal Border (India)
Post-Conflict Research Center – Ordinary Heroes (Bosnia & Herzegovina)
Wapikoni mobile – International Network of Aboriginal Audiovisual Creation (Canada)
Welcoming America – Welcoming Cities and Counties Initiative (USA)
Youth Service Organization – Intercultural Dialogue Awareness Rising For Cooperation  (Rwanda).

The final podium will be announced within the framework of the 6th Global Forum of the UNAOC in Bali, Indonesia. The official award ceremony will take place on 28 August and will be chaired by President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, United Nations High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, and Bill McAndrews, Head of Communications Strategy, Corporate and Market Communications, BMW Group, in the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival

Call for Video Entries
PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival on Migration, Diversity and Social Inclusion

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations ( UNAOC) and International Organization for Migration ( IOM) invite youth to submit original and creative videos focusing on Migration, Diversity and Social inclusion by 27 June 2014 for consideration in the 2014 PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival.

Recognizing youth as powerful agents of social change in a world often characterized by intolerance, and cultural and religious divisions, PLURAL+ invites youth to address key challenges and opportunities related to social inclusion and cohesion, migrant integration, respect for identity, diversity, and human rights, both at local and global levels. Young people up to 25 years old are invited to submit short videos of five minutes maximum in length.

PLURAL+ supports young people’s expression of their opinions by providing them with a variety of media platforms and distribution networks, including broadcasts, video festivals, conferences and events around the world. PLURAL+ not only provides young people with an effective platform to express themselves on key migration and diversity issues, but also reinforces the firm belief of IOM and UNAOC that youth are powerful and creative agents of social change.

A prestigious international jury will select three winners in each age category (9-12, 13-17, 18-25). International Jury winners will be invited to New York, all travel expenses paid, to present their work at the PLURAL + 2014 Awards Ceremony at the Paley Center for Media in December 2014.

PLURAL+ partner organizations will also award other prizes and professional opportunities, such as winning participants presenting their work at film and video festivals, conferences and events around the world.

The PLURAL+ 2014 deadline for video submission is 27 June, 2014. Further information, including guidelines, regulations, awards, and the entry form can be downloaded here and is also available on the PLURAL+ website.

You can watch PLURAL+ 2013 award winning videos here

PLURAL+ is organized by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the International Organization for Migration with the collaboration of many international partners.

Intercultural Innovation Award 2014

The BMW Group and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) have started, under the  Intercultural Innovation Award , their annual search for grass-root organizations engaged in innovative cross-cultural work.

Ten organizations with grassroots projects that promote intercultural understanding in new and sustainable ways will be awarded funding and strategic support by the BMW Group and the UNAOC. To be considered, organizations must apply online by Wednesday, 30 April, 2014 at 5:00 pm New York City time.

The top ten finalists will be invited to present their projects at the 6th UNAOC Global Forum in August 2014 in Bali, Indonesia. A total of 100,500 USD is offered to the awardees, of which 40,000 USD goes to the winning project.

Soliya

Soliya is an entrepreneurial non-profit organization with offices in New York and Cairo dedicated to improving relations between Western & predominantly Muslim societies by combining best practices from conflict resolution and cross-cultural education with innovative application of new communication and media technologies.

Since its founding in 2002, Soliya has developed a groundbreaking online cross-cultural education program, the Connect Program, that has been integrated into curriculum at over 80 universities in 25 countries across the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, Europe & North America. In 2009, Soliya launched a new initiative called The Network, where young adults use the latest in media and communication technologies to expose people in the general public to alternative perspectives and enable them to interact in a constructive, respectful way about the issues currently dividing Western & predominantly Muslim societies. Thousands of young adults from extraordinarily diverse backgrounds have engaged in intensive facilitated dialogue and/or received extensive online training in facilitation or media production through Soliya’s programs resulting in a vibrant and active global volunteer community.

Exchange 2.0 is the primary way we are doing that, based on the belief that, in the 21st Century, it should become the norm for students to have a profound cross-cultural experience as part of their education, whether it is in person or online. We have established an Exchange 2.0 Coalition with key partners to collaboratively make that vision a reality.

The Connect Program is our flagship program that demonstrates the potential of Exchange 2.0. It is an online cross-cultural education program that has been implemented in over 100 universities in 27 countries across the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, Europe and North America since 2003.

To provide ongoing engagement opportunities to alumni from these programs and to ensure we have dependable pool of high-quality facilitators for them, we also offer Advanced Training programs.

Finally, Civil Media, is the term we use to describe a new strategic model we are developing, which empowers the emerging community of young adults from our programs to amplify voices from civil society that are not commonly heard and catalyze constructive and respectful discourse across divisions about important socio-political issues.

[adapted from the Soliya website]

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Strengthen Civil Society webinar

Strengthening The Voice Of Civil Society – Do One Thing for Diversity and Inclusion
World Dialogue Foundation is offering a webinar on May 21, 2013 at 10:00 PM AEST.

Next Tuesday, 21st May is World Day for Cultural Diversity, for Dialogue & Development.

Without doubt, the mission to increase understanding between people from different cultural and religious backgrounds is one of the most promising movements in the world today.

As part of the “Do One Thing For Diversity and Inclusion” campaign spearheaded by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, in partnership with UNESCO and many organisations around the world, GDF is running a free online workshop for civil society organisations who would like to strengthen their role and play a bigger game.

Why does civil society matter so much? Building inclusive society has become a major challenge in most countries around the world. Over the past twenty years, globalization, technology, the resurgence of religions and tremendous migration flows have indeed radically changed the fabric of most societies that are increasingly diversified and fragmented. This creates tensions, radicalization and sometimes, the risk of conflict.

The role of leaders, being policy makers, corporate sector, media…is crucial in raising public awareness and encouraging dialogue and understanding among people and communities beyond the cultural divide. But, to achieve this goal, a vibrant and active civil society movement holding leaders responsible is indispensable.

This 60-minute session will give you the opportunity to explore possibilities around becoming a partner in the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Civil Society Country Chapter program. You will have the opportunity to share your successes, ask questions, and inspire others.

Register now!

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Do one thing for diversity 2013

2013: Do One Thing for Diversity and Inclusion

do one thing for diversity logo

In 2001, UNESCO adopted the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity and in December 2002, the UN General Assembly, in its resolution 57/249, declared May 21 to be the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.

The day provides us with an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the values of cultural diversity and to learn to live together better.

In 2011, a grassroots campaign ‘Do One Thing For Diversity and Inclusion’, celebrating the annual World Day for Cultural Diversity was launched by UNESCO and the UN Alliance of Civilizations.

The 2013 campaign, by encouraging people and organizations from around the world to take concrete action to support diversity, aims:

*To raise awareness worldwide about the importance of intercultural dialogue, diversity and inclusion.
*To build a world community of individuals committed to support diversity with real and every day-life gestures.
*To combat polarization and stereotypes to improve understanding and cooperation among people from different cultures.

The campaign works through a dedicated Facebook page, serving as a platform for people around the world to share their experiences through posts and videos.

Ten simple things YOU can do to celebrate the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development:

1. Visit an art exhibit or a museum dedicated to other cultures.
2. Invite a family or people in the neighborhood from another culture or religion to share a meal with you and exchange views on life.
3. Rent a movie or read a book from another country or religion than your own.
4. Invite people from a different culture to share your customs.
5. Read about the great thinkers of other cultures than yours (e.g. Confucius, Socrates, Avicenna, Ibn Khaldun, Aristotle, Ganesh, Rumi).
6. Go next week-end to visit a place of worship different than yours and participate in the celebration.
7. Play the “stereotypes game.” Stick a post-it on your forehead with the name of a country. Ask people to tell you stereotypes associated with people from that country. You win if you find out where you are from.
8. Learn about traditional celebrations from other cultures; learn more about Hanukkah or Ramadan or about amazing celebrations of New Year’s Eve in Spain or Qingming festival in China.
9. Spread your own culture around the world through our Facebook page and learn about other cultures.
10. Explore music of a different culture.

There are thousands of things that you can do, are you taking part in it?