jeudi 9 octobre 2008

P&V Foundation's chosen theme (en)

P&V Fondation’ chosen theme : Intercultural dialogue and linguistic diversity
“How do we get Dutch-speakers and French-speakers to talk to one another?”

As part of the European project, the P&V Foundation has decided to tackle the following working topic: “Intercultural dialogue and linguistic diversity”. It is a topic that enables us to become involved with what has been a burning issue in our country since we were plunged back into an institutional crisis after the federal elections of June 2007. Belgium is threatening to become fragmented; Flemish political leaders are clamouring for more autonomy, in fact even for a confederal system, while the position of the French-speakers remains unchanged. Today, this vicious circle makes Belgium more and more difficult to govern.
The Kingdom’s political structure is a complex one. Since 1993 Belgium has been a federal State, made up of three regions – Flanders, Wallonia and the bilingual Brussels Capital region – and three language communities – Flemish, French (Wallonia-Brussels) and German. Belgium has three official languages: French, Dutch and German. Only Flanders is single-language, while Wallonia includes the German-speaking community.

Structure of the population in Belgium (2008)
Brussels Capital region (bilingual with a French-speaking majority) : 1,048,491
Flanders : 6,161,600
Wallonia (the population of the German-speaking community is 74,565) : 3,456,775
Total : 10,666,866

The gulf is widening between the North and South of the country and demands are hardening on both sides. In addition, clichés are flying back and forth on either side of the language community divide:
· The Flemish are racists, extremists, selfish and austere.
· The Walloons are poor, lazy, revellers and profiteers.
· Brussels is a city that’s too dirty, with too many French-speakers, too many foreigners and too much crime.

According to the media, the country is like a powder keg. It’s a fact that the politicians and media bear a lot of the responsibility for this crisis and the gloves are very much off between the two language “camps”. Although many Belgians have roots in both cultures, French-speakers and Dutch-speakers rarely meet, apart from in Brussels, at the Coast or in the Ardennes. Language problems contribute a great deal to this atmosphere of mutual mistrust. Bilingualism is extremely underdeveloped: there are no newspapers or television stations that cater for both languages. Since 1988, education no longer comes under a federal government portfolio and outside Brussels, learning the other community’s language at school is optional. So it seems that Belgium has lost the bilingualism wager once and for all.
How could Belgium encourage dialogue between the cultures and promote “living better together” in an open, broad society, whereas right now the country’s two main communities are sinking further into an identity-based fallback position?

Given this unpromising background in terms of intercultural dialogue, we believe that consultation with the people on the specific subject of linguistic diversity would be a relevant and sufficiently original approach to take. However, although the country has three official languages, we are deliberately limiting ourselves to the two majority language communities: the French-speakers and the Dutch-speakers.

Tema seleccionado por la Fundación EAES (es)

Tema : Diálogo intercultural e integración
Justificación :
La historia del hombre ha sido, desde sus orígenes, una constante de migraciones, que han dado como fruto el desarrollo de las distintas culturas, a través de la mezcla y la interrelación de los pueblos.
Andalucía, a lo largo de su historia, se ha convertido en un espacio de encuentro y fusión de culturas, de mestizaje e interculturalidad. Su situación geográfica ha servido, y sirve en la actualidad, de puente entre dos continentes, constituyéndose como un espacio de frontera que ha facilitado contactos y diálogos entre Norte y Sur.
Por otra parte, y hasta hace muy poco tiempo, nuestra región ha sido el origen de constantes migraciones, tanto a zonas más industrializadas del Estado, como a otros países (principalmente, Francia, Suiza, Alemania y el continente americano). Valga señalar que entre los años 1961 y 1975, más de un millón de andaluces emigraron, con el objetivo de mejorar sus condiciones de vida, con la consiguiente pérdida tan importante de capital humano que sufrió la región. Así, a pesar de que muchos de ellos regresaron, todavía hoy son muchos los andaluces que viven y trabajan fuera de Andalucía, con el desarraigo que ello conlleva.
Pero, en cualquier caso, los cambios socioeconómicos a los que se enfrentan las sociedades actuales a nivel global, vienen produciendo una inversión en los flujos migratorios: nuestra tierra de emigrantes resulta ser ahora receptora de inmigrantes. Además, Andalucía es un lugar de paso para quienes pretenden alcanzar otra región o país más al norte, un espacio de acogida para muchas personas que encuentran aquí su trabajo, y un destino para otros que hallan en esta tierra un lugar agradable donde quedarse a vivir.
Consideramos que somos una sociedad madura y tolerante, que ha experimentado en las últimas décadas grandes avances en cuanto a niveles de bienestar, a los cuales han contribuido sin duda las migraciones, y por estos motivos la ciudadanía andaluza se haya en una posición favorable para profundizar sobre la diversidad cultural como medio de enriquecimiento mutuo y elemento integrador en la sociedad andaluza, teniendo como referencia la experiencia de nuestra ciudadanía y sus opiniones.
A continuación, hacemos una breve referencia sobre nuestros objetivos con la participación en este proyecto, los cuales pretendemos clarificar a través de la consulta y participación directa de diversos representantes de la sociedad civil andaluza, usando como metodología grupos de discusión, entrevistas, presentación de historias de vida, etc.
De esta forma, haremos hincapié en el papel de la Economía Social como una alternativa eficaz que favorece la integración en el sistema sociolaboral, a través de la cooperación, el diálogo y el esfuerzo de los trabajadores/as, así como de todos los agentes que la componen.
Otro aspecto que cabe analizar desde la sociedad civil es la actuación de las Administraciones públicas con respecto a la integración plena de la población inmigrante y demás colectivos étnicos en los distintos ámbitos (social, cultural, económico, laboral, etc.), con el fin de alcanzar una verdadera igualdad de condiciones. Entre estas actuaciones, de cara al presente y al futuro, deben de destacarse la labor de sensibilización de los ciudadanos (especialmente de los jóvenes, a través de la educación intercultural), el fomento de la capacidad emprendedora de la población inmigrante y otros grupos, y la convivencia y el conocimiento mutuo entre las culturas, para generar actitudes positivas ante el hecho migratorio y, finalmente, favorecer la normalización como elemento de integración.

EAES Foundation's chosen theme (en)

EAES Foundation's chosen theme : Intercultural Dialogue and Integration
Justification :
Man’s history has, since its origins, been a series of constant migrations, the fruit of which has been the development of different cultures, through the mixing and interrelation of the populations.
Andalusia, during the course of its history, became a space for the meeting and fusion of cultures, cross-breeding and interculturality. Its geographic situation served and still serves as a bridge between two continents, constituting a border area that enables contact and dialogue between North and South.
On the other hand, and until just a short time ago, our region was the source of constant migrations, to the most industrialised zones of Spain itself and to other countries (mainly, France, Switzerland, Germany and the American continent). It is worth pointing out that, between 1961 and 1975, more than one million people emigrated from Andalusia to improve their living conditions, resulting in the largest loss of human capital the region has ever experienced. Thus, although many of these returned, many Andalusians continue to live and work outside Andalusia today, with all the uprooting this entails.
Meanwhile, however, the socioeconomic changes faced by today’s societies on an international level are causing a reversal in migratory flows: our land of emigrants is now the recipient of immigrants. Also, Andalusia is a place of transit for those wanting to reach another region or country further to the North, a host region for many people who find their work here and a destination for others that find in this land a pleasant place to live.
We consider ourselves to be a mature and tolerant society that has experienced great advances in recent decades in terms of our levels of welfare, which the migrations have no doubt contributed to and, for these reasons, Andalusian citizens are well-place for an in-depth understanding of cultural diversity as a means of mutual enrichment and an integrating element in Andalusian society, taking the experience and opinions of our citizens as a reference.
Below, we refer briefly to the objectives of our participation in this project, which we aim to clarify by means of the consultation and direct participation of various representatives of Andalusian civil society, using methods such as discussion groups, interviews and presentations of life histories.
In this way, we emphasise the role of the Social Economy as an effective alternative that favours integration in the socio-labour system, through the cooperation, dialogue and effort of the workers, as well as all the agents that belong to it.
Another aspect that is worth analysing from civil society is the actions of Public Authorities in regards to the full integration of the immigrant population and other ethnic groups in the different fields (social, cultural, economic, employment, etc.), in order to achieve true equality in conditions.
Among these actions that respond to the present and the future, the task of raising citizens’ awareness must be highlighted (especially that of young people, through intercultural education), the promotion of the entrepreneurial skills among the immigrant population and other groups and the coexistence and mutual knowledge between cultures, to generate positive attitudes towards migration and, finally, to favour normalisation as a key element of integration.

Pact Foundation's chose theme (en)

PACT Foundation’s chosen theme: Intercultural dialogue and integration
Justification:
For Romania, the necessity to focus on intercultural dialogue and integration emerge from the many issues that Roma population is still facing, especially in rural communities: segregation, discrimination in the field of employment, housing rights, education and health, use of excessive force in Roma communities, racial administration of justice, and discrimination of Roma women and children[1].
There is general awareness of the fact that continuous self marginalization and discrimination towards Roma population stems from the lack of knowledge of Roma culture, which is often invoked by the non-Roma as one of the main factors of segregation. The Romanian government, as well as the non-governmental sector has started to tackle all these aspects especially after the 1990s, yet many of them remain to be dealt with. Self-marginalization, especially among Roma youth in small communities, is a pressuring problem, which stems from lack of trust and denial of their own identity, in tight relation to Roma traditions and culture, which are being rejected by the larger society. Ultimately, in most communities, Roma integration means that Roma citizens are being assimilated by the rest of the community, and this usually happens when Roma people adhere to local traditions.
Hence, given the fact that Roma inclusion is a prerequisite not only in Romania but also all over Europe, Foundation PACT intends to address it by creating a framework for intercultural dialogue. PACT Foundation’s team has been working in rural and small or medium urban localities with groups of citizens representing disadvantaged people in their communities. In many of these communities, the situation of Roma people is very diverse:
- there are communities where Roma citizens are totally assimilated and there are no visible differences from the Romanians – and here the relations are relatively good,
- there are communities where Roma people have their own specific traits of culture, and the relations are based on common interests, and yet the two groups are quite distinct,
- and there are communities where the distance between the Roma and Romanians is very clear, the relations between them being at the limit of conflict,
Therefore, Foundation PACT proposes as a sub-theme identifying means of enabling intercultural dialogue for improving Roma and Romanian citizens’ perception, towards a better joint collaboration and participation to community development, therefore a genuine integration of Roma people in the local communities, within the localities where, through its programs and projects, Foundation PACT has developed civic initiative among community members.
The 5 local meetings are meant to identify and enable discussions regarding efficient and effective means through which intercultural dialogue may improve the relations between the Roma and Romanians, both within their own communities, and in general, in localities where Roma and Romanians live together, yet separately.
In the given context, the main question is: can intercultural dialogue contribute to the improvement of interethnic relations? And aspects of this issue would be:
- What can we do (which would be the means) so that through intercultural dialogue there may be better relations between Roma and Romanians, may improve the perceptions, in all the 3 stages mentioned above?
- How well do we know the other’s culture?
- How well do we understand and how willing are we to accept the specifics of other ethnics?
- Why do assimilated Roma (who no longer have an ethnic specificity) have better relations with the larger majority, and those who still keep elements of culture and tradition are being marginalized or marginalize themselves? Why do Roma people accept to lose their identity?
- How could Roma communities which are geographically segregated participate in intercultural dialogue?
All these questions will be addressed through various discussion and work themes to be sustained by Foundation PACT and other organizations with experience in interethnic communities in Romania, regarding ways in which the relations among Roma and Romanians influenced the process of community development/facilitation, the extent to which the good development of local projects have depended on the quality of interethnic relations, and whether Roma and Romanians working together has contributed (and in what way) to an improvement of interethnic relations in these communities or vice-versa.
[1] Overview of the Roma Situation in Romania for European Commission Consideration at 2006 Country Report – Romani Criss, Roma Centre for Social Intervention and Studies

Projet CID : Citoyenneté, Interculturalité, Dialogue

"Citoyenneté, Interculturalité, Dialogue" est un projet transnational inscrit dans le programme "L'Europe pour les citoyens" de la Direction générale Education et Culture de la Commission européenne. Ce projet est porté par le Pôle européen des fondations de l'économie sociale avec la participation de 6 partenaires de 5 pays européens :
- CSV (Royaume Uni),
- Fondation EAES (Espagne),
- Fondation Macif (France),
- Fondation Pact (Roumanie),
- Fondation P&V (Belgique),
- Pour la Solidarité (Belgique).
Le but du projet est de créer une plateforme d'échanges et de réflexion sur le thème du dialogue interculturel, en comparant les perceptions et pratiques de la société civile au sein des différents états membres.
Le lancement du projet a eu lieu à Osuna (Espagne) le 22 septembre 2008, au cours duquel les partenaires des 5 pays ont choisi une thématique de travail qui fera l'objet de dialogues et de débats durant 6 mois avec un groupe constitué de 40 personnes représentatives de la société civile dans chacun des pays des partenaires.

CID Project : Citizenship, Interculturality, Dialogue

"Citizenship, Interculturality, Dialogue" is a transnational project that comes within the framework of the programme "Europe for citizens" of the Directorate-General for Education and Culture of the European Commission. The European network of foundations for social economy leads the project with the participation of 6 partners from 5 european countries :
- CSV (United Kingdom)
- EAES Foundation (Spain)
- Macif Foundation(France)
- Pact Foundation (Romania)
- P&V Foundation (Belgium)
- Pour la Solidarité (Belgium)
The goal of the project is to create a platform for exchanges and reflection on intercultural dialogue, comparing perceptions and practices of civil society within different member states.
The kick off meeting of the project took place in Osuna (Spain) on the 22nd september 2008.
There the partners of the five countries chose a working theme which will be discussed by the groups of 40 citizens created in each country, during 6 months.