News from Europe

2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue

From the EC press release - Reference:  IP/05/1226 -  Date:  05/10/2005

The European Commission proposes that 2008 be "European Year of Intercultural Dialogue ". The Commission adopted on 5 October a proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council to declare 2008 "European Year of Intercultural Dialogue".

This idea had initially been put forward by the European Commissioner with responsibility for culture, Ján Figel', during his hearing before the European Parliament in September 2004. With an overall budget of € 10 million, the European Year will draw on the wealth and diversity of a series of specific projects to be implemented during 2008 through programmes and other Community actions. Culture, education, youth, sport and citizenship will be the main areas concerned.

When presenting this proposal, Ján Figel’, European Commissioner with responsibility for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism, stated: “Over the past few years, Europe has seen major changes resulting from successive enlargements of the Union, greater mobility in the Single Market, and increased travel to and trade with the rest of the world. This has resulted in interaction between Europeans and the different cultures, languages, ethnic groups and religions on the continent and elsewhere. Dialogue between cultures would therefore appear to be an essential tool in forging closer links both between European peoples themselves and between their respective cultures.”

The Commission thus proposes that 2008 be declared “Year of intercultural dialogue”, a European Year which, because of its multiplier effect, will develop into a unique instrument for raising awareness of the chosen theme among citizens, particularly young people.

Generally speaking, the European Year is expected to:

• promote intercultural dialogue as an instrument to assist European citizens, and all those living in the European Union, in acquiring the knowledge and aptitudes to enable them to deal with a more open and more complex environment;
• raise the awareness of European citizens, and all those living in the European Union, of the importance of developing active European citizenship which is open to the world, respectful of cultural diversity and based on common values.

Representing an opportunity to strengthen “mainstreaming” in all of the relevant Community programmes and actions in 2008, the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue will make it possible to raise the profile and increase the overall impact of these actions in the context of the Year. This will make it possible to promote a consistent image of the multiplicity of Community actions contributing to the intercultural dialogue while developing synergies between programmes, particularly those geared towards neighbouring countries and third countries.

The Year will also involve close cooperation between the Member States to concentrate efforts on awareness-raising and communication activities. The Commission proposes that the European Year be allocated a budget of €10 million to fund three types of activity, which will constitute the operational objectives:

• an information campaign promoting the objectives of the European Year – to be identified by a logo – which could account for half of the budget;
• grants for actions at Community level, geared towards a limited number of emblematic actions on a Community scale (e.g. major festivals or sporting events) intended to raise awareness, especially among young people, of the objectives of the European Year;
• co-financing of actions at national level with a strong European dimension.

---------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------

News from the World

Every Human Has Rights

2008 is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60th anniversary. It's time for a global conversation about human rights and the values that unite us as one human family. But it can also be a time when each of us chooses to take human rights into our daily lives, by joining a powerful people network.

In the 60th year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The Elders, with many organizations around the world, joined to launch the Every Human Has Rights campaign.We urge you to embrace the values and goals of the Declaration. To protect the rights of your fellow global villagers. And encourage others to do the same in your communities, workplaces and schools.

To learn more about the campaign please click here.

---------------------------------------------------

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will require the ingenuity, solidarity and creativity of millions of ordinary people through voluntary action. Efforts on the part of national governments, supported by the international community, can only complement what ultimately will depend on the full involvement of people worldwide. Six billion people have something to contribute to these efforts.  

Whether expressed as volunteer service, mutual aid and self-help, campaigning or other forms of voluntary participation, the willingness and ability of citizens to give freely of their time out of a sense of solidarity will have a major influence on the extent to which the MDGs are attained and sustained. 

 “Refugee women – from volunteers to employees“ in London is an example of a project promoting gender equality and empowering women, the MDG 3: This project was carried out between July 2003 and December 2004 by the Working Lives Research Institute and the Refugee Assessment and Guidance Unit, London Metropolitan University. The focus of the project was employment pathways between working as a volunteer and finding employment in refugee community organisations (RCOs), refugee agencies and organisations in the wider voluntary and community sector. The aims of the project were to recommend good practice to voluntary organizations in the recruitment of refugee women into paid employment and for their career progression, and to make recommendations for the inclusion of refugees concerns into equal opportunities policies.