Unite Against Hate website re-launched
To mark UN World Children’s Day and Anti-Bullying Week we are delighted to re-launch our Unite Against Hate website and to share a series of new Friendship Friday resources developed by Kidscape.
The world is becoming increasingly divided. Religion, race and gender have all become polarising fault lines. In a time of heightened rhetoric and behaviour, suspicion, judgement and hate flourish. If hate is not challenged it will destroy our ability to live together.
Friendship Friday encourages everyone to see they have a role to play in creating a world that is friendlier and kinder.
Conversations about bullying behaviour (including racism, sectarianism and hatred) are very important, and teachers, parents or carers are in the perfect position to support and guide young people to help them to develop a better understanding of positive relationships.
To help, Centre for Democracy and Peace Building and Unite Against Hate are thrilled to partner with Kidscape and share a series of their resources focusing on the positives of kind, healthy and happy friendships. These include Being A Good Friend, Telling Tales, What Makes A Good Friend, Put Yourself In My Shoes and Help With Friendship.
To use the Friendship Friday resources:
- Go to uniteagainsthate.org.uk/resources
- Choose a colouring sheet and a lesson/activity plan
- Colour in each of the patchwork pieces
- What makes you different to your friends?
- Talk and learn about the difference and explore the positives of kind, healthy and happy friendships
And make our world a better place!
First established over ten years ago, Unite Against Hate provides a platform to challenge, educate and mobilise people to face the truth about hate – and end it. Because we believe that ending hate can build a better society for everyone.
The work of Unite Against Hate would not be possible without the support of our friends at Irish American Partnership.
Re-thinking Solidarity: love, compassion and mercy
By Natasha Oviedo
While studying historical and contemporary conflicts, it is not uncommon for religion to be brought up as an inevitable source of division and oppression. This reductive perception of the role of religion in conflict and oppression was challenged through a discussion moderated by Lord Alderdice on the potential religion holds as a form of advocacy and community building. As a part of the Rethinking Solidarity webinar series, Lord Alderdice engaged Dr. Dariusz Karlowicz, Dr. Nazila Ghanea, Daniel Greenberg, and Fr Jaroslaw Kupczak OP in a dialogue that confronted the deep ties between solidarity and faith.
Lord Alderdice began the conversation with a reflection on Pope Francis’s recent encyclical Fratelli Tutti and its definition of solidarity grounded in “thinking and acting in terms of community” and a “responsibility for the fragility of others.” The encyclical stretches this conception of solidarity outside of the Catholic community through a re-telling of St. Francis of Assisi’s arduous trip to Egypt during the crusades where he met the Ayyubid sultan Al-Kamil. The process of interfaith diplomacy between a Catholic and Islamic leader during a contentious and violent period in history exemplifies how value for human rights and willingness to engage in dialogue transcends organized religion.
At the core of this dialogue reverberated a common theme: the manners in which values and ethics, including love, mercy, and community, form the foundation of grander acts of solidarity.
Fr Jaroslaw Kupczak framed solidarity as an ethical phenomenon or experience. Fr Kupczak’s perception of solidarity as an experience based on ethics enables interfaith solidarity despite the exclusivity of organized religions due to the ability for ethics to transcend religious and cultural organizations. Dr. Ghanea stressed the importance of defending and embracing spiritual values, which I interpret as the ethical values representing human decency that transcend specific organized faiths. Spiritual values bring meaning and life to a diverse array of individuals, and are imperative to fostering faith-based and spiritual solidarity.
Additionally, Dr. Ghanea argued that religious pluralism is an expression of the personal and historical human search for meaning. Even the decision to not search for meaning, or deny any meaning, is an important act of human agency within one’s personal journey. Thus, upholding the right for religious freedom and plurality is ultimately about protecting the “deepest human needs,” as articulated by Dr. Karlowicz, and the right to a fulfilling and meaningful life.
Humanity, Greenberg explained, is the common denominator that brings different faiths together. Human vulnerability and appreciation for the preciousness of human life are found within each of us regardless of religious associations, traditions, and identities.
And what is at the root of solidarity, empathy, mercy, appreciation for human life if not love? In theology, the Lord’s mercy represents solidarity with those who are weak, yearning, in need, and human. Dr. Karlowicz brings up love, “a strange word in politics this day,” claiming that solidarity is not a new or better form of social policy but rather about love. In Dr. Ghanea’s legal perspective, she compares human rights law to a vehicle and spiritual values as the fuel. Solidarity is not derived from policy, but rather human rights-based policy and law are outcomes of an energetic commitment towards love and humanity.
Lastly, dialectic communication and peace-based rhetoric construct the framework from which solidarity can be conceived between divided communities. St. Francis of Assisi and the sultan of Egypt Al-Kamil’s diplomatic gestures and solidarity towards one another and humanity were born from committed dialogue.
Fr Kupczak recounted the pilgrimage of Pope John Paul II to Poland during a communist reign suppressive of solidarity. While in Poland, Fr Kupczak described the “new language of peace” spoken by Pope John Paul II. The transformative power of dialogue and rhetoric rooted in peace led to a new sense of tolerance that created the groundwork for solidarity.
Human Rights law is another vehicle of dialogue, or what Dr. Ghanea referred to a language of support towards one another. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) put forth by the United Nations, and the Articles contained within, communicate a set of principles and expectations towards humanity that protect social and global international order.
Love, compassion, and mercy are often missing in discourse on politics and law. However, it is these transcendent values that can successfully build strong bridges between faiths and cultures divided by language, space, and history. Our humanity and vulnerability hold more power to mend divisions and create powerful movements for human rights than we may often give them credit for.
Natasha Oviedo, CDPB Intern 2020-2021 is a current Rotary Scholar and postgraduate student in the Conflict Transformation and Social Justice MA program at Queen’s University Belfast. Natasha traveled to Belfast from Sierra Madre, California, a small foothill village in Los Angeles County with plenty of wildlife and a close-knit community. As a History major and Environmental Systems and Society minor at the University of California, Los Angeles, Natasha gained an appreciation for interdisciplinary research that she will apply towards research on migration, grassroots diplomacy, and multicultural democracies while in Belfast. Natasha previously interned at Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE), the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and Red Hen Press. She also volunteers at Horn of Africa People’s Aid NI (HAPANI).
For more information about Re-thinking Solidarity please visit: https://democracyandpeace.org/solidarity/
Leadership Academy: Ethnic Minority Leaders
A unique opportunity for 15 leaders from the ethnic minority backgrounds in Northern Ireland to broaden their skills, knowledge and expertise to help to address variety of challenges, including racial equality, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the UK exit from the EU. The 4-week online executive style programme will be delivered by a wide range of experts from politics, business, and academia.
Developed by the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building and Washington Ireland Program and supported by the Irish American Partnership.
| 11 November 2020 (6pm – 8pm) | Intro + Leadership in Extraordinary Times |
| 18 November 2020 (6pm – 8pm) | Policy, Governance and Ethics |
| 25 November 2020 (6pm – 8pm) | Political Communication and Lobbying |
| 2 December 2020 (6pm – 8pm) | Making It Happen. Strategy in Action |
Apply at: https://tinyurl.com/y4zeqwwa
Application deadline: 30 October 2020 (5pm GMT)
Solidarity 40
To mark 40th anniversary of foundation of the Polish Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarnosc” in September 1980 we are launching Solidarity 40 – a series of lectures, seminars and publications.
Solidarity 40 will bring together academics, historians, philosophers, theologians, social activists, policy makers and legislators to explore the concept of solidarity in four thematic areas: history, international relations, theology and philosophy, and politics and society.
The first Solidarity 40 webinar will take place on Wednesday, 26 August from 3pm to 4.30pm and will include contributions from:
• Lord Alderdice (Chair)
• Professor Norman Davies FBA
• Professor Kalypso Nicolaidis, University of Oxford
• Professor Marek Cichocki, Political Theology
• Dr Donna Hicks, Harvard University
During the webinar we will reflect on the idea of solidarity in the historical, political, philosophical and social contexts.
This project is coordinated by the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building in partnership with St. Benet’s Institute, St. Benet’s Hall, University of Oxford, and a philosophical yearbook Political Theology in Warsaw and supported by the Polish Cultural Institute in London.
Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KiK0Pm3tRmmivKKwOqFPEQ
TEDxStormont Virtual Summer Camp
Since 2013, TEDxStormont hosted events on the theme of “Imagine” – we were looking forward and imagining the kind of future we could have together as a society in Northern Ireland and beyond. This year the Imagine theme could not be more relevant.
The future has never felt so uncertain. There are deadly perils to be dealt with, starting with a global pandemic. Yet we also now have an opportunity to rebuild our world in a better, fairer, more beautiful way. We believe passionately that the global TED community has a key role to play here. We are all believers in human creativity and our collective ability to imagine our way out of this mess. More than ever, we need to connect with each other and figure out how to build back better.
In a run up to TEDxStormontLive on 1 August 2020, build around the talks from the first-ever virtual TED Conference, TED2020: Uncharted we will host TEDxStormont Virtual Summer Camp to bring our community closer together.
TEDxStormont Virtual Summer Camp will run from Monday, 27 July to Saturday, 1 August 2020 and will include daily Thought for the Day, Coffee Club, Main Stage TEDxStormont Talks, Creativity Hub, Peace Village, Playground and Fireside Chats.
For regular updates follow us on Twitter @TEDxStormont and visit our website www.tedxstormont.com. For further information and partnership opportunities please contact Kaja Choma at kaja@tedxstormont.com.
*TEDxStormont is organised by the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building (CDPB) and curated by CDPB CEO Eva Grosman.
Summer of Solidarity
The Centre for Democracy and Peace Building is delighted to partner with and support “Summer of Solidarity”.
This summer in Europe will be like no other. Across our contrasted continent, within our societies and also as individuals, we are experiencing something new and hard to define – a mixture of shock, trauma, uncertainty, and also of hopes, struggles, a quest for constructive paths forwards. We find ourselves in the midst of a confusing, transformative and certainly unique moment in time.
With the pandemic came pain, fear, restrictions, and fragmentation of our space. Countries were self-isolating, they turned inwards. Now, with a phased reopening of borders, new realities are dawning on us. Our continent is confronted with an economic crisis whose scale and consequences are likely to dwarf previous ones we’ve experienced. Meanwhile, struggles and debates criss-cross the region. A fight for fairness, justice and rights seems reawakened, as people claim what’s fundamental to them and also try to make sense of what their lives have become.
The virus has made evident the fragility of our societies and of our European solidarity at a state level. It has also made evident our connectedness, within our societies and across the continent, which now faces a huge test, economically, socially, politically – not least the Union within it.
Everybody seems to be waiting, gathering strength for what is to come. This summer feels like a gap, but with shifts and changes all around us. Time is suspended, and yet time is speeding up. Summer is a season where everything, much of it beautiful, can be possible. This year, one positive, beautiful thing we want to do is the simple gesture of paying more attention to each other.
We won’t be travelling much, but we c a n reach across the wide, diverse, human space of our continent in new ways. We can share and listen to each other’s stories, life experiences, memories, hopes. This is the time to explore what can bring us together and also what can drive us apart – within and across societies, cultures, countries.
Europe carries many stories within itself. Some of them are meant to pit people against one another. Some of them are cynical, fatalistic or threatening to fundamental principles of peace and tolerance. Our vision is very different – it is about believing in common values and a shared future, it is about protecting human dignity and celebrating diversity. What we want to do this summer is build a large collaborative network that connects people through vivid storytelling, that sheds light on people, places and issues in ways that help see beyond silos or thought bubbles. We’ll be keen to give a voice to people not always heard, to turn to young people, and to explore off the beaten track of news coverage. Together we’ll be sharing human stories from all across our continent: let’s try to rediscover ourselves, despite all the difficulties.
Again, we believe solidarity starts with being open and curious about one another. That’s why, as a loose collaborative network of citizens, journalists, media start-ups, civil society organizations and cultural groups from across wider Europe, we are launching the 2020 European “Summer of Solidarity” initiative.
“Summer of Solidarity” is an attempt to document a once-in-a-lifetime season and try to think about the future too. We want to create a space where we can meet, discover and debate, at a time when Europeans can’t travel and interact as before. We want to bring together a mosaic of human experiences – reaching across all sorts of boundaries, close to the ground, offering a deeper, more inclusive look at our continent.
We want to embrace Europe as a continent – a human space that is not limited to EU member countries.
“Summer of Solidarity” kicks off on 20 June and lasts until 20 August.
This is a grassroots, spontaneous initiative built in just a few weeks by a group of enthusiasts and concerned citizens from across Europe from the world of journalism, culture, citizens networks, civil society. Summer of Solidarity is independent and has no affiliation with a political party or movement, nor is it part of any institution. The initiative is supported by philanthropic grants and donations. Summer of Solidarity is an attempt to take part in the emergence of a European public space, at a time when showing empathy and listening to one another feels like the right thing to do – and to enjoy.
To learn more and to contribute please visit: https://www.summerofsolidarity.eu/want-to-contribute