hCa: Summer School for inter-Cultural Dialogue and Understanding
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From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 18:50:04 +0200 (EET)
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Subject: hCa: Summer School for inter-Cultural Dialogue and Understanding
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Tomas Krasauskas <[email protected]>
hCa: Summer School for inter-Cultural Dialogue and
Understanding
We are pleased to inform you, that the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly is
holding Summer School for inter-Cultural Dialogue and Understanding
(SIDU) in Baku, Azerbaijan September 27 - October 8, 2000.
If you are interested in this event, please check the attachment with
the Baku SIDU application package, and please send us your application
form.
Best wishes,
Helsinki Citizens' Assembly
--------------
Summer School for inter-Cultural Dialogue and Understanding (SIDU)
Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (hCa)
Baku, Azerbaijan
September 27 - October 8, 2000
APPLICATION PACKAGE
Dear Applicant,
Thank you for your interest in the SIDU, which will be organised by
the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly in Baku, September 27 - October 8,
2000. This SIDU is an exciting opportunity to get acquainted with the
Caucasian politics and societies, and to establish contacts with
people, NGOs and youth groups in the region. We hope that you will
find some time to read the application package and submit us your
application form.
The application package contains general information on the SIDU (Part
I) , and the application form (Part II). Please fill in the answers,
and e-mail us the application form (you can copy the application form
to the body of the message, no need for attachment!),
[email protected]
If you prefer to send it by fax, send it to +420 2 20397251 (hCa
International Secretariat), or +994 72 938071 (hCa Azerbaijan).
Baku SIDU.
Applications should be submitted to the hCa International Secretariat
by August 25, 2000.
I. SIDU in Baku: general information
SIDU means Summer School for Inter-(national, -cultural,
-confessional) Dialogue and Understanding, an annual hCa event
organised to bring young people together in an informal learning
environment where they can express their ideas about politics,
identity, culture, conflict, and peace. In this setting and through
this expression, they also learn a great deal about each other. The
SIDUs are one of two pillars of the hCa International Youth Network
(the second pillar is a quarterly youth magazine, The Collage). The
hCa SIDUs aim to bridge some of the misunderstandings and isolation of
the region by providing youth with the opportunity to come together
and begin discussing alternatives to violence, prejudice, and
separation. Time and experience has shown that solutions are slow to
come from purely formal governmental structures, and that alternative
solutions from civil society must be encouraged and given room to
develop. In order for these alternative spaces to become real, young
people in post-communist societies must become acquainted with
concepts such as pluralism, self-determination, the rule of law, human
rights, and international legal norms. In addition, youth must realise
that they must actively participate as equal citizens in order for
democracy to develop and change to take root. SIDU is an opportunity
to encourage youth to learn from one another and share their
experiences and their visions of progress. In our age of mass
communications, multiculturalism, economic integration, and
globalisation, it is ironic that some parts of the world are
characterised by separation, ethnic nationalism, and information
blockades.
The Transcaucasus lies at the crossroads between Europe and Asia. The
region is well known for its extraordinary religious, ethnic and
linguistic diversity, as well as for its geopolitically strategic
location and abundant natural resources. Not unlike other Post
Communist societies, the region has experienced a tumultuous
transition period preceding and following the dissolution of the
USSR. The reassertion of ethnic and national identities combined with
the interest of outside forces in the region and the nascent quasi
democratic structures have resulted in conflicts including Nagorno
Karabakh, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Prigorodnyi (North Ossetia),
Chechnya, Ingushetia, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria and
Dagestan. Although most of these conflicts are today 'frozen' rather
than hot (with the exception of Dagestan and Chechnya where intense
fighting still continues), the solutions to the problems have yet to
be found. The results are divided societies, victims still waiting to
return to their homes (refugees and IDPs as well as formerly displaced
peoples), minorities increasingly becoming disenfranchised from the
majority population, socio-economic tensions that irritate cleavages
in society, and a growing interpretation of the conflicts by the
outside as religious wars pitting Christianity against Islam.
Why SIDU in Azerbaijan? The idea to organise this year's SIDU in
Azerbaijan was initiated by the youth commission of the Azerbaijan
National Committee of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly and supported by
members of the Transcaucasian Youth Network (TYN). The reason for
organising this particular SIDU in Azerbaijan at this particular time
is both justified by its symbolic significance as well as its
practical implications for the further development of collaboration of
youth in the region between each other and between youth from other
European countries. Due to barriers of distance, education, language
and culture, youth from the Caucasus seldom participate in 'European'
debates and youth structures This problem of isolation is exacerbated
by a lack of outside awareness of the situation in the Transcaucasus,
a region that is a part of the OSCE and is being integrated into the
Council of Europe as well (Georgia and Russia are members, Azerbaijan
and Armenia have observing status).
The title 'Living Bridge' and the theme of building bridges in divided
societies was inspired by the efforts of the TYN to initiate cross
border projects focused on vulnerable populations and to establish
communication across conflict lines in the Transcaucasus. The youth
in this region have also realised the significance and value of this
topic to the situation of youth in other European regions, including,
but not exclusively, youth from Northern Ireland, Cyprus,
Bosnia-Hercegovina, Moldova, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, etc. By bringing youth from outside
the region to the Caucasus it is hoped that new perspectives and new
ideas on how to overcome divisions in society can be elaborated for
the Caucasian region, as well as for other regions in Europe.
With this SIDU, the hCa intends to solidify participation of
Transcaucasian youth in the Youth Network, as well as to bring
attention of the rest of the Youth Network to the region. This meeting
is essential to the growth and further development of the regional
Transcaucasian branch of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly's Youth
Network. A Transcaucasian Youth Network (TYN) was developed after a
smaller scale SIDU in Telavi, Georgia in 1996. Regional co-ordinators
were elected and projects and cross-borders meetings have been
organised. In addition, local projects by members of the TYN have
been impressive: anti-land mine campaigns (Georgia), roundtable
discussions on events in Dagestan (Azerbaijan), local capacity
training seminars (Armenia), etc. A special issue of The Collage was
also printed in Russian and in English by a co-operative effort of the
TYN. Nevertheless, further co-operation is desired and there is a
will to strengthen and expand the current network and its framework.
Many basic problems of isolation, communication, and lack of resources
have created obstacles to cross border co-operation.
The youth involved in the TYN expressed the desire to have a ten day
SIDU school in Baku, Azerbaijan in order to assemble people from the
region who are willing to work together to build a sustainable
network. In order for this to happen, support and training is
needed. This is exactly the intention of this year's SIDU. The
international hCa Youth Network found it essential that all possible
support be given to this regional initiative and that members of the
international youth network, as well as active youth from other
European countries, be present in order to learn more about the
region and to stand in solidarity with regional youth. Members of the
hCa Youth Network have valuable experience to offer to the fledgling
TYN. Youth from places such as Cyprus, N. Ireland, Turkey, Bosnia,
Macedonia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina can relate to some of the
circumstances in which youth in the region find themselves, and
vice-versa, youth from these other European regions can learn valuable
lessons from young people in the Caucasus. The Georgian SIDU in 1996
was a large success because of this unique mixture of youth from
conflict regions which gave credibility as well as new perspectives to
regional conflicts.
The SIDU Programme is designed to stimulate young people to think
critically and constructively about the challenges facing their own
communities, to encourage youth to become responsible citizens who
lobby for change, and to instigate a debate on democracy and the
importance of civil society and the role of young people in this
development. SIDU will present the diversity and multiculturalism of
Europe, and the Transcaucasus, as an asset rather than a liability,
building confidence between youth across dividing lines and creating
alternative spaces for future co-operation. The participants will walk
away from SIDU with a new perspective on their own society which will
allow them to draw parallels with youth coming from similar
situations.
The SIDU model is unique because of its emphasis on 'bottom up'
learning. Lectures are provided by Professors and experts working
directly with the themes at hand, but their goal is only to lay the
foundations for debate and stimulate critical thinking. The role of
the lectures and the facilitators at the SIDU is to mediate
discussions, ask difficult questions, and encourage new ideas from the
students. The main teachers in the model are the students
themselves. Because of the diversity of backgrounds of the students
represented, SIDU provides a special opportunity for young people to
learn from each other and to gain new insights and perspectives both
on their own societies and on the situations in other regions in
Europe. The model is as follows:
Lectures: Background lectures related to the central theme are given
by invited Professors and experts, after which the lecturers runs a
question and answer session.
Workshops: Practical skills training or concentration on a certain
theme, run by professional experts, to give students practical
hands-on learning experience.
Roundtables & Panels: Formal, moderated discussions among the students
where they can present and discuss the political situations in their
countries.
Tutorials: Each student are placed in a tutorial group of
approximately 9 other students. The group is lead by student peers
(usually SIDU alumni) with the aim of encouraging discussion and
debate.
Field Trips: Every year field trips are organised in order for
students to learn more about the country they are visiting. Examples
in the past include visits to museums, a visit to a concentration camp
(SIDU 1998, Prague) and a visit to a Roma community (SIDU 1999,
Romania). This year, students will be taken on a historical excursion
of Baku, visit refugee settlements (An estimated 10 -15% of the
population are refugees or internally displaced persons, making
refugee issues an essential point of focus for the school), and the
"Peace Corridor", near the border with Armenia.
Cultural Events: A SIDU would not be complete without local dancing
and a taste of local food. Azerbaijan is a multiethnic state with
many different ethnic minorities (Jews, Kurds, Lezgins, Talysh,
Meskhetians, Armenians, Roma, Balkars, etc.). We hope to show the
students this side of Azerbaijan as well.
Programme day-by-day
DAY 1*
9:30 - 10:00 Introduction
10:00 - 12:00 Lecture: The Role of Civil Society in Bridging
Divided Societies
12: 00 - 13:30 Lunch
14:00 - 16:00 Workshops
16:00 - 18:00 Free Time
18:00 - 19:00 Tutorials
19:00 - 20:00 Welcome Dinner
21:00 Welcome Party
DAY 2*
10:00 - 12:00 Choice of briefing lectures
a.) Transcaucasus
b.) Balkans
c.) Cyprus
d.) N. Ireland
12: 00 - 13:30 Lunch
13:30 - 16:00 Free Time (excursion in Baku)
16:00 - 18:00 Workshops
18:00 - 19:00 Tutorials
19:00 - 20:30 Dinner
20:30 - 22:00 Panel Discussion on 'Building Bridges in Divided
Societies'. (Panel will include speakers from Azerbaijan, Georgia,
Armenia, Chechnya, BiH, Northern Ireland)
DAY 3*
10:00 - 12:00 Choice of Lectures
A. Self Determination and State Succession
B. Geopolitics of the Transcaucasus
12: 00 - 13:30 Lunch
14:00 - 16:00 Workshops
16:00 - 18:00 Free Time
16:00 - 19:00 Tutorials
19:00 - 20:30 Dinner
8:30 - 22:00 Student-lead round table Cross Conflict Comparison
Balkans and the Transcaucasus
DAY 4
10:00 - 12:00 Finding a place for Minorities in Society
13:00 - 14:00 Lunch
14:00 - 16:30 Free Time
16:30 - 18:00 Women Waging Peace
18:00 - 19:00 Tutorials
19:00 - 20:30 Dinner
21:00 Cultural Evening
DAY 5
10:00 - 12:00 Lecture The Victims of the Conflicts (focus on
refugees, IDPs and minorities, and formerly deported peoples)
12: 00 - 13:30 Lunch
14:00 - 16:00 Workshops
16:00 - 18:00 Free Time
18:00 - 19:00 Tutorials
19:00 - 20:30 Dinner
20:30 - 22:00 Panel discussion: Reintegration of the Victims
(Speakers
from organisations representing Refugees/IDPs, Children, Meskhetian
Turks (formerly deported peoples).
DAY 6
Students will be divided into small groups and will travel to
different refugee camps in Azerbaijan. The trip is not mandatory and
students should decide for themselves if they would like to
participate. Detailed information will be provided on each camp
and/or settlement the prior to the visits. An informal discussion
will be organised in the evening for those wanting to discuss their
experience.
DAY 7
13:00 - 14:00 Lunch
14:00 - 16:00 Roundtable Democracy in Azerbaijan
16:30 - 17:30 Frozen Conflicts in the Transcaucasus Building
D�tente
from Above and Below
17:30 - 19:00 Briefing Session Nagorno Karabakh
19:00 Dinner
DAY 8
9:00 - 10:30 Briefing Session The South Ossetian and Abkhazian
Conflicts
11:00 - 13:00 Briefing Session Conflicts in the North Caucasus
13:00 -14:00 Lunch
14:00 - 16:00 Round Table 'Overcoming Fundamentalist Divisions'
19:00 - 20:00 Dinner
20:00 - 21:00 Tutorials
Cultural/Social Event
DAY 9 Excursion to ' Peace Corridor' region
Closing statements & reflections
DAY 10: Departures
*Note: During the first three days of the SIDU, hCa General Assembly
in Baku will take place (the Assembly will be attended by 550-600
participants from the region and abroad). Therefore, the SIDU
participants will also have an opportunity to attend workshops and
lectures organised in the framework of the hCa General Assembly.
Recruitment of participants will be targeted at young NGO workers and
university students between the ages of 18-26. The hCa seeks students
with a certain level of maturity who have exhibited an interest in
working with issues pertaining to human rights, conflict resolution,
minority rights, etc. The hCa does however maintain a policy to give
opportunities to disadvantaged young people who are neither university
students nor NGOs workers but who feel that the subject of the SIDU is
related directly to their position. Prior international experience is
not a prerequisite, although English is required for this SIDU.
In addition, for this SIDU the hCa has purposefully chosen to recruit
students from countries that either have sharp divisions in their
societies, or countries that have demonstrated a unique example of
overcoming divisions. Special attention will be made to recruit a
balanced student group that is composed of youth from both sides of
conflict lines as well as different ethnic and/or linguistic groups.
(for example, from Georgia we will try to have students from Abkhazia
and S. Ossetia; from the Russian Federation we will be looking for
students from Dagestan, Chechnya, North Ossetia, and Ingushetia, as
well as Russia proper; from Cyprus one Greek Cypriot and one Turkish
Cypriot; from Belgian one student from Wallonie and one from Flanders,
etc.) Selections will be confirmed by the Co-ordinating team, composed
of representatives of the hCa youth network, hCa Azerbaijan and hCa
International Secretariat.
The hCa intends for the student selection process to be open and
transparent, attracting students from a large spectrum of fields and
activities, backgrounds and points of view.
The Co-ordinators will aim for a proper balance of nationalities as
follows, however of course these numbers will vary depending on who
applies to participate in SIDU: Albania (1), Armenia (10), Azerbaijan
(10), Ireland (1), Netherlands (1) Estonia (1), Austria (1),
Lithuania(1), Latvia (1), Sweden (1), Belgium (2), France (2)
Switzerland (1) , BiH (2), FRY(3), Bulgaria (1), Germany (1),The
former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia (2), Croatia (1), Georgia (10),
Greece (1), Russian Federation* (12), Cyprus (2), Turkey (4), Czech
Rep (1), Moldova (2), Ukraine (1) United Kingdom (2), Canada (1), USA
(1), Iran (2) (Total: 82 students).
* includes students from Russia proper and from the North Caucasus
region of the Russian Federation.
Tutors will be recruited directly from the youth structures of the
International hCa Youth Network, Transcaucasian Youth Network, and the
youth networks of members of our leadership team. Tutors are chosen
for their level of maturity, leadership skills, diplomacy, knowledge
of the topic, and activity within the hCa international youth network
structures or youth structures of organisations of the leadership
teams.
Lecturers will be academics and NGO professionals from across Europe
who are experienced either in the topical issues, working with youth,
or have participated at previous SIDUs. Lecturers will be invited both
from the region and from abroad. We are inviting both academics and
experts who have hands-on working experience in the field or who are
practitioners. They will be contacted and chosen based on their
professional relevance to the programme listed above. The Youth
Network Co-ordinator in Prague will be in charge of recruiting
lecturers from western and central Europe. The SIDU Co-ordinator in
Baku will be in charge of recruiting lecturers from Russia and NIS
countries.
Organisation and administration of SIDU is performed by the hCa
National Committee in Azerbaijan, and the hCa International
Secretariat in Prague.
II. Application Form
Applications should be submitted to the hCa International Secretariat
by
August 18th, 2000. We will inform you whether you have been accepted,
and what amount is available to cover your travel costs by September
1, 2000.
DEAR APPLICANT,
WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR APPLYING TO THE BAKU-SIDU. PLEASE
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW, SO THAT WE COULD LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR
ACTIVITIES, EXPERIENCE, AND INTERESTS. THIS INFORMATION WILL HELP US
TO SELECT THE BEST CANDIDATES, AS WELL AS TO ADAPT THE SIDU PROGRAMME
TO PARTICIPANTS' INTERESTS.
THE INFORMATION THAT YOU PROVIDE WILL BE USED TO SELECT CANDIDATES TO
THE BAKU-SIDU, AND WILL NOT BE DISCLOSED, EXCEPT CONTACT INFORMATION;
AFTER THE BAKU-SIDU, A LIST OF PARTICIPANTS AND THEIR CONTACT
INFORMATION WILL BE CIRCULATED.
IF YOU AGREE (PLEASE SEE QUESTION 16), YOUR INFORMATION WILL BE ALSO
KEPT IN THE hCa DATABASE, SO THAT WE COULD INFORM YOU ABOUT OTHER hCa
ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
1. FAMILY NAME:
2. FIRST NAME:
3. DATE OF BIRTH:
4. AGE:
5. GENDER:
6. COUNTRY(IES) OF CITIZENSHIP:
7. ARE YOU A FORMER SIDU STUDENT? YES/NO:
7.A. IF YES, WHICH SIDU DID YOU ATTEND? (PLACE AND YEAR)
8. ADDRESS (THE MOST CONVENIENT MAILING ADDRESS)
8.A. STREET, HOUSE (AND FLAT) NUMBER:
8.B. CITY
8.C. POSTAL CODE
8.D. COUNTRY
9. E-MAIL ADDRESS:
10. TEL. NUMBER:
11. FAX NUMBER:
12. PRESENT OCCUPATION AND ACTIVITIES
12.A. STUDENT: DESCRIBE YOUR FIELD OF STUDY:
12.B. EMPLOYED: DESCRIBE YOUR JOB:
12.C. OTHER: DESCRIBE:
13. ARE(WERE) YOU INVOLVED IN NGO ACTIVITIES? IF YES, EXPLAIN WHEN AND
HOW:
14. LANGUAGES:
(THE WORKING LANGUAGE WILL BE ENGLISH, THEREFORE, WE EXPECT APPLICANTS
TO HAVE THE BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF ENGLISH, AND TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE
IN CONVERSATIONS IN ENGLISH. INTERPRETATION INTO RUSSIAN WILL BE
PROVIDED ONLY DURING SOME SESSIONS).
15. DO YOU AGREE THAT WE STORE THE INFORMATION ABOVE (QUESTIONS 1-15)
IN THE hCa DATABASE, AND USE IT FOR INVITING AND SELECTING
PARTICIPANTS TO OTHER hCa EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES? YES/NO
16. REASON FOR APPLYING SIDU IN BAKU AND YOUR EXPECTATIONS FROM THIS
SIDU (PLEASE EXPLAING IN 4-5 SENTENCES):
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
VIZA, ACCOMMODATION, MEALS, AND LOCAL TRAVEL COSTS RELATED TO SIDU
ACTIVITIES WILL BE COVERED BY THE ORGANISERS FOR ALL THE PARTICIPANTS.
APPLICANTS FROM NIS COUNTRIES WILL HAVE THEIR TRAVEL COSTS REIMBURSED,
TOO.
STUDENTS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES, IF THEY CANNOT ARRANGE FUNDING FOR
THEIR TRAVEL COSTS (OR PART OF THEM) THEMSELVES, SHOULD APPLY TO THE
SIDU TRAVEL COSTS SUPPORT PROGRAMME.
WILL DO OUR BEST TO FIND FUNDING FOR ALL THE APPLICANTS TO THE TRAVEL
SUPPORT PROGRAMME, HOWEVER, WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT TRAVEL COSTS WILL
BE REIMBURSED FOR ALL THE APPLICANTS.
17. WHAT IS THE COST OF YOUR RETURN TRIP TO BAKU? PLEASE INDICATE THE
APPROXIMATE AMOUNT IN USD. DO NOT INCLUDE VISA COST.
18. WHAT AMOUNT OF YOUR TRAVEL COSTS TO BAKU AND BACK ARE YOU ABLE TO
COVER YOURSELF, OR FIND FUNDING YOURSELF? (DO NOT ANSWER IF YOU COME
FROM NIS COUNTRY)
19. FOR WHAT AMOUNT WOULD YOU LIKE TO APPLY TO THE TRAVEL SUPPORT
PROGRAMME? (DO NOT ANSWER IF YOU COME FROM NIS COUNTRY)
PLEASE NOTE, THAT PARTICIPANTS ARE EXPECTED TO ARRANGE HEALTH
INSURANCE THEMSELVES.
--
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