CONCEPT NOTE ESTABLISHING & SUSTAINING THE CULTURE OF COEXISTENCE AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING. This forum will be jointly organized

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1 CONCEPTNOTE ESTABLISHING&SUSTAININGTHECULTURE OFCOEXISTENCEANDMUTUALUNDERSTANDING Thisforumwillbejointlyorganized by DEPARTMENTOFPOLITICALAFFAIRS AFRICANUNIONCOMMISSION MINISTRYOFFEDERALAFFAIRSOFFDRE INTERRELIGIOUSCOUNCILOFETHIOPIA NEJASHIETHIOTURKISHINTERNATIONALSCHOOLS AddisAbaba May28,2012 0

2 A. BACKGROUND There are many ongoing conflicts across the globe and some of which have been continuingsincetheendoftheworldwarii.oneiscausedbyanoccupation,whereas another is driven by a deliberately constructed hatred of the other on the basis of religion, belief or ethnicity. While, in one of them, the people are fighting for their fundamentalrights,freedomanddignity,inanotherafewareperpetuatingtheconflicts just to be able to cling onto their privileges and powers. In fact, the conflicts are no longer confined to the battlefields. The racism, xenophobia, bigotry, and hatred have transformedanindividual sheartandmindintothepotentialbattlefieldsaswell. Alittlemorethanadecadeintothe21 st century,thehumanityhasalreadyachievedan unprecedented level of advancement and wealth which could not have even been imaginedonlytwodecadesago.thedigitalmediahasgiventheindividualanabilityto communicatetheideasandimageswiththemillionsaroundtheworldthroughacouple of finger movements. The barriers between the individual and the information have almostbecomenonexistent.thetransportationrevolutionhasmadethedistancean antiquated concept. Every aspect of our life has been changing constantly, exponentially, and ever more rapidly as the time passes but causes of the presence, pervasiveness,anddestructivenessoftheconflicts.unfortunately,thismassivechange has brought to the fingertips of an individual not only the world of knowledge and wealthbutalsoapotentialnucleardoomsday. No matter what the nature or the scale of the conflict is, at the core of it lies the individual.itistheindividualthatdecideschoosinghatredandlove;itistheindividual thatpreventsthemillionsofothersfromenjoyingtheirbirthrightfreedoms,anditwill beanindividualthatwillmakethedecisiontoeithercauseorpreventanucleardisaster thatcanperishthenations.therefore,giventhattheindividualliesatthecoreofevery conflict,isitpossibletoeliminatetheongoingconflictsandpreventthepotentialones byeducatingtheindividuals?giventhattheterrorists,criminals,andtroublemakersof todaywerethechildrenofsometwentyyearsago,couldtheeducationofthechildren andyouthbeaneffectivetooltopreventconflictsandbuildsustainablepeace? Time has shrunk, and distances are closing up. In a world of online connections and faster transportation, political borders are much less separating than before. Homogeneitywillalwaysbethere,buteachpassingdaywearereservingmoreroomfor differencesaswerealizewecannotescapefromthem.opportunitiesofcivility,mutual understanding,experiencesofsamplingdifferenttastes,andpositiveengagementare burgeoning rapidly. Nevertheless, engagement does not always take place peacefully. Many sad incidents of the recent past have showed that violence continues to accompanyusalongourjourneytothefuture.wehaveseeninthisjourneythatwhena 1

3 calamity or violence strikes everyone is affected in one way or another, directly or indirectlyandthereisnoabsoluteimmunityagainstitstragicresults.fromthepoorest regionstothemostdevelopedonesinourworld,allnationshavegrowneconomically, politically,andsociallymuchmoreinterdependent,andthisbringsusanawarenessof theneedforestablishing/sustainingthecultureofcoexistence. B. THEME The theme of the 1 st of Dialogue, Love and Mutual Understanding forums is ESTABLISHING & SUSTAINING THE CULTURE OF COEXISTENCE AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING. C. OBJECTIVES Togenerateaforumfordiscussionsconcerningthemodernhumanconditioninwhich we face many questions and challenges as to how we can coexist in peace, mutual understanding. Totransformourencounterswithoneanotherintoenrichingexperiences,ratherthan ashatefulgatherings. Toinculcatethespiritofunderstandingofthe other andthecultureofempathy Tomake dialogue bringsatisfactionratherthanaformalitytobear To seek ways for the education of the youths/young generations and make them understandtheimportanceofsomeessentialkeywordssuchasdialogue,love,mutual understandingandrespect. Toteachourgenerationshowtorespondtotheriseofglobaldynamicsvisàvislocal identitiesandculturalrichness. Toexplorehowthemedia,educationandculturalactivitiescouldplayaroleinbuilding the culture of coexistence, mutual understating, dialogue, mutual respect, hope and loveasdemonstratedelsewhereinresponsetothetransformingideasofm.fethullah Gulen. To seek how cultural richness andcoexistence experience of Ethiopia (asa symbol of coexistence experience and mutual understanding throughout the history) can be sharedandbroughtintodaylightinotherpartsoftheworld. To explore methods that can be implemented to achieve tangible results out of theoreticaldiscussionsandgoodwishesutteredsothata cultureofcoexistenceand mutualunderstating canbeestablishedorsustainedinafricaandthewholeworld. D. EXPECTEDOUTCOMES Dialogue and mutual understanding should be an integral part of community processes,especiallyinmulticulturalandmultireligioussocieties. Education, widely conceived, is a determining factor in establishing and sustainingtheunderstandingandcooperationforpeacefulcoexistence.onthe 2

4 contrary,ignoranceisthebreedingplaceformutualsuspicion,stereotyping,and conflict.andtherefore,greateraccesstoopportunitiesforallsegmentsofthe societyshouldbeencouraged. Religious precepts are not sources of conflict within communities, rather in contextual interpretations of religious precepts, misunderstanding of religious doctrines,and/ormanipulationsofreligiousprinciplesaresourcesofconflictand violence.therefore,religiousandopinionleadersshouldendeavortoliveabove board. Religiousthinkingandpositivesciencesaretwoaspectsofthesametruth.Itis essentialtoreachaharmoniousunderstandingofthetwo.aneducationbased on this principle of harmony of religion and science does not adopt proselytization as a paradigm of teaching. Hence, popularization of science is importantfactorindoingawaywithignorance,superstition,andobscurantism. The role of the media in mutual understating, dialogue and mutual understandingisverycriticalforitshapesthepublicopinion,themediashould thereforeendeavortoreportwithasenseofsocialresponsibility,decency,and mutualrespect. Thesekindsofconferencesstimulatinglove,mutualunderstandinganddialogue betweenculturesshouldbeorganizedinalllevelsofthesociety. E. PARTICIPANTS ParticipantswillincludetherepresentativesoftheFDREMinistryofFederalAffairs,the regional governments in Ethiopia, practiced religions in Ethiopia, African Union Commission, all the Embassies in Addis Ababa, Interreligious Council of Ethiopia, Nejashi EthioTurkish International Schools, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopian and Turkishbusinessmen,someinternationalacademiciansandotherdistinguishedguests invitedbytheorganizersoftheforum. F. ORGANISATIONALMATTERS Nejashi EthioTurkish International Schools will be responsible for logistics, while preparationsoftheagenda,programanddocumentswillbedoneinconsultationwith partners. G. DURATION&VENUE A2hourforumistobeorganizedbytheFederalMinistryofFederalAffairs,African Union Commission, Interreligious Council of Ethiopia and Nejashi EthioTurkish InternationalSchoolsbetween14:00and16:00onMonday,May28,2012intheNew ConferenceHall,AfricanUnionCommission,AddisAbaba,Ethiopia. 3

5 H. LANGUAGE ThelanguageoftheworkshopshallbeEnglish. I. FURTHERINFORMATION Contactforanyfurtherinformationontheforum; 1. Mr. Salah Siddig Hammad, Human Rights Expert, Department of Political Affairs, AfricanUnionComission 2. Mr.ErolDede,E&DCoordinator,NejashiEthioTurkishInternationalSchools 4