Background:
The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) seeks to reduce tensions across cultural divides that threaten to inflame existing political conflicts or trigger new ones. Through preventive diplomacy initiatives, it works at the grassroots level, promoting education, youth, media and migration projects aimed at building trust and respect among diverse communities. The Alliance was established in 2005, at the initiative of the Governments of Spain and Turkey, under the auspices of the United Nations. In April 2007, the United Nations Secretary-General appointed Jorge Sampaio, former President of Portugal, as High Representative for the Alliance. The Alliance is supported by a Group of Friends – a community of over 120 member countries and international organizations and bodies.

Duties and Responsibilities:
The UNAOC Youth Program seeks to raise awareness about the important role that young people play in fostering cross-cultural understanding. More precisely, the UNAOC Youth Program aims to a) contribute to further enhance the capacity of youth to effectively implement initiatives advancing cross-cultural understanding, b) develop mechanisms and networks to facilitate partnership building, and c) ensure that decision-makers recognize young people’s contribution in building understanding between people of various cultural and religious backgrounds. Several initiatives under the UNAOC Youth Program support these objectives, including the Summer Schools and the Youth Website.

The UNAOC is looking for an intern who will, under the supervision of the Director and the Projects and Liaison Officer, have the following responsibilities:

Youth Website and other web work, June-September 2012 (25%)
• On a periodic basis, upload new information (text, photos, video) on Youth Website using Word Press;
• Respond to questions sent through Youth Website and monitor comments posted by youth;
• Support a group of youth organizing an on-line campaign against the use of xenophobic rhetoric in political discourse (e.g. set up most web aspects, monitor use of website, etc.);
• Support the UNAOC in engaging youth for an on-line dialogue regarding development and diversity (e.g. support organization of on-line web aspects, monitor discussions, etc.)

Summer School(s), June-August 2012 (50%):
• Disseminate the calls for applications to all youth organizations member of the UNAOC Youth network; post information on Youth Website and UNAOC Website;
• Respond to questions from all applicants and update the FAQ on the Youth Website, if needed;
• Develop and update an excel table of applications received;
• Review all applications for eligibility and set aside eligible applications; support the selection of participants to the Summer School;
• Alert all applicants about the results of the selection process; and
• Together with Administrative Associate, ensure logistical coordination (venue, flights, visas, accommodation, meals, etc.) for all selected participants to each Summer School.

Other responsibilities:
• Support the Director and the Projects and Liaison Officer for any other youth-related initiative.

Skills and Qualifications:
· Currently enrolled in an advanced university degree program (i.e. Master’s Degree or equivalent).
· Applicants must have an excellent knowledge of English with advanced written and verbal skills. Knowledge of other languages is an advantage.
· Excellent organizational and communication skills; attention to detail; and determination to meet deadlines.
· Computer literacy with strong knowledge of Online Content Management Systems (such as WordPress).
· Previous experience with social media and strong event organization skills is highly desirable.

Submission of Applications:
Qualified candidates may submit their application including: a letter of interest; complete Curriculum Vitae; and an updated United Nations Personal History Form P11 http://www.unops.org/english/whoweneed/Pages/Employmentoverview.aspx via e-mail to diloron@unops.org. Kindly indicate the vacancy title “Youth Program Intern” in the subject line when applying by email.

The first lines of the email application must state the following in this exact format:
First Name:
Last Name:
Nationality:
Gender: (male / female)
Years of relevant experience:
Degrees / Industry Certifications: (abbreviation and name of school/college/university)
Current / Last position title:

UNAOC reserves the right to reject any application without the above format in the submission email. Covering letter should follow in the body of the email submission.

Additional Considerations:
· Applying early is an advantage as qualified candidates will be reviewed immediately.
· The successful incumbent will be offered an internship agreement or a volunteer agreement.
· Interns and volunteers at UNAOC do not receive any remuneration. As such, interns are responsible for all cost associated with the internship, including but not limited to, cost of health insurance coverage, travel and accommodation in New York, USA.
· Interns and volunteers are responsible for arranging their own travel to New York, USA.
UNOPS office will secure necessary arrangements for visa to the United States.

Deadline: 15 June, 2012

Within the framework of its strategy for building comparative knowledge on Africa produced from within the African continent, the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) invites proposals from researchers based in African universities and centres of research for the constitution of Comparative Research Networks (CRNs) to undertake studies on or around any of the themes identified as priority research themes within the framework of the Council’s strategic plan for the period 2012 – 2016. The primary purpose of CRNs is to encourage the development and consolidation of a comparative analytic perspective in the work of African social researchers. In so doing, it is hoped to establish a strong corpus of comparative studies produced by African scholars that could help to advance theoretical knowledge and discussion. Priority research themes for the constitution of CRNs for 2012 include the following:

1. Re-thinking (African) Development;
2. Re-thinking Democracy (in Africa);
3. Engendering Democracy and Development;
4. Transitions in African Higher Education;
5. Reforming the African Public Sector: Retrospect and Prospect;
6. The Changing Political Economy of African Natural Resources;
7. African Encounters with the Global System;
8. The Popular Arts, Identity and Culture in Contemporary Africa;
9. Health, Politics and Society in Contemporary Africa;
10. Migration Dynamics and the Making of New Diaspora Communities;
11. Changing Rural-Urban Linkages;
12. African Integration and New Regionalist Impulses in Africa;
13. New Institutions of Transitional Justice;
14. Conflict and Reconstruction in Africa;
15. Law, Politics and Society;
16. State, Political Identity and Political Violence;
17. Political Pluralism and the Management of Diversity;
18. Water and Water Resources in the Political Economy of Development;
19. Ecology, Climate and Environmental Sustainability in Africa;
20. Transport and Transportation Systems in Africa;
21. Africa and the “Emerging” Powers of the Global South (China, India, Brazil…)
22. Religion, Spirituality and Power in Africa
23. Democracy and Governance in Africa
24. Media and New technology of information and communication in Africa
25. Agrarian transformation
26. Crises of Education
27. Roles and dynamics of critical actors
28. Critical Thought, epistemologies of knowledge production, theories and methodologies

Interested researchers are requested to highlight clearly the comparative question which they wish to address. Each proposal should include: an introduction – problem statement – review of related literature – objectives of the study – research methodology – expected results and outcomes. The proposed budget and time frame should be outlined keeping in mind an eighteen months duration effective the date of launch of the network. Furthermore the proposal should indicate the list and composition of network members, including the name(s) of the coordinator(s) of the group; the bio-data and institutional affiliation of the network members; copies of the curriculum vitaes (CVs) of the coordinator(s) and members of the network; and the budget breakdown for the proposed activities.

The identification sheet attached to this call should be filled in and sent along with the proposal and other required elements. An application that does not contain the required elements will not be considered. The proposal per se should not exceed 12 pages (font: Times New Roman, size of fonts: 12, line spacing: single).

Authors of proposals are advised to pay closer attention to comparative aspects while designing methodology and framing research questions. The independent Selection Committee that will review the CRN proposals will be mandated to eliminate all proposals that are either silent on the comparative question that will be researched and the corresponding comparative methodology that will be employed or which show an inadequate understanding of the challenges of comparative research.

Each CRN will be entitled to organise three meetings during its lifespan, one methodological; the second one to evaluate the progress of the work of the members of the group and the third and final one to wrap up the work. Although the budget that will be approved for CRNs varies from group to group, we like to inform prospective applicants for indicative purposes that the grants that were awarded by CODESRIA in the recent past ranged from USD 10,000 to USD 35,000. Similarly, although no specific format is required for the presentation of the budget for the work that is proposed, authors may wish to note that resources will be allocated by the Council to cover the following costs:

i) A methodological workshop for the members of the CRN;
ii) A review workshop at which the progress of the work of the CRN members will be assessed;
iii) The field work to be undertaken by the members of the network;
iv) Books to be purchased for the work of the CRN;
v) Honorariums to be paid to the members of the CRN for the work undertaken.
vi) Final workshop

The size of a CRN varies from proposal to proposal but, on the average it varies between four to six members. It is advantageous to ensure that a proposed CRN is multidisciplinary in composition, sensitive to gender issues, and accommodative of younger scholars.

For the 2012 CRN competition, CODESRIA will be open to receive proposals up to 15 June, 2012. Notification of the result of the selection process will be made by 31 July, 2012. The methodology workshop for the selected CRNs will be held in October 2012. Proposals, CVs of the network members including the coordinator, and proposed budget and time-plan (in Word format) should be sent to:

Comparative Research Networks
CODESRIA,
BP 3304, CP 18524
Dakar, Senegal.
Phone: +221-33 825 98 22/23
Fax: +221-33 824 12 89
E-Mail: crn(at)codesria.sn
Website: http://www.codesria.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/CODES…
Twitter: http://twitter.com/codesria

The UNAOC fellows’ spring 2012 are holding unlimited expectations, objectives, and dreams. The appeal of the two-week intensive program included two continents (US & Europe), four countries (USA, Germany, Belgium, & France), and six cities (New York, DC, Philadelphia, Berlin, Brussels, and Paris). As the fellows are coming from the Middle East and North Africa region, they have great will and objective tendency to build the future of their own countries and to take their effectual roles that have been hijacked for decades by the autocracies and old regimes. Is the time for a positive change? Yes, with no single doubt.

The United States section started from New York where the diversity of the meetings gave political, economical, social, and cultural dimension to the program. The meetings with professional, key persons, and policy and decision makers assisted the fellows to see how the different institutions function from within rather than to perceive the made decisions from outside. Hence there was a wish that some meetings might have been given extensive time which is of great difficulty due to the high-level positions of the hosts.

Among but not all, the fellows got the chance to meet with high levels from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, UNFPA, the UN General Assembly, Political section of the Middle East at the Security Council, Bloomberg, and the Education For Employment in addition to many others. The fellows tackled several challenges within their national contexts and the new inclination of Islamic parties in the political sphere. As they received responses to their endless and eager questions, they realized the importance of the harmony between the universal values and the ascendance of Islamic parties where the religious parties are democratically elected by people. There is a platform of international treaties to bridge the gap between universal declarations and the current system where there is room for a risk to divergence from the universal value system and socio-economic life due to the current constitutions in the Arab World.

While many UN agencies and other entities recognized the significant role of religion in the political, economic, and social aspects, it has become less fearful to deal with the religious issues and to integrate them in the developmental process. The empowerment of youth and mediation are highlighted on the priorities of the General Assembly which pave the way to launch many initiatives and open the intercultural and interfaith dialogues in the region. Due to the status quo in the MENA region, the host speakers were impressed by the political awareness and knowledge of the fellows who work in various political and civil fields in their societies. The debates instigated the fellows to seek alternatives and dig deep further despite the complexity and sensitivity of certain situations.

The fellows were stunned by the Bloomberg’s fascination premises, decorations, transparency, wide spaces, and generous refreshments and services for the staff. The meeting that followed the building’s tour showed the reality of the hardship and human and emotional costs to live in the West. The long and hard working hours leave very minimum hours per day to catch up with the personal needs.

The fellows had an open session with religious leaders from the Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities organized by the Interfaith Center. The discussion highlighted the challenges and the initiatives that are handled by the religious groups to be well integrated in the United States. As both the religious leaders and fellows addressed the diversity issues, they also shared the common human values regardless of religion, sect, or denomination. This debate was strengthened by the visit to Bronx to discover the efficiency of utilizing various developmental and cultural projects to enhance the integration and coexistence within the communities.

The MENA fellows concluded their visit with an informal meeting at Colombia University and continuing their discussions at different levels with UNAoC alumni and other students. The New York trip and fast-pace life style reminded the fellows how hard they need to work to reach certain level of proficiency and how much they need so not waste the time and resources.

The quote of the New York City was what the Buddha priest beautifully said during the interfaith dialogue: “hatred could not be faced by hatred when seeking peace.” So, let build the peace by love and love only.

Following the adoption in 2001 of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity the UN General Assembly declared May 21 as the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.

This Day raises awareness on the richness of world cultures and the opportunities that cultural diversity can bring to societies.

Why does diversity matters? How to participate?

Three-quarters of the world’s major conflicts have a cultural dimension.

Bridging the gap between cultures is urgent and necessary for peace, stability and development.

The 2012 campaign, by encouraging people and organizations from around the world to take concrete action to support diversity, aims:

• To raise awareness worldwide about the importance of intercultural dialogue, diversity and inclusion.
• To build a world community of individuals committed to support diversity with real and every day-life gestures.
• To combat polarization and stereotypes to improve understanding and cooperation among people from different cultures.

Every one of us can do ONE thing for diversity and inclusion; even one very little thing can become a global action if we all take part in it.

Simple things YOU can do to celebrate the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development on May 21, 2012.

• Visit an art exhibit/museum that reflects diverse cultures.
• Rent a movie or read a book from another country than your own.
• Learn another language
• Invite a family or friends in the neighborhood from another culture to have lunch/diner with you and share a traditional dish.
• Explore music of a different culture
• Invite people from a different culture to share your customs
• Spread your own culture around the world through our Facebook page and learn about other cultures
• Learn about traditional celebrations from other cultures; learn more about Hanukkah or Ramadan or about amazing celebrations of New Year’s Eve in Spain or Qingming festival in China.
• Play the “stereotypes game.” Stick a post-it on your forehead with the name of a country. Ask people to tell you stereotypes associated with people from that country. You win if you find out where you are from.

There are thousands of things that you can do, are you taking part in it?

How to join the 2012 campaign?

• “Like” us on Facebook….and start a discussion on our “wall” and get surprised with posts and videos (http://facebook.com/DoOneThingforDiversityandInclusion)
• Tell others about this day.
• Take part in the photo and slogan contests
• Organize an event or put your event under the umbrella of the Campaign

Various prominent guests presented their views and knowledge on the issues and invited participants to take part in the discussions >>

Proposals are invited for “The War of My Generation” (Under consideration for the University of Georgia Press’s “Since 1970: Histories of Contemporary America” series) will capture the innovative, multidisciplinary, but historically-grounded work being done by emerging and established scholars who are interrogating youth culture’s intersections with contemporary questions about U.S. militarism and foreign policy.
The past decade has been the first one in thirty years in which young people have come of age while the United States has been involved in sustained conventional warfare. It is also the first in more than fifty in which children have lived in fear of external attack or internal subversion. Not since the 1950s have children navigated ubiquitouts security and surveillance apparatuses and the suspicion and anxiety that attends them. Children’s experiences are thus a crucial terrain for scholars interested in the cultural politics of the War on Terror, the location of the military in American society, or contemporary American culture more broadly.
The essays in this volume will examine the range of ways in which young people have experienced, constructed meaning about, and been positioned – and positioned themselves – within the War on Terror. It will ask how young people have encountered and imagined the War on Terror and its domestic and foreign policy implications and how they have responded to and participated in the debates that surround these issues. The collection will ask what histories and cultural forces have shaped these responses and this participation; what cultural texts and technologies have they consumed, mobilized, and produced; and what ideas those texts have furthered. In addressing these questions, we hope that authors will ask how young peoples’ participation in discourses central to the War on Terror intersect with broader cultural debates over foreign policy, citizenship, nation, race, class, and gender.
The collection invites essays from historians as well as those in literary studies, cultural studies, politics and the social sciences whose work historically situates the cultural products and encounters that have been central to young people’s experiences during the War on Terror. In what ways do artifacts of contemporary U.S. culture illuminate the contemporary moment and evoke earlier texts, moments and encounters with war in United States culture? While we are open to a range of potential essay topics, some possibilities include:
• Cultural texts (e.g. novels, children’s books, video games, films, etc.) that take the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan or domestic aspects of the War on Terror as their topic.
• How young people have been imagined as citizen-subjects during the War on Terror and how they have participated in and resisted these discourses of citizenship.
• Young people’s experiences with family members’ deployment, including the military’s efforts to mitigate these experiences and ease the return of deployed parents through official programs, how social media (e.g. Facebook, Skype, and email) have altered young people’s experiences of deployment and war, and how a range of products endeavor to mitigate the absences caused by deployment and the return of parents confronting physical and psychological injuries.
• Young people’s experiences as prospective service members whether through recruiting efforts in schools, through the variety of texts – video games, graphic novels, and others – that the military has produced, through their membership in experiences like JROTC, or other avenues.
• Young people’s experiences as targets of surveillance, harassment, and violence as a result of the racialized discourses of citizenship and terrorism central to the domestic aspects of the War on Terror, and their resistance to these discourses.
• The relationship between Girl Culture and the increased visibility of women in military service.
• Young people’s engagement in acts of remembrance, support, and protest, from the building of memorials in schools to anti-war walkouts from classes and from participation in parades to volunteerism in “Wounded Warrior” programs.
• The intersection of concerns central to the War on Terror with those more broadly significant in contemporary U.S. culture, including hate crimes, incarceration, immigration, and others.
• Young people’s engagement with religious traditions and practices, particularly as religion has been a site of exclusion, encounter, or dialogue.
Scholars interested in contributing are invited to submit brief proposals (approx. 300 words) for essays of 8,000-10,000 words and a brief CV, as well as questions and inquiries, to David Kieran, American Studies Department, Franklin and Marshall College (david.kieran(at)fandm.edu).

David Kieran
American Studies Department
Franklin and Marshall College
PO Box 3003
Lancaster, PA 17603
david.kieran(at)fandm.edu

Jens Christian Schneider
Project Manager Marie Curie Fellowships (M4HUMAN Programme)
Gerda Henkel Stiftung
Malkastenstraße 15
D-40211 Düsseldorf
Germany
Email: m4human(at)gerda-henkel-stiftung.de
Visit the website at http://www.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/m4human

The cycle of conferences included presentations in Coquimbo, Santiago and Vina del Mar, with the participation of several experts in Muslim-Christian relationships as well as Intercultural Dialogue. The main organizer, the Al-Andalus/Magreb Chair, is a partner of the UNAOC Education About Religion and Beliefs clearinghouse.

Precipitants included, the Ambassador of Morocco in Chile, H.E. Mr. Abdelkader Chaui; Dr. Diego Melo, Director of the Al-Andalus/Magreb Chair; Jordi Torrent, Project Manager UNAOC Media and Information Literacy; Dr. Mustafa Adila (University Abdelmalik Assaddi, Morocco); Dr. Father Miguel Ayuso (Pontificio Istituto di Studi Arabi e d’Islamistica, Rome); Dr. Roberto Marin Guzman (University of Costa Rica);  Dr. Aldo Mascareno (University Adolfo Ibanez, Chile); and Dr. Rosa Salgado (University of Sevilla, Spain); among others.

The presentations will be published in a book in the coming months.

For more information, please visit:

• Al-Andalus/Magreb Chair Website
• Municipality of Coquimbo Website

Neelie Kroes, Vice-President responsible for the Digital Agenda, and Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, will represent the Commission. Vice-President Kroes and Commissioner Vassiliou will take part in a press conference on culture, audiovisual and sport at 1pm on 10 May. A press conference with
Commissioner Vassiliou on education and youth will take place at around the same time on 11 May.

For more information on the Council meeting:

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/educ/130026.pdf

http://eu2012.dk/en/Meetings/Council-Meetings/Maj/EYCS-maj

For the:

Agenda

Background note

Public Deliberations