International Academy for Education and Democracy ADDA 2007 Arab Danish Democracy Academy Organized by the International Academy for Education and Democracy Funded by Danish Egyptian Dialogue Institute, Cairo Report on activities from September 2 to 15 2007 at Vallekilde Højskole ADDA participants with Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller Sept. 14 2007 ADDA 2007 Report on activities www.iaed.info info@iaed.info 1
ADDA 2007 Arab Danish Democracy Academy ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS Photographs from the activities from Sept. 2 to 15 I realized that we are all responsible for making a change for the better It has been a great experience, and great learning, but for me personally the most important was the informal conversations that made it possible to get past prejudice. The best experience has been to see how different AND alike we are I want more discussions on how to make folk high schools in the Middle East Thank you so much for the very useful program, and the rich experience. I joined with only my experience, now I added 20 more experiences of all the diverse participants and learned to look at issues from different perspectives. It has been really an eye opening life experience Activities and achievements During the two weeks from Sept. 2 to 15 2007 the 21 participants from Denmark, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria convened at Vallekilde Communications College 100 km from Copenhagen. The program design and selection of venue ensured a multifaceted learning experience for participants. Participants and organizers lived together for two weeks and this made room for intense informal conversations before and after the formal program. In the evaluation it is quite clear that the personal contact and exchange is valued as the most important achievement. This informal part contributed greatly to the more formal part of the program. But it should also be remembered that without the formal part of the program - both content and ADDA 2007 Report on activities www.iaed.info info@iaed.info 2
design - nothing would have worked. In the formal program the three points valued highest are: I. The dialogue with the Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller. He kindly offered almost an hour of his time to ADDA, and after a very short introduction opened a candid dialogue that was cherished by the participants. Discussions focused on the relations of Denmark and the Middle East, the peace process of Israel and Palestine, the threats of terrorism, the possibilities of economic development in the Middle East and a number of other issues. II. III. The edu-game on globalization and democracy. This took place in three groups: Denmark, Egypt and Syria/Lebanon. The process created a deeper understanding of our challenges at local, national, regional and global levels - and the issues of governance and participation. The work of the three groups produced quite different results. The Denmark group had a distribution of challenges at all four levels - and a focus on how it is possible to deal with European and Global challenges in a democratic and accountable way. The Egypt groups focus was on issues of transparency and democracy at the local and national levels - and the challenges of regional conflict and globalization. The Lebanon / Syria group focused on the situation in Lebanon - the extreme weakness of national structures, the continued experience of the reluctance of the international community to secure governance and Human Rights. The dialogue among the groups was very enlightening - it contributed greatly to the understanding of the difference of contexts and the understanding of the nature of each groups own context. The dialogue with Morten Kjærum, the Director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights, at the DIHR. The candid and practical approach of Morten Kjærum contributed greatly to an open discussion with the participants - and the approach opened up for an understanding of Human Rights as a resource for building functioning societies rather than as a set of inhibiting rules. The program of the first week was focused on building the basis for mutual understanding and common conceptual ground for the dialogue on democracy, human rights and issues of contemporary society in Denmark and the Middle East. One of the major issues touched upon was the impacts of globalization on the issues discussed. A variety of learning methods were used. The main introduction of the participants to the common space was biographical. Each participant was asked to contribute with three defining stories from their own life experience. Participants were introduced to basic aspects of Danish and Arab society and history, and to the concept and learning methods of Folk High Schools to further ensure a common ground for the following work. Wednesday was used for an excursion to local democracy. First a visit ADDA 2007 Report on activities www.iaed.info info@iaed.info 3
to Bagh&Co. in Hundested. This small company produces cable trays for electrical installations. The point of the visit which was well taken was the value added to the production from an open and non-formal organization of the workplace. Later in the day participants visited a several institutions - from a day care centre to a home for the elderly to see local democracy at work and the institutions of Danish society. During the first days we used a traditional lecture form aided by visual presentations to introduce themes - followed by plenary and group discussions. Globalization and the relationships between globalization, governance and democracy was introduced by a lecture followed by a prolonged edu-game process. The introductions and the form of discussion was received very well by the participants - which is confirmed by the evaluation. The evenings were used for non formal discussions - and participants were free to find more information on the Internet or talk with each other or the other students at Vallekilde. The interaction with the other students at Vallekilde and the general atmosphere of the school was very conducive to the work of ADDA. Friday was used for an excursion to Copenhagen, where ADDA visited the Danish Institute for Human Rights (mentioned above). Later the participants went to the Friday prayer at the Mosque at Dortheavej. It was quite provoking for many participants because of the negative presentation of the prospects for young muslims in Danish society (it took place right after some young muslims were arrested being accused of preparing terrorism). In the afternoon ADDA visited a social project for young immigrants in the centre of Copenhagen. Khaled Alsubeihy, the organizer of the project explained the background and activities, and mentioned that some of them are being transferred to Amman and other places in the Arab world. Participants were truly impressed by the positive achievements of the project. In the evening the group went to Tivoli Gardens for a nice evening with good weather. Saturday was meant to be the day off with time for leisure at Vallekilde, but the Danish participants had offered to be hosts for the participants from the Middle East, so friday evening the group split into smaller parts, so everyone had the opportunity to see the homes of the Danish participants and get a little closer to everyday life. Saturday evening the bus took everyone back to Vallekilde to the work of the second week. The focus of the second week was work on projects. Making participants active enhances learning, and at the same time the smaller self-organized groups give more room for exchange of views among the participants. The project work was interrupted by a number of invited lecturers. Among these were Asmaa Abdolhamid, a young Danish woman of Palestinian origin who combines a strong belief in Islam with Danish left wing politics. This has made her a very controversial person. She delivered an enthusiastic speech followed by lively debate. Another lecturer was Nagieb Khaja, a Danish - Afghan journalist who works with Danish television, partly covering the war in Afghanistan. His intervention and the following discussion dealt ADDA 2007 Report on activities www.iaed.info info@iaed.info 4
with a range of issues among them; the war in Afghanistan, the role of the press, the challenges of being a journalist in mainstream media with an ethnic background. The project work was taken very seriously by the participants - and it was certainly quite difficult to figure out what should be done, and what could be done in the short time span available. In the end four groups were formed. Here the main topics are presented - the project descriptions of the first three groups can be found as annexes at the end of this report: I. Protection of religious symbols and freedom of speech. This groups focus was the creation of a global consensus and global rules for the issues of defamation of religious symbols AND a protection of religious symbols. An attempt to prevent clashes like the cartoon crisis through mutual respect through global rules. II. III. IV. Dialogue forum on the Internet on Democracy and Human Rights for young people from Europe and the Arab world. Building on the experience of the dialogues at ADDA - and on previous experience of use of dialogue forums and organizing/moderating such forums. Development of longer programs for the development of Arab-Danish understanding, organized as summer schools or university programs, introducing a range of innovative educational methods. Establishing a permanent program for development of civil society, human rights and democracy in the Arab world using inspiration from the folk high school experience. During the two weeks evenings and free time was used for informal discussions, cultural events - and in the last days a lot of hard work on the various projects. The last friday was used for an excursion to Copenhagen where the participants first had a meeting with Danish MP and party leader of New Alliance Mr. Naser Khader, a prominent politician of Palestinian background. The discussion focused on a range of issues of Danish society, including the situation and role of immigrants and the relations of Denmark and the Arab world. In the afternoon the formal program ended with a meeting in the Foreign Ministry with the Minister, Mr. Per Stig Møller with a lively dialogue on a number of issues - beginning with a short presentation of the four projects, and handing over the project presentations. Back at Vallekilde the ADDA group had the last plenary, summing up the activities and giving advice on the further development of activities. The participants handed in their evaluations of the events of the two weeks, and discussed how to carry on with projects, and how to keep in contact. The evening was used for a farewell dinner and party - and for burning DVD disks for ADDA 2007 Report on activities www.iaed.info info@iaed.info 5
everyone with the collection of powerpoint presentations used and the hundreds of digital photographs taken by the participants, so everyone could bring home some documentation, and some memories. Organization of ADDA The Arab Danish Democracy Academy has been developed, organized and conducted by the International Academy for Education and Democracy, a non profit organization based in Copenhagen, Denmark and its director, Jacob Erle. The program has been made possible through funding from the Danish Egyptian Dialogue Institute based in Cairo, Egypt. DEDI has also identified the participants from the Arab world. The director of DEDI, Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen has given invaluable guidance and advice on the program. Vallekilde Communications College has been a perfect and generous venue and host organization for ADDA, and great help and advice has come from its director, Bo Espersen. The organizers of the Arab Danish Democracy Academy 2007: Jacob Erle, director of IAED, main organizer of ADDA, lecturer, moderator Malene Fenger- Grøndahl, journalist, lecturer and moderator Fathy Abou Hatab, journalist, editor at DEDI, lecturer and moderator Bo Espersen, director at Vallekilde, lecturer and host of ADDA ADDA 2007 Report on activities www.iaed.info info@iaed.info 6
Overview of the answers of evaluation 1 is poor and 5 is very good Pre Arrival 1 2 3 4 5 Applying was easy and efficient 3 10 Information and policies were clear 1 3 9 Responsiveness to questions 1 2 7 Arrival and facilities 1 2 3 4 5 It was easy and comfortable to be in Vallekilde 1 1 11 The school was a good place for ADDA 3 10 My room was comfortable 2 5 6 The food was good and enough 3 4 6 Presentations and Discussions 1 2 3 4 5 Quality of papers and presentations 2 4 7 Topical interest 1 5 6 Duration of the presentations 1 3 8 1 Formal discussions after the sessions 3 8 2 Informal discussions with the participants 6 7 All program items 1 2 3 4 5 Introduction to Danish Folk High Schools 2 3 7 Introduction to Danish History and Society 1 3 5 4 Introduction to Arab history and Society 2 3 7 Introduction of Participants 3 1 4 5 Introduction to Globalization 4 2 6 Edu-game on Globalization and Democracy 5 8 Visit to Bagh & co. in Hundested 1 3 4 3 Excursion to local community 2 6 3 Introduction to models of Democracy 1 8 4 Introduction to Human Rights 2 5 6 Egyptian parliamentarians visit 3 1 2 4 3 Working groups and projects 2 5 5 Visiting Danish Institute for Human Rights 1 4 8 ADDA 2007 Report on activities www.iaed.info info@iaed.info 7
Visiting Mosque at Dortheavej 1 2 4 4 Meeting with Khaled al Subeihy 1 1 3 7 Tivoli Gardens 1 7 5 Informal activities Sept. 8. 1 5 5 Visit to Vallekilde Church 1 1 2 Welfare & Elderly; Kristian Riis 3 3 1 Asmaa Abdolhamid; Lecture & discussion 2 2 7 Nagieb Khajs; On journalism 1 1 7 Project work 4 2 6 Meeting with MP Naser Khader 1 2 4 2 3 Meeting with Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller 1 11 ADDA 2007 Report on activities www.iaed.info info@iaed.info 8