Alexandria — The Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures is launching the first teacher training course ‘How to deal with religious diversity in classrooms’. Thirty-four teachers from 18 Euro-Mediterranean countries will participate in the training in Alexandria, Egypt from 20 – 24 November, 2006.
A minimum of knowledge on all major religions in the region is necessary for promoting mutual respect, according to the conclusions of a High Level Experts meeting convened recently by the Arab League and the Anna Lindh Foundation in Cairo.
The five-day training course is organized by the Anna Lindh Foundation together with the Council of Europe and the Swedish Institute in Alexandria. Teachers will be assisted in understanding religious diversity and pluralism, they will be introduced into methods and tools of intercultural education that they can use in class and out-of-school; and they will learn about the role women and men can play in intercultural and inter-religious dialogue.
The opening ceremony will take place at 10:00 a.m. on 21 November 2006, at the Goethe Institute in Alexandria. Opening speeches will be given by the Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation, Dr. Traugott Schoefthaler, the representative of the Council of Europe, Mr. Josef Huber, and the Director of the Swedish Institute Alexandria, Mr. Jan Henningsson. Teaching and learning materials on cultural and religious pluralism will be published next year on the website of the Foundation www.euromedalex.org
The recent "cartoon crisis" has revealed a huge gap in mutual knowledge, especially between Europeans and their Muslim neighbours around the Mediterranean Sea. This situation calls for new forms of dialogue which clearly address differences and diversity between cultures and religions and promote more knowledge and respect.
The teacher training on religious diversity is organised on the basis of the ‘Rabat Commitment’ on ‘Dialogue between Cultures and Civilisations: Towards Concrete and Sustained Actions’, which has been signed in June 2005 by UNESCO, the Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization of the Arab League (ALECSO), and of the organisation of the Islamic Conference (ISESCO), the OIC itself, DCCD, the Anna Lindh Foundation, and the Council of Europe.
The Anna Lindh Foundation Euro-Mediterranean Teacher-Training Programme was established in May 2006 in collaboration with the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the Council of Europe. It provides teachers from Euro-Med countries with teaching skills and materials on cultural and religious diversity, sustainable development and education for human rights and democratic citizenship. All materials developed for the Euro-Med Teacher training programme, selected materials from other partners and results from school-to-school projects will be published in English, French and Arabic on the Foundation’s web-site.