Treat yourself to inspiring classical music during lunch time concerts Offrez-vous une pause musicale sur le temps de midi Beleef emotionele muzikale momenten November 20 « Manneken-Pis » saxophone Quartet, Dmitri Sjostakovitch, Astor Piazzolla November 21 Ieva Baltmiskyte, lyre-guitar and lute David Kellner, Silvius Leopold Weiss, Antonio Jiménez Manjón, Luigi Legnani, Johann Kaspar Mertz November 22 O r g a […]
Last week (23-27 October 2017), the first negotiations towards a UN Treaty on businesses and human rights took place in Geneva. Momentum is growing, but more efforts are needed to put into place the necessary framework to stop corporate impunity and provide access to justice for victims of human rights abuses. On November 5th, 2015,…
Le 29 novembre, la Movie Night de la Chapelle de la résurrection proposera la projection d’Eurovillage. Ce documentaire de François Pirot tend à lever le voile sur la vie des demandeurs d’asile en Belgique en suivant le parcours d’adultes, de jeunes et d’enfants venus de pays lointains, qui sont hébergés dans un village de vacances […]
On October 19 CEC held an event in the European Parliament, Brussels, to launch the video entitled “Standing up for Minority Rights” in the presence of many young Serbs and Croats and other international guests. The host of the event was the Croatian MEP Ivan Jakovcic (ALDE). The film explores the situation of religious and ethnic minorities in Serbia and Croatia.
During Holy Week 10-13 of April 2017, 20 young Serbs from Croatia and Croats from Serbia came to visit European institutions in Brussels on the initiative of Metropolitan Porfirije of Zagreb and Ljubljana of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The aim was to learn more about the implementation of European values such as human rights, democracy and rule of law, especially in the area of minority rights.
Croatia, a member of the EU since 2013, has robust legislation in the area of human rights, but more work is needed to ensure it is fully implemented in the area of ethnic and religious minority rights. In Serbia, which is a candidate for EU membership, religious and ethnic minorities is still a priority area for work on harmonisation of legislation related to the criteria enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty.
At the 19 October event, Metropolitan Porfirije said that the challenges between Croatia and Serbia needs to be overcome in the spirit of the Gospel, witnessing love for one another. He invited everyone in the debate to listen to the other and to help each other in combating prejudges and xenophobia in their environment. He said that there is a habit for all of us to say that the other is responsible for my situation, as a mean of protection. However, if we see the other as guilty and never ask ourselves if we contribute to the conflict, then there is no perspective for future progress.
Ms Jelena Nestorovic, Representative of the Serbian Youth National Council in Croatia, welcomed the opportunity for exchange. She expressed the view that the media and politicians in Croatia shape opinion in less than a positive manner towards minorities which, in turn, negatively effects the relations between majorities and minorities. She said that dialogue is the basic tool to overcome these challenges.
Mr Mario Vrselja, Representative of the Youth Council of Croatia in Serbia said that the work on mutual dialogue and understanding needs to continue. He emphasised that the benefit of the meeting during Holy Week had resulted in strengthening friendships and harmony among their peers and that Serbia needs to improve and build a stronger culture in the area of minority rights.
In the spirit of the Cypriot proverb proclaimed during the debate “If you cannot eliminate the dark you can light the candle”, CEC warmly recommends you to take a few minutes of your time to view the short 5 or 20 minutes video about building bridges between young Serbs and Croats who are standing up for each other in defending the minority rights.
For more information or an interview, please contact:
Henrik Hansson
CEC Communication Coordinator
Tel: +32 2 234 68 42
e-mail: hhansson@cec-kek.be
Website: www.ceceurope.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ceceurope
Twitter: @ceceurope
We would like to invite you to the celebration of the 500th ANNIVERSARY OF THE REFORMATION on Tuesday 31st October at 19:00 in the Chapel for Europe On October 31st 1517 Martin Luther nailed 95 Thesis to the Wittenberg Church door. It was the spark that ignited the Reformation Movement – a movement, that changed the world! […]
Hundreds of high-level Church and EU political representatives, together with other grassroots actors, will meet in the Vatican to contribute to a constructive reflection on the fundamental challenges facing the European project. Organised by the Holy See and COMECE – the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU – (Re)thinking Europe will take place…
In the year of the commemoration of 500 years since the Reformation, the conference will discuss which traditions/results/outcomes of the Protestant Reformation might be again of interest today and might be a point of reference in this time of crisis in Europe and linked to the European integration process. Which aspects of the Reformationcan inspire us in Europe today? Are […]
This meeting will be an interactive discussion that will reflect on the experiences and challenges that inter-religious action for peacebuilding poses for monitoring and evaluation. We will assess some proposed practices we believe will improve the way inter-religious actions for peacebuilding can be monitored and evaluated and will assess their implications at the policy and programmatic levels, drawing on […]
Queen of Katwe is a 2016 American biographical sports drama film. It depicts the life of Phiona Mutesi, a Ugandan girl living in a slum in Katwe who learns to play chess and becomes a Woman Candidate Master after her performances at World Chess Olympiads. The film will be in English with English subtitles. Light […]
As part of the ‘I Get You’ campaign, JRS Europe mapped 315 grassroots refugee initiatives across 9 EU countries. Now, for Refugee Day, we proudly launch 9 campaign videos that put some of these projects into focus. “We thank everyone who took part in the filming, refugees, volunteers and ordinary citizens. We hope these videos…
« Although this decision comes as no surprise, it is a major challenge for climate protection at international level. It erodes the global trust achieved with the agreement of the Paris climate conference. Until the end, we had hoped that the discussions at the G7 and the meeting with Pope Francis would have positively influenced his…
