This category is a box full of surprises. What is culture anyways, you ask? Well, with us it is everything that defines our lives as social beings. Here you will find contributions and discussions about the trials and tribulations we sometimes face with our neighbours next door or next country, and what we can learn from one another despite and because of our differences. However, this category is also about the arts, about poetry, and so much more…
Solidarity march for the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris. Solidarity and empathy is spread among all citizens – regardless of their origin. (Flickr: sébastien amiet;l Nikleitz 2015/licensed under CC BY 2.0)
What shocked me the most was the coldness with which he murdered the policeman. Spanish news programs didn’t hesitate in showing the scene. We could all see how the terrorist ruthlessly shot to death the police officer who was lying in the street, unarmed and wounded.
The Charlie Hebdo attack is a challenge to European values. It not only is the cruel murder of innocent people. It is an attack to our freedom.
Now that the nightmare is over, questions arise. How is Europe as a society going to respond to this problem?
Let’s think for a moment. The two brothers that committed the attack to the satirical magazine were born in France. They grew up in an orphanage. The eldest one was a sports coach.
“My worry is that we simplify things.”
His younger sibling worked delivering pizzas. What could possibly make them embrace a terrorist group, leave their country to fight for Al Qaeda and then return to kill twelve people in such a brutal way?
My worry is that we simplify things. Many people in Europe are already talking of an “islamization” of our continent. Some parties will want to use this attack politically. But we must bear something in mind. Jihadists are a small minority inside of Islam. A vast majority of the European Muslims respect and cherish our values and liberties.
The policeman whose brutal murder we could watch on TV was, in fact, a Muslim. His name was Ahmed. He died defending one of the core French republican values, the freedom of expression. And let us not forget that most of the victims of jihadist terrorism around the world are Muslims.
Therefore, we as young Europeans have a responsibility. We must promote and defend our values and system of liberties. And we must have a critical and tolerant point of view. Many young Muslims in Europe feel excluded, unwanted and rejected. Some of them may see “martyrdom” and fanaticism as a way out to their situation. What course of action should we take? My answer is simple: talk to them.
About the author:
Nicolás – Author at Spotlight Europe
Nicolás (18) is a Member of the Youth Council of the Future. He participated in the “My Europe” workshop in Madrid in 2013.
New and old questions arise since the attack on the Parisian satire magazin Charlie Hebdo. (Flickr: ActuaLitté /licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)
I cling to no religion in particular and all of them at the same time. In the end, don´t they all advocate the things we are striving for? Happiness, justice and clairvoyance. However, I do have some beliefs: I believe in believing, in freedom and in humour. I believe in humour to the point of being rude. If an action is assured to make someone laugh later on that day, it is almost completely justified. (Take notice: almost! Because some things are just not acceptable.) I guess it´s Stuart Mill´s utilitarianism applied to laughter.
Now it gets tricky. Everyone should believe in something. It is a human right and need. I not only respect but also cherish it, because it is a sign that there´s still freedom and diversity in this world. But how can I respect someone who justifies murder with ideas like “unbearable disrespect for the prophet should be severely punished”?
“I aim to be tolerant and understanding but incidents like Charlie Hebdo´s in France outrage me”
I aim to be tolerant and understanding but incidents like Charlie Hebdo´s in France outrage me and I am afraid I might develop a biased opinion on muslims. And I am certainly not the only one because, whereas I am writing and pondering about what concerns me, there are people who forgot not all muslims are terrorists and decided to make justice with their own hands.
I´m afraid a violent comeback is to be expected: ignorance generates hate, which will develop into rage that will spread and produce terror. It´s how it is but it doesn´t make it less frightening. And I feel very ignorant: I don´t understand a lot of muslim beliefs and they don´t understand mine. Yet it could be the case that a muslim kid is thinking the same thing, the other way round.
So this is a call for those who are feeling concerned and confused: enough with the killing, enough with the bias. All I want is to read my Garfield strips tomorrow without having to worry if Jim Davis is about to be attacked by a bunch of angry persian cats who are tired of being fed lasagne.
About the author
The author once participated in one of My Europe´s workshops but wishes to stay anonym. In the light of the horrible attack in Paris on Wednesday, 7. January 2015, it was felt to express an opinion.
The Muslim society has changed and so did the role of women. They see themselves as multiplicators of Islamic culture. (Flickr: David Rosen/licensed under CC BY 2.0)
In the last few decades an interesting development has been coming its way in Islamic states all over the world. The women are taking hold of their voice and making it louder than ever before. They are fighting for their rights, which they aren’t only entitled to according to human rights laws but apparently also according to the Koran.
Recently I was invited to a podium discussion in the Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs in Austria on the topic of Women in Islamic states. A week before I had received an unexpected invitation in consequence to an interview that I gave in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. I had criticized the Austrian government’s way to deal with the issue of the integration of foreigners and believe that the invitation was a way of showing me the opposite.
The occasion for the discussion was the successful conclusion of a training organized by the Ministry for female commissioners from Islamic cultures. These women are playing the role as “multiplicators” of the Islamic cultures, as they call themselves and are using their time in Austria not only to build functioning Muslim communities in Austria but also to develop connections to the Austrian government. The main ambition for the training, which the women also agree with, is the dissolution of stereotypes and extremism. Both sides are slowly coming together on one and are working on a “dialogue of cultures”.
In advance to the distribution of certificates to the participants of the training, the basis for the later following discussion was laid. A couple of people spoke about the general idea of the project and the problems it is supposed to fight.
“The Muslim society is in a crisis right now.”, admitted some of the speakers. (Flickr: detail taken from Utenriksdepartementet UD/licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
They were very honest and admitted that the Muslim society is in a crisis right now. Instead of accusing others they say they want to solve their problems on their own and this training is one of the many initiatives to enforce this movement. Another point that was often made was that Muslims are becoming more self-critical, because if they are not critical of themselves others will be and in consequence prejudices will never come to an end. In recent years these ideas are supposed to be spread also by female commissioners in many European countries.
To enforce this movement the first congress for women “congrès international féminin pour une culture du paix” took place in Algeria with the motto: The word to the woman. Two participants of the congress were present at the discussion I attended and gave an overview over the themes and ideas raised. The conviction that was at heart of it is that the woman is the sole educator of the children and therefore the sole educator of the entire society. Taking this idea further these Muslim women are convinced that the woman is therefore the one in charge of the transmission of religion and freedom.
The congress focused on the main question of how freedom could be established and preserved in the world, with women as the starting point. On the path to solution, all 2000 participants from all over the world took part in workshops or discussions, visited exhibitions or other cultural events. In the course of these the main ambition was to reflect on femininity and the freedom culture from different aspects.
Femininity in context with ethics and education: The establishment of the pedagogy of freedom, the idea is to establish lessons on freedom in schools as it is already the case in a part of Switzerland with the project “grains the paix”.
Motto: “Educate a man and you educated a person, educate a woman and you educate a society.”
Femininity in context with religion and modernism: In recent years in many parts of the world, religion has been losing its importance in society and was replaced by the trend of novelty and modernism. Precisely these two contrasts are beginning to be unified now. The goal is for religion to put a brake on the intensity of modernism for the good of humanity.
“Educate a man and you educated a person, educate a woman and you educate a society.” (Flickr: kgbbristol/licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)
Feminist interpretations of the Koran: A trend has been coming up in Islamic states among women to reinterpret the Koran. These feminists and secular feminists, as they call themselves, want to reconquer their role in Muslim society. Apparently during the time of the prophet Mohammed women were the centre of society. They were present at all official occasions and their opinion was often valued more than men’s. Only after the death of Mohammed did the men change this perception and limited women’s rights to their advantage. The emerging feminists now want to bring back the rights they had during that time. Still, they remain very religious and bound to the Koran. The only way to change the perception of women is to change the perception of the holy book. Many women are spending their lives reinterpreting different passages to show the world that the Koran is indeed not sexist but actually in favor of the domination of women.
The proposed solution to attain freedom is to practice spirituality and love. They said this can be achieved by loving yourself first and then the people next to you. This idea has already been making its round in many countries where one can now see a trend in the detachment from the mere study of the Koran to an actual life according to it.
Do you think these movements in Muslim society could change the way Muslims are perceived among other nations? Especially in these times of international unrest, so many people say this is caused solely by Islamic radicals, do you think if one spreads the messages presented, one could erase the prejudices?
About the author
Smaranda (16) is a member of the Youth Council for the Future. She participated at the “My Europe” workshop in Vienna in 2013.
The sports spirit unites people.(Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-31886-0006 via Wikimedia Commons/licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 DE)
Forgive me for a male title, I am speaking of both female and male, of course.
When I was a kid, I started with athletics and one day in a competition, Frankfurt – Vienna – London, organised in the German city, 60.000 spectactors were enthusiastically applauding and cheering for me, because “he is one of us”. One for the crowd.
Later I ran for Germany in Rome and 60.000 Italians were shouting for their Olympic Champion competing with me since “he is one of us”. One for the crowd.
Years later, in 1968, I had retired from sports, a continental cup was held in Stuttgart, Germany. Europe versus the Untited States.
Poland, during the cold war, was felt to be a country on the other side, on the wrong side, behind the Iron Curtain. As it happened, the last competitor for Europe, deciding on whether Europe or the Unites States would win this prestigious event, was an athlete from Poland and 60.000 German spectators were applauding and cheering for him.
He came from Poland but “he is one of us”.
A player of the defence in one of the German football clubs was being “hated” by the fans in Frankfurt, since in two previous games he had badly injured Frankfurt´s players who had to undergo surgery and could not play for many months.
“[M]ake use of this human feeling in our efforts for Europe.”
Every time this player touched the ball during a game in Frankfurt, there was an uproar of disgust by 60.000 spectators in the stadium. This went on for some years until the player left his club and joined the Frankfurt team. From this day on he was the best sportsman, gentleman like with a wonderful character, in total conviction glorified by the Frankfurt fans and the local media because now “he is one of us”.
“He is one of us” seems to create strong emotions of togetherness. As it is the case in families.
Let us think about it and make use of this human feeling in our efforts for Europe.
The regional Bavarian Television is broadcasting one minute spots between programs where you see Bavarians and migrants showing typical Bavarian themes in the background, mentioning their names, telling us their profession and then all are happily stating the testimonial : …”and here I am at home.”
About the author:
Jochen Benderis a passionate European. He has lived and worked in Rio de Janeiro, London and Germany. He is a developer of tourism and hotels. He travelled on business to almost sixty countries and spent a total of seven years in developing countries. More
Will Paris be the same in the future? (Flickr:Moyan Brann/licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0)
I hitch my bag higher up my shoulder and start down the stairs. The 13 flights would have been too much for my mother when she was 81, but for me it’s no problem.
It’s all this new technology keeping me in shape. I wear sensors all over my body so the doctors can monitor me. Sometimes I’ll get a text from my GP advising me to take painkillers, because he’s seen from the sensors that my back’s going to be hurting tomorrow when I wake up. It really is amazing.
When I reach the bottom of the stairs and pull the lever to open the doors of the high rise flat I live in, the heat hits me instantly. I’m all for warm weather, but a 40 degree Parisian summer is nothing to smile about, though it is something we’re used to after about 20 years of global warming. I pull on my jacket and set out into the sun, instantly feeling the relief as the nano-technology cools me down.
Heading to work (Flickr:Stephane Mignon/licensed under CC BY 2.0)
I head down the street towards the synagogue. It’s a bit of a walk, because there aren’t a lot left. Most have been replaced by industrial buildings and high density housing. I hear a call of “Bonjour!” from behind me and turn, knowing who it is. Rachel is the only one who still talks to me in French. I’m not sure anyone other than us still knows how to speak it.
Rachel is my only Jewish friend left in France. Many of our old friends left for Israel back in the early 2000s to escape anti-Semitism. Personally, I’m willing to stay until the last synagogue has been demolished. Paris is my home.
I can still contact all my old friends through Facebook. Even they have stopped speaking French though. English is the big one to know now. “The language of business” as they say. My English is quite good. It was easy for most people to pick up as we learned a lot in school. It was more a case of remembering than learning.
As we get closer to the synagogue the population begins to increase. This is a poorer part of town than we are from, so more people here have to get up early to do the jobs no one else wants to do. Not that we’re well off. Far from it. If I was well off I certainly wouldn’t live here. I’d live in the other end of Paris, with proper housing and gardens, and with the 4 families that literally own most of the city. But that’s wealth distribution for you, I guess.
“We arrive at the synagogue, dirty and in disrepair”
We arrive at the synagogue, dirty and in disrepair, tucked in at the back of an alley and quickly say our daily prayers before leaving again. I remember when I was a lot younger having set prayer times, definitely more than once a day. Now I just pray when I can.
I say goodbye to Rachel and she heads off towards the train station. Thankfully I have a car, so I make my way to the underground car park where I left it. I used to be a teacher when I was young. I had to retrain though, there’s not as much demand for teachers as there once was, what with the ageing population. I worked in various offices for a while, then retired. After the collapse of the pension funds I went back to work. I’m the secretary of a software firm now. I have to keep myself going for about the next 30 years according to recent studies, after all.
I get into my car and set it to the destination “work” then sit back and let it drive me there. There’s no need to stop for petrol, since everything runs on electricity. It’s a shame almost, I used to enjoy driving.
“I order dinner on my mobile phone”
I arrive at work and set myself up at my desk, ready to start the day. Jianming is at the desk with me today, as every day. He greets me in Chinese and we talk for a while. Chinese is another language that’s been coming into a lot of use lately. I learned it mainly so I could speak to Jianming, but it’s actually turned out to be quite useful.
I order dinner on my mobile phone on the way home – thank god the euro is still in use, I don’t think I’d be able to get used to a new currency on top of everything else – then jump into my car, which takes me yet another new route home, since it’s programmed to avoid traffic congestion. I get back to my apartment and take the stairs back to my room. I eat my dinner and phone my sister, before going to bed.
About the author
Bronagh – author at Spotlight Europe
Bronagh (16) participated in the Dublin edition of the “My Europe” workshop. She´s a student in Mount Temple Comprehensive School.
How can we foster patriotic feelings for Europe amongst 500 million? (Flickr:The CBI/licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Intellectual discussions on Europe do have their values. They are essential, there are no doubts. But bringing 500 million citizens to grow closer together can be better built with emotions. Emotionally we need to create a common feeling so that the 500 million within the European Union are all inlanders and not foreigners any more.
“When will 500 million citizens obtain a European passport?”
When will 500 million citizens obtain a European passport?
In addition to the national passport within a period of transition.
This will cause immense legal implications but the issue should not hold up what is good for Europe.
It seems to me to be a human behaviour that it needs a common problem or a common threat in order to be united. The Soviet Union in the past. Russia today? Wouldn´t it be much more desirable to be united for a common opportunity? And what a great opportunity the European Union is providing. A new fantastic horizon for all, especially for the young.
My observation is that especially many young people, well understandable, take all the wonderful achievements of the European Union for granted as they have not seen otherwise but place their focus on current matters in Brussels. The sometimes tough discussions, the poor egoistic style amongst politicians and worst of all, media, that publishes which president or chancellor is the winner of a negotiation.
Have we ever heard a journalist telling us that Europe is the winner?
We should not forget that we need to win hearts and minds of all 500 million for the European Union. Not only the elite. Students having participated in the Erasmus programs, school students who enjoyed exchanges with their peers in other countries, managers having worked within various EU countries. All these are excellent ambassadors for the European Union but they are a small minority. A most valuable minority, but still a minority.
“[W]e need to approach the national mass media and convince them to write appropriately critical […]”
Then, how can we convince the mind and heart of the other 90% of people in Europe?
Not an easy task at all. Since these people do not experience Europe by personally meeting other Europeans or through international business, we need to approach the national mass media and convince them to write appropriately critical but fair and respectful about other countries. And national politicians should refrain from taking applause for good news and exporting responsibility to Brussels for bad news. A very detrimental attitude towards our noble goals.
Media should at any time place critique on any current issues, on new laws, on political representatives of the EU but not on the noble cause of the European Union.
How can we foster patriotic feelings for Europe amongst 500 million?
Not only by reflecting on Europe´s great cultures but:
By creating awareness for the great joint achievements of Europe to be proud of.
• The current Philae space mission. Europe before America on a comet.
• By making everyone aware that the Airbus planes are a great European achievement. A perfect example: No single EU country would have been able to build such planes, competing most sucessfully with the US giant Boeing. Providing high tech jobs for over 120.000 people in Europe.
And many more.
And then…
• Should Europe not build its own Amazon or Google?
• Should we not have a common television channel in our different languages, the same programme and at the same time? A regular programme. Movies, news, entertainment et. al.
• Why don´t we employ native English speaking teachers from the U.K. or Ireland in all EU countries? The same in other languages.
• We could establish European teams in different sports competing with North America or Latin America, Asia and Africa, Australia and Oceania.
• Should we not invite well known, popular, respected European personalities giving public testimonials on the values of Europe as part of an advertising campaign?
(movie stars, sportsmen, singers, astronauts et. al.)
Example: “Nowhere in the World you can find so many great cultures within a three Hours` flight than in Europe.”
• We should install an EU exchange center. All EU nations have talent, experience and ideas which are beneficial to all members of the EU. Let us collect and exchange this most valuable asset and make it available to all.
• We should install a “European protection force.” 1.000 specialists joining from all our countries, stationed in the center of Europe, state of the art equipment, deployed in any EU region within 24 hours, fighting major fires, helping in the aftermath of earth quakes or floods. Then we can promise each single EU citizens that he, she is protected by 500 million people.
• We should install a “European protection fund”- say each country pays 1 Euro per citizen into the fund per year to compensate and to rebuild immediately damaged houses, farms and factories destroyed by a natural catastrophy. And again, we could promise each EU citizens that he, she is protected by 500 million people.
We Europeans, we all stand up for each other.
We all are good next door neighbours to each other.
About the author:
Jochen Benderis a passionate European. He has lived and worked in Rio de Janeiro, London and Germany. He is a developer of tourism and hotels. He travelled on business to almost sixty countries and spent a total of seven years in developing countries. More
Talk to Them
