You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Brussels’ category.
Just back in London from an *intensive* day in Brussels with a bunch of remarkable people.
Four of us from the UK met up with eight more from a variety of religious and humanist traditions from other European countries. We squished into a tiny office and offered our thoughts on a possible Europe-wide network of existing intercultural or all-faiths-&-none groups.
What’s the best way to describe this kind of grassroots group? Multifaith & interfaith have ‘faith’ in them, which excludes humanist and secular value-based traditions. Someone suggested ‘interconvictional’ – is that going to catch on?
I was extra pleased that there were plenty of women – and action women at that, no messing.
Five of us had a further meeting at the European Commission in the afternoon. The Berlaymont building would drive me nuts to work in – endless grey and blue corridors. There must be a consultancy specialising in this kind of bureaucratic design – you find it from Fez to Finland.
Looks like there may be a gathering towards the end of this year, probably in Brussels. Would your interconvictional group be interested in joining us? Let me know :)
Brussels cobbles look their best in the rain - November 2009
I’m booked on Eurostar to Brussels next Monday. A handful of us (some from the UK, others from Europe-wide networks) have a meeting at the European Commission to talk about intercultural/all-faiths-&-none groups across Europe.
So, what is the European Commission? It’s part of the EU – the civil service bit of it, led by commissioners from each EU country – but with more of an active role than the UK civil service, for example it’s responsible for proposing EU legislation as well as implementing it.
It’s not the European Council (EU heads of state), the European Parliament (MEPs) nor what is often called the Council of Ministers (government ministers from EU member states).
Most of these bits of the EU seem to have presidents – either a person or a country:
- Herman Van Rompuy is President of the European Council
- Hungary is the President of the Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers, I think)
- Jerzy Buzek is the President of the European Parliament
- José Manuel Barroso is the President of the European Commission
There’s also the sinister-sounding European External Action Service, led by the UK’s Catherine Ashton.
If you go boss-eyed with unrelenting bright blue backgrounds, tiny print, yellow stars and hopelessly high “Europe” & “Council” word-counts when you search the Euro-web, this little diagram from The EU – What’s in it for me? will help:
So, now you know ;)
I’ll ask the Eurobloggers (& see the list of Europe links on left of this blog) to check this post for accuracy, but it’s making me feel dizzy already.
I love Brussels. I’ll be taking my best English, my schoolgirl French and my shaking-hands way of saying hello.
Robin Sclafani, CEJI Director, speaking at the Town Hall
The CEJI course on combating religious discrimination finishes tomorrow – what a blast. An extraordinary bunch of people involved in so many different organisations, groups and movements. We shared tagine and couscous after a certification ceremony at the local Town Hall in Brussels.
CEJI and our course is based in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode/Sint-Joost-ten-Node, which describes itself as:
The smallest commune in Brussels also happens to be the most densely populated. Although small, this commune is full of striking contrasts. The international-class hotels on Place Rogier/Rogierplein, the tower blocks of offices on Place Madou/Madouplein and the little Manhattan of the North rub shoulders with neighbourhoods where the mainly Turkish population has recreated the chipper, bustling atmosphere of an Eastern city.
Ruth on the last evening
The Mayor’s representative reminded us of Martin Niemoller’s poem – and particularly of our responsibilities as educated people and intellectuals to keep raising awareness and to keep fighting injustice and discrimination. In our privileged position we cannot say we didn’t know.
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.
There are always hopes at the end of weeks such as this that people will stay in touch and be able to support each other, but a reality check means that this takes time and effort and people quickly get caught up with their lives back home.
My hopes include exchanging ideas and resources on Faith Literacy UK with those who are involved in other countries.
Europeans from four countries
I’d also like to keep in touch with one of the participants who is keen to develop links between the academy and local communities – just as Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network is doing with the Open University and (funding permitting) University College London.
Mark and Adrian
Maxine & Luc
Best of all, it would be good to meet up with people again. There are plans for a summer conference in Switzerland which sounds unusual – I’m up for that.
Ruth and Luc, the wonderful people guiding us through the material, have somehow managed to keep a very disparate group together and learning from one another all week. Dank u wel & merci bien.
Prayer carpet at Brussels Mosque
Financial support from the state for registered faith communities? Belgium, Germany, Romania, Sweden and maybe other countries give money to pay the salaries and pensions of some ministers of religion. It seems a bizarre arrangement – surely whoever pays the piper calls the tune. There are wrangles about which churches, synagogues, mosques are acknowledged – and indeed which world faiths are eligible at all. Humanism is on the list in Belgium.
We visited the main mosque in Brussels today which has a beautiful Andalusian mihrab – but only by accident: the stonemasons who were employed to carve it came from the Maghreb. The congregation nowadays hails mainly from Turkey and Morocco, with Belgian members as well, one of whom was our guide.
I’ve been reminded just how ignorant I am about European countries behind the Iron Curtain. Hungarians and Romanians had to mind what they said, did, read – it’s a continuous state of alertness and fear I find hard to imagine.
Grand Place, Brussels
The Christmas tree has gone up in the Grand Place in Brussels – the Christmas Fair will follow soon. There is a statue of a little boy peeing into a water butt, originally a rare source of safe drinking water for townspeople. A tradition of dressing up the statue in something different each week (think fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square until recently) means that this week the boy has a oversize white ribbon around his neck to call attention to violence against women. Information & contacts available nearby – great idea.
How many British people live in Brussels? I keep hearing their voices on the street. You can even buy the Radio Times in corner shops here.
The BBC’s Gavin Hewitt has touched on one or two issues that have come up at the CEJI course – how different do we want to be from each other? How similar do we want or need to be? How important is a shared language, or an agreed commitment to universal human rights?
Developments such as the upcoming vote in Switzerland on minarets and citizenship tests (UK) or training (parts of Belgium) seem to be on the rise.
One exercise in our training today involved putting togther a timeline of faith traditions/value systems and I was surprised to find something called laïcité in amongst Judaism and the Baha’i faith. Based on a strong commitment to the separation of religion and the state, it is popular in France (where it originated) and in Turkey.
Being in the company of people from Holland, Austria, Romania, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain and Belgium makes for wide-ranging conversations and a steep learning curve for me, but a fascinating one. And I like finding philosophy monthlies in the newsagents here, next to the gardening, computer and lifestyle mags.
A day dedicated to identity & cultural awareness on the course, but as is often the case, it’s the private conversations afterwards which dig deeper. How does Belgium work culturally? Flemish, Walloons and Brussels people?
Belgium is historically a contested area and holds the line between the Slav/Frank/German/Flemish way and the Roman/Romance language/Walloon way. Are the Flemish more direct (but also more reserved), slow to commit to a friendship or business partnership – but when committed, unlikely to withdraw? Are Walloons, the French-speakers, more gregarious, open and friendly, able to get people together quickly for a demonstration or protest, but perhaps more easy-come, easy-go on relationships and less reliable?
We visited a Hindu Centre and were welcomed by ISKCON devotees, some converts and some second-generation. Very interesting to hear from them how ISKCON was developing in Europe and the west within its particular strand of Hinduism since its beginnings in the USA in the 60s.
I asked how important Indian customs were within ISKON (our host was dressed in a dhoti, played the harmonium and offered us samosa and burfi on thalis). They clearly liked Indian food, dress and music, but said they weren’t essential to the faith and things may change in coming generations.
There is a lot of contentious talk about European Islam, but European Hinduism isn’t scrutinised to the same extent. Tariq Ramadan has brought out a new book “What I Believe” and was speaking on BBC R4′s Start the Week this morning.
Packed congregation at St Andrew’s Church of Scotland this morning – and a truly international one, too. Forty-nine nationalities. A very warm welcome, a mix of Sydney Carter, Richard Gillard and the Threefold Amen, choir in blue gowns and beautiful Southern African stoles, proper children’s address – and a happy buzz downstairs for coffee afterwards. Met a Canadian who is also just back from Sarajevo – not part of the major EU/US delegation but Canada plays a peace-building role.
People arriving before the service at St Andrew's Church of Scotland in Brussels.
Arrived in Brussels for week-long awareness training on religious discrimination, made possible by a mobility grant from the EU, through Grundtvig. People from different religious traditions from all over Europe are taking part – well from all over the EU, so not from Bosnia (wish you were here, Bosnia friends!).
So, another internet café, another keyboard to master (this time azerty). This café is fantastic. It’s called Outpost and is really an alternative youth club, full of teenage boys, board games and computer games, Twix and crisps to buy, plenty chat and laughter, even a table for mums to sit at while they wait. We should have one in Clapham.
The work starts tomorrow.
