1st text, revised after our 03 may 2015 meeting:
Dear friends from Dialogues,
To promote deeply critical issues for our organization as an international network, we've made a little Skype meeting last Sunday (Siddhartha, Patrick, Debora, Genevieve, Simone and Emerson), to offer reflections on the following issues:
- What do we want for the future of international dialogues?
- What each one of us has to do personally to help that.
We offer a short summary of our discussion, which will continue on 03rd and 10th May 2015:
Dialogues are:
- One space among others in which we're trying to build a global citizenship;
- It has a role of hub for multiple initiatives, with connections to international/global level;
- Source of inspiration for many initiatives.
Several features characterize Dialogues:
- Its openness to institutions, groups, civil society organizations and companies also, which makes it complementary to other spaces as the World Social Forum
- Its openness to small, local initiatives and its roots in civic initiatives in each country;
- Its building experience of a new way of doing politics in a horizontal logic, convivialist, based on the policy of friendship and brotherhood/sisterhood;
- Its ability to inspire a new way of action in political, social and environmental issues, because Dialogues also integrate personal and spiritual dimension;
About the second question, we have deepened the discussion on a personal and spiritual dimension of our work and how members of the Dialogues can be more connected and help each other in their commitment.
All participants are available to advance the work for the Dialogues, with special attention to younger generations, to help them to meet the challenges and make the necessary transition.
Brief summary of our 03rd may 2015 meeting:
Present:
- Aviram Rozin
- Catherine André
- Christine Bisch
- Débora Nunes
- Emerson Sales
- Marcos Arruda
- Patrick Viveret (partial)
- Siddhartha
- Simone Kunegel
We started the meeting discussing our big challenges:
How we can contribute to:
- the building of a global citizenship
- the empowerment of people - how to integrate people from different social/cultural environments in this network
- the building of a global alternative, an innovative governance
- multiplying "hubs"?
- strengthening the person in the struggle?
The participants decided to talk first about their personal commitments:
Marcos Arruda:
- Expand the Dialogues in Latin America;
- Sharing concepts and practices of spirituality;
- Integrate the DH network with his local work and with other international networks that he is part of, such as the Global Ecovillages Network (GEN), Solidarity Economy and Transition Towns Movement.
Marcos also said that, related to the item 'features of the DH', the aim is to practice true democracy, unlike the fake democracy of the capital;
Anne-Marie Codur:
- Integrate the DH network with Boston's academic networks;
- Seek for actual movements, mostly catalysed by young people, poor people and black people, to be partners;
- Organize DH in Boston next year;
- Put the artistic dimension at the CORE of her actions (suggestion of Marcos, accepted by Anne-Marie); for example, the Foundation Playing for Change
Simone Kunegel:
- Try to emphasize our emotional / spiritual intelligence; she agreed that Music is the best way, it break down barriers...
- Use her language skills to serve the DH's Network;
- Contribute to the construction of our new Website;
She also said that compassion is the key component of our work in the DH and suggested a workshop on compassion during our stay at le Pradier; another key point is the interface of DH with other networks, including the charter for Compassion.
Christine Bisch:
- She'll try to create DH in Philippines;
She told us about her work in Lyon related to the Philippines, with Gawad Kalinga
She said: I try to make the holistic concept of Gawad Kalinga better known in the world because we could be inspired by it everywhere. It is already applied in other countries than the Philippines and adapted to very different environments (Indonesia, Australia…). It goes through male implication (sweat equity) in collective building of homes in the Philippines and this could go through artistic implication in Europe, why not? I will make Tony Meloto meet Malika Bellaribi Le Moal, very soon on May 18th and 19th in Lyon for that purpose… Both know how to overcome disaster towards resilience through love, caring and sharing… Malika through arts and not building but I am sure they have a lot to share… and maybe a way to find together to make GK more inspiring in our countries…
She mentioned also her implication in the "Mouvement du 11" in Lyon, that is in practice a meeting every 11th of the month in a different place of the city (a place which makes sense) to remind and enlarge the fraternity that guided millions of people spontaneously in the streets of Paris and other cities in France and abroad, after Charlie crimes…and this has something in common with the spirit of DH…
Catherine André:
- She's very involved with Sophie in the organization of the Paris Dialogues, together with Defistival and the Alternatiba festival; they're discussing the idea of combining the 3 events around Place de la République;
- She's trying to put people in touch who don't necessary come from the same "world" or so they think: the Journalistic world, which needs to evolve, the academic and expert world (sometimes in a kind of defence mechanism), and within some events she's co-organizing - where She invited Aviram and She'd like to invite Emerson: it could be seen as a rather slow process, but She thinks we need to offer people from all sorts of backgrounds the opportunity to "open up";
- She said: "As far as the importance of music is concerned, my son is also a musician, very open with his friends in music too, to "give" their art as a bridge towards young people to all over the world. I have talked to Aviram about it...
- My commitment really comes deep from my heart, this need to open up to everyone - this compassion I use everyday in the bodywork method I work with (Rosen method), which helps people to let down their barriers, around their hearts...
- I meditate a lot; I am constantly working on myself, trying to reach higher levels of consciousness and self understanding, trying to feel more from the heart, through Art, and a spiritual compassionate path. And this is maybe, if invisible, one of my major commitments to the spread of the spirit of the Dialogues...
- One thing I forgot to say: I would still feel strongly about working - half time maybe? - to the building of links with the various existing cross-border networks, ready to blossom...."
Aviram Rozin:
- He offers the "rural side" experience from his projects worldwide (India, Kenya, Haiti) to complement the "urban" focus of DH;
- He’s committed to organizing local DH in Kenya;
- He opens the participation of young volunteers to all DH, as in the recent 1st Auroville DH organized on 1st February 2015;
- He suggests including practical actions in the DH events (what to do? / how to do?); for example, he proposed workshops about planting trees and permaculture;
Aviram also talked about Compassion to ALL beings, not only humans; this explains his vegan / vegetarian personal option; he also suggested integrating the work of the International Vegetarian Union with our work;
Siddhartha:
- He's very involved in the personal/spiritual dimension, the self-understanding, to thrive;
- He's committed to make a kind of workshop in the Pradier meeting about this dimension, for example talking about the work of Eckhart Tolle;
Siddhartha also talked about the bad effect of the Ego, which is destroying the important recent victory of the AP Party in Delhi...
Extra comments:
Anne-Marie Codur: Looking at the site of charter for compassion and the map of cities that have joined the network: no cities in France - shouldn't we propose the city of Lyon to join, as the site of the dialogues?
Simone Kunegel: About the Charter yes Anne Marie, France is lagging way behind in terms of active compassion;
Siddhartha: we do a lot of work with journalists. We should talk about connecting on this when we meet in July.
Anne-Marie Codur: on the lack of compassion of European societies, facing the tragedy in the Mediterranean (thousands of people who are drowning every year): listen to the passionate call by Fatou Diome:
Catherine André: Yes Siddhartha, I would love to get involved with what you do in Fireflies, on journalism. I have become very involved in that area here: I made a partnership with the Guardian on environment issues: it could be very useful for the Dialogues!
Yes, I agree with Aviram - and I remember this moment, and seeds were planted; I also agree to the Vegan path, and including animal suffering and respect to the Dialogues (Madeleine and Joséphine would Help on this one!!!!!)
Thank you all - this was powerful!!! Love and love again!!!