The Anna Lindh Foundation Swedish network will hold the seventh edition of Celebrating Our Diversity Forum on 22- 24 October in Gothenburg and Stenungssund, Sweden.
Theme: Trust - How civil society organisations are contributing to building trust in the society.
The Forum will bring together intercultural dialogue practitioners working on building inclusive, intercultural and sustainable cities who are seeking to expand their network and build new partnerships with other members of the Anna Lindh Foundation networks in the Euro-Med region.
The programme includes the famous Practitioners Lab capacity building workshops where members can hold a workshop for 90 minutes to spread the word about a manual/toolkit or promote their organisation and ongoing projects.
What's new this year?
The Open Mic will take the shape of a TED-Talk. Members will get the chance to share about lessons learned from a certain project, or choose a topic they want to talk about.
We invited external experts and speakers who will join us physically or virtually to talk about interesting topics.
Another collaboration with the Swedish Dialogue Institute (Amman) who will host a talk about youth and peacebuilding as part of rebuilding trust.
We hope to offer you the following
- networking and creating new partnerships between members
- exchange of knowledge and expertise
- capacity building through the Practitioners Labs
- sharing initiatives and lessons learned by network members
- sharing opportunities by ALF or other Nordic donors.
Official language of the Forum is English.
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Programme*
(っ◔◡◔)っ Wednesday 22 October - Gothenburg
11.00 - 12.00 Welcome and registration
12.00 - 13.00 Lunch
13.00 - 13.30 Introduction
13.30 - 14.30 Networking
14.30 - 15.00 FIKA - coffee break
15.00 - 16.00 Panel: Building Trust - Youth Stories from SWANA region. Hosted by the Swedish Dialogue Institute (Amman)
- Sulaima Ramadan, a Palestinian social entrepreneur and strategist focused on inclusive innovation, education, and systemic change. She is the founder and CEO of Ibtikar for Empowerment and Social Entrepreneurship, a Palestine-based organization that supports communities under the Occupation by fostering opportunity, dignity, and agency.
- Yazeed Al Jeddawy is the Research Coordinator at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies and a research consultant on Yemen. His work focuses on peacebuilding, transitional justice, civil society, and youth empowerment. From 2018 to 2022, he served on the International Steering Group of the United Network of Young Peacebuilders, representing the MENA region.
- Rashed Alrashed is a Syrian civil society activist, working with youth on peacebuilding and enhancing the roles and participation of refugees. Based in Berlin, he has been actively engaged since 2011 in Syrian civil society efforts, discussion forums, and networks across Syria and the region.
Moderated by: Ambassador Ann Måwe, Director of the Swedish Dialogue Institute (Amman).
16.00 - 16.15 Meet ALF President, Princess Rym Ali (via ZOOM)
16.15 - 16.45 Visit World Culture Museum
17.00 Departure from World Culture Museum by a private bus.
18.00 Check-in Stenungsbaden Hotel
19.00 Dinner at the hotel
(っ◔◡◔)っ Thursday 23 October - Stenungsund
09.00 - 10.00 Warming up and networking
10.00 - 10.30 Open Mic
- "From open your heart to go home" by Sira Jokinen Lisse (Kisam-Världens mammor och Världens ungdomar, Linköping)
- "Why Sweden is missing out on leadership talent among foreign-born women" by Anna-Carin Hall (Kvinna till Kvinna, Stockholm)
- "Building a society together" by Zeinab Elsaneh (Hammarkullens Folkets Hus, Gothenburg)
10.30 - 11.00 FIKA - coffee break
11.00 - 11.30 Open Mic
- "A dinner with Margaret Thatcher" by Hans Nyman (Swedish Friends of Alexandria, Gothenburg)
- "The Sex Talk Arabic: The Sexual Health and Rights Revolution Led By Arab Women" by Fatma Ibrahim (Jasadeyat, Paris/SWANA)
- "From Belonging to Trust: LGBTQI Communities Leading Change" by Jonathan Österlund (RFSL, Stockholm)
11.30 - 12.00 New Pact for the Mediterranean with Beatrice Grifoni (European Commission, DG-MENA) - via ZOOM
12.00 - 13.00 Lunch (and group photo)
13.00 - 14.30 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Practitioners Lab - Round 1 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- Trust as a human and spiritual truth by Johanna Westbrandt (Waytogo)
This workshop is for anyone who feels now is a difficult time with so much division and so much fraction and friction between people. It's for anyone who want to have more depth going into joint ventures or relationships and need to find ways to collaborate with grace. We will explore and learn what it is like to trust in myself as the starting point of any deep, lasting and cooperating relationship.
- 55 techniques of psychology, storytelling behind influence by Haythem Kamel (Formation et Sensibilisation Luxembourg)
Presentation of the handbook, educational manual, that was created within the long term training course (SecureScreen) to familiarize youth workers and human rights educators with techniques that are commonly used to make people more vulnerable in the online environment.
- Deep Puppetry by Laura Geiger (Kulturrummet)
Deep Puppetry is an applied puppetry approach in which engaging with a puppet as an autonomous partner uncovers new ways of relating that challenge internalised systems of exclusion and hierarchy while providing a rehearsal ground for imagining and enacting new futures. Deep Puppetry lives at the edges where relationship remains possible without definition, collapse, or domination and as such fosters an orientation in which otherness is not a threat but a source of connection and learning.
14.30 - 15.00 Coffee break - FIKA
15.00 - 16.30 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Practitioners Lab - Round 2 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- Forum Theatre by Eman Albohtori (Support Group Network)
An introduction to Forum Theatre, an interactive tool used in non-formal education with young people and youth workers to discuss important issues and topoics in the society.
- Resilience redefined: bouncing back stronger from life's challenges by Zeinab Hefny (Zeina Coaching Company)
Understanding resilience as bouncing forward, not just bouncing back. Identifying personal strengths and past examples of resilience. Learning practical strategies to handle stress and setbacks. Creating a personalized resilience action plan for future challenges.
- Reflection cards: tensions and triggers by Farhia Nur and Marisa Feto (STPLN)
A dialogue-based session using cards to explore real-world dilemmas in cultural collaboration, focusing on trust, understanding, and stronger partnerships.
16.30 - 17.00 Debriefing
17.00 - 18.30 Free time
19.00 - 21.00 Dinner and quiz at Harrys
(っ◔◡◔)っ Friday 24 October - Stenungsund
09.00 - 09.30 Warming up and networking
09.30 - 10.30 Open Mic
- "Wellbeing is a pillar of democracy" by Ieva Ugne Ulianskaite (Wellbeing Lab, Gothenburg)
- "Collective Biking in Cairo. A Failed Attempt" by Waleed Mansour (Environmental and Cultural Heritage Expert, Cairo)
- "Clowning, Circus, and Acrotheatre: Empowering Children in East Africa and DRC" by Donna-Maria Maalouf (Clowns Without Borders, Stockholm)
- "Beyond Algorithms: Ethics as the Foundation of AI Trust and Safety" by Salam Shebli (IT for Intercultural Dialogue Expert, Albania/Jordan)
- "You and Me were meant to be" by Ophélie Masson (European Alternatives, Paris)
10.30 - 11.00 FIKA - coffee break / Check-out
11.00 - 12.00 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Practitioners Lab - Round 3 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- Power of group pressure, delegated responsibility and internal dilemmas by Marta Husarava (Proqvi Igloo)
A workshop on power of group pressure, delegated responsibility and internal dilemmas where participants will experience moral dilemmas as part of group activities, feel the propriety of choices made and discuss the mechanisms behind it.
- Trust - Ny i Sverige: Breaking Taboos and Giving Support by Kiriaki Christoforidis (Tidigt Föräldrastöd)
Being a new parent is challenging for everyone. But, being a newly arrived parent in a new country is especially demanding. Many who come to Sweden have left great difficulties behind, and trauma is not uncommon. Yet, most find it hard to talk about it. Welcom to take part in what Trust-Ny i Sverige project has done so far, and to join a conversation about to break difficult taboos.
- Values of Solidarity by Rasha Shaaban (NMWC)
An introduction into the Gamified Workshop Toolkit, which is designed for teams that are just beginning their collaboration. A discussion about values and how we build solidarity along the partnership with others.
12.00 - 13.00 Lunch and fresh air
13.00 - 14.00 Intercultural competences and AI - TOPOI GPT by Arjan Verdoreen (Samarbetsbolaget)
14.00 - 14.20 Coffee break - FIKA
14.20 - 15.00 Opportunities and network affairs
15.30 Departure from Stenungsbaden 👋
* Last updated: 20/10.
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For information/questions
Rasha Shaaban - ALF Coordinator in Sweden
This Forum is organised by the ALF Swedish network coordinator, the National Museums of World Culture with the support of the Anna Lindh Foundation, European Commission, the Swedish Ministry of Culture.
Special thanks to the support from the ALF Swedish network advisory committee members: Bilal Almobarak (Support Group Network), Nasma Salim (PeaceWorks Sweden) and Farhia Nur (STPLN).