Ref. Ares(2016)2868708 - 20/06/2016
Ref. Ares(2019)3445309 - 27/05/2019
Mtg mission of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
6 June, Brussels
Steering note
Description of the context, the agenda and the issues to be discussed
Ambassador
, Permanent Observer of the Mission of the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to the EU, in Brussels, has requested a
courtesy meeting in order to discuss possible cooperation between DG EAC and the
OIC. He will be accompanied by
his Deputy
Our objective
• Inform about the Commission's work on the objectives of the Paris Declaration
and in the Framework of ET 2020.
• Exchange views on possibilities for future cooperation, particularly in context
of the challenges at hand in preventing violent radicalisation and promoting
inclusion in Europe.
Line to take
General line to take
•
Religious organisations have an essential role to play in supporting the
integration of migrants in European societies and in helping to prevent the
violent radicalisation of young people.
• The organisation of Islamic Cooperation can be a
valuable partner of the
Commission in promoting inclusion and intercultural understanding. The
Commission would be pleased to
reinforce cooperation with the OIC in the
implementation of the Paris Declaration, which is a key priority for the
Commission since its adoption in March 2015.
• Stress
that
violent radicalisation is a common concern for muslims and
non-muslims. Acknowledge the complex situation in the world and in Europe,
but stress that it is possible to live together peacefully with mutual
understanding, communication and trust. What counts is to share and respect
the
fundamental values and fundamental rights.
• We are convinced that we can integrate and combine cultures and religions in
the modern European society.
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Commission's implementation of the Paris Declaration
• The Commission
has taken already a number of steps implementation of
the Paris since its adoption in 2015:
o Reviewed its policy frameworks in education, training and youth to
reflect this new priority
o Mobilised funding under the E+ programme
(1) priority is given to projects implementing the objectives of the
Declaration within an envelope of 400M euros available for
transnational cooperation projects
Dedicated call to upscale successful grass-roots initiatives - 13M
• TN hosted a
Colloquium on promoting inclusion and fundamental values
through education – a way to prevent violent radicalisation on 26 May.
- On this occasion, the Commissioner announced a
series of concrete
measures (see leaflet) that he will implement in 2016-17, for instance
o
Ambassadors for inclusion programme
o
Virtual youth exchanges
o School to school exchanges via the expanded
e-twinning tool to foster
exchanges also with neighbouring countries
- Some
key messages that are worth further discussion include:
Potential topics for discussion
1)
Role of OIC in countering violent radicalisation
o How does OIC see its role in countering the violent radicalisation?
o What role for muslim communities in a more general sense in
preventing violent radicalisation?
2)
Gender equality
o How to reconcile muslim traditions with gender equality, which is a
strong common value of the EU?
-
The non-acceptance of gender complicates the integration
of young migrants and the achievement of their full potential in
society.
Many young migrant girls are not allowed to participate in
some school activities like a school fieldtrip or that they are
not allowed to meet their friends outside of school, to have
drink, to go to a mall or to dance.
A rejection by muslim communities of those that deviate from
traditional muslim gender roles: A young lady expressed at
the Colloquium that her family broke all relations with her and
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Background note
1. Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The OIC has been founded in 1969 and includes 57 MS. The organisation states that it is
"the collective voice of the Muslim World and works to safeguard and protect the interests of
the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony". The OIC has
permanent delegations to the EU and UN.
In June 2008, the OIC conducted a formal revision of its charter. The revised charter set out
to promote human rights, fundamental freedoms, and good governance in all member states.
Within the revised charter, the OIC has chosen to support the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and international law.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has taken a firm stance against violent
radicalisation of young people. It held and extraordinary meeting to discuss the subject. In
16/02/2015, following the meeting, its executive committee issued a press statement
reiterating its determination to stand steadfast against extremism and terrorism in all their
forms and categorically rejects any attempt to link terrorism with any country, ethnic group or
religion or culture or nationality
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has affiliated institutions in several fields; three of
them are particular interesting:
• the
Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation, a Forum
which aims at coordinating youth activities in the countries of the organisation of
Islamic cooperation and is active in advocacy of youth interests, supporting
sustainable development, promoting formal and non-formal education, strengthening
moral values of young generation and engaging in the dialogue among cultures and
civilizations. The Forum consists of 35 leading national and 6 international youth
organizations
• the
Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation, aiming at strengthening Islamic solidarity
among youth in Member States and promote Islamic identity in the field of sports,
inculcating the principles of non-discrimination as to religion, race or colour, in
conformity with the precepts of Islam, preserving sports principles and to promote the
Olympic sports movements in the Muslim world, encourage the spirit of
sportsmanship, principles of fair play and non-violent behaviour in sports events, etc.
• the
World Federation of International Arabo-Islamic Schools, which represents
Arab-Islamic schools around the world with the intention to support and assist them.
Among the principal objectives of the Federation are teaching of the Arabic language
and the promotion of the Islamic culture and traditions. These objectives are attained
through inter alia extending financial and moral support to the schools and cultural
centres. The Federation has also a significant role in the training of personal capable
of developing the Islamic ethos and culture in Arab-Islamic schools.
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Relations with other Muslim organisations
Religious organisations can be valuable partners in our efforts to reach out to all young
people and tackle social exclusion and marginalisation. In 3 March, Commissioner Tibor
Navracsics met with a delegation from the Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student
Organisations (FEMYSO), the representative voice of Muslim Youth in Europe. They
exchanged views on youth empowerment and participation and agreed to maintain a good
level of cooperation. FEMYSO participated in the recent EU Youth Conference in Amsterdam
as an effort to broaden and diversify the structure dialogue.
2. State of play of implementing the Paris Declaration
In the awake of the terror attacks in Paris and Copenhagen in 2015, the 'Paris Declaration'
on promoting citizenship and the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-
discrimination through education was adopted at the Informal Education Ministerial Meeting
of 17 March 2015. It calls for the mobilization of the education sector at European, national,
regional and local level to tackle youth radicalisation and promote ownership of Europe's
fundamental values and democratic principles in order to help children and young people
become responsible, open-minded members of our diverse society.
The Declaration identifies concrete policy objectives to be pursued by Member States and
urges EU level actions "to cooperate and coordinate, to exchange experiences and to ensure
that the best ideas and practices can be shared throughout the European Union" with a view
to:
1. Ensuring young people acquire social, civic and intercultural competences, by
promoting democratic values and fundamental rights, social inclusion and non-
discrimination, as well as active citizenship;
2. Enhancing critical thinking and media literacy, particularly in the use of the Internet
and social media, so as to develop resistance to of discrimination and indoctrination;
3. Fostering the education of disadvantaged children and young people, by ensuring
that our education and training systems address their needs;
4. Promoting intercultural dialogue through all forms of learning in cooperation with
other relevant policies and stakeholders.
Announced and ongoing measures by the COM since the adoption of the Paris
Declaration
1. Mobilising
funding
Erasmus+ has made available more than EUR 400 million in 2016 for transnational
partnerships to develop innovative policy approaches and practices at grass-root level.
Within this envelope, priority will be given to those projects tackling the objectives of the
Paris Declaration. In addition, a specific call with a budget of EUR 13 million has just been
released to support dissemination, upscaling and mainstreaming of good practices on the
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ground in areas of social inclusion, citizenship education and fundamental values. Promoting
fundamental values through education and training addressing diversity in the learning
environment is also the first of the seven priorities of the ongoing call for proposals on
European policy experimentations in education, training and youth (overall budget : 14 Mio
€).
2. Better
knowledge
The Commission is planning to strengthen the knowledge base and the collection of
evidence at EU level to support Member States in fostering inclusive education as well as the
teaching of social and civic competences. This will be done in particular through:
- The
annual
Education and Training Monitor, which captures the trends in Europe's
education and training systems by bringing together a wide array of evidence in one
report;
- A newly launched study on
citizenship education across Europe, to be undertaken
by the
Eurydice education information network , which will provide a comprehensive
overview of the structure, content, and practice of citizenship education in Member
States (2017).
3. Teachers and schools
Schools can make a major contribution to fostering inclusion. It is here that young people
from different backgrounds come together and that the mutual trust and respect sow the
seeds of integration. Apart from equipping pupils with skills, schools must provide an
environment where diversity is seen as an asset, where controversial issues can be openly
debated and where fundamental values are promoted. Teachers have a key role to play
here. They must be equipped to address diversity in the classroom and transmit common
values to pupils. The Commission is committed to boost support mechanisms to schools and
teachers, notably through:
- Expanding
the
European Toolkit for Schools1, which is a new online platform,
offering good practice examples and resources on how to introduce collaborative
approaches in schools to improve inclusiveness and achieve success for all. It will be
further developed during 2016 to include additional functionalities and translations in
all EU languages;
- Enhancing the use of the on-line
eTwinning platform,
connecting teachers and
classrooms across Europe, to step up support to teachers and foster exchanges, in
particular to promote fundamental values and citizenship. The platform has already
reached 300 000 teachers. The Commission will explore the possibility of extending
the use of e-Twinning to countries of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership;
- Promoting more
teacher training courses on citizenship education through
Erasmus+. The objective is to empower teachers in dealing with today’s diverse
classrooms and translate into practice the Paris Declaration principles, with particular
attention for promoting inclusion, fundamental values, civic and social competences
and non-violence;
- Establishing a network of
Ambassadors for Inclusion to enable direct contacts with
positive role models for young people who may have lost hope. The network will
1 www.schooleducationgateway.eu/europeantoolkitforschools
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include well-integrated young and senior women and men from various cultural
backgrounds, entrepreneurs, artists, sportspersons, as well as formerly radicalised
people. Ambassadors would go to schools, youth and sport clubs and prisons to
speak and bond with children and young people.
4. Universities
Students and staff of higher education institutions play an important role in engaging with
their communities through institutional and grass-root initiatives and by providing spaces for
discussion. The Commission encourages higher education institutions to
award credits for
volunteering and to
develop curricula that combine academic content with civic
engagement. Some institutions already allocate credits for volunteering and civic
engagement during or following an Erasmus mobility stay.
5. Youth
Youth work is a particularly powerful tool as it can reach out to the most vulnerable young
people and bridge the gap between society and individuals in need of support. Participation
in youth work brings tangible benefits not only to society, but also to the individuals involved,
since it helps develop skills and competences such as empathy, tolerance and civic
responsibility. The Commission will therefore step up support to youth workers and
organizations in particular through:
- Developing
a
specific toolkit, which will give youth workers and youth organisations
concrete guidance on how to reach out and work with young people at risk of
marginalization (2016). The toolkit will be developed by the recently launched expert
group on the contribution of youth work to fostering active citizenship, preventing
marginalisation and radicalization;
- Strengthening
the
European Voluntary Service (2017). In 2016, priority will be given
to support projects promoting diversity, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue,
common values of freedom, tolerance and respect of human rights, and to projects
enhancing media literacy, critical thinking and sense of initiative among young
people. The Commission will also open the Service to a broader range of young
people and organisations;
-
Reinforcing support to grass-root youth projects in Erasmus+. The Commission
will step up its efforts to involve new actors, such as municipalities, allowing the
scaling-up of local initiatives within larger, cross-border partnerships.
6. Sport
Participating in sport can be an effective way of integrating into a community and developing
a sense of belonging. In addition to the many positive values sports conveys, it can be the
final safety net for young people not in education or employment and on the margins of
society. Supporting local actors who promote inclusion through sport, especially in the most
deprived areas, is of crucial importance. The Commission will therefore promote successful
and innovative projects through a
European Award for social inclusion in sport (2017).
3. Highlights from the Colloquium of 26 May
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•
School curriculum is not static. Common values can be dealt with in many different
subjects. However, values cannot only be taught - they have to be
lived. Children
need to reflect on their experiences with democratic values;
• Discussions
about
controversial and difficult issues are essential. Teachers should
talk
with the children not
to them. Hope, trust and mutual respect are key elements.
Teachers need to be trained to be able to create room for expression/acceptance of
'super diversity';
• No cases of radicalisation from
schools deeply rooted in the Community. Schools
should be fully part of the local communities; responsibility comes with a feeling of
ownership. Important that teachers have strong bonds with the local communities and
parents;
•
Address violence through
"experience restorative justice" (i.e. sanction + repair +
return in the group/inclusion.);
•
Equal treatment does not bring equal opportunities, important to recognize the
potential of every learner and have high expectations from them;
• Education cannot succeed in a vacuum, much more needs to be done
outside the
classroom to ensure continuity and consistency of approaches and to create a
virtuous dynamic throughout society at large;
•
"Spaces of collective intelligence", which bring together people in common public
spaces, can help overcome differences through joint reflections, discussions and
actions;
• New
identities (e.g. player in a football club, citizens of a town) are needed, which
embrace diversity, thus strengthening community cohesion through a new shared
"diverse identity", it is essential to break the isolation of young people (not a
"Moroccan football team, but a Mechelen team");
• Create
a
climate of ambition for all citizens, while being at the side of the weakest.
Look for 'role models' with street credibility, who can motivate young people;
•
Online radicalisation can be dealt with by:
reducing the supply, i.e. removing
content from the internet and social media;
reducing the demand for violent
extremism messages, e.g. by encouraging civic challenges to extremist narratives, by
promoting awareness and education of young people to understand how propaganda/
conspiracy theories are constructed and develop counter narratives;
•
Counter narrative messages are more efficient if they come
from people young
people feel they can trust (so partnerships with NGOs and young people's role
models are crucial);
• Cooperation between the
IT industry, social media, civil society organisations
and learning environments can help young people develop their own alternative
narratives to hate speech and indoctrination videos.
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