Europe Matters – You Matter’ focuses on building awareness of our relationships within Europe and supporting thriving multicultural societies by addressing individual and collective awareness around issues underlying our relationships among people living in Europe.
We coordinate, deliver and facilitate large forums, in cooperation with partner organizations and supported by the EU. Five-day forums are attended by people living in more than 20 countries and many more cultures who gather to debate and process issues we face in modern Europe. Europe Matters includes facilitated panel discussions, small and large group process, and a training component on conflict facilitation and diversity issues. It includes working with our collective and personal histories and identities, including our colonial history and its impact, as well as the legacy of war, genocide, and communist history on our continent, and building new relationships in multicultural society. Europe Matters Forums took place in 2007 and 2009, both in Slovakia and in 2012 in London. An upcoming Europe Matters is being planned for Vukovar/Croatia.
Europe Matters – You Matter Projects
- 2013 -2014 VukovarOur ‘Beyond Conflict’ and ‘Europe Matters – You Matter’ programmes are involved in planning a project in partnership with Udruga Mi, Split and Europe House, Vukovar.We met conducted meetings with both local government in Vukovar and county government in Vinkovci, to develop a programme, as a next step of our long-term work in the region . Our first focus will be on supporting and facilitating dialogue among and between the different communities and organisations in Vukovar, to support the important local work going on there. We are also aiming to further our partnerships with individuals and organisations in some of the Post-Yugoslav countries, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia. A large 6-day international forum/ conference is then planned to be held in Vukovar. Vukovar was devastated by war and has suffered great difficulties in its recovery, yet with its extraordinary hardships and tenacity, it has much to pass on to the region, Europe and internationally. The ‘worldwork’ style conference will focus on in-depth facilitated dialogue on central and often controversial issues, impacting local communities in Vukovar, regional relationships among post-Yugsolav countries, South-east Europe, Europe and international relationships. The conference will invite individual participants, as well as organisations interested to take part in transforming our violent history, and creating our future together among diverse communities.Initial funds from the EU Grundtvig Learning Partnership have supported this work to begin, and we are now, together with our partners pursuing funding for this programme.
History of Europe Matters – You Matter
- 2004 Forum on issues facing Roma in Slovakia, minority and majority issues,
- 2005-2006 Social Inclusion in Action: forums in Poland, Norway, London/UK
- 2007 and 2009, ‘Seeds’ from Seed to project fulfillment, London /UK
- 2007 and 2009, Europe Matters-You Matter – Sturovo, Slovakia
- 2012 Europe Matters – You Matter; London UK
