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Exchanging Best Practices in the Integration of Assyrians in Europe (EPIA) 2012 – 2014

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Exchanging Best Practices in the Integration of Assyrians in Europe (EPIA) 2012 – 2014 Exchanging Best Practices in the Integration of Assyrians in Europe (EPIA) 2012 – 2014 Final Project Documentation Abdulmesih BarAbraham, Soner Önder & Fatrus Gabriel (Eds.) This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication (communication) reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. EPIA (2012 – 2014) 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Grundtvig Learning Partnership 'Exchanging Best Practices in the Integration of Assyrians in Europe' (EPIA) has aimed to exchange experiences of Assyrians in the field of integration in Europe, map problems and challenges, and promote best practices. The partners represented institutions of Assyrians in four different European countries (NL, SE, DE, BE). Since the 1960s, Assyrians have emigrated and established themselves in large numbers (about 300.000) in Europe. Already from the beginning their journey to Europe was a 'one-way ticket'; they burned their ships behind them to establish themselves for good in Europe. To a great extent, this first intention has influenced the way they have oriented and established themselves in Europe. Nevertheless, integration into modern Western societies led to a comprehensive societal transformation, and introduced new problems and challenges for the group. This partnership project has aimed to evaluate the 50-years of settlement of Assyrians in Europe, develop more insight in the processes of the integration, to exchange experienced problem and challenges, and to map best practices in the field of integration. In order to realize the envisaged aims and objectives, the project has focused on educational activities. Three seminars, two workshops and a conference were organized in partner countries during the lifetime of the project. These are: - Promoting Active Citizenship: Upward Mobility of Assyrians in Europe (Seminar, Gothenburg) - An Intergenerational Approach to the Problems and Challenges of the Integration of Assyrians (Seminar, Augsburg) - Linguistic Diversity, Mother Tongue and Integration: The case of Surayt (Seminar, Liege) - The Integration and Empowerment of Assyrian Women in Europe (Workshop, Gothenburg) - Second Generation and Integration (Workshop, Hengelo) - Assyrian Diaspora in Europe: Past, Present, Future (Conference, Berlin) The planned activities realized successfully, and attracted in total more than 500 participants (learners, public audience). Furthermore, all events were broadcast on Assyria TV and disseminated further to a broader public worldwide. Moreover, various articles were written about the project in local/national newspapers and internet magazines. Furthermore, all activity reports and selected presentations were collected in a final report which is available on the project partners' websites as an open educational resource. 2 Some of the main conclusions of the aforementioned partnership activities: - Education plays an essential role in upward mobility by giving opportunities for individuals to change their path within the broader society. - 'Learning links' between generations do not function properly; this prevents a respectful and fruitful interaction between generations. - Intergenerational tensions are based upon the fear of assimilation and thus disappearance. The re-production of this fear paves the way for the inward-looking attitudes and tensions between parents and their children. - Among second generation who have grown up in European societies, gender equality has become a more central value. They do not differ so much from their native peers with regards to norms and values. - Assyrian women underwent a big transformation process after settlement in Europe. The change in the position of Assyrian women is very remarkable. However, they still face structural discrimination. - Bilingual children who can speak their mother tongue become more successful in school where their mother tongue functions as an asset for their personal and cultural development. The learning of the mother tongue is one of the most important points for successful integration. - Assyrians across generations have experienced a big transformation process; their norms and values have changed. They have accepted or incorporated many Western values and norms, but also kept their traditional norms and values, yet in a different context. - Second generation Assyrians perceives the European countries where they were born as their ‘home’, and they have all established themselves well. * * * This report consists of a short profiling of partner organizations, chronicle reports and articles published on the various activities. In few cases, activity reports other than in English language are included in order to demonstrate the linguistic diversity of the partnership. In the annex, the reader can find some of the speeches given during the partnership activities and activity posters. We are thankful to the Assyria TV for their cooperation in this project. July 2014 EPIA (2012 – 2014) 3 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 1 PROFILES OF PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS ........................................................... 5 SEMINAR IN SWEDEN: Promoting Active Citizenship: Upward mobility of Assyrians in Europe ................................................................................................................. 9 Baylan: "Lyft fram rätt förebilder" ............................................................................................ 11 SEMINAR IN GERMANY: Intergenerational Approach to the Problems and Challenges of the Integration of Assyrians ................................................................... 12 "Generationsübergreifende Aspekte der Integration der Assyrer" - Ein Bericht zum Seminar in Augsburg ...................................................................................................................... 14 ”När trauma blir en kollektiv identitet” .................................................................................. 19 WOMEN WORKSHOP IN GOTHENBURG: The Integration and Empowerment of Assyrian Women in Europe: Problems and Challenges ........................................... 21 EU-projekt om assyrisk integration .......................................................................................... 26 Att tråckla ihop en identitet ......................................................................................................... 33 Assyrian Artist Represents the Netherlands in Poland ...................................................... 39 SEMINAR IN BELGIUM: Surayt as Mother Tongue Education in the European Diaspora .................................................................................................................................... 43 Importance de la langue maternelle dans l'intégration des Assyriens en Europe ... 47 YOUTH WORKSHOP IN HOLLAND: Second Generation & Integration................. 51 Workshop: Integration & Assyrische Jugend in Europa .................................................... 58 EPIA CONFERENCE: Assyrian Diaspora in Europe - Past, Present, Future ......... 61 4 Appendixes .............................................................................................................................. 75 Annex 1: Announcement of the EPIA Conference in the Turkish Media ...................... 75 Annex 2: Selected Speeches .......................................................................................................... 76 Annex 3: Posters ............................................................................................................................. 140 EPIA (2012 – 2014) 5 PROFILES OF PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS Inanna Foundation The Inanna Foundation was established in the Netherlands in 2009. This young but ambitious foundation is an independent, non-profit organization. Inanna Foundation aims to contribute to the educational, social, cultural and political development of Assyrians/Syriacs worldwide, with a special emphasis on those in Europe. Therefore, the goal of the Inanna Foundation is to foster the social inclusion and democratic participation of Assyrians/Syriacs in the countries in which they live. Accordingly, it promotes active citizenship among the target group both in their homeland(s) and in the Diaspora. Therefore our aim is to raise their representation on educational, social, political and institutional levels so as to make their voice heard and make them visible as a group. In these endeavours, our point of departure is the idea that this minority group needs to build up durable, productive institutions in all fields of life. Another aim of the Inanna Foundation is the empowerment of Assyrian/Syriac women so as to stimulate their development, participation in and contribution to society. We are endeavouring to realize these aims by means of educational and cultural activities and involvement. Our efforts primarily take the form of raising awareness of topics and situations which should be brought to the attention of the people, by means of innovative approaches and practices. In 2011, Inanna Foundation organized the Grundtvig workshop 'An Intergenerational Approach to the Study of Genocide' (Registration No. 2010-1-NL1-GRU13-02946) in Rijssen, The Netherlands (June 10-16). As a follow-up activity, Inanna Foundation has taken the initiative to publish an edited academic
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