Building Inclusive Societies

Transatlantic Perspectives on Multiculturalism and Integration

EUNIC CTR EU Delegation logos

As part of the 'EU Rendez-Vous' series, this half-day seminar compares American and European perspectives on migration, integration, multiculturalism, citizenship and identity.

This event was jointly organised by the British Council's Our Shared Future project (@OurSharedFuture), the European National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC), the EU Delegation (@EUintheUS), and the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University (@CTR_SAIS).

DATE:
October 2, 2012
Registration to begin at 8:30am

LOCATION:
Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies
Kenney Auditorium
1740 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036

Emerging European and American experts from the spheres of academia, policy making and the media will discuss their experiences and perspectives on this critical issue, including what Europe and the U.S. can learn from each other's models of multiculturalism and integration. They will consider the challenges that both sides face in reducing anti-immigrant sentiment and improving levels of civic engagement among youth, particularly within emerging demographic groups.

The EU Rendez-Vous series, hosted by the EU Delegation to the US, features senior European and American leaders discussing the 21st century's most significant issues, from foreign policy and the global economy to energy security, human rights, and culture. Through candid and vibrant debates about the critical issues facing the transatlantic relationship today, EU Rendez-Vous events strengthen the enduring relationship between the United States, the European Union, and the EU's Member States.

PROGRAMME

8:30 am	Registration
9:00 am	Introductory remarks
	François Rivasseau (@EUintheUS) Deputy Head, Delegation of the European Union to the USA François Rivasseau was appointed Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the United States in April 2011. Prior to joining the Delegation, he served from 2007 until 2011 as the Deputy Head of Diplomatic Mission at the French Embassy to the United States.Mr. Rivasseau has spent much of his career working on disarmament, security, and multilateral affairs. Mr. Rivasseau has been honored with the Chevalier of the French Order of Merit, the Chevalier of the French Order of the Legion of Honor, and the Chevalier of the German Order of Merit (2nd degree). He currently serves also as a Member of the Advisory Board on Disarmament of the UN Secretary-General.
Panel 1	Transatlantic attitudes on immigration, identity and citizenship
Moderator	Tim Rivera (@TimRivera, @OurSharedFuture) Our Shared Future Project & Partnerships Officer, British Council Tim Rivera is the Our Shared Future Project & Partnerships Officer at the British Council. In this role, he coordinates all activities and events under the Our Shared Future project which aims to improve the transatlantic conversation on relations between Muslims and non-Muslims through the development and mobilization of a network of academics, experts, and journalists on both sides of the Atlantic. Tim also manages the British Council’s relationships and joint projects with EUNIC and European Union Cultural Departments in the United States. He joined the British Council in July 2010, having graduated cum laude from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science focusing on international relations.
Panelists	Rokhaya Diallo (@RokhayaDiallo) Founder and President, Les Indivisibles Rokhaya Diallo is the founder and president of Les Indivisibles, a French organisation that uses humour and irony to fight racism and stereotypes. By raising awareness of these issues, Les Indivisibles seeks to engage the French public as well as government leaders in creating an alternative discourse. She created Les Indivisibles because of offensive statements made by politicians and other public figures during the French riots in 2005. She is also a columnist and commenter on the TV channel Canal Plus. She is the co-author of L’Appel Pour une Republique Multiculturelle et Postraciale (Respect Magazine editions). And in 2011 she published her book "Racisme Mode D'emploi" (A Racism User Guide)
	Kübra Gümüşay (@kuebra) Blogger, author, columnist Kübra Gümüsay is a blogger, author, columnist and journalist from Germany and of Turkish origin. She has studied Politics at the University of Hamburg and SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London. Starting her work as a columnist for the German daily newspaper "Tageszeitung" in 2010, she was known to be the first Hijabi columnist in Germany. In 2011 she was listed to be one of the top 30 journalists under the age of 30 by the Medium Magazin. She has co-authored the books "Skandal! Die Macht öffentlicher Empörung" (Feb 2009) and "Manifest der Vielen" (Feb 2011). In 2010 Kübra co-founded the network Zahnräder ("Gears") for active, creative and intellectual Muslim entrepreneurs in Germany and is involved in many social projects on areas such as social blogging, diversity and feminism.
	Dr. Nasar Meer (@NasarMeer) Northumbria University Nasar’s research spans social and public policy, especially with respect to citizenship programmes. He is particularly interested in arenas of education, anti-discrimination, political participation, public and media representation, and the ways in which nationhood is imagined. Other interests include a European reading of the African-American scholar W. E. B. Du Bois, as well as a focus upon the role of journalists as ‘public intellectuals’. He is also researching the sociology and politics of conceptualising racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, alongside an emerging interest in Scottish Nationalism and Political Biographies.
	Dr. Michael Privot (@MPriv_o) Director, European Network Against Racism Michael is the Director of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR). He started as Networking and Campaigns Officer in the ENAR team in January 2006. Previously, he worked during four years as FNRS Research Fellow at the University of Liège (Belgium). He also has several years experience in community building of Muslim communities in Belgium and Europe, as well as consultancy on related issues. He holds a BA in Oriental History and Philology (Islamology), a specialisation in Comparative History of Religions and Arabic (Damas), and a PhD in Languages and Literature from the University of Liège (Belgium). Michael became ENAR's Director in March 2010.
10:40	Coffee break
11:00	Introductory remarks
	Emmanuel Kattan (@OurSharedFuture) Our Shared Future Project Manager, British Council Emmanuel Kattan currently heads Our Shared Future, a Carnegie-funded British Council initiative aimed at improving the public conversation on Muslim-West relations in the US and Europe by providing hard facts and evidence-based arguments developed by a broad range of scholars and opinion leaders. Prior to joining the British Council, Emmanuel was Head of Communications at the UN Alliance of Civilizations and led the team which developed the Rapid Response Media Mechanism, an online tool connecting journalists with a wide network of experts on intercultural issues. Emmanuel was previously in charge of communications and speechwriting in the office of the Commonwealth Secretary-General in London, UK. He ran media campaigns promoting cultural diversity in the UK and abroad. He has also worked at the Quebec Delegation in London, where he managed academic relations and student exchange programs. Emmanuel is a graduate of Balliol College, Oxford where he studied politics and philosophy as a Rhodes Scholar. He is the author of two books: an essay on the politics of memory and a novel.
Panel 2	Transatlantic models of multiculturalism and integration
Moderator	Magdalena Luminska (@CTR_SAIS) Fulbright Schuman Visiting Fellow, Center for Transatlantic Relations, SAIS Magdalena Luminska joined the Center for Transatlantic Relations at SAIS at the end of March 2012 as a Fulbright Schuman Visiting Fellow. Her current PhD research focuses on perceptions and positioning of the European Union as a global actor in the US. Prior to her fellowship, she was involved in the first Polish Presidency of the EU Council (July - December 2011) working for the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs since October 2009. Magdalena’s previous professional experience includes six years in public affairs consultancy in Brussels and Warsaw and two years in Polish TV media covering international news stories Magdalena holds an M.A. in English Philology from Warsaw University and M.A. in Contemporary European Studies from the University of Sussex. She has also completed the US Foreign Policy Summer Program at George Washington University in 2009 and Stanford University Summer Institute in Political Psychology in 2010.
Panelists	Sonja Aziz Doctoral Candidate in the Program of Law, University of Vienna Sonja Aziz is a doctoral candidate in the Program of Law at the University of Vienna. Through her extensive academic career, Sonja has focused on human rights issues, the law of religion and the role of Islam in Europe. She has published many works including, Islam: A Never Ending Source of Problems and Threats? (2011) and Islam and the Austrian State from a Legal Point of View (Upcoming).
	Eduardo Lopez Busquets (@CasaArabe) General Director, Casa Arabe Eduardo López Busquets was born in Valencia on the 9th July 1957. He is a law graduate of the University of Valencia. He became a career diplomat in 1985 and he received a master degree in International Politics from the Free University of Brussels. Since 2009 and up to his appointment as General Director of Casa Árabe, he has been Ambassador to Mozambique. Previously he had served in several countries, including DCM in Algeria and Iran. During his long professional career, in the Presidency of the Government and in the ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and in the ministry of Defence and of Presidency, Eduardo López Busquets has focused his activity on a group of different but related axes: political analysis, paying special attention to transitional societies; European and Mediterranean security; and public diplomacy.
	Dr. Justin Gest Professor, Harvard University Justin Gest is a Lecturer in the Department of Government and the Department of Sociology. His teaching and research interests include comparative politics, political behavior, global migration, citizenship, political identity, and Muslim politics. His previous research focused on alienated and participatory political behavior in Western democracies, using case studies of Western Muslim communities. This work was collected in Apart: Alienated and Engaged Muslims in the West (Columbia University Press/Hurst, 2010). His recent research examines international migrants' rights and comparative migration policies. Justin received a doctorate in Government from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a bachelors in Government from Harvard.
12:30 pm	Conclusion of the event

Building Inclusive Societies

Transatlantic Perspectives on Multiculturalism and Integration

Events