Middle East Platform II

Promoting social cohesion and interaction through the notion of citizenship
22-24 novembre 2016 – Montreux, Suisse

The Cordoba Foundation of Geneva, in partnership with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, held its second Middle East Platform last week from November 22 to 24 in Montreux, Switzerland. This Platform gathered civil society activists, academics and journalists with different confessional backgrounds and religious references from Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Yemen under the title of “Promoting social cohesion and interaction through the notion of citizenship” and with the aim of addressing sectarian tensions. The meeting was the opportunity for intense and fruitful exchanges among participants. It resulted in a general agreement to study the reality of religious and sectarian media and to investigate how “hate-speech” can be monitored and countered. Furthermore, specific practical projects to promote social cohesion in each of the countries represented were discussed and the participants agreed on the necessity to promote communication and interaction among people with different confessional backgrounds and religious references at a national and a regional level.

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http://assafir.com/Article/8/518741/AuthorArticle