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Neither new nor foreign, says new exhibition launched at First Forum of Municipalities for Tolerance in Spain

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Neither new nor foreign, says new exhibition launched at First Forum of Municipalities for Tolerance in Spain

Neither new nor foreign (Ni Nueva, Ni Ajena) – Spanish Federation of Municipalities (FEMP) and the state Foundation Pluralismo y Convivencia, have launched an exhibition to promote tolerance, diversity and coexistence between religions.

On the International Day for Tolerance, Félix Bolaños, who is the Minister of Presidency of Spanish government (a ministry under the prime minister’s office) has called for it to become an “essential value in any local public policy”.

Madrid, 16 November 2022. – Diversity and coexistence between religions – Promoting local policies that reinforce tolerance and respect for religious diversity with a view to fostering coexistence was the aim of the First Forum of Municipalities for Tolerance, a meeting that was opened last week in Madrid at the headquarters of the Federacion Española de Municipios y Provincias (FEMP) (Spanish Federation of Towns and Cities) by: the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños – the Secretary General of the FEMP, Carlos Daniel Casares – and the Director of the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation, Inés Mazarrasa.

On the International Day for Tolerance, they all called for local commitment to integration and encouraged towns and cities to join the Network of Municipalities for Tolerance (MxT), which already includes a large group of Local Governments that have been developing experiences in this field.

The Secretary General of the FEMP, Carlos Daniel Casares, stated that “however diverse beliefs may be, tolerance among all of them is a mutual enrichment” and it is this tolerance that “facilitates coexistence in our towns and cities”. Casares also highlighted the commitment of the FEMP and the municipalities participating in MxT in this area, and invited other local governments to join in and develop experiences and initiatives. He also recalled the collaboration that the Federation and the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation have maintained for several years, and thanked the Ministry of the Presidency for its support, with which the FEMP also maintains other lines of collaboration.

Ni Vieja Ni Ajena Felix Bolanos 1024x680 - Neither new nor foreign, says new exhibition launched at First Forum of Municipalities for Tolerance in Spain
Neither new nor foreign, says new exhibition launched at First Forum of Municipalities for Tolerance in Spain

For his part, the head of the Ministry of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, pointed out the importance of “making cities more inclusive places”, and warned of voices that “make intolerance their hallmark, that demonise those who are different”, something that must be denounced because it represents a “threat to our democracy and coexistence”. “Those of us who believe in inclusion have to combat these ideas democratically and take the side of public authorities and administrations”, he added.

Bolaños referred to the FEMP as a “body for redistributing best practices and public policies” and described this work as “commendable and essential”, especially for municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants. “This is what Spain is all about, making life better for citizens,” he said. In his opinion, local initiatives in this framework generate spaces for sharing experiences, and connect “with those who do not want to take a step backwards in terms of coexistence and tolerance”. Finally, Bolaños praised the actions of local governments and their policies and said that “you are essential in the work for coexistence and tolerance”.

Also at the opening ceremony, Inés Mazarrasa, Director of the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation, pointed out that the local councils involved in the MxT programme share the same common objective, “to be instruments for achieving an inclusive coexistence, in which all options of conscience, religious or otherwise, can live together in full equality and respect”.

Mazarrasa announced the creation of a new working tool designed to help local councils to specify in an action plan different measures based on the principles of the Charter for the municipal management of religious diversity. In this regard, and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals set out in the 2030 Agenda, he pointed out that “the aim is to contribute to progress in guaranteeing equal opportunities and in the commitment to leave no one behind”.

Neither new nor foreign – Religious Diversity in Spain.

At the same time, the FEMP headquarters is hosting the exhibition, inaugurated the same day by the FEMP, the Foundation Pluralism and Coexistence and Mercedes Murillo, Director of Religious Freedom of the Spanish government, which gives an account of the road travelled on the path towards religious freedom as a constitutional right in our country. “Neither new nor alien” is the title of this exhibition by the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation, which has installed fifteen panels in the FEMP spaces that include texts and images referring to the great diversity of religions found in the country, from Catholicism, Evangelical Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism, to other more recent but well-established religions such as Baha’i, Scientology, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Pagans, etc.

Ni Nueva Ni Ajena Neither new nor foreign, says new exhibition launched at First Forum of Municipalities for Tolerance in Spain
Neither new nor foreign, says new exhibition launched at First Forum of Municipalities for Tolerance in Spain 2

LeADS at work to bridge the advanced digital skills gap between industry and education in Europe

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LeADS at work to bridge the advanced digital skills gap between industry and education in Europe

LeADS – In Europe, around 9 million people work as ICT specialists. The latest data shows that 55% of enterprises that recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists reported difficulties filling such vacancies (DESI report 2022).

As digital technologies become an integral element that influences employment and engagement with society, a successful digital transformation of EU industries and society will depend on developing the next generation of skills, closing the gap between digital talent supply and demand.

LeADS Europe digital programm LeADS at work to bridge the advanced digital skills gap between industry and education in Europe
LeADS at work to bridge the advanced digital skills gap between industry and education in Europe 6

The path to the Digital Decade proposal aims to increase the number of employed ICT specialists in the EU to at least 20 million by 2030 and without a significant change to business as usual, this will not be met.

To address this challenging situation, LeADS – The Leading European Advanced Digital Skills, the first ever Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) digital skills Coordination and Support Action (CSA), was launched today, November 18, 2022.

The DIGITAL programme is funding €580 million for developing Advanced Digital Skills over 7 years to support the design and delivery of specialised programmes for future experts in key capacity areas like data and Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, quantum and High-Performance Computing (HPC).

LeADS will support the productive deployment of the Advanced Digital Skills funds to ensure that upskilling and reskilling opportunities are provided to drive future European competitiveness and digital sovereignty.

LeADS aims to make Advanced Digital Skills part of a solution to the digital divide and unemployment that has been hindering the uptake and use of emerging key digital technologies. Bridging the digital skills gap of European industries with research and education is one example of how LeADS will guide Europeans to leverage cloud services, big data and AI, through the availability of digital experts.

The CSA will collaborate with a community of industry stakeholders and, education and training providers to develop specific skill profiles for technologiesdemand forecasts based on tech adoption trends, the definition of the skills gap, and guidelines for industry and education bodies.

By incorporating its findings and insights into roadmaps and guidelines in line with the market’s gaps, LeADS hopes to retain and attract highly skilled individuals in line with the labour market’s demand by fine-tuning education programmes to attract students’ interest in the evolving technologies.

Together with 9 consortium partners (BluSpecsIDC Italia SRLMaggioli S.p.A.Universidad Politécnica De MadridTrinity College DublinMaersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute at the Technical Faculty of University of Southern DenmarkMartel InnovateAlliance for the Internet of Things Innovation BV, and the Big Data Value Association /DAIRO – Data, AI and Robotics aisbl), LeADS will create a sustainable, dynamic and scalable ecosystem that fosters the exchange of good practices and support the digital transformation of the education sector at the European level by boosting innovation and expanding advanced skills capacities in the workforce and society.

INTERVIEW: Is trying to ban Halal slaughtering a concern for Human Rights?

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Is trying to ban Halal slaughtering a concern for Human Rights? This is the question our special contributor, PhD. Alessandro Amicarelli, a renowned human rights attorney and activist, who chairs the European Federation on Freedom of Belief, puts to Professor Vasco Fronzoni, from the Universitá Telemática Pegaso in Italy, expert in shari’a Law.

Find in blue his introduction, and then the questions and answers.

Alessandro Amicarelli 240.jpg - INTERVIEW: Is trying to ban Halal slaughtering a concern for Human Rights?

By Alessandro Amicarelli. Freedom of religion and belief protects the right of believers to live their lives in accordance with their beliefs, within limits, and this also includes some practices relating to social and food traditions, this being the case for instance of halal and kosher preparations. 

There have been cases of proposals aimed at banning halal and kosher procedures arguing on the rights of animals that according to detractors of these traditions are exposed to excessive cruelty. 

Vasco Fronzoni 977x1024 - INTERVIEW: Is trying to ban Halal slaughtering a concern for Human Rights?

Prof. Vasco Fronzoni is Associate Professor at the Università telematica Pegaso in Italy, is a specialist in Shari’a Law and Islamic Markets, and he is also Lead Auditor of Quality management Systems, specialized for the Halal sector at the Halal Research Council of Lahore and is member of the Scientific Committee of the European Federation on Freedom of Belief.

Q: Prof. Fronzoni what are the main reasons put forward by those trying to ban halal preparations and in general the slaughter according to halal traditions?

A: The main reasons for the ban on ritual slaughter according to the kosher, shechita and halal rules relate to the idea of animal welfare and to alleviate as much as possible the psychological and physical suffering of animals in the killing procedures.

Alongside this main and declared reason, some Jews and Muslims also see the desire to boycott or discriminate against their communities, due to secularist attitudes or in some cases motivated by the desire to protect other majority religions.

Q: Is in your opinion a breach of the rights of Muslims, and in the case of the kosher, the rights of Jews, banning their slaughtering traditions?  People of all faiths and no-faith access the kosher and halal food and this is not restricted to people of the Jewish and Islamic faiths.  Shouldn’t people belonging to the Jewish and Islamic faiths be permitted to slaughter according to their religious laws and regulations that have existed for several centuries as this is guaranteed by their human rights? Banning these traditions wouldn’t also mean to infringe the rights of people from the wider community to access a food market of their choice?

In my opinion yes, prohibiting a type of religious slaughter is a violation of religious freedom, of citizens and even of residents only.

The right to food must be framed as a fundamental and multidimensional human right, and it is not only an essential component of citizenship, but also a precondition of democracy itself. It was crystallized already with the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and today it is recognized by numerous international soft law sources and is also guaranteed by various constitutional charters. Furthermore, in 1999 the UN Committee on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights issued a specific document on the right to adequate food.

Following this approach, the right to adequate food must be understood both in terms of food security and food safety and embraces a criterion that is not only quantitative, but above all qualitative, where nutrition does not represent only sustenance, but ensures the dignity of people and is such only if it corresponds to the religious dictates and cultural traditions of the community to which the subject belongs.

In this sense, it appears enlightening that in the European Union the Court of Strasbourg has recognized since 2010 (HUDOC – European Court Human Rights, Application n. 18429/06 Jakobski v. Poland) the direct link between the observance of particular dietary requirements and the expression of freedom of belief pursuant to art. 9 of the ECHR.

Even the Belgian Constitutional Court, recently, while stressing that the prohibition of slaughter without stunning responds to a social need and is proportionate to the legitimate aim of promoting animal welfare, he recognized that prohibiting this type of slaughter involves a restriction on the religious freedom of Jews and Muslims, whose religious norms prohibit the consumption of meat from stunned animals.

Therefore, allowing targeted access to food and the right food choices is an effective tool for protecting the right to religious freedom, as it helps believers to orient themselves in the food market and to choose food products consistent with their religious needs.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the quality standards imposed by the Halal and Kosher accreditation rules are particularly stringent and ensure a high quality product, with more stringent requirements than the normal standards prescribed for example for BIO certification. It is for this reason that many consumers, neither Muslim nor Jewish, buy these products because they give priority to public health and they consider it an essential step to achieving food security, guaranteed by the existing Food quality control in the Jewish and Muslim sphere.

Q: Administrative bodies, as well as the courts of law had to deal with cases pertaining to the halal and kosher food, as well as with the claims of vegetarians and vegans. Could you mention what the main legal issues are in relation to the halal slaughtering? 

A: What happens in Europe is paradigmatic to answer this question.

Regulation 1099/2009 / EC introduced preliminary stunning methods and procedures, which require the killing of animals only after loss of consciousness, a condition that must be maintained until death. However, these norms are in contrast both with the Jewish religious tradition and with the opinion of the majority of muslim scholars, which require a vigilant and conscious state of the animal which must be intact at the time of slaughter, as well as a complete bleeding of meat. However, in respect of freedom of religion, the 2009 regulation grants each Member State a certain degree of subsidiarity in the procedures, providing with article 4 of the regulation a derogation to allow the Jewish and Muslim communities to perform ritual slaughter.

A balance is struck between the need for the forms of ritual slaughter typical of Judaism and Islam with that of the main rules oriented towards an idea of protection and welfare of animals during killing. Therefore, from time to time the state legislations, guided by the political direction of the moment and solicited by local public opinion, allow or prohibit religious communities from accessing food in a manner consistent with their belief. It thus happens that in Europe there are states such as Sweden, Norway, Greece, Denmark, Slovenia, in practice in Finland and partially Belgium that have applied a ban on ritual slaughter, while other countries allow it.

In my view, and I say this as a jurist and as an animal lover, the parameter must not revolve only around the concept of animal welfare during killing, which may at first seem a contradictory and even hypocritical concept and which does not consider that even the confessional rites are oriented in this sense. Conversely, the parameter must also be oriented towards the health of consumers and in the interest of the markets. It makes no sense to prohibit ritual slaughter in a territory but then allow the import of ritually slaughtered meat, it is only a short circuit that damages the consumer and the internal market. In fact, it does not seem to me a coincidence that in other countries, where religious communities are more numerous and above all where the halal and kosher supply chain is more widespread (producers, slaughterhouses, processing and supply industries), the concept of animal welfare is thought differently. In fact, in these realities where consumer demand is more significant, where there are many workers in the sector and where there is a rooted and structured market also for exports, ritual slaughter is allowed.

Let’s look at the UK. Here the Muslim population represents less than 5% but consumes over 20% of the meat that is slaughtered on the national territory, and the halal-slaughtered meat represents 71% of all animals slaughtered in England. Therefore, less than 5% of the population consumes more than 70% of the animals slaughtered. These numbers constitute a significant and not negligible element for the domestic economy, and the liberality shown by the English legislator in allowing ritual slaughter must be inscribed in respect for religious freedom, but certainly in terms of markets economy and consumer protection.

Q: Prof. Fronzoni you’re an Academic who advises national institutions and who deeply knows the existing religious communities in Europe and in particular in Italy. Eating halal has become the norm for many people, not necessarily Muslims, but when hearing about “shari’a” many people in the West are still dubious and suspsicious, even though shari’a is a Muslim equivalent of the Christian canon laws. Do people and the State institutions need to learn more about the halal and shari’a in general? Do schools and academia in the West need to do more in this regard as well? Is what is done in terms of educating the general public and advising governments enough?

A: Of course, in general it is necessary to know more, since knowledge of the other leads to awareness and understanding, the step preceding inclusion, while ignorance leads to distrust, which constitutes the step immediately before fear, which can lead to disordered and irrational reactions (radicalization on the one hand and Islamophobia and xenophobia on the other).

Religious associations, especially Muslim, do very little to make their traditions and needs known to the public and governments, and this is certainly a critical element and their fault. Of course, to be heard you need ears willing to do so, but it is also true that many Muslims living in the diaspora must strive to participate more in national life and to behave as citizens, not as foreigners.

Being attached to one’s origins is commendable and useful, but we must take note of the fact that differences in language, habits and religion are not an obstacle to inclusion and that there is no antinomy between living in the West and being Muslim. It is possible and also appropriate to encourage the process of inclusion, and this can be done with sharing in the sense of identity, with education and with respect for the rules. Those who are educated understand that one must accept others, despite their differences.

I also think that National institutions and politicians should seek more technical advice from those who know both worlds.

Q: Do you have any suggestions and advice for those trying to ban halal productions in the West?

A: My suggestion always goes in the sense of knowledge.

On the one hand, the fundamentalist prejudices of certain ideas of animal activism should be compared with the attitudes on animal welfare existing in the Jewish and Muslim traditions, which are regularly ignored but which exist.

On the other hand, making a balancing of interests that is not always easy, it should be noted that a new meaning of the principle of religious freedom has emerged, as the right to access adequate food in a confessional way. Therefore, it must be implemented a new configuration of the principle of freedom of belief is therefore emerging as the right to access adequate food in line with the confessional dictates of ritual slaughter, according to a particular declination aimed at the economic sustainability of producers and consumers, and also in terms of food safety.

Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch is increasingly up, and the people are increasingly down

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Akhannouch follows the same reasoning as that of Andrej Babis in the Czech Republic, as leaders who have used their positions to reap additional wealth, while their people suffer from poverty, unemployment and social fragility.

By the time Akhannouch’s wealth had grown to astronomical figures, his personal fortune was estimated at $2 billion, by Forbes, making him one of the richest men in Morocco, the poverty rate recorded a significant increase, reaching 12.3% last year, and the rate of fragility in the Kingdom has doubled and class and social inequalities have doubled there, and Morocco is experiencing a deep social crisis, which has manifested in the declaration of the highest authority In the country, the development model that has been in place for decades is dying, and many statistics highlight the great differences between the regions of the Kingdom, whether at the level employment, unemployment, industrial and tourist fabric, or infrastructures, which produces a map of the imbalances between the regions, which have repercussions on the social aspect of the country.

Many negative social phenomena have also spread in the Kingdom, including the spread of homeless children or so-called “street children” in several Moroccan cities in large numbers, where hundreds of children are scattered on the sides of the streets. streets, under cars or parked cars, inside abandoned houses, near restaurants And in public gardens they lie on the ground and cover the sky, because there is not enough shelter nor homes for them.

The street is the only and necessary refuge for thousands of children between the ages of 5 and 15, and this phenomenon is no longer limited only to boys, but also to girls, and this means that there will be children again and again. who will be born in the streets in the future.

In the latest United Nations Human Development Index report, which included 189 countries, the Kingdom of Morocco came in late after ranking 121st globally, and the report published by the United Nations Development Program development in November 2021 was based on several indicators, the most important of which are health, education and poverty, life expectancy and income per capita.

#Dégage_Akhannouch, a very great companion on social networks as a way of anger against the high cost of living focuses on the head of government. Internet users criticize Aziz Akhannouch for his inaction in the face of the high cost of living, while accusing him of profiting from the global economic crisis and the war in Ukraine through his hydrocarbon distribution company, Afriquia, the first in Morocco. .
The initiators of the “Akhannouch get out” campaign also denounce the silence of the head of government and his failure in the management of what they describe as a “crisis”.

Will Aziz Akhannouch pull through as usual or will he throw down the gloves and abandon ship for an unknown destination?

Lahcen Hammouch

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

Disclosure of the identity of the perpetrator of the attack on Istiklal Street in Istanbul

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This Monday, November 14, a day after the terrorist attack in Istanbul, the media revealed the identity of the perpetrator of the attack on Istiklal Street in the Taksim district, in the center of Istanbul.

The perpetrator of the attack is a Syrian citizen by the name of Ahlam al-Bashir, a member of the PKK organization.

Ahlam Al-Bashir entered Turkey illegally a week ago to carry out the attack.

Ahlam Al-Bashir received his training as a special intelligence member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Turkish investigators searched in less than 24 hours, 21 addresses in Istanbul and arrested 46 suspects.

Ahlam Al-Bashir was intercepted at 2:50 a.m. in the house where she had been hiding in the Asnler area after carrying out the operation.

For his part, the Turkish Minister of Justice announced at dawn on Monday that 46 people had been arrested so far in connection with the bombing, in addition to the perpetrator of the attack who carried out the operation.

A violent explosion took place on Istiklal Street in Istanbul yesterday on Sunday November 13, 2022 at 4:20 p.m., killing 6 people, including 4 at the scene of the accident and 2 in hospital, and 81 injured, including 2 in critical condition.

Lahcen Hammouch

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

Winners of EEA 2022 Well with Nature photo competition announced

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