Speakers & Chairs
Nayef Falah Mubarak Al Hajraf
Secretary General, Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)
About the conference
MED – MEDITERRANEAN DIALOGUES is the annual high-level initiative promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and ISPI (Italian Institute for International Political Studies) in Rome with the aim to rethink traditional approaches to the area complementing analyses of current challenges with new ideas and suggestions and to draft a new “positive agenda”, addressing shared challenges at both the regional and the international level.
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Rethinking Civil Society and Culture
Child Protection in Armed Conflict: Establishing a Mediterranean Dialogue on the Rights of the Child
5 years of MED in numbers
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Relive #MED2020 Panel Discussion “Child Protection In Armed Conflict” with Inger Ashing, CEO of Save The Children
È iniziata oggi, in formato virtuale, la 6° edizione del Rome MED, la conferenza internazionale dedicata al futuro del #Mediterraneo. La pandemia si rivelerà un’opportunità per il cambiamento? Nell’#ISPIDailyFocus i dettagli su temi e programma. #Med2020
MED: il Mediterraneo oltre la pandemia
www.ispionline.it
Al via la sesta edizione della Conferenza Rome MED – Mediterranean Dialogues, in formato virtuale. Al centro del dibattito, promosso dal MAECI e da ISPI, le sfide di oggi e il futuro del Mediterraneo oltre la pandemia. In tempo di pandemia anche la Conferenza Rome MED – Mediterranean Dialogues d…#MED2020
While the recent signing of the “Abraham Accords” between Israel and some Arab States could be a game-changer in the Middle East, they have been rejected by the Palestinian Authority and several regional States, which instead remain committed to the Arab Peace initiative, a pan-Arab roadmap long advocated by the Palestinians that calls for Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories and acceptance of Palestinian statehood, offering diplomatic normalization with the Arab world in return. As new diplomatic pathways unfold, relations between the Palestinians and Israelis may nonetheless revive through well-established and long-standing negotiation channels. The recent announcement of the Palestinian Authority to resume cooperation with Israel after more than 6 months may be a positive step in this direction. In parallel, the recent victory of democratic nominee Joe Biden in the U.S. presidential elections could open a new chapter for the Palestinians while also encouraging a deeper political engagement by European countries. At the same time, by exacerbating long-standing socio-economic difficulties in the Palestinian territories, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the urgent need to solve the Israeli-Palestinian issue through a more inclusive and shared multilateral platform.
Riyad Al Malki, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Palestine
In dialogue with
Lucia Goracci, RAI and Hugh Lovatt, Policy Fellow, ECFR
Live at 5.30 pm CET.
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#MED2020 https://twitter.com/ispionline/status/1331653013161832460
Il #Covid renderà il mare nostrum quel “mare di guai” che molti già vedono da anni? È uno degli interrogativi a cui cercherà di dare risposta la 6° edizione di Rome Med iniziata oggi.
Qui il programma completo → https://bit.ly/33giwvz #Med2020
https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/alzare-lo-sguardo-non-vedere-solo-un-mare-di-guai-28467
È iniziata oggi, in formato virtuale, la 6° edizione del Rome MED, la conferenza internazionale dedicata al futuro del #Mediterraneo. La pandemia si rivelerà un’opportunità per il cambiamento? Nell’#ISPIDailyFocus i dettagli su temi e programma. #Med2020
https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/med-il-mediterraneo-oltre-la-pandemia-28427
![Polarization and discrimination based on religion or belief have been increasing in many parts of the world, including on the two shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The current global health emergency seems, unfortunately, to have amplified this crisis for, as the U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has noted, the current Covid-19 pandemic keeps unleashing “a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering”. Against this gloomy background, however, seeds of hope have emerged from a number of high profile interventions of religious leaders committed, in the very name of the theologies and social ethics of their traditions, to achieving inclusive and peaceful societies, respecting the cultural and religious diversity of humankind and building an integral vision of human and sustainable development. In particular, the voice of religions has been courageously raised to advocate the development of new forms of inclusive citizenship, moving away from the numerical approach of majorities and minorities and the protection of religious minorities as the normative framework for inclusive and peaceful societies. From an Islamic perspective, the 2016 Marrakesh Declaration recognised the principles of pluralism and religious freedom and the authenticity of the concept of citizenship in Islam. Last year in an unprecedent meeting Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmad al-Tayyeb signed the Document on Human Fraternity and unmistakably argued: “It is therefore crucial to establish in our societies the concept of full citizenship and reject the discriminatory use of the term minorities which engenders feelings of isolation and inferiority […] and takes away the religious and civil rights of some citizens who are thus discriminated against”. The recent encyclical by Pope Francis ‘Fratelli Tutti’ further deepened the theological foundation of this position by making clear that freedom and equality, especially with reference to religion, inexorably descend from the universal value of fraternity.
The embrace of inclusive citizenship reflects new interreligious dynamics and the maturation of positive religious models of religious pluralism. Interreligious dialogue and collaboration - from global high levels to local grassroots and increasingly driven by young people and women rather than the “usual” religious suspects - represent arguably one of the most dynamic and promising areas of active citizen participation. It also represents new socio-political leadership against the contemporary background of democratic crisis marked by disengagement, disenchantment and a rejection of public responsibility and the search for the common good. The international community has finally started to recognize the positive impact of religion in fostering peaceful and inclusive societies, even if religious and interreligious actors are still rarely welcome at the leading global policy tables. Over the last 10 years, the ISPI Religions and International Relations initiative with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, has contributed to raise the awareness of how engaging religion in foreign policy can be part of the solution to solve our common challenges. Believing that the North and South shore of the Mediterranean are therefore facing similar challenges in different forms and rejecting the assumption of the traditional flow of knowledge from the North to the South, this Forum Religions will convene the two following Mediterranean dialogues:
OPENING REMARKS
Emanuela Del Re, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy
Dialogue "HUMAN FRATERNITY AND INTERRELIGIOUS ENGAGEMENT
FOR PEACEFUL AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES" with
- Mohamed Abdel-Salam, Secretary General, Committee for Human Fraternity
(former Advisor to the Grand Imam of Al Azhar)
- Jean-Marc Aveline, Archbishop of Marseille, France
- André Azoulay, Advisor to the King of Morocco
- Nayla Tabbara, Cofounder and Vice President, Adyan Foundation, Lebanon
Chair: Fabio Petito, Head, Religions and International Relations Programme,
Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), Italy; University of Sussex, United Kingdom
Dialogue "RELIGION AND INCLUSIVE CITIZENSHIP IN THE EURO-MED SPACE" with
- Hassan Nadhem, Minister of Culture, Iraq
- Paul Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, Holy See
- Azza Karam, Secretary General, Religions for Peace
- Alberto Melloni, Director, John XXIII Foundation for Religious Studies (Fscire), Italy
- Miguel Angel Moratinos, High Representative, United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)
Chair: Fadi Daou, President, Adyan Foundation, Lebanon
The Forum is organized in partnership with Adyan Foundation.
The Forum Religions, "Human Fraternity & Inclusive Citizenship" is live at 3.00 pm CET.](https://med.ispionline.it/wp-content/plugins/feeds-for-youtube/img/placeholder.png)