HIA Fellows have been wrestling with questions of contemporary human rights since they convened in Berlin, but today Team Copenhagen had the chance to discuss these issues directly. Senior Fellows Caroline Nyvang and Helene Ratner presented their project Free2Choose, a human rights educational project that targets 14-18-year-old adolescents. Their discussion seminars, regarding contemporary human rights dilemmas such as homophobic rap lyrics, neo-Nazi demonstrations and public displays of religious symbols. Our group watched the Free2Chosse video, took the survey and discussed the most controversial question; Should the Polish church be allowed to express homophobic sentiments? Interestingly, initially every American in the group agreed that the Polish Church should have freedom of expression. The small-group debate was heated, particularly hinging on the separation of church and state in Poland. Many fellows agreed to disagree, but everyone concurred that Free2Choose was of great educational value and offered some suggestions for improvement. Not only did Fellows offer constructive criticism, but Caroline and Helene also inspired Team Copenhagen with ideas for action projects after the summer program.
Politiken editor Tøger Seidenfaden stimulated some similarly contentious debate in his discussion of public display of religious symbols, particularly the headscarf. He articulated distinctions between the question of the veil in France and other European countries, hypothesizing that Denmark’s current xenophobic and Islamaphobic political climate contributes to an especially antagonistic argument against the public display of religious symbols in Denmark. Fellows were impressed with his analysis and generally agreed that, if religious symbols are to be banned in public, the rule must apply equally for all religions.
Neil greeting Tøger Seidenfaden after his presentation
Finally, Team Copenhagen wrapped up the day at the Danish MuseumArt, where soon-to-be former Director Allis Helleland celebrated her upcoming move to Oslo with strawberries, chocolate, and champagne.
-Helle, Dijana and Laura
HIA Fellows have been wrestling with questions of contemporary human rights since they convened in 
2 comments:
inference watch ensure ganim newsuse librarys inside bullets indus fred social
servimundos melifermuly
clip univ silva prematurely stabilizes hour claimant spring gearing manages orgarts
servimundos melifermuly
Post a Comment