INTRODUCTION

For many community-based groups and organisations working with young migrants and young refugees, regional or international work is an additional burden on their meagre resources. There is obviously a real danger that this could derail the local process if they are not carefully organised. Our efforts in 1996 have been to further promote exchanges and contacts between these community-based groups across religious and cultural boundaries, Europe-wide, with as little burden on their local resources as possible.

Adequate financial and technical support still remains our handicap, however thanks to financial support from the World Council of Churches (WCC) , the Council of Europe (CE) and the European Commission (EC), we were able to successfully execute 80% of the planned activities for 1996, though most of them had to be rescheduled as a result of financial bottle-necks.

THE KJ EUROPEAN SECRETARIAT

The Kairos Jeunesse European secretariat in Brussels was still the pivot of the Kairos Jeunesse process, which continues to be managed by volunteers and a Co-ordinator, whilst the core groups constituted the management and legislative frame-work undertaking the task of supporting and overseeing the process. We still practised our open membership policy that enabled groups, organisations as well as individuals to participate in the conceptualisation, the planning and the implementation of our activities

The actives of 1996 have only been made possible because of the diligent voluntary assistance of Carlien, Pascal, Aime, Ali, Tomasz and Nedzad, to name but a few. The voluntary technical assistance provided by Aliye, Susanna, Alan, Luc, and Paul were also very essential in ensuring the successful execution of the projects. This year in March, we moved together with the Kairos Europa secretariat into our present premises which has been provided by La Poudriere, a member of the local support group for the Kairos Europa Secretariat. We express our sincere appreciation to all who contributed to making 1996 a successful year.

“MIGRATION: THE ILLUSIONS AND THE REALITIES”

Kairos Jeunesse, in collaboration with El Taller and assisted by El Mourouj II and the Youth Ending Hunger project in Tunisia, organised a youth exchange programme in Hammamet, Tunisia, from the 27 July to 3 August, to which over 56 participants (Europeans, Migrants and North Africans, 26 from Europe and 30 form Africa) attended. The motivation for initiating this youth exchange is deep-rooted and varied. Many of the barriers that hinder the process of creating a better and more just society are man-made, (and certainly male dominated); these are artificial barriers that are often implanted into the minds of man mostly by political institutions or individuals acting in the interest of capital and short term economic gains. It has never been in the interest of the poor but the rich and powerful few to see the peoples of the world divided along lines of race, ethnicity, religion and political inclination.

The Exchange was thus an attempt to combat this diabolical principle of divide and rule by which the World’s majority is subjected to the tyrannical rule of a few. It was to create an opportunity for young Europeans, Migrants and North Africans to break these artificial barriers of colour, creed and culture and jointly address the root causes of migration. The chance for change lies with the youth; filled with exuberance and the zeal for change young people possess the potential to champion a course that is blind to colour, creed or cultural differences; a course that is people-centred; with the interest of humanity as its central focus. This activity with its ambitious aims was one small mile stone towards this goal.

“WARS AND CONFLICTS AND THE DISPLACEMENT OF YOUNG PEOPLE”

With 39 participants and resource persons from 11 countries, this conference was part of our efforts to create a space for young migrants and refugees resident in Europe, to interact, share and exchange experiences, as well as highlight cases of injustice and neglect of Human Rights pertaining to them and their families. It provided an opportunity for young displaced people to join other young people to inform and educate themselves as well as consider creative/alternative means of addressing the common problems they face.

Besides introducing initiatives and campaigns to stop wars and conflicts and the export of arms especially to war-torn regions, it was also an opportunity to motivate and encourage participants to join these initiatives and to express solidarity with others who have fallen victim to these conflicts.

This was also an occasion to confront the contention that the “common person on the street” stood no chance of changing the course of the present discourse. Barriers that hinder the efforts to create a peaceful and more just society are often man-made and obviously male dominated. These are institutions and individuals acting in the interest of political power and short term economic gains, exploiting differences in race, ethnicity and religion to divide the peoples of the world and play one against the other.

The connection between religious intolerance, racism, xenophobia, unequal distribution of wealth and armed conflicts were made vivid with the stories of participants and the inputs from invited speakers. The important role that the youth, had to play in steering the course of history was highlighted throughout the week.

Filled with juvenile exuberance and idealism and the zeal for change, the youths of the world are unequivocally the key to a peaceful and just future. This responsibility was given a new meaning as participants, in a cordial and family atmosphere listened to horrendous experiences of some of the participants and the bold efforts that some were making to forgive and work for peace.

“NETWORKING: MARGINALISED YOUTH GROUPS IN THE POST-MODERN CITY”

The objective of this training camp was to provide an opportunity for exchanging and learning artistic skills of expression that could be used as tools for drawing attention and communicating grievances, opinions and ideas; a chance to emphasise the different cultures and their artistic forms of expression. The conference explored the use of creative arts as a medium for education and an instrument for addressing issues and policies that concern and affect the lives of socially excluded and marginalised young people. The 26 participants in the training camp had the rare opportunity of trying out some of the skills they had acquired in the workshops on an international audience - participants of the WSCF conference on Conflict Resolution and the staff of the co-ordination team of Agape - during the closing performance, a rich and rewarding experience.

The camp also provided a forum for affirming and celebrating the different cultures of migrants and minorities in Europe. The participants were also given an insight into the development of organisational skills needed to plan and execute cultural and artistic happenings and events. The training camp allowed both the participants and facilitators to experiment with a wide range of creative skills. Some concrete models for inter-cultural learning were looked at, which could further be adopted and used at local levels. The camp built on the techniques and models highlighted in our manual on creative arts; “Europe! That’s it! That’s why!”, which KJ published in 1994. The feedback from participants and facilitators is to enable a review of portions of the manual.

As a follow-up, some of the participants and the facilitators are planning a Kairos Jeunesse Interactive Theatre Workshop, an attempt at using the technique of Interactive Theatre as a tool to facilitate listening skills, empathy and creative conflict resolution for the Graz Ecumenical Village and as a module of the KJ London conference on religious extremism and intolerance in June and August 1997 respectively.

In all our endeavours we strive for synergised action in achieving our main objectives, hence the co-ordinator and other members of the co-ordination team attended a number of meetings and events of partner groups and other networks to establish links for collaboration and joint action. Besides the events and activities reported below, there were other networking endeavours both in Europe and outside - USA and West Africa.

“PEOPLES' CONVERGENCE: SHAPING OUR FUTURE”

Kairos Jeunesse representing the Kairos Europe Migration Programme, participated in the Peoples Plan for the 21st Century’s General Assemble under the theme “People’s Convergence: Shaping our Future”, which took place in Kathmandu, Nepal from the 8 - 10 March.

The General Assembly was preceded by a series of forums on a number of burning of issues: civil society and Human Rights, natural resources, peace and tolerance, women and child servitude. The highlights of the occasion included the Child Workers' March against servitude, from Calcutta to Kathmandu, and the march and rally to mark the international day for Women. It was also an occasion of sharing the different rich cultures of the sub-region in the form of music drama and dance.

This Assembly was a follow-up of a meeting in Minamata, Japan, in August 1989. It was here that the famous Minamata Declaration was born. This was a very powerful cry of hope for the people of Asia into the next century. In Kathmandu, it was evident that the people of Asia-Pacific have had enough of the old order and sought to shape a new - their own future. It marked the beginning of a process of alliance-building across the boarders of Asia-Pacific and the World at large - a movement towards grassroots democratisation.

KJ participated in a “Convegno Europeo” in May 16-20, at Monteforte, (Avellino) Italy, which gave us the occasion to share the brave achievements of “Coordinamento Immigrati di Aversa & Casale di Principe”, a group of young Italians working with some migrants for the recognition of social and socio-economic rights as a legitimate aspiration of the migrants. This was organised in collaboration some governmental and non-governmental institutions.

The conference had for its vision the creation of a scenario where communities together build a shared space, an intercultural reality of dialogue and conviviality. This is a vision that intends to ask “host” citizens to be prepared to understand and accept a variety of newcomers and the cultural background which they bring with them. They need to recognise that the “newcomers” are (like themselves) the subject of human and civil rights, and that these rights include the right to cultural specificity within a shared polity.

These objectives are not undermined by any pretences that this awareness is easy. It is certainly difficult to ask those who see themselves as being at the bottom of the league to identify with people whom are believed to be in a still lower economic or social division. Such affiliations are considered to carry socio-economic or cultural stigmas, which could be a handicap in making a living in the traditional disadvantaged areas of Southern Italy. These questions are often not asked openly, yet they have to be answered nevertheless. The Monteforte experience was thus a call for a positive valuation of Co-operation as against competition, a challenging of stigmas and stereotypes, a willingness to see all human beings in their full humanity.

Kairos Jeunesse participated in a conference organised by the United for Inter-cultural Action from 13-14 June 1996 at the European Parliament in Brussels. It was an effective offensive for a "harmonisation of European asylum laws" on the basis of safe refuge under humanitarian conditions. There were over 150 delegates representing 75 organisations from 20 European countries.

In many ways than one, the conference was the first of its kind. First, its very location was significant. Second was the diversity of organisations represented - a broad range of NGOs, journalists, MEP's and their assistants, self-organised refugee groups, human rights groups, political, ecumenical, grassroots and traditional organisations.

The conference was focused on the fundamentally unjust policies of Western Europe and their consequences; terrible detention conditions, the institutional “criminalisation” of asylum-seekers and its stimulating effect for popular racism and xenophobia, the accountability of Western arms dealers in allowing for the creation of refugees, and first hand testimonies, suggestions for future collaboration. There was also a compilation of absolute requirements for policy reformation.

”CROSSING BOARDERS”(colour, creed & culture)

Kairos Jeunesse Co-ordinator, was invited by the organisers of an international youth camp on the theme; “Crossing Boarders”, to present a paper on Migration and Racism in Europe. This took place in Agape, an international ecumenical centre, run by the Waldensian church, one of the Italian Protestant churches. The main aspiration was to find answers to the question; “Is it possible to devise a non-violent way to manage the conflicts that arise from the different cultural identities existing within our multicultural societies?”. It was also an opportunity to manifest the European multicultural reality and affirm the dignity of each culture.

This provided an opportunity to introduce the Kairos Jeunesse process, particularly its focus on migrants and refugees as victims of racism. The KJ process offered for groups working with young migrants and minorities, a space for cultural expression and interaction, a space to educate and encourage young people to be part of the process of change, challenging the social and political deficits of Europe's unification process

The paper emphasised the fact that right-wing extremism was mushrooming and fascist violence had escalated all-over Europe. As the immediate cause of these racial hostilities or attacks, politicians, law-makers and the media were identified as the principal culprits. "Though racism may be largely a question of attitudes due to a complex set of factors ... one is the role of politicians, law-makers and the media in explicitly blaming foreigners for the country's ills, hence singling them out as undesirable elements and creating a societal frame of mind in which even the law enforcement officials themselves become real participants in the practice instead of aiming to stand above it”.

Another key feature which was underlined was the observation that the young are the key targets for fascists propaganda. It identified the “process of enlightening the public as the cornerstone of any effort to promote peaceful multicultural coexistence”. Making adequate and objective information available to the citizens to increase their awareness of the issues of migration, as well as the dangers of racism and xenophobia was stressed.

This forum was an opportunity for European and Mediterranean delegates from governmental youth ministries, education, the civil service and few non-governmental organisations to meet and discuss the possibilities of creating an inter-cultural youth network for exchange opportunities. For Kairos Jeunesse, it was more of an opportunity to meet the youth delegates representing other NGOs and some government institutions to establish the foundation for collaboration and youth exchanges. Among the contacts made were with delegates from Turkey, Malta, Barcelona, Greece, Strasbourg, Tunisia, and Italy.

The most of the participants were mainly officials from Government Institutions. In evaluating the performance of the programmes such as the Youth for Europe youth exchanges, it was crystal clear the non-governmental organisations were facing lots of hindrances in contributing to this effort. These hindrances included, among others; inadequate financial resources, delays in receiving funds granted by the EC, visa problem which does not allow the free mobility of young people, and hinder intercultural youth exchanges. A number of very positive proposals were outlined as follow-up activities to ensure effective implementation of Euro-Med. youth exchanges.

”EUROPE FOR JUSTICE: PARTNERSHIPS FOR SURVIVAL,”

Kairos Jeunesse participated in a conference jointly organised by the Kairos Europe Migration Programme and Praxis. The primary objective of the conference was to bring together people working at the grassroots in defence of the rights and living conditions of asylum seekers and immigrants, which have been under a growing and unprecedented siege in Europe in recent years. The purpose was to meet, exchange ideas, experiences, build partnerships, and to clarify the agenda for a progressive endeavour.

The theme of the conference: “Europe for Justice: Partnerships for Survival,” reflects the current situation in Europe and what it portends, if nothing is done about it. Thus the conference was organised to facilitate the urgent grope for partners in the effort at the continental level for concerted actions in order to ensure common survival.

The need for concerted action at the continental level naturally requires interaction, exchange of ideas and experiences, and the drawing of a common programme of action by all the players in the field. Consequently, the conference was organised as part of the consensus building process in which the interactions by participants are intended to point towards the way ahead agreed upon by all, the first imperative and the only way by which any meaningful progress can be achieved in these trying and changing times.

Kairos Jeunesse joined the European Ecumenical Coalition for Graz which has taken on the ambitious task for giving voice to the voiceless during the 2nd European Ecumenical Assembly. This Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Council of Catholic Bishops Conferences in Europe (CCEE) is to take place in Graz, Austria from June 23rd to 29th. The theme of the event is; “Reconciliation - God’s gift and source of new life.” The Coalition, made up groups and organisations from different denominations hope to jointly provide a platform for the marginalised and excluded people of our society.

This space is to take the form of an Ecumenical Village with representatives from organisations and networks struggling against poverty, social exclusion, war and ecological destruction. As part of our participation Kairos Jeunesse is offering an Interactive Theatre Workshop as a tool to facilitate listening skills, empathy and creative conflict resolution, a follow-up of our activity in Agape, Italy.

In 1996 we continued to publish our newsletter; Juvenis, informing readers about European events and sharing experiences from our activities with a wider group of people. Through Juvenis we also tried to maintaining some organisational cohesiveness and links with the local groups. We have also published the reports and documentation of our activities in Hammamet, Warsaw and Agape.

Some of these publications are available for a small fee to cover postage and printing cost.

1996 like the preceding years was a very trying year. Though we were maturing in tailoring limited resources to meet our basic objectives, our progress was ever thwarted by the ever-diminishing subventions and grants. We shall still continue to see the process of Europe’s unification as an open invitation to assist in creating outward-looking multicultural societies which guaranties Fundamental Human Rights for all.

We shall continue to cease the process of Europe’s unification as an opportunity to contribute to creating societies that accept and respect cultural and religious differences; a Europe free of racism and xenophobia, a Europe for Justice. This we hope to do by offering a space for groups working with young migrants and minorities: a space for exchanging experiences and skills, a space for cultural expression and interaction, a space to educate and encourage young people to be part of the process of change, challenging the social and political deficits of Europe’s unification process.

With the response we are receiving to actives and the moral support of the groups we have been working with, we were very motivated to stay focused and fight a system that is perpetually, dehumanising, marginalising and excluding its people. For 1997 the focus is on the following activities;

Graz, Austria, 22-29 June 1997.

Kairos Jeunesse shall continue with the preparatory work we have started with the European Ecumenical Coalition for Graz which is organising the Ecumenical Village during the 2nd European Ecumenical Assembly. We intend to participate by organising an Interactive Theatre Workshop as a tool to facilitate listening skills, empathy and creative conflict resolution.

“Religious extremism: a threat to Europe’s multi-cultural reality”

In line with our effort to contribute to creating outward-looking societies that accept and respect religious differences, we intend to organise in August, 1997, a meeting which would provide young people a framework within which to share, understand and learn to accept and respect other religious beliefs as well as an opportunity to openly manifest this at the Nothing Hill Carnival.

In response to the call of the European Year Against Racism and as a follow-up to the Kairos/Praxis London conference on the defence of the rights and living conditions of refugees and asylum seekers, Kairos Jeunesse in collaboration with a group of Brussels based refugees in consultation with other refugees and asylum-seekers is launching an initiative. This represents an attempt by the refugees themselves to address their problems and to establish effective working relations with various groups and institutions working on their behalf.