ISLAM IN EUROPE a three-evening symposium of debate and discussion

Islam in Europe gathers prominent, cross-sector speakers from diverse disciplines, and from Europe, the U.S., and elsewhere across the Muslim diaspora, to share country-specific perspectives on Muslim communities’ integration in European society, addressing related topical issues for citizens of a multi-cultural, increasingly globalized world. Besides Czyzewski, whose Borderland Foundation created opportunities for dialogue in Bosnia after the war and in many Muslim countries in Asia, symposium participants include H.E. Queen Noor of Jordan, Imam Abduljalil Sajid – Chairman of the Muslim Council for Religious and Racial Harmony, U.K., and Benjamin Barber – author of Jihad vs. McWorld.

An active member of EUNIC New York, the Polish Cultural Institute brings Krzysztof Czyzewski, Founding Director of the Borderland Foundation in Sejny, to the program. Czyzewski will appear as a guest panelist in Part III, Youth: The Future on Wednesday, June 10, at 7:30 PM, together with Ziyah Gafic (photographer, Bosnia-Hercegovina), Farid Hafez (University of Vienna, Austria), Nebojsa Seric Shoba (visual artist, Bosnia-Hercegovina), Nanna Westh (filmmaker, Denmark), and moderator Moustafa Bayoumi (City University of New York).

This debate investigates how young people, as Western citizens who are fully confident in their Muslim identities, tackle thorny societal issues and challenge old paradigms. It also discusses how youth can play an integral role in creating a better, socially coherent future.

KRZYSZTOF CZYZEWSKI is founding director of the Borderland Foundation (Fundacja Pogranicze) in Sejny, Poland, which works through education and the arts to create models of civil society. Czyzewski’s model involves a methodology based on his work in theater and involves the whole community, especially young people; its mission is to educate them to be community builders, and one of its first principles is that in order to shape the future one must first understand the past. Czyzewski has brought the Foundation\'s model to regions of ethnic tension around the world – places like Armenia, Bosnia, Georgia, Indonesia, Mongolia, and Tadzhikistan – initiating cultural projects to foster intercultural and inter-religious dialogue when peaceful communication has been obstructed by current or remembered ethnic conflicts. One of the Borderland Foundation’s most significant endeavors was its establishment of an open forum for dialogue in Bosnia after the war. Since 2003, Czyzewski has been an active member of the European Cultural Parliament. In April 2008, the Foundation\'s work was presented at The Borderlands Foundation Festival in New York

The New York Public Library
South Court Auditorium
5th Ave. at 42nd St.
New York, NY 10018
Tel. 917.275.6975

Admission:
$25 general
$15 library donors, seniors, & students Arrive early for best seat selection; the doors open 45 minutes before the event

Tickets: www.smarttix.com, 212.868.4444, or at the box office, which opens 2 hours before the event

SCHEDULE

Part I
Tue., June 9, 7 PM
Opening Event: How Did We Get Here?

Part II
Wed., June 10, 6 PM
Migration Policy, Response and Reaction: The Status Quo

Part III
Wed., June 10,
7:30 PM
Youth: The Future
with Guest Panelist Krzysztof Czyzewski, Founding Director, The Borderland Foundation

Part IV
Thu., June 11, 5 PM
Media. A Catalyst for Change

Part V
Thu., June 11, 7:00 PM
Conclusions: Where Do We Go From Here?