English Home Page
Presentation
Building hope
Building bridges
Building future
EDIW

18 rue de la Limite
B - 1210 Bruxelles Tél : 32 2 219 0842
E-mail: ediw@skynet.be

 
Introduction

WHAT IS EDIW ?

An international association, of European scope created in 1997, with headquarters in Brussels, aiming at "promoting and encouraging actions and projects in the educational field to make supportive and responsible citizens and stimulating more justice in an interdependent world " (Article 2 of the Bylaws).

The Brussels Center of the International European Association EDIW aims at promoting actions and projects in research and higher education in order to cooperate with the countries of Eastern Europe and developing countries, according to the values of solidarity and acknowledgement of human rights.
Apart from the actions of cultural creation and those related to higher education or research, the Association implements training projects for young University students in intercultural surroundings.

It is a non-profitmaking organization.

EDIW welcomes and works with any person, institution, network of programmes and actions which, through Education, works for more justice and tolerance; Ediw associates in its programmes any person and institution, regardless of their religious, political, ethnic or social beliefs.

EDIW acts through different actions and programmes:

 
 

Programme: "Building hope"
This is a programme that helps to unify and coordinate the efforts of people and institutions in the area of teacher training; supporting educational initiatives in the framework of North-South relations.

The actions in progress are:

  • Network of Centres of Teacher Training.
  • Network of Centres and institutions specialized in citizenship education in the school area They carry out the following activities and projects:

    • Seminar: "Education et Citoyenneté européenne en milieu scolaire: expériences et méthodologies actives". Held in Brussels from 27 October till 28 October 2000. This seminar was supported by the European Parliament, receiving a subsidy from the European Commission (Convention N: 2000-0015/001-001S0281ACEC), with the support of the Castroverde Foundation (Spain) and the Association PRO.DO.C.S (Italy), and the participation of institutions, associations, centres of secondary and primary school from 8 countries of the European Union.
    • Project Comenius 3: Education et Citoyenneté. Presented to the call for applications for funding of the European Commission. The pre-proposal was accepted with the number: 101410-CP-1-2002-1-BE-Comenius-C3PP) within the thematic area of European Citizenship.

  • Collaboration with Universities of Central Africa to create a centre of teacher training in Yaoundé (Cameroon).
  • Consultancy for primary schools in India.

 
 

Programme: "Building bridges"

This programme offers the university staff a possibility to participate in the elaboration of trends of thought around themes like:

  • Migration, interculturality and ethnic conflict.
  • Poverty and development
  • Humanism and school
  • Human rights
  • International humanitarian assistance

This programme intends to increase knowledge, from the perspective of an education for an interdependent world. It is part of networks in which universities, research centres and organizations of the European Union take also part.

Actions in progress:

  • EDIW has been participating actively in the Thematic Network on Humanitarian Development Studies (25931-CP-1-98-1-ES-ERASMUS-ETN), as a member since its foundation. As a partner of this network, it has contributed to the reflection on intercultural training and to the development of tools for expatriate and other professionals working in cultural contexts different from their own. (http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/socrates/tnp/96-themes.html)
  • Equally, it has contributed to a perspective of progress and growth of the civil society in countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia and the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia within the Tempus program.
  • EDIW coordinates the European Network on Intercultural Citizenship.
 

Programme "Building future"

This Program is aimed at young people. It is now promoting two types of actions:p>

• International University Forum. They have been held since 1992. They have received recognition from UNESCO as "Youth Actions in favour of Peace " in 1998 (Ref:CPP/DA/372/1998). The most recently are:

- 7th Forum 1998: "Pour une culture de la Paix", held in Paris (France) from August 30 to September 6, 1998. Topic " For a culture of Peace ".

- 8th Forum 1999: "Droit de L'Homme, Chemins de Paix", held in Oporto (Portugal) from August 3 to August 12, 1999. Topic Human rights and Peace.

- 9th Forum 2000: "Figures of peace in the constructionof Europe", held in Salamanca (Spain) from July 29 to August 6, 2000. Topic: The construction of Europe and Peace

- 10th Forum 2001: "Foreigner?", held in Paris (France), from July 29 to July 5, 2001. Topic, intercultural dialogue.

- Youth Forum 2003: " Urbino 2003 "

• Multicultural Processes.

Seminars, workshops and training courses of formation in the intercultural dialogue for students participating in mobility programmes.

• International University Seminars aimed at professional people working with the young and directors and organizers of projects in the context of non-formal education.

- 1st Interculturality seminar: "Training for Intercultural Communication " organized by EDIW, held in Valladolid (Spain) in January, 1998.

- 2nd Interculturality seminar: "Intervention in intercultural relations: The training of trainers", organized by EDIW, held in Brussels (Belgium) from September 10 to September 12, 1998.

- 3rd Interculturality seminar: "The evaluation of intercultural Experiences", organized by EDIW, held in Madrid (Spain), from July 15 to July 17, 1999.

- 4th Interculturality seminar: "The construction of the European Identity", held in Paris (France), on September 15-18, 2000.

- Interculturality seminar: "European Identity:The individual,the group and society"

• Transnational (Inter-Countries) Project: Intercultural Citizenship, takes as its aim the creation of nets and the production of methodologies for the academic recognition of the experiences of exposure to other cultures and the diffusion of good practices, promoting a greater sensibility the groups through direct experience with the help of theoretical frameworks and research. 20 European countries take part in the network.

 

In relation to the topic of citizenship we want to point out, that besides the actions promoted by EDIW and which we have listed briefly, the association has been invited to taking part as an expert entity in:

• Conference: Le sens de la construction europenne, from December 7 to December 8, 2001, in Brest (France). Coordinator: Association Aber Europe. Ediw contributed to the issues of Culture et la question du sens en Europe y sobre Initiatives de terrain dans l´arc atlantique.

• European Schoolnet (EUN) Action Group, which intends to set up a programme on Education for Democratic Citizenship, that would make the collaboration easier between teachers and pupils of European schools, produce material and setting examples of good practice on this dimension.

• Participation in the network Heinrich Pesh Haus(European Network), a network of European cooperation in bioethics. EDIW contributes to the exploration of new educational concepts necessary for the development of bioethics.

• The "Education Contacts" Group intends to share information on educational aspects at the European level and to develop an "Educational Cell" within the European Parliament.