Towards Social Cohesion in Western European Cities

See a report from the European Experts Meeting on Social Cohesion in June 2007

Mayor of Amsterdam Job Cohen is listening to the concluding Recommendations of the European Expert Meeting on Social Cohesion

Muslim Identities, Western Identities: New Approaches and New Leaders for Conciliation

After many months of planning, five of our people, including an Israeli Jewish and Palestinian trainer, spent a week and a half in Amsterdam organizing experts from the most conflict ridden cities into an international Network, sharing best practices and advocating enlightened policies to stop and prevent Muslim radicalization. In Amsterdam itself, we did trainings for elected officials and civil servants, and reported to Mayor Job Cohen (photo on the right) under whose auspices our projects were organized and funded.

To both these policy makers and implementers we demonstrated the need for them to examine, discuss, and acknowledge contentious issues of memory and history as a necessary means for reducing resentment and resolving conflicts, including those that are seemingly intractable and contain the potential for large scale violence. 

The result of the meeting was a set of recommendations that we developed with these experts on radicalization  and a short report on our activities in Amsterdam written by our fellows.   

The  network that we proposed of the officials working on these issues is now a reality, with initiative taken from many corners.  This work also has been brought to the attention of the European Council and other international agencies dealing with these issues. 

Three of the experts from the June meeting in Amsterdam are joining us in Boston in October for the Mediating History, Making Peace workshop in historical conciliation and two public events in Boston and New York. Fatima Elatik, Vice-Mayor and Alderwoman in Amsterdam-Zeeburg, Mark Boekwijt, the advisor to the Mayor of Amsterdam, Yousiff Meah of the Birmingham City Council and his colleague John Curtiss from the Government of West Midlands, UK will share their expertise and experience with other workshop participants from around the world and will also speak at the John F. Kennedy School of Government (Oct. 22) and in New York City (Oct 23) on the challenges of integration of Muslim minorities into West European societies and innovative approaches of governance they are inventing.