6th round of Southeast Europe and EU - Leadership Development Programme Dead Line: 27 April 2011‏

The future of Southeast Europe depends on targeted and consistent action to develop effective civic structures and integrate the region into Euro-Atlantic political, economic and security spheres. This requires consultation and collaboration between international and regional policy-makers. Initiatives that build confidence among citizens in the region are a prerequisite for peace and stability, and ultimately for regional integration and economic prosperity. Underlying this project is the belief that the driving force for the continuation of the political, social and economic reform and the success of the region’s EU integration are qualified young professionals with international experience.
In an effort to contribute to the reform process in Southeast Europe, the TRANSFUSE Association and the College of Europe jointly launched a programme in 2006 for young people from the region, as well as from the rest of Europe, who aspire to play an active role in the future of their countries. The Programme runs over a ten-month period and aims to transmit knowledge about the EU and its relation to the region, to stimulate the leadership and professional skills of participants and to encourage the exchange of views.
The European Fund for the Balkans has been generously financing the programme since 2008 and since 2009, has been organising it jointly with the College of Europe and the TRANSFUSE Association. The 2011/2012 Programme will consist of the following activities:
Two-week Summer Academy in Austria and Slovakia in September 2011
The curriculum includes topics related to the European Union and the development of its relations with Southeast Europe, as well as wider issues of international and economic relations. Practical training components focusing on negotiations, project management and presentation skills provide participants with essential leadership qualities
Group activities, between November 2011 and March 2012: The participants will work together in small groups to develop and implement a joint activity or an event in Southeast Europe.
Five-day Spring Seminar in Belgium (Brussels/Bruges), in April 2012: The programme includes working visits to the EU institutions and NATO in Brussels and classes in the campus of the College of Europe in Bruges.
The Programme is led by an Academic Dean, who guides the participants through the different aspects of the Programme. The working language of the Programme is English.
Certificates are awarded to participants upon successful completion of the Programme.
Only 30 selected applicants are invited to participate. Their participation in the Programme is sponsored by the European Fund for the Balkans. For information on the application procedure and sponsorship details see ‘How to apply’ and ‘Practical information’ pages.

Summer Seminar - Searching for a decent international Society, Vama Veche, Romania, 15-20 August 2011‏

The Luxembourg Institute for European and International Studies (LIEIS) is a
forum of academic and intellectual discussions and research, as well as a
platform of training and upgrading for undergraduates and young professionals
from both western and eastern countries.
Summer Seminar on
Searching for a decent international society
Vama Veche, Romania
15 - 20 August 2011
One of LIEIS’ constant themes of research and debate has been the European
integration process as well as developments in the wider Europe and in the world

at large. The topics have been explored for the last 17 years under the form
of summer schools organized by the Institute in cooperation with the Black Sea
University Foundation, and, later on, with the European Cultural Centre in
Romania.

The ambition of the 2011 seminar is to have a critical look at the international

society, the political, economic, cultural and strategic relations, the
structures and mechanisms, the distribution of power and wealth. Is the system
sufficiently just, does it allow a fair access to material and non-material
resources? Does it provide adequately for the maintenance of peace? What are the

dominating values and what should they be: tolerance, empathy, solidarity? Are
new institutions for global governance required?
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
- students, young researchers and professionals from both Eastern and Western
Europe
- young representatives of higher education, of specialized institutions, of
political parties, of NGO’s, of the mass media.
The cost of 395 Euro includes participation fee, accommodation in double rooms
with own bathroom and all meals.
*** The LIEIS offers a grant covering the fee of 395 Euro to the students whose
application is accepted.

VENUE
The course will be held at Vama Veche, an exceptional youth holiday village,
which is situated at about 50 km south of Constantza, the main Romanian port on
the Black Sea coast, close to the Bulgarian border.
***The working language is English.
***Application deadline: 18 June 2011
All candidates are kindly requested to send the filled in Application Form
together with:
· Curriculum vitae
· Letter of intention
· Two-page essay on one of the topics
addressed by the seminar
to the EUROPEAN CULTURAL CENTRE
Centrul European de Cultură, Bucureşti
49-51, Sfinţii Voievozi St., 010968, 4th floor, apt. 16, Bucharest-1, Romania
Phone/fax: 4021 650 32 80 E-mail: cti@clicknet.ro

International Summer Academy on Human Rights and Human Security, 10 - 20 July 2011, ETC Graz, Austria

International Summer Academy on Human Rights and Human Security, 10 - 20 July 2011, ETC Graz, AustriaETC's ( European Training- and Research Centre for Human Rights and Democracy ) International Summer Academy on Human Rights and Human Security has been held since 2001, first in Montenegro and Macedonia, and since 2003 in the Human Rights City of Graz.
Following different topics in the past ten years - ranging from human rights and human wrongs in the Balkans over a culture of human rights to the question of threats that transnational terrorist and criminal organisations bring for the peacebuilding and reconstruction process in the Western Balkan region - it has never lost the focus on the interdependency of human rights, human security and human rights education. The 10th summer academy (re)turns to the local level, resuming different approaches to human rights implementation in cities and towns, discussing progress and setbacks and giving examples not only of the Human Rights City of Graz. The programme is designed to raise awareness on human rights challenges and possible solutions by means of human rights education and education for democratic citizenship, to strengthen democratic and human rights principles, to contribute to bringing the scientific discourse closer to civil society and to build future relations and include the participants in existing networks.
The programme further provides an introduction to the concept of human security which is set into relation to societal factors such as poverty and exclusion, but also racism and right-wing extremism and their effects on "old" and "new" minorities. Concluding the summer academy, human rights education strategies will be reviewed in relation to the goals of human security and the respect for human and minority rights.

TOPICS AND WORKSHOPS

* Concepts of human security
* The interdependency of concepts: Human rights, human security and human rights education
* Challenges to human dignity and human security: Poverty and exclusion
* Re-build my town!
* Challenges to human dignity and human security: Racism and the "old" and "new" minorities
* Challenges to human dignity and human security: Right-wing extremism
* Reasoning strategies against hate speech
* Human (in)securities in the past
* Local strategies for human rights and human security: The concepts of human rights cities and the Coalition of Cities against Racism
* Building a culture of human rights: Human rights education strategies
* Learning by doing: Interactive theatre as a participatory instrument

METHODOLOGY
The summer academy draws on the expertise of a selected group of international and local academics and practitioners who work on the topics of human rights education and implementation on the local level. Their broad professional orientation - from lawyers to human rights educators to theatre performers - guarantees the interdisciplinary approach to human rights and human security issues that has made our previous summer academies a success story.
The academy is designed as a modular course, covering one topic per day, which allows for the transfer of knowledge, the acquisition of skills and the shaping of attitudes as well.
The training is based on morning lectures and discussions and afternoon workshops. In order to assure sustainability and multiplying effects, the training methods put particular emphasis on an interactive approach, offering a week-long simulation game in one of the afternoon working groups and visits to numerous local institutions in the second working group. Working language of the summer academy is English. Participants who have actively taken part in the whole programme will receive a certificate of attendance. http://www.scholarshipandphd.blogspot.com/

TARGET GROUP
The summer academy is designed as ten-day-course for
. young professionals, especially in local administration,
. postgraduate students and young researchers,
. and representatives of NGOs
whose work agenda focuses on the implementation of human rights and democratic proceedings. Special focus will be laid on the selection of participants from South Eastern and Eastern Europe. The number of participants is limited to 30 in order to provide an intensive learning atmosphere. Participants will be selected on the basis of their fields of interest and their personal motivation to be involved in the programme.

INFORMATION AND APPLICATION
http://www.etc-graz.at/typo3/index.php?id=1118#c2421

APPLICATION DEADLINE PROLONGED UNTIL 15 APRIL 2011!!
"What is a human rights city? Imagine living in a society where all citizens learn about human rights and make a pledge to build a community based on economic and social justice, on equality and non-discrimination; where all women and men actively participate in the decisions that affect their daily lives guided by the human rights framework; where people have consciously internalised and socialised the holistic vision of human rights to overcome fear and impoverishment; a society that provides human security, access to food, housing, education, health care and work at liveable wages, sharing these resources with all citizens, not as a gift, but as the realisation of human rights. A human rights city is a practical, viable model that demonstrates that developing and living in such a society is possible."
(Shulamith Koenig, PDHRE)
INTERNATIONAL SUMMER ACADEMY ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN SECURITY
BRINGING HUMAN RIGHTS HOME
STRENGTHENING HUMAN SECURITY AT THE LOCAL LEVEL THROUGH HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION
10 - 20 July 2011

ETC | EUROPEAN TRAINING AND RESEARCH CENTRE
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY
GRAZ | AUSTRIA