Teilnehmerbericht – Seminar “Menschen- und Bürgerrechte – eine politische Perspektive”

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Report on the seminar ” Human and Civil Rights – a political perspective”

(The report is available in English only)

Date : 29th Nov – 11th Dec, 2009 – Gummersbach, Germany

Participant: Ran Cohen, Head of Migrants and Undocumented People Department,Physicians for Human Rights–Israel

Prior preparation – Arrangements and information prior to the seminar were extremely important and had been valuable for the preparation before traveling. Starting from flight arrangements, tips and general information and up to the list of participants and “country report” assignment, all were informative and important for the success of the seminar.

Facilities and hospitality – Facilities, both at the academy and during the excursion, were nothing less than excellent. Food was very good and it is clear that the staff members were working very hard to make our staying as pleasant as possible. I would especially like to emphasize the warm and welcoming hospitality from each and every IAF staff members in the Theudor Heuss Academy and to thank again for each and every one of them for their wonderful work.

Seminar -In general, I feel that taking part in the seminar had been a great experience, and contributed much to me as a person and as a Human Rights activist. I came back equipped with quite a lot of new ideas, insights and general “food for thought” and feel that I have a lot of work to do – Not only from the ideological aspect and position shaping, but also in relation to ground work to be done and issues to tackle in Israel.

Seminar topics and sessions – Since I arrived with some background in Human Rights work, I felt that the first couple of days, which were oriented towards general Human Rights discourse and terminology, were too basic and familiar for me. As the seminar continued, discussions and related topics became much more relevant and challenging.

I believe that I have earned and learned the most when issues got deeper into liberal theory. I find that the liberal perspective discussed in relation to Human Rights served as a key element for my interest – liberal concepts such as individual freedoms, secularism, economical aspects of liberalism and relationship between democracy and development were in many cases new to me and intrigued me to study and research more . All along the seminar time, both in formal sessions and in non- formal meetings, I got familiar with different aspects and approaches of liberal thinking which enriched my mind and led me to test and reconsider different ideas and beliefs I hold.

Debates regarding more controversial issues such as dilemmas in reproductive health, Human Rights and war against terror, assisted suicide, blasphemy vs. freedom of speech etc., were much successful and enjoyable. The wide range of different and important opinions made a clear impact on the participants and opened the door for a more principal discussion between group members. I have learned and gained a lot from these debates.

Another great benefit for me were the discussions held from regional perspectives, which helped me to understand issues on a wider scale, and meet different Human Rights dilemma’s through their cultural and Geo-Political connection.

Methodology –I would first like to emphasize that both moderators were extremely professional. Not only during formal sessions, but also in non-formal meetings, both moderators were always there and served as wonderful tutors and resource people. The success of the seminar owes great deal to the good cooperation between the moderators and their excellent abilities to share knowledge and to allow participants to share from their own.

Topics discussed in plenary sessions were well chosen and covered a wide range of relevant issues, though in many cases I felt that discussions did not reach into deeper details and did not evolve into passionate discussions between group members. I believe that part of it was due to technical constraints and the constant need for translation. I recommend considering the option of allowing longer and deeper sessions on specific issues, even if the cost will be giving up few topics. Fortunately, part of the discussions and idea exchange were accomplished during evenings and occasional free time.

Group work and group presentations were very good and contributed a lot to my understanding of different political issues in different parts of the world. In addition, I felt that planned debates and “hot seat’ sessions were the most challenging ones for me, as they forced me to confront with other stands and beliefs and encouraged me think of different Human Rights issues in different perspectives.

Participants – Getting to know so many different individuals who all share common goals, gave me quite a lot of hope and power to continue with my work. I enjoyed meeting, listening and learning from each and every one of the group members. I believe that the friendships and professional network and connections I created during the seminar are extremely important, and I am convinced that all these new contacts will serve me and other participants in our future endeavors.

The importance of this unique meeting was also in the sense of solidarity it produced, and the strong common understanding that similar problems and struggles take place in different parts of the world. I got a lot of ideas and insights from different group members and I definitely have the intentions to use this valuable network in order to promote Human Rights issues through out the world.

In regard to the group line up, there is one thing in which I believe a change is needed: Majority of participants came from the southern part of the world. In a way, it created a south-south dialogue which, for my perception, not the correct format for these unique political seminars. I recommend considering the engagement of participants from what is often called the “developed world”, in order to achieve a more balanced and comprehensive discussion and in order to bring into debate issues such as the responsibility and impact the global north has in relation to human rights.

Excursion – Traveling to Dresden was a great experience. The facilities and hosting during the excursion were way above my expectations. No doubt that the visit to East Germany helped me with understanding the process that Germany had gone through the last two decades. It was an inspiring experience for me.

I do feel that large part of the excursion was too touristic, and that there is a need to involve more political and Human Rights discussions during the visit, especially ones concerning with living under constant Human Rights violations, the challenges that come with the unification of the two Germany’s and the processes that brought the fall of the iron curtain. The visit to the Stazi archive was excellent. The visits to the army academy and the police did not relate to the core of the seminar topics and for my opinion were not necessary. I would also like to recommend considering occasional group sessions during the excursion, in order to jointly discuss issues that came up during the day.

To summarize – I’m afraid that it will take me much more time to understand and process the amount of new knowledge, ideas and thoughts I came back with. I am grateful for the opportunity I was given and would like to extend my gratitude to each and every one of the involved parties. I am certain that the tools I got during the seminar will serve me in my future work and hope that I could find more support and collaboration among the Friedrich Naumann foundation resources.

I would like to end with offering my future involvement and help in any way needed in order to support the important and valuable work done by the foundation.