EVENS FOUNDATION ANNUAL REPORT 2016 LIVING TOGETHER HARMONIOUSLY IN EUROPE
CONTENTS OUR MISSION I WHAT WE DO I ABOUT THE EVENS FOUNDATION
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CHAIRWOMAN’S MESSAGE
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PEACE EDUCATION The Peace Education Prize Conflict Matters Summer Lab Conflict Matters Conference Conflict Matters Platform ‘Hot topics’ – Embracing controversy Learning Communities for Peace Dream Your School EduCATe School Mediators Training
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MEDIA The Media Education Prize Prize for European Journalism Difference Day – World Press Freedom Day Media Meets Literacy in Sarajevo Ersilia Visual Literacy: How to Think and Act with Images MediaCoach - Media Masters Polska Lab – Urban Media Citizenship Laboratory
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EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP Imagine Europe – In Search of New Narratives FutureLab Europe Cycle of Conferences The Science Prize European History Atlas What’s Your ID?
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OUR MISSION The Evens Foundation initiates, develops and supports projects that encourage citizens and ultimately nations to live together harmoniously in a diverse Europe. It promotes respect for diversity, both individual and collective, and works to strengthen people’s physical, psychological and ethical integrity.
WHAT WE DO The Evens Foundation initiates and supports sustainable projects, and awards biennial prizes that contribute to the progress and strengthening of Europe, based on cultural and social diversity, in the fields of: · Peace Education · Media · European Citizenship
ABOUT THE EVENS FOUNDATION The Evens Foundation is a public-benefit foundation with headquarters in Antwerp, Belgium and additional offices in Paris and Warsaw. Created in 1990, it owes its existence to the generosity of the late Mrs Irène Evens-Radzyminska and Mr Georges Evens, philanthropists and European enthusiasts. Of Polish origin, they settled after the Second World War in Antwerp, where Mr Evens pursued a remarkable career in the diamond industry. Given his great success in business, he and Mrs Evens-Radzyminska decided to give something back to society – through the Evens Foundation. Mrs Corinne Evens – daughter of the two founders – is Honorary President of the Foundation. In the summer Luc Luyten handed the torch to Monique Canto-Sperber who has taken the role of Chairwoman.
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Faithful to its motto, the Evens Foundation is more than ever oriented
encouraged children to share ideas about the ideal school they would
towards European issues. 2016 was a year of numerous difficulties for
like to study in.
the European Union (with the Brexit vote, the rise of populism all over
CHAIRWOMAN’S MESSAGE
Europe, the uncertainty of the outcome of general elections in several
Our Media Education program was inspired by the wish to promote me-
European countries, waves of refugees and awful terrorist attacks). Eu-
dia literacy. Initiatives related to the capacity to understand the media
ropean values seemed under threat. With its enduring hope for a better
and to critically assess the value of information are conditions for the
future, the Foundation has tried to find a path for hope, and has in many
development of highly aware and responsible citizens. Given the focus
ways renewed its action at the local level, with broadly disseminated out-
of the Evens Foundation on media education for children and young
put that could inspire further initiatives. Determined to play its part in the
people, we launched initiatives in Poland, under the name of Polska
definition of a new role for philanthropy, it has joined other foundations in
Lab, an urban media laboratory to promote critical use of diverse media
specific actions, and strengthened its cooperation with EFC.
channels, and in Flanders, Media Masters, a project monitored by a former laureate of our Media Education Prize.
In 2016, the Evens Foundation launched many projects and achieved a
The Peace Education program is at the heart of the Evens Founda-
lot. Our new strategic plan (2016-2017) was approved by our board at
tion’s initiatives. Living in diverse and pluralistic societies raises difficult
With the innovative online platform Ersilia, developed by Le Bal in France,
the beginning of the year and implemented through several pioneering
challenges, and education can do much to overcome them. Many pro-
we explored the field of visual literacy, offering students and teachers
projects. It was prolonged and broadened by initiatives already under
jects undertaken by our Foundation seek to make the wish for more
tools for a better understanding of images. This experience also inspired
way, and in turn it widened their scope and gave them a more enduring
harmonious European schools a reality. They have been successful in
us to dedicate our biennial media literacy magazine (to be published in
outreach. Peace Education, Media Education and European Citizenship
bringing together professionals (practitioners and educators), invited to
2017), to visual literacy. Finally, a lot of work was devoted to preparing
have thus become the key topics in which the Evens Foundation has
attend training workshops on controversial issues, to experiment with
Media Meets Literacy (2017), a European gathering where media literacy
gained deep expertise and an indisputable reputation.
new strategies to confront tensions and conflicts in school settings while
professionals will explore challenges of the changing media world, and
adopting a non-normative approach. We thus furthered our knowledge
at which our Prize for Media Education will be awarded.
Conferences, teacher training, new applications, innovative platforms
of good practice in the field of conflict transformation, and converted it
and an online atlas were the many faces of the Foundation’s activity over
to an exchange platform.
this past year. As is often the case with action plans carried out over two
European Citizenship is a connecting thread in both programs just mentioned. The Evens Foundation wants to raise people’s awareness of the
years, the first months of 2016 were mainly devoted to the preparatory
Through its Peace Education Prize, the Evens Foundation also sought
need for peace-building and harmony through differences. We were a
and research work required to implement our projects, and much time
to examine how various dialogue tools and other strategies help schools
partner in the project “Imagine Europe – In Search of New Narratives”,
was spent in contacts and meetings in order to convince and mobilize
to deal with hot topics. The highlight event of this initiative, which will
organized by Bozar. We also supported the FutureLab Europe project
active communities (of teachers, students, heads of school) who would
prolong other projects belonging to our former strategic plan, will be the
to encourage young Europeans in their active citizenship efforts, and
be in charge of our numerous projects and bring them to life. This was
next Conflict Matters conference, to be held in London in November
participated in conferences on European issues in Gdansk, Berlin and
especially the case for our Prizes (Art, Science, European Journalism,
2017. The conference will focus on exploring the role and the transform-
Brussels.
Peace Education, Media Education) for which a jury was set up, while
ative potential of conflict in education, relying on arguments and reason
calls for projects, reports on the candidates and on-site visits were con-
but taking on board the emotional implications of sensitive issues. In the
These initiatives confirmed the unique place of the Evens Foundation
ducted. All that careful preparatory work was necessary for the success
wake of three pilot projects conducted in Belgium, Poland and France,
among European foundations. Our next annual report (focused on the
of our initiatives, and they will bear fruit in 2017.
under the umbrella of the Embracing Controversy initiative, we will share
second year of our current strategic plan) will present the full range of our
our own experience in promoting dialogue in educational settings.
output and achievements.
Before highlighting the main achievements of the Evens Foundation for 2016, I would like to recall briefly its singular character, its purpose in the
We also support the development of strategies to transform schools into
world of today, and the role it seeks to play in the sphere of philanthropy.
Learning Communities for Peace, while the Dream Your School initiative
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Monique Canto-Sperber, Chairwoman
PEACE EDUCATION The Evens Foundation highly values the contribution of active, critical and responsible citizens to achieving a more harmonious and democratic society in Europe, based on cultural and social diversity. With the Foundation’s Peace Education program, we wish to encourage children, young people and adults to become critical and responsible agents of peace within their families, schools, social networks and communities. The Foundation believes that one of the ultimate goals of education is to find ways to live well together, respecting our differences and still being able to build a world in common. We are convinced that a constructive attitude toward conflict – seeing it as an opportunity rather than a problem – is crucial so as to further a culture of peace in our increasingly diverse society. The Peace Education program thus initiates and supports projects that explore the role and the transformative potential of conflict, both for individuals and society.
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THE PEACE EDUCATION PRIZE In May 2016, we launched the call for applications for the 2017 edition of the Evens Prize for Peace Education. This biennial prize is aimed at identifying, supporting and sharing inspirational best practices. It also offers an opportunity to create European peace education networks, thus contributing to a European movement for change. We were looking for inspiring initiatives successfully implemented in secondary schools to answer the need for ‘hot topic’ education strategies, so that these strategies can be promoted and shared with other schools. A school should be a place where it is safe to talk about difficult topics. Teachers should be able to handle such topics in a constructive way, turning this into a learning experience. This in turn can help to educate children for democratic citizenship, for active participation in the public sphere. This is particularly important at a time of growing alienation and disengagement of citizens from traditional democratic practices and institutes. By 30 September 2016, we received no fewer than 29 applications from 15 countries; 13 were selected for the second round. Each project was visited by a staff member of the Foundation. The applications and site-visit reports were presented to an international jury of experts that selected the laureate. The award ceremony will take place during the Conflict Matters Conference that the Evens Foundation is organizing in London on 8-10 November 2017.
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CONFLICT MATTERS SUMMER LAB After previous experiences gathering professionals in conflict transformation and peace education training from all over Europe, we felt a need among practitioners and educators to spend more time learning from each other. To address this need, the Foundation initiated the Summer Lab. Every other year, professionals will be invited to attend a training workshop led by one organization around a particular issue or theme. In addition to discovering a new approach, the Summer Lab will give the practitioners the opportunity to exchange feedback, and thus to improve their work. The first edition of our Summer Lab took place in Antwerp on 10-11 June 2016. It presented an exceptional two-day training workshop to address sensitive topics and resolve tension in ed-
ucational settings. Especially designed for the Evens Foundation and led by Myrna Lewis, co-founder and CEO of Deep Democracy (South Africa), the Youth Speak method and training, based on the innovative CoResolve methodology, seeks to enable teachers and educators to engage in difficult conversations, and resolve tension and conflict in school settings. The method supports young people, teachers and practitioners to uncover learnings about themselves and others while engaging in conversation, debate or discussion. It turns these moments into learning opportunities. Working with this method and the tools also helps to foster a culture of participation, dialogue, involvement and mutual respect at school.
EVENS FOUNDATION PRESENTS
Wendy Colyn, a circuit manager in the Education Department in South Africa responsible for 41 schools, who has piloted the method, also shared her rich experience in disadvantaged South African schools. A total of 25 peace education practitioners from all over Europe, who gathered for the Summer Lab in Antwerp, gained insights into the Youth Speak methodology and left equipped with useful, pragmatic tools that could be applied immediately. All participants were invited to join the subsequent Youth Speak instructor training in order to work with and help disseminate this approach in Europe; seven participants decided to do so and the first results and reactions appear to be very promising.
Summe r Lab
CONFLICTMATTERS ANTWERP
10-11 JUNE 2016
CORESOLVING COMPLEX ISSUES IN SCHOOL
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The Evens Foundation is pleased to invite you to an exceptional two-day training workshop led by Myrna Lewis, co-founder & CEO of Deep Democracy and most recently CoResolve.
CONFLICT MATTERS CONFERENCE This conference is a biennial event exploring the role and the transformative potential of conflict, both for individuals and society. Its goal is to reconsider the question of social interaction, and envision ways of shaping a common world across our differences. It addresses a wide public of educators, (future) teachers, researchers, policymakers, and parents from all over Europe to share and reflect on pioneering ideas and good practices in the field of conflict transformation. In response to the increasing discords and polarization in our societies, the goal of the second edition of the conference is to identify practices and procedures whereby social contestation or confron-
tation can find expression and yet be transformed into an inclusive and egalitarian dialogue. The questions at issue include: What role does conflict play in our societies? What kind of educational policies and practices do we need to work with societal tension and conflict in a constructive way? How can we learn through difference – in schools, in families, in society? After a study visit to London and Cambridge in July 2016, it was decided to host the next Conflict Matters conference in London from 8 to 10 November 2017. It is being designed in partnership with the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge and the British Academy.
CONFLICT MATTERS PLATFORM In 2015, the Evens Foundation launched an online platform – www.conflictmatters.eu – to discover and highlight good practices in the field of constructive conflict transformation in school settings, and to discuss the key issues with colleagues from all over Europe. In 2016, the platform was slightly adapted to make it more interactive so as to provide space for reflective practice and external assessment among peers. New practices are regularly being added.
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‘HOT TOPICS’ – EMBRACING CONTROVERSY In the past few years, controversial events and issues have provoked educators to spontaneously put together recommendations to help their colleagues discuss hot topics in the classroom. This mobilization reveals the urgent need for educational strategies for teachers confronted with challenging views among students and the demand to discuss complex and divisive issues. While a number of traditional debating tools are used in educational settings, they do not specifically tackle hot topics, and, being based on reasoned and tempered debating, they fail to take account of the emotional implications of sensitive issues. To answer this need, the Evens Foundation initiated three pilot projects in Belgium, France and Poland for (future) teachers and educators on how to deal and debate with students on sensitive and/or controversial topics, taking the different national contexts into consideration. In a second phase, all these experiences will be shared between the project partners, resulting in a European kit with a set of strategies, methods and tools to embrace controversy and support dialogue at school. In Poland, the project is being developed in close consultation with 30 pilot schools. In the preparatory stage of the project, the Center for Citizenship Education, our local partner in this initiative, conducted a diagnostic study among teachers and young people in the whole country. The results of the research helped us to define the most difficult and controversial topic areas. In addition, we selected five tools for tackling hot topics in schools – film education, forum theatre, social campaigns, round tables and co-resolve. These were tested and implemented in schools, and students and teachers chose a model to work with. The best solutions, practices and effects will be evaluated and published in the form of
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ready-to-use toolkits with exercises and audiovisual materials, and presented during the Education Leadership conference in Warsaw in June 2017. In Belgium, we initiated a collaboration with the Initial Teacher Training for Secondary Education of Erasmus University College, Brussels to explore how dialogue can be integrated transversally in the program. In September 2016, they began in-house research to determine how future teachers are being prepared to engage in and facilitate dialogue on sensitive topics with/between their pupils. This will be complemented with new ideas and suggestions. This collaborative work will lead to a blueprint on how to include the development of democratic competences in initial teacher training. The results will be presented at Conflict Matters in London in November 2017, and discussed with other teacher training institutions in Belgium. In France, we initiated a collaboration with our long-term partner, La Ligue de l’Enseignement, the biggest French network of non-formal education. Together, we will develop a comprehensive toolbox for teachers and educators to help them tackle sensitive and controversial issues and turn them into learning opportunities. A pedagogical committee consisting of teachers, educators, psychologists, philosophers and historians will be in charge of designing and testing a set of strategies, methods and tools, accompanied by historical, geopolitical and philosophical information on a selection of topics. The project aims to address these issues in a way that will lead to dialogue, disagreement, investigation, analyses and criticism, and produce a long-term educational response to complex societal issues.
LEARNING COMMUNITIES FOR PEACE The EU faces a complex of crises – an influx of refugees, and threats from terrorism and radicalization. Many urban areas suffer from structural inequalities and often dysfunctional integration policies. The resulting tensions have intensified the fear of difference. The erosion of trust particularly affects strongly migrant communities and the schools within them. How can such schools and the communities surrounding them engage in the kind of sustained dialogue, integration and peacebuilding that is so urgently needed? To answer these needs, in February 2016 the Evens Foundation brought together six partners from various European countries to reflect on new approaches to peace education. The consortium applied for European funding for the Learning Communities for Peace (LCP) project, which is intended to support schools to develop their own peacebuilding strategy to become hubs for peace within their communities. Specifically, we aim to identify, develop, test and evaluate strategies to support the development of LCPs in four primary schools in areas of tension in four European countries (Sweden, Croatia, Greece, UK), so as to improve both the climate within the schools and ‘living together’ in the wider community. The six partners offer a combination of experience in peace education and community-building strategies, and in research/higher education and practice. In September 2016, we were informed that the project would receive funding from the Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission. The project was launched in November 2016 with the first partners meeting in Sweden, and it will last until May 2019.
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DREAM YOUR SCHOOL It’s almost always adults who come up with ideas about changing school – even though they are no longer at school and generally base their proposals on abstract ideas or specific adult concerns. That’s why the Evens Foundation launched the European project, Dream Your School, in which children themselves were encouraged to express their ideas about improving their school, or education in general. The project was developed with three partners of the Foundation: a21-Apprendre au 21ème siècle (France), ONCA (UK) and CEO (Poland). Each partner ran workshops with schoolchildren to brainstorm and develop concrete proposals. They then organized public events where students and education specialists discussed the proposals. Finally, the resulting ideas will be disseminated through a publication in French, Polish and English among policymakers and the broader public. In this publication, a newspaper, the three partners will outline their project, including the proposals of the children, as well as of some mixed child/adult groups. The result will be a fascinating overview of how European children ‘dream their school’. The project has both an educational and a political dimension, in that it promotes the growth and creativity of children, who learn how to take responsibility and develop their democratic and civic skills, while also encouraging policymakers to change education for the better. The Evens Foundation and partners, by disseminating these great ideas, aim to put them at the heart of public debate and thus help to reinvent the school of tomorrow.
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EDUCATE After meeting in Warsaw during the Learning Lab on the Promotion of Conflict Management in Education organized by the Foundation in 2014, six partner organizations formed a transnational team to further develop their collaboration by combining their experience in constructive and nonviolent conflict management. In spring 2015, the consortium applied for funding for their EduCATe project. In July 2015, the project was selected for funding by the French Erasmus+ Agency. The goal of the project is threefold. The partners aim to create and test a common training programme to help teachers deal with conflicts nonviolently (phase 1), and then develop a common advocacy strategy and support each other in advocating nonviolent conflict-handling in their respective countries (phase 2). Finally, they wish to establish a European network that connects different actors in this field. The work began in fall 2015 and intensified during 2016 as the partners researched the state of the art in their respective countries. The Foundation is mainly involved in the advocacy work.
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SCHOOL MEDIATORS TRAINING In 2016, the Evens Foundation supported the Médiateur à l’Ecole project in France, which trains and places social mediators in educational settings to act as third-party facilitators between school, families and neighborhood. Their mission is to prevent and combat violence and drop-outs, and encourage a positive school climate, civic behavior, and a culture of dialogue and tolerance. Specifically, the mediator’s role involves raising awareness of and tracking bullying, training teachers and students in (peer) mediation, encouraging students’ extracurricular potential, developing their social skills, creating links between parents and school, etc. Developed and led by France Médiation, a major network of social mediators, and resulting from three years of nationwide experimentation, the project has been extended to 120 primary and secondary schools in 60 disadvantaged areas in France. More than 50,000 students and their teachers have benefited from the experience, and the project was positively evaluated by the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies (LIEPP) of Sciences Po.
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MEDIA To promote harmonious living together, the Evens Foundation seeks to stimulate efforts to increase media literacy by raising critical awareness and encouraging media creativity. Both activities help to develop highly aware, active and responsible citizens. We define media literacy as the ability to access and understand the media, take a critical approach to media content, and be able to create communication in a variety of contexts. Thus, in the media domain, the Foundation has been working in particular on projects that enhance the media literacy of citizens, with special focus on media education for children and young people; raise understanding of how the media influence perceptions and convictions; encourage a strong sense of responsibility among journalists and editors, and in particular young journalists, so that they use the power of journalism to reduce conflict and promote harmony in European society, and, finally, research the role of the new social media in both conflict and conflict management.
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THE MEDIA EDUCATION PRIZE Young people are extremely vulnerable to manipulation by the media. Within the constant stream of media messages (24-hour news cycle, endless feeds on social media platforms, specialist sites, etc), false and manipulative messages – from all sides of the ideological spectrum – are distributed to influence thoughts, opinions and behavior. On top of that, an increasing number of online hatemongers seek to polarize society into competitive or even enemy groups, with growing extremism and radicalization as a worrisome result. Therefore, the Foundation decided that the fifth Evens Prize for Media Education, to be awarded in 2017, should focus on projects that help young people, aged 12 to 18, to develop a critical attitude to the media. The prize was aimed at European initiatives that creatively address these issues, together with the target group of young people. Given the inherent limits of formal education, which does not meet the needs of learners in certain socio-economic groups or geographic locations, or due to language and social barriers, we decided that the call should focus exclusively on projects in informal or non-formal learning contexts. We received a total of 50 applications from organizations in 13 countries, and 13 were selected for the shortlist. These shortlisted organizations were all visited by the Evens Foundation and reports on them were submitted to an external international jury. The award ceremony will take place at the Media Meets Literacy conference that the Evens Foundation is organizing in Sarajevo, on 21-22 September 2017.
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PRIZE FOR EUROPEAN JOURNALISM
DIFFERENCE DAY – WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY
The Foundation’s Media program has two main aims: to increase media literacy and to promote high-quality journalism. Combining this latter interest with its European scope, which runs transversally through all activities, the Board decided to establish the Evens Prize for European Journalism to reward journalists whose work contributes highly to making Europe more comprehensible and accessible to a broad audience. The laureates must be European journalists (working and living in the EU) with an impressive record in reporting, and/or commenting on Europe.
In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly declared the 3rd of May as World Press Freedom Day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression.
For the 2017 edition of the prize, the Board invited a nomination committee to draw up a shortlist of candidates who meet the strict criteria. An international jury of journalism experts will assess the journalists and make their choice in spring 2017.
In 2015, the Evens Foundation, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Erasmushogeschool Brussel, BOZAR & iMinds named this special day Difference Day, which is intended to honor individuals and organizations who make a difference by defending and promoting these values. On 3rd May 2016, the founding partners were joined by other organizations – including WAN, EBU, ACT, MPAA, the European Commission, UNESCO, European Parliament – to celebrate the second Difference Day with conferences, discussions, exhibitions and films about this fundamental theme which concerns us all. At the event two honorary titles for freedom of expression were awarded: one to the Charlie Hebdo journalist and columnist Zineb El Rhazoui, and one to Djemila Benhabib, a writer and fierce opponent of Islamic fundamentalism. The Spanish cartoonist KAP (Jaume Capdevila) won the Press Cartoon Europe Award.
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MEDIA MEETS LITERACY IN SARAJEVO We’ve witnessed in the past few years a tidal wave of fake news, disinformation and propaganda, rapidly disseminated through the Internet and other media. Given the social and political consequences, it is more crucial than ever that our citizens be critical users of the media. Civil society is maintained by having informed, critical and media-literate citizens, while the media – from radio and television to the Internet and social networks – are the essential means of informing the public in our democracies. After the successful Media Meets Literacy event in Warsaw in 2015, a pan-European gathering where media literacy professionals explored the challenges of the changing media world, the Foundation decided in 2016 to organize a second edition of the event. It is aimed at reinforcing dialogue, cooperation and partnerships between the education/training and media sectors as well as all other relevant stakeholders, including civil society and youth organizations. The conference will be held on 21-22 September 2017, preceded by The PropagandaLab, led by Professor Renee Hobbs. It will be organized in partnership with the European Commission, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and Mediacentar Sarajevo, and involve 250 media and citizenship experts from all over Europe. www.mediameetsliteracy.eu
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ERSILIA – QUESTIONING IMAGES Ersilia is a unique digital visual literacy platform, initiated with the support of the Evens Foundation. Launched in 2016, it offers students, teachers and artists a comprehensive way of questioning and thinking about the world of images. It is the result of three years of experimentation led by LE BAL, a research and exhibition center in Paris dedicated to the image, and its pedagogical arm, La Fabrique du Regard, in close collaboration with a team of teachers and students. Ersilia is a laureate of the government initiative La France s’engage, which supports the most inspiring social innovation projects. Backed by the Ministry of Education, Ersilia benefits from a nationwide dissemination campaign and a program of teacher training; 2,200 teachers have registered on Ersilia, and hundreds of education professionals and students have participated in the trainings and workshops. La Fabrique du Regard has launched Ersilia Lab, a growing group of teachers who meet regularly to share their experiences of using Ersilia in the classroom and suggest improvements, new themes and features. The experimentation will be supported by a university laboratory specialized in digital humanities.
www.ERSIlIa.fR
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PlatEfORmE numéRIquE D’éDucatIOn à l’ImagE POuR PEnSER En ImagES un mOnDE D’ImagES
VISUAL LITERACY: HOW TO THINK AND ACT WITH IMAGES The Evens Foundation publishes its “Media Literacy in Europe” magazine to highlight inspiring projects that seek to increase media literacy in Europe. Following the first two editions, titled “12 Projects that Will Inspire You” and “Inspiring Ways to Involve Parents”, in 2016 it began working on a third edition of the magazine, devoted to visual literacy. It will focus on interesting and inspirational practices and research from all over Europe. The Foundation invited View – the Foundation for Visual Culture, Poland to collaborate on the magazine. The magazine will cover issues such as the theoretical framework of what visual literacy is and why it is important, reflection on the role the image plays in our contemporary world, the practice of creating fake or alternative visual representations and images of reality, how images are used for political purposes, how they are used in building gender-sensitive (or insensitive) reality, how seeing and decoding an image can be a democratic action, how to be image-literate, image-critical and not to be deceived by images, and so on. We invited renowned experts to join our Advisory Board: Professors Ernst van Alphen, Marquard Smith, Andrzej Leśniak, Hilde van Gelder and Edit Andras. They will work on the magazine along with its editors and a group of researchers. The magazine will be published in the fall of 2017.
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MEDIACOACH
MEDIA MASTERS
For the third time, the Evens Foundation supported the Belgian MediaCoach program, in Flanders, the French community and Brussels.
Media Masters, the winning project of the Evens Prize for Media Education 2015 laureate Mediawijzer.net, is an interactive media literacy game, with offline and online elements. The main objective of the game is to raise awareness of media literacy themes among educators, parents and pupils (aged 10-12). By playing the game pupils develop their media literacy competencies through collaboratively solving media-related problems, working on media literacy assignments, co-creating media content, and discussing media literacy themes.
The MediaCoach program prepares professionals – including teachers, youth workers and librarians who work with young people – to integrate media literacy into their work practices. The 10day training provides participants with a theoretical framework on different media literacy topics (media identity and privacy, media production, media and relations, etc). It also focuses on concrete media literacy activities. Trainees in the program were challenged and coached to develop a media literacy project in their work environment and present that to an external jury for their graduation.
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The online game is played both in the classroom and at home. Among the subjects that pupils are introduced to are social media use, coding, cyberbullying prevention, vlogging and online collaboration. The Royal Library of the Netherlands, a key partner of Mediawijzer.net, has developed a special game element focusing on information literacy skills. Pupils have to deploy and advance their media skills and learn from each other to pass the game (as a class).
Since the project proved to be very effective in the Netherlands, the Evens Foundation decided to organize a first pilot in Flanders and Brussels, simultaneously with the 6th edition in the Netherlands. In collaboration with Mediawijs, the Flemish Knowledge Centre for Media Literacy, an open call for candidates was launched. Over 120 school classes responded. A final list of 24 classes participated in the project, organized in the Week of Media Literacy in the Netherlands in November 2016. Both teachers and pupils were enthusiastic about the initiative. Some teachers further developed the content of the game to work around specific themes in class after the game had been completed. For this pilot, the Dutch version of the game was used, with minor changes to adapt it to the local context. As all participants indicated interest in a second edition of the game, Mediawijs is investigating the possibilities of developing a Belgian version.
POLSKA LAB – URBAN MEDIA CITIZENSHIP LABORATORY In 2016 the Evens Foundation and the Association of Creative Initiatives “ę” launched Polska Lab, an urban media citizenship laboratory, in medium-sized cities in Poland. The aim of this project is to increase civic awareness among young people and strengthen their influence in the spaces they live in. We decided to combine the potential of local NGO organizations working with young people, city activists, and experts in the field of new media and new technology. The first open recruitment took place in fall 2016. We chose to work in Przemyśl, a town in the eastern borderland, on the subject of national minorities and tolerance. With our aid, partner organizations formed local partnerships consisting of municipal citizen organizations as well as experts in new media and/or new technology. We helped them to organize a one-week Media Citizenship Laboratory for local youth (mid-high and high school), to be held in 2017, focused on a social issue that is important for the local community, local organizations, youth and local partners. The modern educational system lacks time to develop social awareness in young people. However, rank-and-file initiatives, non-governmental movements and citizen initiatives are growing stronger in Poland. They put pressure on the government, fight for citizen-friendly space, flag abnormalities, and care for common goods. Such informal projects create an opportunity to drive social change, which in turn can be enhanced by wise use of new media and technology. Polska Lab focuses on critical and creative use of these tools, while reflecting on the needs and challenges of the “real world”. Our aim is to unleash the potential that lies in medium-sized cities by supporting those who work for local communities and strengthening the processes taking place there.
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EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP Major steps have been taken toward creating a peaceful, democratic and multicultural society in Europe. The Evens Foundation seeks to contribute to this process by raising people’s awareness of the need for peacebuilding and by collaborating with those who work to maintain harmony in European society. The Foundation also seeks to empower citizens and encourage them to take an active part in shaping the future of Europe. In the European Citizenship program, the Foundation focuses on projects that link the local with the European level.
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IMAGINE EUROPE – IN SEARCH OF NEW NARRATIVES Europe today is confronted with many challenges. In these turbulent times the need for an appealing narrative is obvious. A young and critical generation of thinkers, architects, writers, scientists and artists as well as young students and citizens are shaping the contours of the future Europe. Writing of the role that Brussels can play as capital of Europe, the Italian writer Umberto Eco said: “The capital of the European Union should become a foyer culturel, a center for the confrontation of diversities.” Cultural institutions, museums and art galleries are outstanding places for presenting and visualizing new narratives to a wider audience. For a number of years, the BOZAR, Centre for Fine Arts, programme has been helping to make this “foyer culturel” a reality, and it invited the Evens Foundation to partner in its Imagine Europe – In Search of New Narratives project. In spring 2016, artists, scientists and thinkers were invited to present their vision of a future Europe. Discussion-room debates, lectures and workshops focused on subjects such as migration, borders, democracy, and the power of stories. Artists and architects, including Filip Van Dingenen, Rem Koolhaas, Igo Niermann, Louwrien Wijers and Chantal Akerman, contributed works and installations imagining new narratives for Europe. Almost 27,000 people visited the Expo Lab, discussion room and opening and closing events.
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FUTURELAB EUROPE Europe has a multi-level governance system, and participation in European democracies starts at grassroots level. Yet policymakers, both at European and national level, are disconnected from citizens’ daily considerations and Europe is too often perceived as an elite project. With that in mind, the Evens Foundation decided to support the FutureLab Europe project, which encourages young Europeans in active citizenship efforts at their level, i.e. their communities. It gives them a chance to shape the reality around them by supporting the implementation of their own projects. At the same time, it connects young active citizens with a strong interest in matters of European relevance – mainly democracy and participation, equal opportunities for young people, and European identity. Participants develop their own ideas and positions and implement their own projects, while using them to address decision-makers with specific messages. The chosen projects will be developed during 2017. FutureLab Europe is a joint initiative by the King Baudouin Foundation, Fritt Ord Foundation, Robert Bosch Stiftung, Allianz Kulturstiftung for Europe, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda, the European Policy Centre, and the Network of European Foundations.
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CYCLE OF CONFERENCES In 2016, the Evens Foundation organized the second edition of the Cycle of Conferences as part of its efforts to help create a peaceful, democratic and multicultural society in Europe. It collaborated with institutions in Poland, Germany and Brussels to organize conferences that can raise awareness about issues the European Union faces, and encourage European citizens to take an active part in building the future of Europe. Under the umbrella theme “European citizenship and values in a changing Europe”, different themes linked to current concerns in the EU were presented at the conferences. The “European Reflection Forum” in Gdańsk brought together experts, journalists, academics and politicians to look at issues relating to European integration. The “A Soul for Europe” conference in Berlin, titled “Cultural Identities on the Move”, responded to current European challenges in a creative way. Participants drafted proposals for intensified cooperation between politics and civil society in the cities and regions of Europe, through integrating culture more strongly into the complex process of European integration, revealing the centrality of culture as its creative motor. “Brussels Days”, a series of talks and debates on the provocative subject “The end of Europe? What’s next?”, explored the major challenges facing Europe today, including security, the place of Islam, Brexit and its consequences, policy on the digital giants, and politics in the 21st century.
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THE SCIENCE PRIZE A team of four researchers from London and Brussels was awarded the Evens Science Prize 2016 for their research bringing together neuroscience and philosophy, and which raises interesting questions for the organization of society. The Evens Foundation has long focused on advancing the sciences in order to enlighten the mind and lead to a better society. It thus supports relevant scientific research in the framework of its Science Prize. The 2016 edition focused on research in the field of cognitive neuroscience that furthers understanding of our behavior, whether individual or collective, with special emphasis on ethical, cooperative and altruistic aspects. On 24th October 2016, the international expert jury of the Evens Science Prize 2016 decided unanimously to award the prize of €30,000 to Prof. Patrick Haggard (University College London), Prof. Alex Cleeremans (Université Libre de Bruxelles), Dr Emilie Caspar (Université Libre de Bruxelles) and Dr Julia Christensen (City University London) for their research on how coercion changes the sense of agency in the human brain. It indicates that, if you are coerced into taking an action, your sense of responsibility for it and its outcome is diminished. In their research, they started from a psychological approach, while working with neurophysiological data to prove their hypothesis. The findings have many implications, including the suggestion that our focus should be on the responsibility of those who give orders rather than on those who obey them. They also point
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to the need for social structures that train and manage social responsibility so as to avoid injustice. The focus on the importance of agency and the taking of responsibility in our communal life and, specifically, the effects of coercion on the sense of responsibility, are strongly aligned with the prize’s mission. The jury praised the solidity of the proposal and the group’s facility in communicating in a very accessible way complex neuroscientific research backed by empirical data. They also strongly approved of the European inter-university collaboration, including the sharing of infrastructure and talent. The award ceremony will take place in July 2017 in London on the occasion of a scientific seminar at the British Academy organized in collaboration with the laureate. The jury members were: Bernard Baertschi (CH), lecturer and postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Ethics, History, and the Humanities, University of Geneva; Patrick Cras (BE) (jury chair), head of the Neurology Department of Antwerp University Hospital, chair of the Ethical Commission of Antwerp University Hospital and the University of Antwerp; Uta Frith (UK), DBE, FRS, FBA, FMedSci, professor emeritus at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, and Tomas Ros (HR), postdoctoral researcher at the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva.
EUROPEAN HISTORY ATLAS The Foundation is supporting the European History Atlas project involving migrants, refugees and senior citizens in Antwerp, Bologna, Paris and Warsaw, initiated by the Strefa Wolnosłowa Foundation, Poland, and also supported by the Europe for Citizens Program. The project explores the theme of European memory and history, with particular focus on the history education of young migrants, refugees and second- and third-generation migrants. Involving artistic, cultural and academic organizations from Poland, Belgium, Italy and France, it tackles questions such as: How can we find a balance between European and non-European knowledge? How should we talk about Europe’s history and memory in today’s multicultural societies? How can we exchange knowledge and skills between generations? In each project city (Warsaw, Antwerp, Bologna, Paris), multigenerational groups took part in a series of cultural activities and artistic workshops, at the conclusion of which theater performanc-
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es were created. After six months of local work and international exchanges, all the groups met in Warsaw in June 2016 at a festival at which they presented the results of their work. During the fall, the local workshops continued to collect materials and stories. These in turn led to the creation of the History Atlas, inspired by the Mnemosyne Atlas of cultural historian Aby Warburg. It tells the history of Europe after the World War II from the points of view of both Europeans and new citizens, combining stories and their artistic elaboration created by the workshop participants, led by artists and cultural animators from different artistic fields. The project was coordinated by Strefa WolnoSłowa Foundation, Warsaw and run in collaboration with kunstZ (Antwerp), Cantieri Meticci (Bologna), Cie Check Points (Paris), Teatr Powszechny (Warsaw), Università di Bologna, Institute of Literary Research (Warsaw) and supported by the European Commission – Europe for Citizens Program. The Evens Foundation was the main partner and supporter of the project.
WHAT’S YOUR ID? The Evens Foundation continued in 2016 to futher expand the “What’s your ID?” project in Poland, part of its efforts to contribute to the rebuilding of the EU identity and to highlight the importance of EU integration. This project consists of workshops for youngsters and adults that focus on European values. It was inspired by the film “I am Europe” by Jef and Margot Vingerhoedt, produced by the Evens Foundation. The workshop materials are available for use free of charge, in English, French and Polish, on the Foundation’s website and via partners’ websites. Through academic sessions, multigenerational debates, school meetings, trainings and film workshops, the project in 2016 reached more than 4,500 direct participants in Poland. Many of the activities were exclusively focused on rediscovering a common identity as a fundamental need for the European Union. The scope of the project is a result of the Foundation’s multi-sectoral cooperation with its partners: the New Horizons Association, its main partner in Poland; the Representative Office of the Regional Commission of the European Commission and EP Information in Wroclaw; the Schuman Foundation; schools in Silesia, and Villa Decius, Cracow. During the workshops, the Foundation worked with both young people and seniors, human rights activists, media experts, film creators, EU network leaders, teachers and students.
© copyright Aymeric Warmé-Janville
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EVENS FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS
THE TEAM
PUBLISHED BY
Corinne Evens, Honorary President, Chairwoman ad interim as from 1/10/016 Luc Luyten, Chairman till 30/9/016 Yolande Avontroodt Angélique Berès Monique Canto-Sperber Jacques Ehelberg Daniel Kropf Alicja Pacewicz Ernest Van Buynder Xavier Vidal
Antwerp Greet De Wilde, General Program Manager Tim Verbist, Program Manager, Media, till 31/10/2016 Marjolein Delvou, Program Manager, Peace Education Caroline Coosemans, Office Administrator
The Evens Foundation © 2016 Evens Foundation www.evensfoundation.be
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Luc Luyten, Chairman till 30/9/2016 Monique Canto-Sperber, Chairwoman as from 1/10/2016 Corinne Evens Xavier Vidal
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Paris Anne Davidian, Head of office France Warsaw Joanna Krawczyk, Head of office Poland Magdalena Braksator, Project Manager
GRAPHIC DESIGN Wils & Peeters Graphic Design
CONTACT DETAILS ANTWERP OFFICE
PARIS OFFICE
WARSAW OFFICE
Stoopstraat 1, 5th floor B-2000, Antwerpen T +32-3-231 39 70 F +32-3-233 94 32 antwerp@evensfoundation.be
7, rue Charles V F-75004 Paris T +33-1-44 54 83 90 F +33-1-44 54 83 80 paris@evensfoundation.be
Ul. Chmielna 21m. 20 00-021 Warszawa – Poland T/F +48-22-692 49 21 warsaw@evensfoundation.be
Fondation Evens France is under the aegis of the Hippocrène Foundation
www.evensfoundation.be
