Our Brazillian hosts welcome Dialogue Cafe to Rio de Janeiro 0 Reply

Katia De Marco, Candido Mendes University, Rio de Janeiro from Dialogue Café on Vimeo.

Programme confirmed for Dialogue Cafe launch in Rio and Lisbon! 1

We are really excited to be able to share the programme with you for the launch of Dialogue Cafe this week in Rio, Lisbon and around the world!

The programme includes several activities representing all of Dialogue Cafe’s objectives, including students and artists from the Rio and Lisbon using their local cafes to share their ideas, giving talks, and exchanging cultural experiences through music. Below is an outline of the days activities in more detail.

11.00 Brazil/15.00 Lisbon – Open
Presentation of Dialogue Cafe and discussion between Portuguese students living in Brazil and Brazilian students living in Portugal. Students will share their experiences of living in each other’s culture.

11.30 Brazil/15.30 Lisbon – Climate and Environment change
In a world of constant transformations, the environment is a central preoccupation, sustainability projects proposes some different ways of living.  From Lisbon, Isabel Castro, and Orlando Franco, teacher for Professional Photography Classes at Escola Secundária Alves Redol, Vila Franca de Xira.  Students and teachers will join the discussion.

12.15 Brazil/16.15 Lisbon – e learning
Exploration of the contributions of new technologies on build bridges between nations and cultures throughout knowledge and shared experiences. From Lisbon, Laboratório de e.learning da Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

RECEPTION

14.30 Brazil/18.30 Lisbon – Official Launch
Speeches from the Mayor of Lisbon and the Chairman of Gulbenkian Foundation from Lisbon, and from Cadido Mendes and President Sampaio in Rio

15.30 Brazil/19.30 Lisbon – Cultural Moment (Lisbon)
 `Era un vocabulo redondo` – interpretation of the theme of Zeca Afonso by Maia Teixeira

15.45 Brazil/19.45 Lisbon- Theatre Moment (Rio)
Theatrical display with sketches of the play “A natureza do olhar” which traces a dialogue between two heteronyms of Fernando Pessoa

17.00 Brazil/21.00 Lisbon – Cultural moment (Rio and Lisbon)
Musical interaction between samba represented by Aleh Ferreira and jazz represented by Carlos Martins
 

Ottomans ride into East London 0 Reply

Yesterday I went to the preview of Maslaha’s excellent new exhibition about the life and travels of 17th century Ottoman, Evliya Celebi, a pious Muslim, musician, explorer and storyteller. Through his eyes, the exhibition explores the ways in which the Ottomans shaped and influenced London and the rest of Europe through music, medecine, art, architecture and coffee.

It’s an eclectic collection, bringing together the Khalili art collection, music (that was especially composed for the exhibition) from the Royal Academy of Music, award winning film maker Suki Chan, Mercan Dede, an international Turkish Sufi popstar, as well as leading academics of Ottoman history. The exhibition will only be open until Saturday 15th May and then it’s
going to be turned into a virtual exhibition with additional podcasts,
music and images and launched on 1st June.

Interestingly also, the exhibition is taking place in Bethnal Green Library, where Samuel Pepys, a contemporary of Evliya Celebi, kept safe his diaries during the Great Fire of London.

The exhibition is part of the British Council’s Our Shared Europe Project which seeks to acknowledge the contribution of Islamic Communities and cultures – both in the past but also in the present – to the shaping of contemporary European civilisation and society, It was all organised by Maslaha and curated by Effusion.

To find out more about the exhibition visit: www.thebookoftravels.org

Launching Dialogue Cafe in Lisbon and Rio at 3rd Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations 0 Reply

Later this month, on 27-29th May, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations will be holding its 3rd Global Forum in Rio de Janeiro on the theme of ‘Bridging Cultures, Building Peace’. The Forum will bring together over 2,000 people, including political  and corporate leaders, civil society activitsts, youth groups, faith communities, research centers, foundations and journalists, to agree on joint actions to improve relations across cultures, combat prejudice and build lasting peace.

We’re delighted to announce that we’ll be launching our first two Dialogue Cafes – in Lisbon at MUDE and in Rio de Janeiro at UCAM – at the Forum. For more information on the Forum see here.

Join us on the 27th May at UCAM or MUDE for the launch of the first two cafes!

Building Dialogue Cafe 0 Reply

Yesterday, the team went to see the new Dialogue Cafe pods which look fab!  We’re sending them to Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro very soon for the Dialogue Cafe launch at the end of May.

Here are some of the photos!

Innovation and Opportunity in an Ageing Society 0 Reply

Last week we went to a really interesting discussion about the
opportunities of an ageing society. There were participants from 6
cities including London, Lisbon, Vancouver, Washington DC, Toronto and
Paris.

In Europe, the statistics are staggering – by 2020, 25% of the population will be over 60 and the 80+ population is expected to double before 2050. There will then be a ratio of 2:1 of workers to retirees. Many people focus on the inevitable rise is costs linked to pensions, social security, health and long term care.

But our changing demographic is also a significant opportunity. it will be a source of jobs (and growth); and a source of innovation – there are already numerous organisations experimenting with new models of eldercare and mutual support. One of these kinds of organisations is Participle which together with members of the local community, developed the Southwark Circle. And this is what the participants of last week’s meeting where talking about – the importance of doing ‘with’ rather than ‘to’ or ‘for’.  The participants are meeting again in Paris in May. For more information on the event see here.