CAUX-Initiatives of Change foundation is announcing 15 scholarships of 400CHF each for youth coming from Eastern Europe, Balkan and Caucasus countries non members of EU that are willing to represent their country and their generation into this attempt of Addressing Europe’s Unfinished Business.
 
The 400CHF scholarship is meant to fully cover the participation fee for the seminar and partial cover the travel expenses to and from Caux, Switzerland during 27th-28th of June 2014.
 
1. Project summary and expected outcomes
The seminar aims to gather political leaders, academics and thinkers from various European countries and institutions to imagine together how to reconnect today’s Europeans with the ‘peace and reconciliation’ roots of the European project. It is meant to deliver orientations for concrete action in a number of different ways through the 2014-2018 years:
a)      Generalising joint remembrance of European unity and past intra-European conflicts
b)      Creating a common approach of History teaching throughout Europe
c)       Organizing a Peace Voyage through Europe to connect solved and unsolved issues
d)      Other ideas: twinning of schools or young people parliaments in common actions
 
2. Why to organize this seminar? Why now? 
The opportunity for considering these questions is provided by a conjunction of dates which are bringing today’s Europeans closer to dramatic episodes of their history. Indeed 2014 is the 100th anniversary of the start of WWI and the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. Their various commemorations provide a unique occasion to invite Europe’s citizens and political leaders to address Europe’s unfinished business.
 
Addressing Europe’s unfinished business means open questions, sometimes open wounds which have caused a string of armed conflicts in South and East Europe over the last 25 years. 
Addressing Europe’s unfinished business also means the lack of visible European spirit within the founding members of the European Union, which translates in minimal if any articulation of the aims of a united Europe, in the crying lack of European history school textbooks and in still nationally separate war commemorations likely to engrave nationalist language and attitudes in young generations’ minds. Addressing Europe’s unfinished business also bears on the European economy, intra-European lack of unity resulting in hesitant and at times discordant interventions from Europeans on the monetary and economic questions.
Governments and sometimes citizens pay the bill of this Europe’s unfinished business when, gradually, nationalism resurfaces and sometimes when violent conflicts break out again, whereas Europe was originally founded so that no intra-European war would ever be possible in the future. There is a degree of urgency to turn the tide of ground loss for the European ideal in European countries’ public opinions.
Without discounting the need for decisive European action on other fronts, 2014 should be a time to refresh our European commitment by taking the appropriate actions at ordinary citizens’ level and by suggesting the corresponding moves at government level.
 
3. Working Groups and challenges during the 2-day seminar
a) Changing paradigms in the Eastern regions of Europe: eliminating age-old rivalries, acknowledging Russia and Turkey as key contributors to Europe’s past and future, which “creative efforts” are needed to lastingly pacify those regions?
b) The challenge of immigration: in spite of the Schuman declaration’s intentions, economic imbalances have continued and are leading to massive migrations which challenge identities. Envisioning initiatives to raise the standard of living in poorer countries, and initiatives for smoother integration of “newcomers” to Europe.
c) Ethnic identity and minority rights in a democracy: drawing from positive experiences like Alto Adige/South Tyrol to prepare solutions for current unresolved issues: how to repair past mistakes and create a respectful and positive environment for ethnic minorities?
d) War-based or peace-based identities?: In order for Europe’s youth to grow up as good national and European citizens, speeches and writings about the past needs to be carefully revisited. How to make European values and vision a central reference in a common foundation teaching of history and European civic instruction?
 
APPLY NOW!
 
Please send us your CV and a motivation letter including your answers to the following questions (250 words/question maximum):
a)      What is your personal experience of Europe’s Unfinished Business ?
b)      Have you taken the personal initiative to address Europe’s Unfinished Business? Please describe it.
c)       What future projects do you have regarding any of this Working Groups challenges?
d)      Do you have a personal suggestion or conviction that you would like to share?
 
 
Please submit your candidatures before May 22nd, 2014 by addressing them to [email protected] and indicating “Application for a scholarship – Addressing Europe’s Unfinished Business Seminar” in the title of the message. Final candidates will be contacted by email before June 2nd, 2014.