| To support her mission statement, United Netherlands organizes various symposia. | |
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2008-2009 Occidentalism and the Media On October 23rd United Netherlands hosted a symposium, in cooperation with the Soeterbeeck Program, with among others the distinguished philosopher Avishai Margalit on the topic of "Occidentalism and the media". Read more in this report, written by Carolien Gerards. The concept of Occidentalism refers to the stereotypical (negative) conceptions in "the East" about "the West" First described by Avishai Margalit and Ian Buruma, the term contrasts with the idea of Orientalism, which outlines the ways in which the West tends to pigeonhole the East. On what was an educational and stimulating afternoon, students delved into the questions whether Occidentalism is a product of the media, and which implications the relation between the media and Occidentalism has on the political relations between the East and the West. Next to Professor Margalit, the symposium hosted philosopher Oscar van den Wijngaard and journalist Mariwan Kanie. The discussion was skillfully moderated by dr. Francio Guadeloupe. Avishai Margalit (1939) is professor emeritus of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and George Kennan Professor of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton, and wrote significant works on philosophical and contemporary issues. Oscar van den Wijngaard is a lecturer of philosophy at the University College Maastricht with a particular interest in the theories of Orientalism and Occidentalism. Mariwan Kanie is a freelance journalist and lecturer of Arabic Languages and Literature at the University of Amsterdam. | |
Human Rights for Everyone? Nijmegen, December 10 2007 - United Netherlands, in cooperation with Soeterbeeck Program, organized a symposium discussing the new Human Rights strategy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Verhagen. He states that: 'Human rights apply at all times, in all places and to all people'. However, taking this into account, do human rights have universal value? Are human rights an important factor in stimulating and maintaining world peace? Is it legitimate to enforce human rights in non-Western cultures and societies? During this symposium, a spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained its human rights strategy and a representative of Amnesty International and two scientists (RU & UvT) expressed their (world)views and commented on this policy. Moderator was Rob Verhofstad (RU). Human rights are still a main focus on the international agenda. Admission was free and open to everyone. This symposium was organized on December 7, 2007 | |