ACHRS Attends Club of Madrid Forum

Dr. Nizam Assaf, Center Director of ACHRS, was invited to attend the First Global Forum on Leadership for Shared Societies, a prestigious seminar held in Rotterdam from 12th to 14th November. Dr. Nizam participated in several site visits and attended seminars designed to foster dialogue on ways in which principles of integration, cultural understanding and peaceful coexistence could be upheld.

 Two speechs from the opening ceremony are printed below:

Mayor Opstelten of Rotterdam City

Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,   Some of you I already saw this morning, but please allow me to welcome you again, here in our city. Welcome to Rotterdam.

It is a great pleasure and a big honour for Rotterdam to host the General Assembly and the Board of Directors of the Club de Madrid as well as the Working Session on Climate Change.   Moreover, I am delighted that Club de Madrid has chosen Rotterdam for their first Global Forum on Leadership for Shared Societies: building a world safe for difference.  

The coming days you are addressing what is called ‘the most important conversation of our time’. How can we constructively try to manage ethnic, cultural, religious and other identity differences, while protecting and preserving human dignity. In short how do we build shared societies.  

Ladies and gentlemen,   May I say that with Rotterdam you have made a good choice. Our city is known for its unorthodox way of looking at integration and participation. We try to create opportunities for everybody regardless ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. 

The municipality of Rotterdam tries, together with its citizens, to build an intercultural society where everybody feels safe and at home. Rotterdam aims at being the leading intercultural city of Europe. Why? Because it benefits our city economically, politically and socially.  

In Rotterdam we know what we are talking about because our city is home to 174 different nationalities. And in total 46% of our residents has got an non-Dutch background. In the years to come this percentage will increase even more.  

The urge to build a society that fits everybody, where everybody feels at ease and that provides all people with equal opportunities, is very much felt here in Rotterdam.  

That is why we view our diversity as an asset. As an advantage. We do not focus on the differences but we focus on building trust between all citizens and create an economic dream for all of them.  

Tomorrow you, the members of the Club the Madrid, will visit eight projects concerning social cohesion, integration and diversity.  

There you will learn and see how we – in reality – shape our new inclusive philosophy. We call this policy Urban Citizenship. 

The concept of Urban Citizenship is built on five basic notions: Identity, Pride, Mutuality, Moral sense and Participation. It would go too far to explain now in detail what this all stands for.  

In concrete, Urban Citizen means: you are a citizen of Rotterdam, you are proud of the city and feel responsible for it, you participate by making a contribution to society and by speaking Dutch and – of course – you obey the rules.  

Ladies and gentlemen. Dear members of Club the Madrid,   Integration and participation is one of the top priority of the Rotterdam City Council. Participation of all people is our focus. Our important task is to provide opportunities for everybody and call upon everyone to participate.  

This requires courage and leadership on all levels in the city. I hope that you will see this spirit the coming days during the first Global Forum on Leadership for Shared Societies.  

I see this Forum as a start of creating new forms of cooperation and an ongoing transfer of knowledge. We need stronger allies to be fit for the future. In this Forum we will try to find solutions for a better living environment. These will not be any cut-and dried solutions; they simple do not exist in this complex field. I strongly believe that this Forum will enable a bigger step towards a shared society as we bring our expertise together.  

Social cohesion is a process which requires a daily effort from all of us. Shared societies need shared responsibilities. A lot of effort has already been made, but, is extremely important that we are resolute to get down to business even further.  

This Forum gives Rotterdam the opportunity to do so. We hope to learn from your extensive knowledge and experience from all over the world and, in particular, your willingness to monitor us critically.  

I am looking forward to your comments and ideas on our policy intentions. They will turn out to be of the greatest value to us. About that I am sure.  

Ladies and gentlemen, now it is my honor to give the floor to the President of Club the Madrid, mister Ricardo Lagos.