Dear Agora participants! You’ll be present at the Agora in Zaragoza but haven’t decided yet whether to attend a workshop or which one to choose? It’s your first Agora, maybe, and you haven’t got a clear overview of all the WS offers? Or, you’re an experienced member looking for something new and striking? Either way, may I draw your attention to the WSs organised by the HRWG ?! The Human Rights Working Group will be present at the Agora with two different workshops. The first one, a year plan workshop, organised together with the CD, is focusing on European Identity, whereas the second one, a long term project WS, tackles the topic of disability within AEGEE. But have a closer look at WS descriptions: (1) What's European Identity? Friday 24th of October 2003, hour 11:30-13:30 Personal Details Workshop Leader WS Leaders: Anikó Vass (CD) and Anita Duvnjak (HRWG) This year plan workshop organised by the CD and the HRWG aims at shaping and starting up the possible year-plan project in the frame of the approved topic European Identity. Right here, right now … Time to work out and join the next year-plan project, which is cultural and human rights oriented. The workshop will not only give all the participants the chance to shape but also to join later the future project. We would like to see a potential project team’s emergence at the workshop and we expect the participants to contribute to our already existing ideas to actually draft the entire project with our help. Together with your active contribution we’ll hopefully have a potential project drafted which will serve us a starting point after the agora, as well as a potential project team’s emergence. (2) AEGEE and Disability: Starting a relationship or else strengthening it? Saturday, 25th of October 2003, Session 2, Hour 14:30-16:30 Personal Details Workshop Leader WS Leaders: Luca Falcone (HRWG) and Alistair de Gaetano (HRWG) Project workshop – long term What does it mean for AEGEE to open up to the reality of disability? Is AEGEE today already a structure accessible to disabled persons, or not? How can one render the relationship between disabled persons and the association more immediate and “natural”? How many locals in AEGEE have disabled persons among their members? How many AEGEE locals have hosted disabled youth as participants at their events? What kind of relationship has there been between them and AEGEE? Can AEGEE activities be an unconquerable barrier for disabled persons? If so, how can one break these barriers, and truly allow everyone to live the wonderful experiences offered by our association? Do mental barriers with respect to disabled persons exist within AEGEE? What is the real meaning of “disabled”? What are the real limitations posed by the handicap in question? How can one work towards preventing the furthering of these limitations? WORKSHOP STRUCTURE (time allocated: 2 h) 20 min : Presentation of juridical materials on disability (European Convention on Human Rights, European Union Regulations, etc.) and discussion with participants. 60 min : Presentation by Francesco Casaburi and Carmine Greco, relating their experience, and open discussion with all participants (ways of opening up and mental barriers). 20 min : Subdivision of participants into groups and presentation by every group listing real limits to accessibility of AEGEE events to disabled persons, and ways of eliminating these. 20 min : Final feedback. *** Considering that the handicap, for the disabled person, spells a strong sense of exclusion, which often impedes the person from enjoying life’s opportunities, including the experiences of moral and cultural growth offered by AEGEE, it becomes obligatory to ask how far and in what way the activities of our association are accessible to disabled persons. At this point, it is useful to look into the actual number of disabled persons within AEGEE, and to the number of such persons who, even though interested in AEGEE, do not come forward just because of their handicap. Is travelling a non-possibility for persons who lack mobility, or who are unable to see or hear? An answer rich in such perspectives can come from Francesco Casaburi, who is deprived of the faculty of sight, and of the person accompanying him, Carmine Greco, through interaction with members of AEGEE-Salerno, and participants at the AEGEE-Valletta Summer University and the Rainbow Regional Meeting earlier this year. *** Curious? Convinced? Craving for participation? The HWRG is looking forward to your numerous attendance at our WSs on Friday and on Saturday! See you all in Zaragoza! Your HRWG Board ******************************************** Barbara Strebel Contact Zürich Secretary AEGEE Human Rights Working Group Gheistrasse 47 CH – 8634 Hombrechtikon Switzerland [log in to unmask] ============================================================================== RAINBOW-L is a regional discussion list of AEGEE. Check out http://www.aegee.uni-karlsruhe.de/archives for the archives of public lists. To unsubscribe send 'unsubscribe RAINBOW-L' to [log in to unmask]