Anna Lindh Stichting — Belgisch netwerk

Meeting Points 6 – Flashpoint I is a transnational, multidisciplinary event presented in three constellations of cohesive, medium-scale projects that will take place simultaneously during a 10-day period in April/May 2011 in two historical, multicultural cities in the South Mediterranean: Beirut and Damascus.

Meeting Points 6 will have as its central theme “Locus Agonistes: On the Techniques and Technologies of the Civic” and initiate a debate on immigration among artists, intellectuals and cultural operators that will address the increasing antagonism between civic identities (inclusion and exclusion), economic spheres (globalization and anti-globalization), political subjectivities (reformist and fundamentalist) and aesthetic strategies (activism and formalism). Through artistic projects and proposals, MP6 - Flashpoint I aims to create a space for reasoned dissent and reflection where fresh hypotheses of emancipatory logics can be articulated, presented and discussed that strive to go beyond local, national or regional boundaries.

The internationally acclaimed curator Mr. Okwui Enwezor, artistic director of the project, will be working intensively with all partners. Meeting Points is unique because its program presenting around 35 artists and companies from all over the region and Europe is not only mutually created but also fully shared by different cultural venues and their respective audiences in the region.  

 This project will focus on women’s empowerment within the context of migration and religious diversity. By facilitating exchange and cooperation amongst migrant Turkish women now living in St. Josse commune, Brussels, Belgium and women living in Koycegiz, Mugla, Turkey, the participants will have the chance to develop a deeper understanding of the complex dynamic between culture, religion and gender identities as they can play out in the process of migration. During a five day exchange seminar in Turkey in May 2011, the women will increase their awareness and skills as conscientious civil society actors in the process of social and cultural transformation. The award-winning Religious Diversity and Anti-Discrimination Training Programme and a new sub-module on Reconciling Religion and Gender will be key methodological resources for the exchange seminar through which the participants will concentrate on developing cooperative social action plans for their respective local communities as well as across national boundaries. With translation into French and Turkish, the participants will be supported from preparation through follow-up by CEJI in Brussels and the Capital City Women’s Platform in Turkey.