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23/11/2019

Religious Freedom Issues in Europe. Conference on Nov 27, 2019

Let us kindly invite you to the conference „Religious Freedom Issues in Europe“ which will take place in Patriotic Hall of Carolinum (at the address of Ovocný trh 3, Prague 1) on November 27, 2019, from 1 p.m.

It is already the third year of the conference on persecution for religious beliefs, this year for the first time it is organised on the occasion of the international initiative Red Wednesday (#RedWednesday) – an international day to draw attention to the plight of those who are persecuted and oppressed for their religious beliefs which is organised by the organisation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) and in the Czech Republic, it is co-ordinated by Czech Bishops’ Conference in cooperation with Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic and Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic.

Programme of the conference:

12:30–13:00      Registration of participants

13:00–15:00      Panel I: Europe and Freedom

  • Opening Remarks
      • Czech Bishops’ Conference (ČBK),
      • Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic (ERC),
      • Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic (FŽO),
      • Pavel Svoboda
  • Introduction: Anti-Semitism – Rabbi David Rosen (Ireland/Israel)
  • Freedom of Conscience: Professional Ethics – Ruth Nordström, Scandinavian Human Rights Lawyers (Sweden)
  • Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religious Education: “How free are we in Europe, really?” – Robert Clarke, ADF International (UK)
  • Panel Discussion

15:00–15:20      Coffee Break

15:20–17:00      Panel II: Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians and Jews in Present-Day Europe

  • Opening Remarks – Marcela Szymanski, Aid to the Church in Need (Belgium)
  • Hate Crimes and Anti-Christian Vandalism – Mattia Ferrero, Catholic University of Milan (Italy)
  • Anti-Semitic Vandalism – Tomáš Kraus, secretary general to Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic
  • How to React – Martin Kugler, Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (Austria)
  • Panel Discussion

17:00–18:00       End of the conference and Coffee Break

18:00                   Jewish-Christian Prayer – Great Auditorium of Carolinum

18:30                   Procession around Buildings Lit Up in Red (Route: Church of St. Havel, Church of St. Nicholas at the Old Town Square, Old-New Synagogue)

The conference will be moderated by Mr Vít Novotný, a representative of Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies in cooperation with which the conference is organised.

The conference will be simultaneously interpreted. Free entry.

Please register on the e-mail: prihlaska@ikdp.cz.