Panel Discussion

Vienna, 7 December 2017

We are delighted to invite you to a panel discussion with experts Vamik Volkan, President Emeritus of the International Dialogue Initiative (IDI), along with other IDI members, and Pari Namazie, Chairwoman of The Simorgh. The session is moderated by Bijan Khajehpour, co-founder and board member of The Simorgh.

In recent years, Europe has seen a growing number of migrants. As more of them arrived, the kind gestures of helping people from war-torn and traumatic areas turned to fear and confusion. In the meantime, Europe has witnessed a growing tendency towards the far right and the culture of fear, as witnessed in multiple elections. These sentiments could turn from misperception and misunderstanding to the deeper issues of identity threat, discrimination, hatred and violence.

How do we maintain the European Union’s fundamental values of respect for human dignity, human rights, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law, while a culture of fear divides us? How do we bridge this growing gap? What is our role, as Europeans, as migrants, as governments, as policy makers and as global citizens in this narrative?

The panel discussion shares research findings from the Simorgh’s Being the Other project, which explores the Iranian migrant community in Europe. It then opens the floor to the panelists to share their perspectives on Being the Other, from the viewpoint of communities, cultures and countries. The Simorgh’s current film project Being the Other will also be introduced with a teaser.

Please join us for a stimulating and engaging discussion. RSVP at isabella@thesimorgh.org by 05 December 2017.

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About IDI

IDI is a private, international group comprised of psychoanalysts, academics, diplomats, and other professionals. IDI’s mission is to understand how past trauma and current large group identity anxieties contribute to disturbed relationships between communities and nations. IDI then develops interventions aimed toward facilitating deeper discussion between representatives from various cultures to learn about and peacefully resolve emotionally-charged group differences.

Find the Facebook event here.