My reflections on the conference.

I had the most amazing opportunity to participate in The London International Human Rights Congress 2011. There were lectures, seminars and panel discussions that featured leading figures from international politics & diplomacy, academia, civil society, and the private sector. The conference mediated different perspectives on immigration and integration and it deepened my own awareness of the complexity of human rights.

Discussions varied from politics, economy, media, genocide, integration, womens rights, rules of sports and the Olympics in London 2012, the Arab Spring, legislation, UN, white mans burden... and so many other difficult topics, themes, areas and points. There were speakers and participants of very different backgrounds, who felt very passionate for what they were doing. An input of a discourse between people from different societies and different professional areas, who share the same dream of becoming a global citizen who believes in unity of human kind and live in peace with another, cannot result in anything else than good output. I learned a lot from this conference and today I feel the urge of encouraging people to believe in striving for human rights in a world where violations against human rights is happening all the time and all around. To highlight the importance of universal value of being same human kind, some quotations that put emphasis on accepting other religions in an inclusive manner, believing in a universal reconciliation between humanity and the divine, are gathered below:

"The Bahá'í teachings state that since all humans have been created in the image of God, God does not make any distinction between people regardless of race, color or religion. Thus, because all humans have been created equal, they all require equal opportunities and treatment. Thus the Bahá'í view promotes the unity of humanity, and that people's vision should be world-embracing and that people should love the whole world rather than just their nation. The teaching, however, does not equal unity with uniformity, but instead the Bahá'í writings advocate for the principle of unity in diversity where the variety in the human race is valued." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universalism)

"Hinduism embraces universalism by conceiving the whole world as a single family that deifies the one truth, and therefore it accepts all forms of beliefs and dismisses labels of distinct religions which would imply a division of identity." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universalism)

"In Sikihism all the religions of the world are compared to rivers flowing into a single ocean. Although the Sikh Gurus did not agree with the practices of fasting, idolatry and pilgrimage during their times, they stressed that all religions should be tolerated and considered on equal footing." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universalism)

"I believe in the fundamental Truth of all great religions of the world. I believe they are all God given and I believe they were necessary for the people to whom these religions were revealed. And I believe that if only we could all of us read the scriptures of the different faiths from the standpoint of the followers of these faiths, we should find that they were at the bottom all one and were all helpful to one another." - M K Gandhi

"The path that leads to peace will be, no doubt, long and arduous, but we cannot even begin the journey until we pass through the gate. Above the gate is the required universal affirmation: "On the path that leads to peace we are all members of one human family, brothers and sisters one of another." -Knapp Rev. Ron Knapp . . . Unitarianism

Individual right versus collective right

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0126065/

Universalism vs. Cultural relativism

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0126065/issuniversalism.html

Intercultural Communication: A Reader

Intercultural communication: A Reader. By Larry A. Samovar, Richard E. Porter, Edwin R. McDaniel

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dXs5DZFCRPsC&lpg=PT57&dq=saint%20jacque-bernard&pg=PT65#v=onepage&q=saint%20jacque-bernard&f=false

Very interesting paper.

http://radicalpedagogy.icaap.org/content/issue3_3/5-lee.html

By tomorrow Ill be in London for this and for meeting S and L!!!

http://www.culturaldiplomacy.org/gphr/index.php?en_bihrc-2011

"Anger illness" in Korean language and culture

"Hwa-byung is believed to be caused by a build-up of unresolved anger, which disturbs the balance of the five bodily elements. The triggering cause is external events, particularly intra-familiar stressors such as spousal infidelity and conflict with in-laws. Because of the cultural emphasis on familial harmony and peace, expressing anger is not acceptable, so the anger is suppressed, and builds on itself over time. The suppressed anger, hate and despair is known as han, or "everlasting woe".
Behavior related to hwabyeong includes sighing. In addition, sufferers might report such symptoms as a heavy feeling in the chest, perceived abdominal mass (previously thought to define the illness, but now believed to be atypical), sleeplessness, hot flushes, cold flushes and blurred vision. They may also demonstrate typical neurotic symptoms such as anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsiveness, as well as anorexia, paranoia or fearfulness, absent-mindedness and irritability." (Wikipedia)

"Rasismi on uusi musta"

http://tuomasenbuske.puheenvuoro.uusisuomi.fi/88873-rasismi-on-uusi-musta

Mitä Kanada opettaa maahanmuutosta

http://karriojanen.puheenvuoro.uusisuomi.fi/88757-mita-kanada-opettaa-maahanmuutosta

Värinkäsitys 1

Kollektivismi on eri asia kuin 1)yhteishenki tai 2)sosialismi!

Individualistinen
-Yksilön itsenäisyys on tärkeintä.
-Velvollisuudentunne in-group (inner circle) kohtaan ei ole niin vahva.
-Suora kommunikaatiotyyli.
-Rehellisyys ja oma vastuu keskeistä vuorovaikutuksessa - häpeä keskeinen sosiaalinen pelko.

Kollektivistinen
-Ryhmä on kaikki kaikessa, ilman ryhmää sinä et ole mitään.
-Velvollisuudentunne in-group (inner circle) kohtaan on hyvin vahva.
-Epäsuora kommunikaatio, pitää lukea rivien välistä.
-Oman kasvon ja toisen kasvon säilyttäminen keskeinen sääntö, kasvojen menettäminen keskeinen sosiaalinen pelko.

Grupp och Socialt nätverk

Jag växte upp i tron på att min bror och min familj kommer alltid att vara nära mig då vi blir stora. Då mamma flyttade tillbaka till Korea, och när min bror valde ett sådant jobb som förde honom ut i världen, blev jag ensam utan min grupp.

När jag väl hade kommit över chocken, blev jag tvungen att lära mig att bygga upp en ny stark grupp åt mig. Jag lärde mig betydelsen av kompisar och socialt nätverk. Människor som ger dig information, stöd, närhet, sällskap, skratt, hjälp och kärlek, vilka alla naturligtvis förbättrar livskvaliteten. Tack vare mina kära vänner lärde jag mig hur viktigt det är att själv vara aktiv på att upprätthålla kontakten till sina vänner och signalera dem att du bryr dig.

Jag bodde hemma med min bror och delvis med mamma ända framtill att jag var 25 år gammal. Det var int en lätt period att leva under samma tak med sin familj så långt upp till 20+. Den perioden var full av konflikter och frustration samt gråhår som min bror brukar uttrycka det. Nu efteråt tänkt var det en otroligt lärande upplevelse, och framför allt lärde vi oss hemskt mycket om varandra. I bästa fall, och när man riktigt vill det, så kan konflikter leda till någonting gott - en starkare grupp var än gruppmedlemmarna befinner sig i världen.