Building on discussions begun at the conference on Muslim Youth and Women in the West: Source of Concern or Source of Hope? organized by New York University s Center for Dialogues: Islamic World-U.S.-The West at the Salzburg Global Seminar on May 15-17, 2007 an informal high-level meeting of European policy makers will be convened on Feb. 22 at Castle Jable in Ljubljana, Slovenia to consider the possibilities of new guidelines for inclusive citizenship in Europe.
MEDIA ADVISORY
Many members of Europes new minorities do not yet feel at ease in their adopted homeland. Muslims, in particular, who constitute between 15 and 20 million residents, suffer from varying degrees of alienation and have become a source of anxiety for many of their fellow citizens in EU countries. Building on discussions begun at the conference on Muslim Youth and Women in the West: Source of Concern or Source of Hope?organized by New York Universitys Center for Dialogues: Islamic World-U.S.-The West at the Salzburg Global Seminar on May 15-17, 2007an informal high-level meeting of European policy makers will be convened on Feb. 22 at Castle Jable in Ljubljana, Slovenia to consider the possibilities of new guidelines for inclusive citizenship in Europe. The session is aimed at ensuring that these new minorities can play their full part as equal citizens of the Union and of its member states.
The Jable meeting will bring ministers from a number of European countries most affected by the challenges of integration together with top experts, community leaders and representatives of key international organizations for an off-the-record discussion. The meeting will be hosted Dimitrij Rupel, minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and president of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council. It is designed to allow for a frank and open exchange amongst policy makers, experts, and community and clerical representatives. The organizers hope that it may lead to a long-term initiative to study ways of enabling European Muslims to play their full part as equal citizens and to feel that they are fully accepted as such.
The proceedings have been organized by the Slovenian Centre for European Perspective (CEP), NYUs Center for Dialogues: Islamic World-U.S.-The West, the Salzburg Global Seminar, an independent non-profit organization based at Salzburg, Austria, and the Weidenfeld Institute for Strategic Dialogue in London.
To learn more about NYUs Center for Dialogues: Islamic World-U.S.-The West, go to www.islamuswest.org.