25th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies

This conference was held

• in the spirit of the United Nations Agenda Towards 'A Life of Dignity for All'
• in the spirit of Umuganda, 'coming together in common purpose' (the traditional practice of communities self-solving their problems)
• as a tribute to Felicitas Niyitegeka

Kigali, Rwanda

2nd – 5th June 2015

Please see Newsletter 25, written directly after this conference - you are warmly invited to contribute to it!
See also our report that we finalized in September 2015.
To participate in our future conferences, please email us!

The conference had two parts, a workshop part and a public part:

Part 1, Tuesday, 2nd - Friday, 5th June 2015

Workshop with Dignilogues

Part 2, Thursday, 4th June 2015
Public Day with Public Presentations


Programme Overview

• Day One, Tuesday, 2nd June, Foyer de Charité Sainte Trinité de Rebero Kigali
The conference started at NURC on 2nd June at 9.00 in the morning. From there, participants proceeded to the Foyer de Charité Sainte Trinité de Rebero Kigali, where the main conference took place.
• Day Two, Wednesday, 3rd June, visiting the Memorial of Gisozi in the morning, lunch at Umubano hotel, Dignilogue sessions at the Foyer de Charité in the afternoon
• Day Three, Thursday, 4th June, Public Event at the Foyer de Charité
• Day Four, Friday, 5th June, Dignilogue sessions at the Foyer de Charité


Local Inspirers, Organisers, Conveners, and Hosts


Inspirer and Convener

Emmanuel Ndahimana

Emmanuel Ndahimana

 

Hosting Organisation

NURC
National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC)


NURC headquarters’ Location: Kisiment - Remera, Ituze Plaza House (straight from Kigali International Airport), P.O.Box: 174 Kigali/Rwanda, Free call: 1888, E-mail: unity@nurc.gov.rw
We would like to convey our profound gratitude to NURC for hosting our conference with such visionary and extraordinarily generous support!
The National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) is a national institution, provided for by the National Constitution adopted by Rwandans in June 2003. The idea of establishing a commission for national unity and reconciliation was first thought of by the Arusha Peace Accord signed in 1993. The main objective for such a commission was to assist the government of national unity then anticipated, to foster unity and reconciliation among the people of Rwanda who had experienced long periods of bad governance characterized by divisions, discriminations, human rights abuse and acts of violence. After the tragic Genocide of 1994, the establishment of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission was made even more necessary. In March 1999, by the law Nº03/99 of 12/03/99, the Government of National Unity established the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission with the responsibility of using all available means to mobilize and sensitize Rwandans for this noble task. (Quoted from the NURC website, last updated Monday, 07 December 2009.)

The conference was arranged in cooperation with the World Dignity University initiative

This conference was conducted in honour of and as tribute to Felicitas Niyitegeka

Felicitas Niyitegeka gave her life in the genocide that ravaged Rwanda in 1994, targeting Tutsi, together with moderate Hutu who were opposed to the killing. Father Jean d'Amour Dusengumuremyi wrote a book about her, published in our Dignity Press, titled No Greater Love: Testimonies on the Life and Death of Felicitas Niyitegeka. A friend of Father Jean d'Amour has composed a song to honor Felicitas Niyitegeka. She was an Auxiliaire de l'Apostolat, a laïque engagée, who had dedicated herself to a celibate life to serve the common good with love. She was the responsible head of the Centre Pastoral St. Pierre of the Diocèse de Nyundo in Gisenyi. She saved the lives of many Tutsi, and, at last, she chose to die together with the Tutsi women who were in her care and whom she could not save.

 

PRESS RELEASE at NURC: The 25th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies held in Kigali from 2nd to 5th June 2015 (Pdf)

Gisozi
PRESS RELEASE at NURC: The 25th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies held in Kigali from 2nd to 5th June 2015 (Pdf)

All
• Please click here to see all 82 photos of Day One from Evelin's camera
• Please click here to see all 33 photos of Day Two from Evelin's camera
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera
• Please click here to see all 120 photos of Day Four from Evelin's camera

•  Please see a report of our conference that Evelin Lindner wrote in June and which Linda Hartling was able to cut down from 60 confidential pages to 20 public non-confidential pages. We have received clearance of our hosts, the Rwandan Commission of Reconciliation (NURC) and Emmanuel Ndahihama, to publish the final version on our website. We have reason to believe that also the President of Rwanda will read it most attentively.

•  Please see Newsletter 25, written after this conference - you are warmly invited to contribute to it! To participate in our future conferences, please email us!

•  See here an invitation that was sent out prior to the conference, as was the short programme of the entire conference, as well as the Public Event programme. See the long programme further down.

•  Please know that you are always invited to spend the entire conference with us, so that real dignity-family-building can emerge. All our events are part of an ongoing effort to nurture a global dignity community. You are always invited to fill out our Appreciative Introduction form, print it out, and bring it with you.

•  There is no registration fee for our conferences. To cover our expenses, we always summarise the costs during the conference and invite participants to contribute according to their ability. This collaborative approach to financing allows us to keep the conference affordable for all.

•  How to get to Kigali
Participants had the option to fly to Kigali or, from neighbouring countries, to take the bus. Kigali is the capital of Rwanda, in the middle of Africa, and it is well served by many flights including KLM, SN Brussels, Qatar Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Rwandair, Kenya Airways, Air Uganda, SAA, etc.

•  The conference venue
1. National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC): here the conference started on 2nd June at 9.00. The NURC headquarters’ location is Kisiment - Remera, Ituze Plaza House (straight from Kigali International Airport). Everybody who wished to stay with the rest of the group in the Foyer de Charité was invited to cancel any other hotel bookings and come with their luggage to NURC in the morning of 2nd June.
2. Foyer de Charité (Caritas) Sainte Trinité de Rebero Kigali, B.P. 6189 Kigali, Tél. de la Réception (on parle Français), 0785151514: Soeur Gertrude Twagirayezu, Soeur Romaine, Soeur Mediatrice, Soeur Marie Ange, Prêtre Pierre Claver Nkusi, and everybody else lovingly welcomed the participants to stay and eat at their premises (please see pictures below).





• Please click on the pictures above or here to see many more photos!

We were lovingly welcomed to conduct our conference, and stay overnight, at the Foyer de Charité (Caritas) Sainte Trinité de Rebero Kigali, B.P. 6189 Kigali, Tél. de la Réception (on parle Français), 0785151514. Everybody who wished to stay with the rest of the group in the Foyer de Charité was invited to cancel any other hotel booking and come with their luggage to NURC in the morning of Day One.
To get to the Foyer by taxi on one's own (ca. 10.000 FRW from the city centre), the following description could be printed out to give to the taxi driver:
Kinyarwanda: Icyitonderwa: Gushika i Rebero muri Foyer de Charite, ufata Umuhanda ujya Kicukiro ukaduga nkujya Bugesera, ushitse i Nyanza, ukatira iburyo mu Muhanda w’igitaka. Ni ku birometero bibiri: 2 km.
English: To arrive at the Charité Sainte Trinité de Rebero from the city, one has to go to Kicukiro first, the road that goes up to Bugesera. When you arrive at Nyanza, you turn right into a dirt road, and continue for about 2 kilometers.
French: Pour arriver au Foyer de Charité Sainte Trinité de Rebero de la ville, il faut passer par Kicukiro, la route qui monte vers Bugesera, en arrivant à Nyanza, vous allez tourner vers à droite dans une route en terre, c’est à 2 km de distance.

Soeur Gertrude Twagirayezu (she wears an African dress on the photos above), together with Soeur Romaine, welcomed all conference participants to the Foyer de Charité (Caritas) in Rerbero-Kigali, which is a wonderful place. Evelin could attest for that, since she had the honour of being welcomed to live in the neighbouring convent since she arrived in Kigali on 1st May. It is beautiful and calm, and choosing this location also expressed our wish to honour Felicitas Niyitegeka, who gave her life and was killed in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, because she was rescuing Tutsi. Our dear Father Jean d'Amour Dusengumuremyi, who also brought Evelin to this wonderful environment, has written a book about Felicitas, on which Uli Spalthoff has worked day and night to publish it in time before our conference in our Dignity Press. Uli has offered to bring 100 copies with him in his suitcase. The book is titled 'No Greater Love: Testimonies on the Life and Death of Felicitas Niyitegeka'. The aim is to create a foundation in the name of Felicitas.
There are 23 rooms on the premises of the Foyer, plus 30 rooms in the neighbouring convent (where Evelin lived). All participants were welcome to stay at the Foyer during the days of the conference. It is 15.000 FRW, ca. 20 Euros, per day per person. Breakfast is at 8 o'clock for 2500 FRW, lunch at noontime for 5000 FRW, souper at 7 'o'clock in the evening for 5000 FRW, coffee break for 1000 FRW, together 13.500 FRW for three meals and coffee break, which means ca. 18 Euros, per person per day (excluding soft drinks and bottled water). In other words, all-inclusive housing and meals were ca. 40 Euros per day per person. Everybody kindly paid for what they had the pleasure to consume.
Those who wished to get access to the Internet, were invited to bring their own mobile phone Internet connection and buy a SIM card and a package of download bytes (see Evelin's modem on the picture above), for example in the Tigo Service Center in the Kigali City Tower, or at the United Trade Center (UTC).
Thank you to everybody for taking such respectful care of our host sisters!
Dear friend! As you know, our global dignity family is a near zero-budget movement. We are always happy to welcome also those participants, for whom cost might be high, and we would love supporting them. Linda, Uli, and I, we give our lifetime out of love and receive no payment for our work. Evelin lives almost without any material possessions and almost without money. We are therefore enormously thankful that NURC most generously shouldered considerable cost. Also dear Emmanuel gave mountains of contributions. We are therefore always extremely glad, if all those among participants who are able to are so generous and show solidarity in dignity with those participants who have difficulties shouldering the cost. THANK YOU!!!
• Please click on the pictures above or here to see many more photos!


• Where to stay before and after the conference
Emmanuel Ndahimana kindly sent this list over hotels in town to use before and after the conference (during which the participants were recommended to stay in the Foyer de Charité):

Hotels and guest houses

Category

Budget
(Negotiable)

Number of rooms available

Booking address

Scripture Union of Rwanda

Guest house

15 USD

20

surwanda1@gmail.com

Solace Ministries Rwanda

Guest house

55-75 USD

30

mucyo@rwanda1.com

Scola Hotel

ApartHotel

50-150 USD

30

info@scolahotel.comwww.scolahotel.com

Legend Hotel

Hotel

80-120 USD

30

reservations@legendhotel.co.rwwww.legendhotel.co.rw

City Blue Hotels

Motel

100 USD

30

Reservations.rw@citybluehotels.com

Heaven Boutique Hotel Guest House 100 USD single
115 double
  heavenrwanda@gmail.com
Tel. 0788486581

Umubano Hotel Kigali

Hotel 4 stars

135 -165 USD

100

reservations@umubanohotel.rw
www.umubanohotel.rw

Note:
There are more hotels in Kigali. There are websites such as expedia.com that list hotels in Kigali. You using public transport which is not expensive. You can also use a taxi.
For those who wished to enjoy the comfort of other hotels, there is Serena hotel, Mille Collines Hotel, Hotel Beauséjour, Hotel Chez Lando... these are the most expensive ones.

• Post-conference experiences
For those participants, who wished to know what was there to experience in Rwanda after the conference, there were several possibilities (please note that this experience was not part of the conference itself). You could, for instance, visit the gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park. The Volcanoes National Park has an area of 16,000 ha, the Akagera National Park covers an area of 108,500 ha, the Nyungwe National Park has an area of 101,900 ha. In addition the forest reserves are the Gishwati Forest Reserve (700 ha), Mukura Forest Reserve (1600 ha), Busaga Forest Reserve (150 ha) and Buhanga forest and gallery forest in the eastern province of about 160 ha. Nyungwe is the largest remaining tract of forest which contains 200 species of tree as well as orchids and begonias. Vegetation in the Volcanoes National Park is mostly bamboo and moorland, with small areas of forest. By contrast, Akagera has a savanna ecosystem in which acacia dominates the flora. There are several rare or endangered plant species in Akagera, including Markhamia lutea and Eulophia guineensis.
See, among others, www.volcanoesrwanda.org. The permit costs 750 USD per person.

•  Please kindly note that...
• There is no registration fee for our conferences. To cover our expenses, we always summarise the costs during the conference and invite participants to contribute according to their ability. This collaborative approach to financing allows us to keep the conference affordable for all.
• We like to get to know participants prior to our conferences and workshops, and prior to issuing an invitation.
• All our gatherings are by invitation only, please approach us so that we can include you and register you. Only our Public Events are open to everybody without registration.
• The Non-Public Parts of our gatherings have limited enrollment.
• Participants are encouraged to find their own sources of funding or economic support to participate in our conferences. We offer our nurturing work as our gift of love and care to you, and we would like to lovingly invite everybody to contribute to this gift economy. If you need funding for your travels and housing, please inquire in your country and your university about possibilities. See, among others, for the US, www.supportcenter.org and www.foundationscenter.org. The Weinstein International Fellowship program, inaugurated in 2008, provides opportunities for individuals from outside the United States to visit the U.S. to learn more about dispute resolution processes and practices and to pursue a project of their own design that serves to advance the resolution of disputes in their home countries.
• Participants in all our conferences are kindly asked to handle all of their travel arrangements and required documentation, including requests for visas, on their side. HumanDHS is a volunteer initiative and does not have the staff or resources to assist with visa requests.

•  Permissions
During our conferences, we always ask all participants for their permission to have their pictures or videos posted on our website, however, if you change your mind later, either in total or for specific pictures/videos, please let us know! Thank you! Since we wish to walk the talk of dignity, it is very important for us to do our utmost in respecting everybody's privacy. We refrain from gathering written permissions from you during our conferences, since we value the building of mutual trust in relationships, and we also would like to refrain from contributing to an ever more bureaucratic and legalistic society.

•  Green conference and reinventing organization
We strive to organize our conferences as 'Green Conferences'. Lynn King kindly advises us. We also thank Vegard Jordanger for making us aware of Frederic Laloux's work on Reinventing Organizations (2014).

•  What happened in our previous conferences?
Please have a look at all our previous conferences and the newsletters written after these conferences.

 


 

•  Frame
•  List of Conveners
•  Programme
•  List of Participants
•  Papers

•  Pictures and videos

Still pictures:
Thank you most warmly, dear Nira Shahaf, for taking such wonderful photos!

Day One, 2nd June 2015:
See all the 82 photos from Evelin's camera

Day Two, 3rd June 2015:
See all the 33 photos from Evelin's camera

Day Three, 4th June 2015:
See all the 87 photos from Evelin's camera

Day Four, 5th June 2015:
See all the 120 photos from Evelin's camera

• See also our Dignilogue Themes and our Appreciative Introductions

Videos:
Thank you most warmly, dear Mark Itallange and Francis Nuwagaba, for your hard work in recording most of our videos!

Day Three, 4th June 2015, Public Event
• 01 Johnson Mugaga Invites The Honourable Bishop John Rucyahana
• 02 Emmanuel Ndahimana Welcomes Everybody
• 03 The Honourable Bishop John Rucyahana Speaks
• 04 Johnson Mugaga Speaks on Rwandan Identity and Reconciliation
• 05 Odette Yankulije Speaks on the Gacaca Experience
• 06 Jean-Damascène Gasanabo Speaks on Fighting Against Genocide Denial
• 07 Jean-Damascène Gasanabo and Odette Yankulije in Dignilogue
• 08 Reflections by Emmanuel Ndahimana and Johnson Mugaga
• 09 Hélène Lewis Speaks on Healing the Wounds of Humiliation
• 10 Magnus Haavelsrud Speaks on Preventing Humiliation Through Education
• 11 Hélène Lewis and Magnus Haavelsrud in Dignilogue
• 12 A Little Taste of the Atmosphere in the Conference
• 13 Father Jean d'Amour Dusengumuremyi Honours Felicitas Niyitegeka
• 14 Beacon of Dignity Award Ceremony: The Beacon of Dignity Award was awarded to The Honourable Bishop John Rucyahana and Emmanuel Ndahimana, and to Dr. Jean Baptiste Habyalimana, accepted by Johnson Mugaga
• 15 Seif Sekalala Shares Words of Appreciation
• 16 Closing Remarks by Bishop John Rucyahana, and by Evelin Lindner

Day Four, 5th June 2015: Dignilogue Summaries
• 17 Hélène Lewis Shares Her Dignilogue Summary
• 18 Emmanuel Ndahimana Shares His Dignilogue Summary, together with Professor Déo Mbonyinkebe Sebahire
• 19 Warner Woodworth Shares His Dignilogue Summary
• 20 Mark Robert Massalu Itallange Shares His Dignilogue Summary
• 21 Avi Shahaf Shares His Dignilogue Summary

Day Four, 5th June 2015: Appreciative Greetings
• 22 Francis Nuwagaba Shares Appreciative Greetings
• 23 Emmanuel Ndahimana Shares Appreciative Greetings
• 24 Mark Robert Massalu Itallange Shares Appreciative Greetings
• 25 Magnus Haavelsrud Shares Appreciative Greetings
• 26 Grace Kiconco Sirrah Shares Appreciative Greetings
• 27 Augustine Aggrey Muloki Shares Appreciative Greetings
• 28 Nira Shahaf Shares Appreciative Greetings
• 29 Ernest Bessango Shares Appreciative Greetings
• 30 Warner Woodworth Shares Appreciative Greetings
• 31 Uli Spalthoff Shares Appreciative Greetings
• 32 Evelin Lindner Shares Appreciative Greetings

Please see also the Introductory Videos created by Linda Hartling:
•  Dignilogue: An Introduction to Dignity + Dialogue, created on 31th May 2015 for our 2015 Kigali Conference
•  Appreciative Enquiry 4, a video that was recorded on May 27, 2015, in Portland, Oregon, USA, by Linda Hartling, for our 2015 Kigali Conference

•  What happened in our previous meetings? Please see Newsletters!



 

Frame

by Linda Hartling, 2004

In our meetings we aim at creating a humiliation-free, collaborative learning environment characterised by mutual respect, mutual empathy, and openness to difference. The perspective of 'appreciative enquiry' is a useful frame of our work. Our HumanDHS efforts are not just about the work we do together, but also about HOW WE WORK TOGETHER. At appropriate points during our meetings, for example at the end of each day, we take a moment to reflect on the practices observed that contributed to an appreciative/humiliation-free learning experience.

It is important to emphasise that an appreciative approach is not about expecting people to agree. In fact, differences of opinion enrich the conversation and deepen people's understanding of ideas. Perhaps, this could be conceptualised as 'waging good conflict' (Jean Baker Miller), which means practicing radical respect for differences and being open to a variety of perspectives and engaging others without contempt or rankism. As we have seen in many fields, contempt and rankism drain energy away from the important work that needs to be done. Most people only know 'conflict' as a form of war within a win/lose frame. 'Waging good conflict', on the other side, is about being empathic and respectful, making room for authenticity, creating clarity, and growth.
Please see:
An Appreciative Frame: Beginning a Dialogue on Human Dignity and Humiliation, written by Linda in 2005
Appreciative Facilitation: Hints for Round Table Moderators, kindly written in February 2006 by Judith Thompson to support the moderators of our workshops.
Buddhist Teachings on Right Speech, kindly provided to us by Thomas Daffern in 2006, relating to our quest for appreciative enquiry, caring and being.
•  Please see also these videos on our Appreciative Frame, created by Linda Hartling:
- Appreciative Enquiry 1, a video that was recorded on October 30, 2011, in Portland, Oregon, USA, by Evelin Lindner, for the World Dignity University initiative.
- Appreciative Enquiry 2, a video that was uploaded onto YouTube on August 11, 2012, in preparation of the 19th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies, 27th-30th August 2012, in Oslo, Norway.
- Our Appreciative Frame 3, a video created in December 2014 (see also Pdf), for the 2014 Workshop on Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict, in New York City, December 4–5, 2014.
- Appreciative Enquiry 4, a video that was recorded on May 27, 2015, in Portland, Oregon, USA, by Linda Hartling, for the 25th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies, in Kigali, Rwanda, 2nd - 5th June 2015.

 



List of Conveners

 

Evelin Gerda Lindner, Medical Doctor, Clinical and Social Psychologist, Ph.D. (Dr. med.), Ph.D. (Dr. psychol.), Organiser of the HumanDHS Conferences, Supporting the Local Conveners

Evelin Gerda Lindner is the Founding President of the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies (HumanDHS) network and initiator of the World Dignity University initiative. She is a transdisciplinary social scientist and humanist who holds two Ph.D.s, one in medicine and one in psychology. In 1996, she designed a research project on the concept of humiliation and its role in genocide and war. German history served as starting point. She is the recipient of the 2006 SBAP Award and 2009 'Prisoner’s Testament' Peace Award. She is affiliated with the University of Oslo, Norway, with its Centre for Gender Research, and with its Department of Psychology (folk.uio.no/evelinl/), furthermore, with the Columbia University Conflict Resolution Network (CU-CRN), which was superseded, in 2009, by the Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4) at Columbia University, New York. She is also affiliated with the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme in Paris. Lindner is teaching globally, including in South East Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Africa, and other places globally. [read more]
• Rwandan readers of Evelin's doctoral dissertation and her first book remarked how important the message of her work is that genocide humiliates both victims and perpetrators. Another point was that the genocide in 1994 was perpetrated against the Tutsi (rather than simply calling it genocide, for instance).

Linda Hartling, Ph.D., Social Psychologist, Organiser of the HumanDHS Conferences, Supporting the Local Conveners

Dr. Linda M. Hartling is the Director of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies (HumanDHS). She is also a Member of the HumanDHS Global Advisory Board, HumanDHS Global Core Team, HumanDHS Global Coordinating Team, HumanDHS Research Team, and HumanDHS Education Team. She is the Editor of the Journal of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies (JHDHS).
Hartling is affiliated with the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute (JBMTI) at the Stone Center, which is part of the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Until November 2008, she was its Associate Director. Hartling is a member of the JBMTI theory-building group advancing the practice of the Relational-Cultural Theory, which is a new model of psychological development. In addition, Hartling coordinates and contributes to training programs, publications, and special projects for the JBMTI. She holds a doctoral degree in clinical/community psychology and has published papers on resilience, substance abuse prevention, shame and humiliation, relational practice in the workplace, and Relational-Cultural Theory. [read more]
Please see:
• Humiliation: Real Pain, A Pathway to Violence, the draft of Linda's paper for Round Table 2 of our 2005 Workshop on Humiliation and Violent Conflict, Columbia University, New York.
Humiliation: Assessing the Impact of Derision, Degradation, and Debasement, first published in The Journal of Primary Prevention, 19(4): 259-278, co-authored with T. Luchetta, 1999.
• Shame and Humiliation: From Isolation to Relational Transformation, the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute (JBMIT), Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College No. 88, Wellesley, MA 02481, co-authored with Wendy Rosen, Maureen Walker, Judith V. Jordan, 2000.
• Humiliation and Assistance: Telling the Truth About Power, Telling a New Story, paper prepared for the 5th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies 'Beyond Humiliation: Encouraging Human Dignity in the Lives and Work of All People', in Berlin, 15th -17th September, 2005.

Emmanuel Ndahimana, Host, Organiser, and Convener

Emmanuel Ndahimana was born in 1943 in the southern town of Butare Rwanda. Emmanuel Ndahimana studied Economic and Social Sciences at the National University of Rwanda, Economic and received his Bachelor of Arts in Economic Sciences in 1969. In 1972 he received his Licence in Economics in Fribourg in Switzerland. Later he was trained in various fields including diplomacy, project management, development banking.
Emmanuel Ndahimana served as a civil servant in Rwanda, starting in the Ministry of Economic Planning, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was Appointed Member of the Rwandan team that took part in the Lomé Convention negotiations, and was also appointed first Counsellor of the Rwandan Embassy in Belgium. In 1977, he was promoted Ambassador of Rwanda to Canada and in 1980 to Dar-es-salaam in Tanzania also covering Mozambique and Zambia. In 1983, he was elected Executive Director of the African Development Bank (ADB) with residence in Abidjan where he represented six East African countries including Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Seychelles. In I987, he was appointed Managing Director of one of Rwanda's major financial institutions (BRD) that provides long term financing to private investors.
In 1990, with the beginning of the political turmoil in Rwanda, Emmanuel Ndahimana was forced to exile in Ivory Coast (ABIDJAN) until 1994. With the end of genocide in Rwanda, he came back to his country to contribute to rebuilding the Rwandan society after the atrocious genocide. In 1997, he began serving in the Government of Rwanda as a Minister of State for Finance and Economic Planning. In 2000, he resigned from the public administration and entered in private sector, establishing his own Consulting Firm in Management of which he is also the President, specializing in project management, financial and economic analysis. In 2003, the Rwanda Liberal Party elected him as one of their Vice Presidents and in that capacity, he was elected Member of the Parliament until March 2005. He is now Vice Chairman of the Liberal Party (however, his contributions to HumanDHS do not reflect the position of the Government of Rwanda, only his own). Emmanuel Ndahimana is also member of the National Nepad Commission.
Please see his paper presented at 'Beyond Humiliation: Encouraging Human Dignity in the Lives and Work of All People', 5th Annual Meeting of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies in Berlin, 15th -17th September, 2005, Ignorance and Humiliation. See a response by Laurien Ntezimana, Pour Eradiquer l'Humiliation.

 


 

Workshop Programme

 

Day One, 2nd June 2015, at the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), Kisiment - Remera, Ituze Plaza House

All participants who wished to stay with the rest of the group in the Foyer de Charité Sainte Trinité de Rebero Kigali were invited to come with their luggage to NURC, so that all together could proceed to the Foyer de Charité


• Please click on the picture above ore here to see all 50 photos kindly taken by Magnus Haavelsrud

•  Collective transfer from NURC to the Foyer de Charité


• Please click on the pictures above or here to see all 82 photos of Day One from Evelin's camera

•  Check in at the Foyer de Charité

Emmanuel Ndahimana had suggested that all participants may enjoy staying at the Foyer de Charité for the entire conference, not least because this would make it easier for logistics. Those participants who had already booked other hotels, and who wished to follow this suggestion, were invited to cancel those other hotels for the days of the conference (from 2nd to 5th June, or even 6th June). The prices at the Foyer are 15.000 FRW, ca. 20 Euros, per night per person, with breakfast at 8 o'clock for 2500 FRW, lunch at noontime for 5000 FRW, souper at 7 'o'clock in the evening for 5000 FRW, coffee break 1000 FRW, together 13.500 FRW for three meals and coffee break, ca. 18 Euros, per person per day (excluding soft drinks and bottled water). In other words, all-inclusive housing and meals are ca. 40 Euros per day per person. Those who wished to get access to the Internet, were invited to bring their own mobile phone Internet connection and buy a SIM card and a package of download bytes, for example, in the Tigo Service Center in the Kigali City Tower or at the United Trade Center (UTC).

•  Lunch at the Foyer de Charité

 

•  Johnson Mugaga, Acting Executive Secretary of The National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) of the Republic of Rwanda, invited The Honourable Bishop Rucyahana, President of Rwanda's National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), to open the conference

 

•  Emmanuel Ndahimana, and Evelin Lindner welcomed the participants


• Please click on the picture above or here to see all 82 photos of Day One from Evelin's camera

•  Participants presented themselves


• Please click on the pictures above or here to see all 82 photos of Day One from Evelin's camera

•  Introductory presentation: Who We Are: Our Global Dignity Family and sharing of Latest News

Evelin G. Lindner, Founding President of HumanDHS

•  Introductory presentation: Appreciative Frame of the conference

Linda M. Hartling, Ph.D., Director of HumanDHS. Linda is also affiliated with the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute (JBMTI) at the Stone Center, which is part of the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Until 2008, she was its Associate Director.

•  Launch of Dignilogue Sessions

Dignilogue: An Introduction to Dignity + Dialogue, by Linda M. Hartling (created on 31th May 2015)

See also an earlier version, by Linda Hartling, created on 13th August 2012


• Please click on the picture above or here to see all 82 photos of Day One from Evelin's camera

We have thought about how to dignify the way we conduct our conferences for many years. The Open Space movement has started from the observation that after mainstream academic conferences, the participants, when asked, often say: 'Oh, I slept through the presentations, but the coffee breaks were wonderful!' The creators of the Open Space approach thought: 'Ok, why don't we create conferences that are structured like coffee breaks!' Please read more about the originator of the Open Space Technology, Harrison Owen.
In other words, the basic idea behind the Open Space approach is that most academic conference are rather boring. Invited speakers might not be in tune with the audience. Reading papers aloud may be particularly uncommunicative.
We aim at co-creating our conferences, in contrast to traditional conferences. We take a highly collaborative approach to determining how to use our time. The Dignilogue approach allows for identifying priorities for dialogue sessions on key topics.
In practice, on Day One of our conference, we, the participants, make the programme for Day Two and Day Three together, in a collaborative effort. All participants are both presenters and audience, there is no separation, there is no pre-planned programme, except for the introductory part (and the Public Event). We are aware that this approach is new to most people, yet, it opens new dimensions. We invite every participant to join us and try. It has an profoundly dignifying impact and, as our participants always tell us afterwards.
We have adapted the Open Space approach, added the term dialogue, and connected it with dignity to form the expression Dignilogue (see also our Video page for how peace linguist Francisco Gomes de Matos has inspired this linguistic creation).
Please watch the Introduction into the Dignilogue Sessions Format by Linda M. Hartling (created on 13th August 2012). Please read here more about the Dignilogue format and what it entails. See also Open Space Tools by Peggy Holman.

The World Dignity University initiative (WDU) was launched in 2011. Like the HumanDHS network, it is a pro-bono initiative, aiming to nurture a dignity movement within education. We always invite our conference participants to support our WDU initiative, if they wish so. This can be done, for instance, by creating mini-videos of dialogues, please see our videos page for examples. Please note that we differ from traditional organisations, intitutes, or NGOs of whatever kind. Our work is a work of love. We have an almost zero budget. We refrain from 'empire' building. We also refrain from ' abusing' our conference participants to make 'propaganda' for our work. Videos do not have to go to the WDU site. They can be used in whatever other ways. Please note the way we work in our newsletter10.


• Please click on the pictures above or here to see all 82 photos of Day One from Evelin's camera


• Please click on the pictures above or here to see all 32 Dignilogue posters from Evelin's camera
• Please click here to see all 82 photos of Day One from Evelin's camera

The following participants planned to join us, yet, subsequently, they were unfortunately hindered:

 

How Restorative Justice can Dignify Society

•  John Braithwaite is a Professor in the Law Program, Research School of Social Sciences at Australian National University (ANU), and a member of ANU's Centre for Restorative Justice. [...] His focus for twenty years has been on restorative and responsive regulatory ideas. As an author, coauthor or editor of numerous books and articles, he has contributed significant research to the application of restorative justice principles to business crime as well as to more traditional forms of juvenile and adult crime.  John's 1989 book, Crime, Shame and Reintegration, has been highly influential in demonstrating that current criminal justice practice creates shame that is stigmatizing. [read more]

He sends the following message (October 2, 2014): 'There is so much to learn from the people of Rwanda about how to restore dignity. Looking forward to a gathering of people of vision and wisdom in Kigali'.

Unfortunately, due to health reasons, John Braithwaite was hindered to join us in the last minute.

Human Dignity in Sri Lanka

•  Amarnath Amarasingam is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University and also teaches at Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo. His research interests are in diaspora politics, post-war reconstruction, radicalisation and terrorism, and social movements. He is currently working on several books including, Pain, Pride, and Politics: Sri Lankan Tamil Activism in Canada.

Proposing a ‘3Cs’ Roadmap for a Humane Society

•  Topic to be shared by Dr. Atul Mehrotra, co-authored with Anoop Swarup.

Human Values via the Essence of Technology

•  Dr. Dheeraj Mehrotra wrote on 20th February 2015: 'I am excited to be the part of the session on 'Human Values via the Essence of Technology'. I look forward to attending and sharing my deliberation on the same towards 'Quality Literacy for All' initiative'. He is accompanied by Dr. Aarti Hemrajani.


• Please click on the pictures above or here to see all 82 photos of Day One from Evelin's camera

End of Day One





 

Day Two, 3rd June 2015, at the Kigali Genocide Memorial of Gisozi, Umubano Hotel, and at the Foyer de Charité Sainte Trinité de Rebero Kigali

 

10.00 Visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial of Gisozi


• Please click on the pictures above or here to see all 33 photos of Day Two from Evelin's camera

'Visiting Humanitarian Activists Pay Tribute to Genocide Victims', by Jean d'Amour Mugabo, The New Times, 4th June 2015, News (Pdf)


• Please click on the picture above to see the article
• Please click here to see all 33 photos of Day Two from Evelin's camera

Press Release by NURC: 'The 25th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies held in Kigali from 2nd to 5th June 2015' (Pdf)


• Please click on the picture above to see the press release
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• Please click on the picture above or here to see all 50 photos kindly taken by Magnus Haavelsrud

Lunch at the Umubano Hotel, on our host’s kind invitation


• Please click on the picture above or here to see all 33 photos of Day Two from Evelin's camera

Dignilogue sessions at the Foyer de Charité

 

• Humiliation in Rwandan Culture

•  Emmanuel Ndahimana was born in 1943 in the southern town of Butare Rwanda. Emmanuel Ndahimana studied Economic and Social Sciences at the National University of Rwanda, Economic and received his Bachelor of Arts in Economic Sciences in 1969. In 1972 he received his Licence in Economics in Fribourg in Switzerland. Later he was trained in various fields including diplomacy, project management, development banking.
Emmanuel Ndahimana served as a civil servant in Rwanda, starting in the Ministry of Economic Planning, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was Appointed Member of the Rwandan team that took part in the Lomé Convention negotiations, and was also appointed first Counsellor of the Rwandan Embassy in Belgium. In 1977, he was promoted Ambassador of Rwanda to Canada and in 1980 to Dar-es-salaam in Tanzania also covering Mozambique and Zambia. In 1983, he was elected Executive Director of the African Development Bank (ADB) with residence in Abidjan where he represented six East African countries including Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Seychelles. In I987, he was appointed Managing Director of one of Rwanda's major financial institutions (BRD) that provides long term financing to private investors.
In 1990, with the beginning of the political turmoil in Rwanda, Emmanuel Ndahimana was forced to exile in Ivory Coast (ABIDJAN) until 1994. With the end of genocide in Rwanda, he came back to his country to contribute to rebuilding the Rwandan society after the atrocious genocide. In 1997, he began serving in the Government of Rwanda as a Minister of State for Finance and Economic Planning. In 2000, he resigned from the public administration and entered in private sector, establishing his own Consulting Firm in Management of which he is also the President, specializing in project management, financial and economic analysis. In 2003, the Rwanda Liberal Party elected him as one of their Vice Presidents and in that capacity, he was elected Member of the Parliament until March 2005. He is now Vice Chairman of the Liberal Party (however, his contributions to HumanDHS do not reflect the position of the Government of Rwanda, only his own). Emmanuel Ndahimana is also member of the National Nepad Commission.
Please see his paper presented at 'Beyond Humiliation: Encouraging Human Dignity in the Lives and Work of All People', 5th Annual Meeting of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies in Berlin, 15th -17th September, 2005, Ignorance and Humiliation. See a response by Laurien Ntezimana, Pour Eradiquer l'Humiliation.


• Please click on the picture or here to see all 33 photos of Day Two from Evelin's camera


• Please click on the picture or here to see all 32 Dignilogue posters from Evelin's camera
• Please click here to see all 33 photos of Day Two from Evelin's camera

• Understanding Intergenerational Trauma: How Future Generations Carry Historical Trauma Memories and How to Deal with It

•  Hélène Opperman Lewis is born in Namibia, currently living in Cape Town, South Africa. She holds a MSc in Clinical Psychology and is a psychologist in private practice. She has a keen interest in Psycho-history, particularly in generational re-enactment within and between groups in South Africa. She has contributed towards the Rhodes Review, writing on racism, and is currently researching a book on the woundedness caused by humiliation and consequent revenge in SA – over the past 350 years. [read more]


• Please click on the picture or here to see all 32 Dignilogue posters from Evelin's camera
• Please click here to see all 33 photos of Day Two from Evelin's camera

Overcoming the Humiliation of Conflict and Poverty Through Microcredit, Co-ops, and Tools that Build the Dignity of Self Worth...

•  Warner Woodworth is a Global Social Entrepreneur and Professor Emeritus at BYU, who has authored 10 books and 200 articles. Over the years he has taught Third World Studies, NGO Management, Microfinance, Social Innovation, OD and Change. He is a founder of 31 NGOs and together we raised some $26 million in 2014, empowering 7.1 million clients and their families.


• Please click on the picture or here to see all 32 Dignilogue posters from Evelin's camera
• Please click here to see all 33 photos of Day Two from Evelin's camera

End of Day Two

 

Day Three, Public Day, 4th June 2015, at the Foyer de Charité Sainte Trinité de Rebero Kigali, in the spirit of the United Nations agenda toward 'A Life of Dignity for All', in the spirit of Umuganda or 'coming together in common purpose', and as a tribute to Felicitas Niyitegeka

 


• Please click on the picture above or here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera

 

•  Johnson Mugaga, Acting Executive Secretary of The National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) of the Republic of Rwanda, invited The Honourable Bishop Rucyahana, President of Rwanda's National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), to open the day with a prayer


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera

•  9.00 Welcome to Everybody

•  Emmanuel Ndahimana, former Minister and Ambassador, inspirator and convener of this conference, welcomed the participants and expresses his gratitude


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera

•  Evelin Lindner, Founding President of the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies network, and Co-founder of the World Dignity University initiative, welcomed the participants and expresses her gratitude

•  9.15 - 9.45 Official Opening by The Honourable Bishop John Rucyahana

•  The Honourable Bishop John Rucyahana, President of Rwanda's National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), the generous host of this conference


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera

•  9.30 - 10.30 What the World Can Learn from Rwanda’s Experience: Rwandan Identity and Reconciliation During Post-Genocide Reconstruction with Major Focus on Reconciliation Initiatives (Video | Powerpoint)

•  Johnson Mugaga, Acting Executive Secretary of Rwanda's National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC)


•  Please click on the photo to see the video of the first part of his talk (until, unfortunately, the battery of the camera went
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera dead)

•  10.30 - 11.00 Coffee Break

 

•  11.00 - 11.30 Restorative Justice in Rwanda: The Gacaca Experience (Video | Powerpoint)

•  Odette Yankulije, Principal State Attorney, Ministry of Justice (MINIJUST)


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera

•  11.30 - 12.00 Fighting Against Genocide Denial and Revisionism (Video | Powerpoint)

• Jean-Damascène Gasanabo, Director General of Research and Documentation, Centre on Genocide, National Commission For The Fight Against Genocide (CNLG)


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera

•  12.00 - 12.30 Regaining Dignity: A Dignity Renaissance (see the PowerPoint Video created on 30th June in Kigali)

•  Evelin Lindner, Founding President of the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies network, and Co-founder of the World Dignity University initiative

Due to time restraints, this presentation was not given. Please see therefore :
Global Dignity
Presentation given at the 23rd Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies, 'Returning Dignity', which took place at Chiang Mai University, Northern Thailand, 8-12th March 2014, inspired by Kjell Skyllstad and convened by Chayan Vaddhanaphuti, Professor and Founding Director of the Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RSCD) and Director of the Center of Ethnic Studies and Development (CESD) at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University. Evelin Lindner gave a brief overview over her work on dignity on 12th March 2014. The video was kindly recorded by Donna Fujimoto. Please note that this video is unedited. Please see the article 'Global Dignity: What Is It? How Do We Achieve It?' that brings together Evelin's insights on global dignity with the experiences and insights she gathered in Thailand in March and April 2014.

•  Reflections by Emmanuel Ndahimana and Johnson Mugaga


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera

•  12.30 - 13.00 Dignilogue with Odette Yankulije and Jean-Damascène Gasanabo


•  Please click on the photos to see the video
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera

•  14.00 - 14.30 Healing the Wounds of Humiliation (Video | Powerpoint | Pdf)

•  Hélène Opperman Lewis is born in Namibia, currently living in Cape Town, South Africa. She holds a MSc in Clinical Psychology and is a psychologist in private practice. She has a keen interest in Psycho-history, particularly in generational re-enactment within and between groups in South Africa. She has contributed towards the Rhodes Review, writing on racism, and is currently researching a book on the woundedness caused by humiliation and consequent revenge in SA – over the past 350 years. [read more]


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera


•  Please click on the photos to see them larger
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera

•  14.30 - 15.00 Preventing Humiliation Through Education

•  Magnus Haavelsrud sent the following message (3rd October 2014): 'I believe it is an important angle to our work: How could our meeting in Kigali foster constructive ways and means in the prevention of humiliation through policies and practices in formal, informal and non-formal education?'


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera


•  Please click on the photo to see it larger
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera


• Please click on the picture above ore here to see all 50 photos kindly taken by Magnus Haavelsrud

•  15.00 - 15.30 Dignilogue with Hélène Lewis and Magnus Haavelsrud


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera

•  15.30 - 16.00 A Little Taste of the Atmosphere in the Conference


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
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•  16.00 - 16.30 Honouring Felicitas Niyitegeka's Sacrifice of Her Life

•  Father Jean d'Amour Dusengumuremyi, author of No Greater Love: Testimonies on the Life and Death of Felicitas Niyitegeka


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera

•  The Honourable Bishop John Rucyahana Is Being Honoured with the Beacon of Dignity Award


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera

•  The Honourable Emmanuel Ndahimana Is Being Honoured with the Beacon of Dignity Award


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera

•  Dr. Jean Baptiste Habyalimana Is Being Honoured with the Beacon of Dignity Award,
(accepted in his place by Johnson Mugaga)


• Please click on the pictures above or here to see the Beacon of Dignity Award ceremony with Dr. Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana on 30th June 2015.

•  Johnson Mugaga Is Being Honoured with the Beacon of Dignity Award (on 24th June in his office)


• Please click on the pictures above or here to see the Beacon of Dignity Award ceremony with Johnson Mugaga on 24th June 2015.

•  Words of Appreciation by Seif Sekalala


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
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•  Official Closing by The Honourable Bishop John Rucyahana

•  Saying Good Bye and Announcing Tomorrow's Programme by Evelin Lindner


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
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•  Media Coverage

Print Media

'Humanitarian Activists Commit to Fight Genocide Denial', by Jean d'Amour Mugabo, The New Times, 6th June 2015 (Pdf)


•  Please click on the photo to see the article
• Please click here to see all 87 photos of Day Three from Evelin's camera

Television


Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) News Coverage of 4th June 2015, documenting all important events taking place in Rwanda
(see Déo Mbonyinkebe Sebahire on the picture)

•  End of the Public Event

 


 

Day Four, 5th June 2015, at the Foyer de Charité Sainte Trinité de Rebero Kigali

 

Greeting each other

 

Conclusion of Dignilogue sessions

 

Human Dignity Advancement in Schools: Concept and Implementation (Pdf | Powerpoint)

•  Avi Shahaf was born (1951) and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel. He completed his BA in Sociology and Anthropology and his MA in Organizational Development – both in Tel Aviv University.
Avi managed an institute which focused on the development of managers and workers handling youth at risk, for seven years.
However, he has been dedicating most of his years as an adult for working as an organizational consultant who specializes in facilitating processes for advancing human dignity in different organizations. [read more]


• Please click on the pictures or here to see all 120 photos of Day Four from Evelin's camera

The following two topics were combined into one Dignilogue:
Encouraging Stressed People with Full Love and Release Humanity

•  Mark Robert Massalu Itallange, from the Consolation for Disabled Organization, Arusha City, Tanzania


• Please click on the picture or here to see all 32 Dignilogue posters from Evelin's camera
• Please click here to see all 120 photos of Day Four from Evelin's camera

Can Fear of God Prevent Humiliation?

•  Ernest N. Bessango, from the Consolation for Disabled Organization, Arusha City, Tanzania


• Please click on the picture or here to see all 32 Dignilogue posters from Evelin's camera
• Please click here to see all 120 photos of Day Four from Evelin's camera


• Please click on the picture or here to see all 120 photos of Day Four from Evelin's camera

Dignilogue Summaries

 

Understanding Intergenerational Trauma: How Future Generations Carry Historical Trauma Memories and How to Deal with It (Dignilogue)

•  Hélène Opperman Lewis is born in Namibia, currently living in Cape Town, South Africa. She holds a MSc in Clinical Psychology and is a psychologist in private practice. She has a keen interest in Psycho-history, particularly in generational re-enactment within and between groups in South Africa. She has contributed towards the Rhodes Review, writing on racism, and is currently researching a book on the woundedness caused by humiliation and consequent revenge in SA – over the past 350 years. [read more]


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
•  Please click here to see all 120 photos of Day Four from Evelin's camera

Humiliation in Rwandan Culture

•  Emmanuel Ndahimana was born in 1943 in the southern town of Butare Rwanda. Emmanuel Ndahimana studied Economic and Social Sciences at the National University of Rwanda, Economic and received his Bachelor of Arts in Economic Sciences in 1969. In 1972 he received his Licence in Economics in Fribourg in Switzerland. Later he was trained in various fields including diplomacy, project management, development banking.

•  Déo Mbonyinkebe Sebahire is a professor and a well respected researcher and consultant in the great Lakes region. He is a Visiting Lecturer at The Kigali Independent University / Université Libre de Kigali (ULK). He resides in Kigali - Rwanda. [read more]


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
•  Please click here to see all 120 photos of Day Four from Evelin's camera

Overcoming the Humiliation of Conflict and Poverty Through Microcredit, Co-ops, and Tools that Build the Dignity of Self Worth...

•  Warner Woodworth is a Global Social Entrepreneur and Professor Emeritus at BYU, who has authored 10 books and 200 articles. Over the years he has taught Third World Studies, NGO Management, Microfinance, Social Innovation, OD and Change. He is a founder of 31 NGOs and together we raised some $26 million in 2014, empowering 7.1 million clients and their families.


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
•  Please click here to see all 120 photos of Day Four from Evelin's camera

Evelin would like to add a clarification of her contribution at the end of Warner's presentation so as to avoid being misunderstood: 'When speaking about 'here', I referred to many places in Africa. As Professor Déo Mbonyinkebe said, Africa needs to be viewed with a lens that differentiates. Rwanda is a shining example in many ways (health care is only one example) compared to many other parts of the world, including most of the rest of Africa'.

Encouraging Stressed People with Full Love and Release Humanity

•  Mark Robert Massalu Itallange, from the Consolation for Disabled Organization, Arusha City, Tanzania


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
•  Please click here to see all 120 photos of Day Four from Evelin's camera

Human Dignity Advancement in Schools: Concept and Implementation (Pdf | Powerpoint | Video)

•  Avi Shahaf was born (1951) and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel. He completed his BA in Sociology and Anthropology and his MA in Organizational Development – both in Tel Aviv University.
Avi managed an institute which focused on the development of managers and workers handling youth at risk, for seven years.
However, he has been dedicating most of his years as an adult for working as an organizational consultant who specializes in facilitating processes for advancing human dignity in different organizations. [read more]


•  Please click on the photo to see the video
•  Please click here to see all 120 photos of Day Four from Evelin's camera

Appreciative Greetings

•  Francis Nuwagaba: Appreciative Greetings (video)

•  Emmanuel Ndahimana: Appreciative Greetings (video)

•  Mark Robert Massalu Itallange: Appreciative Greetings (video)

•  Magnus Haavelsrud: Appreciative Greetings (video)

•  Grace Kiconco Sirrah: Appreciative Greetings (video),
please see also her Appreciative Introduction and her Personal Story

•  Augustine Aggrey Muloki: Appreciative Greetings (video)

•  Nira Shahaf: Appreciative Greetings (video)

•  Ernest Bessango: Appreciative Greetings (video)

•  Warner Woodworth: Appreciative Greetings (video)

•  Uli Spalthoff: Appreciative Greetings (video)

•  Seif Sekalala shared Words of Appreciation on Day Three:

•  Evelin Lindner: Appreciative Greetings (video)

 

Our Participants


• Please click on the pictures or here to see all 120 photos of Day Four from Evelin's camera

End of Day Four

 


 

Meetings Subsequent to our Workshop


On 11th June 2015, I had the privilege of reconnecting with dear Jean-Damascène Gasanabo, Director General of Research and Documentation, Centre on Genocide, National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG). See two photos taken in his office in Kigali.
Please see his most recent publication:
Gasanabo, Jean-Damascène, David J. Simon, and Margee M. Ensign (Eds.) (2014). Confronting Genocide in Rwanda: Dehumanization, Denial, and Strategies for Prevention. Kigali, Rwanda: The National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide, Republic of Rwanda.
• Please click on the pictures avove to see them larger.
Please click on the pictures above ore here to see all 50 photos kindly taken by Magnus Haavelsrud. Here you see the books he found in the bookstores of Kigali.
Dear Emmanuel Ndahimana and Damas say good-bye at the airport of Kigali on the eve of 30th June 2015.
• Please click on the pictures above or here to see all photos.

 


 

List of Participants
If you wish to participate, email us!

•  The Honourable Bishop John Rucyahana, President of The National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), Republic of Rwanda
In his Appreciative Introduction, he shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
Unity.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
There will to propagate the importance of Human Dignity.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
To encourage this gathering to do more advocacy for Human Dignity and expose causes of humiliation.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
Dignity means almost all, human beings should live for.

•  Johnson Mugaga, Acting Executive Secretary, The National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), Republic of Rwanda
Kigali Independent University / Université Libre de Kigali (ULK). He resides in Kigali - Rwanda. [read more]
In his Appreciative Introduction, he shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
- Poverty Eradication,
- Fighting against Hunger, humiliation, etc.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
Get to know better how to regain and build dignity.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
The experience of Rwanda.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
Life to live. Talk and walk it. An aspiration to live for.

•  Emmanuel Ndahimana: Appreciative Greetings (video)
In his Appreciative Introduction, he shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
Business Development.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
Our contribution to building Human Dignity.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
My contribution is to share my experience in Business Development with regards to Dignity 'Dignity Works'.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
Means a lot. In business, in professional career, making money is not all: recognition of Human Dignity.

•  Professor Déo Mbonyinkebe Sebahire is a well respected researcher and consultant in the great Lakes region. He is a Visiting Lecturer at The Kigali Independent University / Université Libre de Kigali (ULK). He resides in Kigali - Rwanda. [read more]
In his Appreciative Introduction, he shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
- Applied Medical Anthropology,
- Marginalized people,
- Peace Building (Great Lakes Region)
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
Deeper understanding of the Philosophy and Practices of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies,
- Networking,
- Research Dissemination.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
Intellectual Input based on my Teaching and Research Experience.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
It is an essential value for and from Peacebuilding.

•  Professor Déo Byanafashe is a Professor of History at the University of Rwanda who has written extensively on the History of Rwanda. He has recently worked for the Commission of Unity and Reconciliation in producing an important document on Rwanda known as From the Origins up to the End of the 20th Century. It is an important contribution to educating Rwandans on their profound unity beyond their apparent differences.

•  Jean-Damascène Gasanabo (Damas) has a PhD in Education from the University of Geneva, Switzerland (2004) and his thesis pertains to the analysis of history textbooks and the construction of exclusive identities in Rwanda from 1962 to 1994. The Government of Rwanda appointed him as Director General of Research and Documentation, Centre on Genocide, National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG), starting on May 21, 2012. The Centre is within the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide. [read more]

•  Father Jean d'Amour Dusengumuremyi, who kindly wrote on 7th April 2105: 'Peace to you, Here in Rwanda, we are commemorating the 21 st anniversary of the genocide. Thanks to all people who are helping us to live this period full of hope! Thank you for this message delivered by Ban Ki Moon, evil will not have the last word on the history! We shall overcome some day!'
In his Appreciative Introduction, he shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
A catholic priest, making known the martyrdom of Felicitas Niyitegeka.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
What people can do to avoid humiliation without humiliating others.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
I will try my best to talk about human dignity and its importance in our daily life.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
To me, dignity means a quality or state worthy of esteem and respect.

•  Evelin Lindner

•  Uli Spalthoff
In his Appreciative Introduction, he shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
- Intercultural notions of Human Dignity,
- Publishing, technology for education, OLPC.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
Learning from the Rwandan people how to overcome a dreadful global situation.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
Exchange of thoughts and experiences.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
Dignity is a challenging term, motivating but difficult to master.

•  Brigitte Volz
In her Appreciative Introduction, she shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
- Early childhood, psychology and pedagogy
- Special Education
- Gestalt therapy with children and adolescents, trauma therapy, Work through the clayfield,
- Arts, mediation, is eternity of healing, spirituality.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
- To learn about the way of coping with the genocide in Rwanda (Gacaca…)
- Forgiveness, comparing experiences in Rwanda and Germany, for example, on transgenerational trauma.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
Sharing personal experience in private and professional life.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
Exchange.

•  Magnus Haavelsrud
He sent the following message (3rd October 2014): 'I believe it is an important angle to our work: How could our meeting in Kigali foster constructive ways and means in the prevention of humiliation through policies and practices in formal, informal and non-formal education?'
In his Appreciative Introduction, he shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
Education, social science and narratives/novels written by young authors.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
Reflecting on how education can contribute to the prevention of humiliation.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
The practice of human rights.

•  Hélène Lewis is born in Namibia, currently living in Cape Town, South Africa. She holds a MSc in Clinical Psychology and is a psychologist in private practice. She has a keen interest in Psycho-history, particularly in generational re-enactment within and between groups in South Africa. She has contributed towards the Rhodes Review, writing on racism, and is currently researching a book on the woundedness caused by humiliation and consequent revenge in SA – over the past 350 years. [read more]
In her Appreciative Introduction, she shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
Healing trauma and humiliation - historical trauma.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
Learn more how the trauma and humiliation has been treated in other countries in an effort to prevent that historical trauma repeats.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
Recent findings in neuroscience on the impact of trauma on the brain.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
Dignity is at the heart of living a meaningful life.

•  Avi Shahaf and his wife Nira, please see his a proposal for a Dignilogue titled 'Human Dignity Advancement in Schools: Concept and Implementation'
In his Appreciative Introduction, he shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
Advancing the value of human dignity through organizational development.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
Sharing knowledge and experience and future connections.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
I'd like to facilitate and dignilogue: human dignity in schools - concept and implementation.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
A way of life.
•  Nira Shahaf:
In her Appreciative Introduction, Nira Shahaf shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
Dance and Movement Therapy, Psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
Knowledge, brain storming, next ideas, to get to know people from different countries.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
I still don't know.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
A basis of a creation of communication among people.

•  Seif Sekalala shared Words of Appreciation on Day Three:
In his Appreciative Introduction, he shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
Former refugees and genocide survivors.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
A better understanding of my research areas and other related ones.
Knowledge, brain storming, next ideas, to get to know people from different countries.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
The findings of my research so far.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
Respect for human life, and the values, and characteristics that make us human; those values which differentiate humans from other animals. Dignity means kindness, love, respect, and empathy.

•  Grace Kiconco Sirrah, please see her Appreciative Introduction and her Personal Story
In her Appreciative Introduction, she shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
Human dignity, gender and non-violence.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
Good practice experiences that have responded to theories, policies and practices that marginalise women and prisoners.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
Some prisoners rehumanising plans for the future.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
Everything. I am inherently of worth: I share this with all people. I appreciate myself and let the humiliated women and prisoners know that they are of worth too.

•  Augustine Aggrey Muloki
In his Appreciative Introduction, he shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
- How wars has humiliated those involved and how people manage to endure wars.
- The changing culture in the world.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
- Get to know what is the peace builders are doing.
- Get to meet other peace builders for collective collaboration and working together for better peace results.
- Get to be known as a peacebuilding.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
Sharing knowledge on common issues in the world.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
It means respecting others and their contributions in any form.

•  Mark Robert Massalu Itallange, and Ernest N. Bessango (three probable participants were David Malaika, Damalis Leonard, and Wilson E. Seleman), from the Consolation for Disabled Organization, Arusha City, Tanzania
In his Appreciative Introduction, Mark shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
Tanzania.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
I would like getting the contented idea from the agenda and a life of dignity for all so as to help others who are in humiliation all over the world.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
I would like contributing my views on dignity to this gathering and encourage my fellow members to establish human dignity and humiliation studies all over the world.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
To respect human beings because we all are equal.
•  In his Appreciative Introduction, Ernest Bessango shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
All religious churches should behave positively, improving dignity and prevent humiliation.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
To inherit the spirit of humanity, which will expand love and peace among the world, especially to my country Tanzania, and also increase relationships between my country and other countries.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
To provide various ideas, thinking, techniques, solutions toward the problem of genocide to improve humanity among people to different nations.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
This means the state of being well humanity, physically, socially, and mentally, respecting human being appearance.

•  Francis Nuwagaba, a student at the University of Rwanda
In his Appreciative Introduction, he shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
Is leadership the route to gain dignity?
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
Firstly networking, know more about who is worth of respect in relation to dignity, who should receive ethical treatment, gaining dignity and society correlation.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
We shouldn't stand in the society demanding the dignity when our selves have not fulfilled what it takes to be dignity recognized.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
I take it as value and respect of one's self. My work as a scholar, we should create an environment guided by discipline, vision and passion, hence backing our dignity.

•  Sarah Bawaya, Specialist Unity & National Identity, Regional Coordinator National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), Republic of Rwanda
In her Appreciative Introduction, she shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
Conflict management and peacebuilding.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
Information and experience sharing on peacebuilding.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
My experiences on reconciliation process.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
Respect for each other.

•  Théoneste Hitimana, National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), Republic of Rwanda
In his Appreciative Introduction, he shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
- Education,
- Communication,
- Public Procurement.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
To know in depth how Human Dignity can be taken into consideration in Africa.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
To invite all Africans to follow the good achievement of African Human Dignity heroes.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
Respect of others as moral values of human society.

•  Florence Batoni, Peace-Building Coordinator, Never Again Rwanda: ' Empowering the population with opportunities to become active citizens'
In her Appreciative Introduction, she shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
Peacebuilding and participatory governance.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
- UNDERSTANDING
- Healing the wounds of humiliation
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
Preventing humiliation through Education.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
Respect for human life.

•  Valérie Mukabayire
In her Appreciative Introduction, she shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
- Social
- Education
- Development
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
Connaître l'expérience des autres participants sur la dignité.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
Partager avec les autres les idées pour développer les valeurs morales humaines.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
La dignité pour moi signifie être soi même et lutter pour devenier meilleure on respectant les valeurs morales humaines.

•  Alphonse Kalinganire
In his Appreciative Introduction, he shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
- Unity and Reconciliation,
- Peace and Conflict Resolution.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
Share experience on what others are doing.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
Ideas and experience.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
Be honest to myself, to others and to Humanity.

•  Warner Woodworth wrote on 16th March 2015 that he suggests as title of his contribution “From Humiliation due to War and Natural Disaster to Human Dignity Through Microfinance and Building Family Self-Reliance.”
In his Appreciative Introduction, he shared the following:
Areas of Interest/Research:
Women's empowerment, economic development, micro-finance.
What would you like to get out of this gathering?
Learn how others are working to increase people's dignity, build self-reliance, and strategies that work.
What would you like to contribute to this gathering?
Share some insights and experiences that help the poor overcome humiliation and foster self-worth and dignity.
What does dignity mean to you and your work?
It means a person's sense of self-worth, having capacity, and degree of social capital.

These participants were unfortunately hindered to join us, some of them in the very last minute:

•  John Braithwaite
He sent the following message (2nd October 2014): 'There is so much to learn from the people of Rwanda about how to restore dignity. Looking forward to a gathering of people of vision and wisdom in Kigali'.

•  Grace Feuerverger is Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning (CTL) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, Canada. A child of Holocaust survivors, Professor Grace Feuerverger grew up in a multicultural and multilingual home in Montreal and brings her personal and professional experiences to bear on her teaching and research work. Grace was educated at a variety of institutions - McGill University, the Università per Stranieri in Perugia, Italy, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Alberta, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and the University of Toronto. [read more]

•  Tamara G. Oakman, writing that she will be honoured to perform her creative work

•  Father Jean Uwizeye

•  Dr. Dheeraj Mehrotra wrote on 20th February 2015: 'I am excited to be the part of the session on 'Human Values via the Essence of Technology'. I look forward to attending and sharing my deliberation on the same towards 'Quality Literacy for All' initiative'.

•  Dr. Aarti Hemrajani

•  Prosper Ruvusha

•  Fatmata Jah-Sesay

•  Zehlia Babaci-Wilhite: Giving Space to African Voices: Rights in Local Languages and Local Curriculum. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense, 2014, edited by Zehlia Babaci-Wilhite.

•  Charles Muliya

•  Mark David Manumbu

•  Benoit Sibomana

•  Pierre Tuyishime, please see his Appreciative Introduction

•  Dr. Atul Mehrotra

•  Jacques M. Ngenda, President, African Youth Development (AYD), Leadership and HIV/AIDS Consultant and Trainings, Centre Coordinator(TIRISANO Centre (UNISA), South Africa

•  Samuel Muderhwa and his wife Faida

•  Joy Dumsile Ndwandwe is an indigenous prophet,  writer, facilitator, researcher and public speaker with municipal working experience in Swaziland, Zambia, and South Africa; acquired writing, report writing, presentation and facilitation skills in the following: African Humanism Leadership; Indigenous Knowledge Systems; Project Management; and Local Economic Development. She has experience in national and local government strategic planning and financial management, including developing, directing programs aimed at establishing sound fiscal management; local economic development; and capacity building. [read more]

Hassan Abdi Keynan

•  David M. Balosa

•  Dan Baron always offers to speak to us via Skype from the Brazilian Amazon
The plan was that Dan talks via video connection from Brazil on the Arts-based Pedagogical Work in the Amazonian North of Brazil that he and his partner Mano Souza conduct in Brazil. Daniel Baron is a playwright, community-based arts-educator and cultural activist, presently living and working in Marabá, in the Amazonian state of Pará, northern Brazil. He studied English Literature at Oxford University where he did doctoral research into theatre as popular education. After a decade of community theatre and mural collaborations dedicated to conflict transformation and social justice with excluded communities in Manchester (Northern England) and Derry (North of Ireland), in 1994 Dan accepted a permanent post in theatre and popular education at the University of Glamorgan, in Wales. He left Wales in 1998 to collaborate as a Visiting Professor at the State University of Santa Catarina and has been collaborating with communities within the Landless, Indigenous, Trade Union and University movements of Brazil ever since. His Pedagogy of Transformance emerged through these collaborations and dialogues with other cultural movements in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. Two national awards in 2008 and 2010 from the Ministry of Culture and a national UNICEF award in 2011 allowed Dan to accept an invitation to live and collaborate with the Afro-Indigenous community of Cabelo Seco ('dry hair'), founding community of the city of Marabá, in the quest to develop sustainable communities through living popular culture.
Between 2004-10 Dan was the President of IDEA (International Drama/Theatre and Education Association), and Coordinator of the World Alliance for Arts Education between 2006-2010. He is a member of the World Council of the World Social Forum.


On 11th June 2015, Evelin had the privilege of reconnecting with dear Jean-Damascène Gasanabo, Director General of Research and Documentation, Centre on Genocide, National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG). See two photos taken in his office in Kigali.
Please see his most recent publication:
Gasanabo, Jean-Damascène, David J. Simon, and Margee M. Ensign (Eds.) (2014). Confronting Genocide in Rwanda: Dehumanization, Denial, and Strategies for Prevention. Kigali, Rwanda: The National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide, Republic of Rwanda.
• Please click on the pictures avove to see them larger.


 


 

Dignilogue - Open Space and What It Entails

Introduction into the Open Space Format by Linda M. Hartling (created on 13th August 2012)
(see also Open Space Tools by Peggy Holman)

Donald Klein explained the Open Space design as follows (2006): It involves creating a kind of 'marketplace' of possibilities based on topics nominated by participants. The only requirement is that whoever nominates the topic, acts as the convener of the discussion of the topic and takes responsibility for having notes taken. A report is subsequently made about the essence of what was discussed, including any conclusions or recommendations, at a plenary session following the topic groups.
The Open Space design has the advantage of focussing on whatever is of greatest interest to participants at the moment. It allows for parallel discussion of multiple topics, followed by a period of sharing and general discussion.

Alan Klein kindly wrote (31/10/2005): One of the key elements in making an OS event successful is the focusing of the question that the participants respond to. Another is being clear about what will be done with the information presented and/or decisions made in the OS event itself.

I would like you all (and any others who should be involved in this as well) to begin thinking and dialoguing about what would be the most question that you would most like to see grappled with by the participants. This may or may not include a sense of the decision(s), or type of decision(s) that you want the participants to come to or you may decide that the OS event is just for gathering and focusing energy and not to some to any decisions.
Thanks,
~Alan

On 14th December, 2005, we had a Board Meeting in NY:
We discussed our Open Space Section. Don explained that we could have different levels, a more open and general level and a more focused level. At the more open level we would discuss what is on our minds, at the more focused level, we would form 'buzzgroups' on particular topics, such as business, research, education, fundraising, non-profit.

Don Klein kindly wrote (30/12/2005):
[...] The main point I recall dwelling on at some length had to do with deciding first on the content of a session and its purpose; then deciding what meeting technology to use. Open Space is often used when the purpose is to make it possible for individuals to focus on aspects of a general topic that are of special interest to them. The participants themselves choose what they want to discuss.  No one knows in advance how many groups there will be and what they'll be  discussing.
Buzz groups are used as a way to break a large meeting down into smaller sections (usually from six to twelve or so people). All the buzz groups can be assigned the same topic; or different buzz groups can be assigned different aspects of the same topic; or buzz groups may be divided among two or more different - usually related - topics.
The main point is to decide what is to be the topical focus and what outcomes are desired from a session.  Then pick the technique that promises to help us achieve the purpose.
Love, Don

Sophie Schaarschmidt kindly wrote (02/01/2006):
What I would suggest for a following workshop (and this is my very personal view) is to create discussion forums as open choices. The open space technology as I know it, and as it is used mainly in the field of training involves participants in a unique way. The first step is like an open brainstorm session involving all participants. In this session, participants can come up with a topic that they want to (present and) discuss. All topics are written down and similar topics might be combined into one topic. This process can happen either beforehand via email or a web-forum or at the workshop on a blackboard. Once the discussion topics are defined the person that proposed a certain topic would announce a time and a space when and where the topic will be discussed. In a full day of open-space, up to 50 topics could be discussed. People are free to join and leave a discussion. As a metaphor, people are like bees flying from one topic to another, participating in a discussion as long as it feeds their interest and taking the honey from it as well as contributing to it, and leaving the discussion when it takes a turn into a direction that they are less interested in or when they wish to participate in other discussions on other topics as well. Normally people take part in 3 to 10 discussions a day. Therefore, people are free to select the topics they are interested in and move to other discussions, as listener or both, listener and contributor. Each discussion group is also free in putting their time frame, and scheduling breaks. Of course, there should be a time frame for the open-space session, let's say it would take place from 1pm to 5pm in the afternoon. Yet, discussion groups can schedule their space (location), time frame (a discussion could last half an hour or three hours: as much as it takes to explore the issue) and breaks themselves. The only condition is that the discussion topic, its location and starting time will be announced (or written down on a public board) so that all participants know when which subject will be discussed where.
I participated twice in such an open-space session and I was very much impressed by its power and evolving possibilities. Not only were people more active, excited and engaged, taking little breaks, but also people felt they could gain and contribute most in this process. They felt they were free to choose which discussions to engage in, and it was an easy way to make contacts with those people interested and engaged in topics similar to one's own. By being able to set an own time frame discussions were deeper than usual, and by participants moving from one topic to another, joining (and making new contributions) or leaving a discussion the discussions stayed vivid and interesting, and many perspectives could be shared. At the end of a discussion each group filled in an A4 page which contained the title of the discussion group, a list of the names of the people who contributed in the discussion, and a summary of what was discussed (the main stances). All the discussion summaries can be combined to a book at the end of the conference providing people with a tremendous treasure of topics and insights.
Another advantage of the open-space technology (as I experienced it) is that people stay 'fresh' in the workshop. The discussion excites and revives people and forms a good basis for getting to know each other and going on with the discussions at a later time in the workshop (e.g. during lunch).
It might be worthy to try the open-space technology in a HumanDHS workshop meeting substituting the round table sessions, or in addition to them. The only difficulty I'm aware of might be that we would need many spaces (rooms) where the discussion groups could spread for their discussions.
[...]
Good luck for your work in 2006!
Yours warmly,
Sophie Schaarschmidt

Linda M. Hartling kindly wrote in response to a message from Carlos Sluzki (21/01/2006):
How do we maximize the quality of work together when we are a group of individuals with dramatically varying levels of experience? This is such an important topic I think we should discuss it at our next meeting in Costa Rica. Perhaps, we could use some of our Board meeting time to discuss this? In addition, perhaps we could use some of our 'open space' time to explore people's view of this dilemma? I suspect that all of us involved with the operations of this network share a desire to optimize our efforts, to move the work forward efficiently and effectively. When we use an all-inclusive format at our meetings, we risk back tracking and dealing with questions that have obvious answers (e.g., convincing some newer attendees of the significance humiliating behavior). (...) In the words of Peter Drucker, I would like to see our group create conditions that 'strengthen our effectiveness and make our weaknesses irrelevant'. But, how do we do this in a way that promotes the dignity of all the people who attend our meetings?  I'm trying to think of some examples of organizations that do this... perhaps, Linda Stout's Piedmont Peace Project? Not too long ago I read a book entitled, 'The Wisdom of Crowds', which I think is relevant to our questions about inclusion/exclusion. It
describes the conditions for 'wise crowds'. (Surowiecki, J. (2004). The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies, and Nations. New York: Doubleday.)

Don Klein kindly responded (28/01/2006):
I very much support the focus on where we want to go. Suggest working in interest groups part of the time: i.e., education, research, civic action, global community building. And include a way for groups to emerge around other areas of interest.  for that matter, if only one person had an
interest and wanted to develop it further and then share his/her thoughts with us, that might also be possible.
Love, Don

Don Klein kindly wrote (28/01/2006):
I'd like to offer some experiences with the network originally known as National Training Laboratories.  This network, begun around 1950, is sstill in existence today; it has changed, however, in ways that seem relevant to the issues raised.
The network originally was a group of 'originators' of theory and practice in the area of group dynamics.  Most of them had participated in the discovery of 'sensitivity groups' or the t=group method.  After almost a decade, the more experienced people in the network became Fellows, as distinct from ordinary Members of the network.  To admit someone to their membership, all the Fellows had to agree that the applicant's credentials merited inclusion in the Fellows.  During t his initial period, which lasted about ten years, selected members of the network participated as staff members of two and three-week training programs for the general public, using the t-group method.  An enormous amount of theory building took place as faculty spent three or four days preparing each of the training labs.  It should be noted that most of the network were academics engaged in one or another of the social sciences, in areas related to democratic participation in social change.  They were all motivated by their common passion and some of them felt that the two or three weeks they spent with their  colleagues from around the country were the most meaningful and exciting of the entire year.
In the 1960s, questions arose about the suitability of having a 'class' system in the network.  The Fellows were seen as an anti-democratic perversion of the ideals and purposes of NTL.  And so the Fellows class was discontinued.
At about the same time, financial difficulties led to a reorganization of NTL, which included dissolution of the existing netework and inviting a more diverse group (sex, race, and ethnically) to form a new network.  The theory and practice of Organization Development, meanwhile, had emerged and more and more of NTLs network members became engaged in OD practice, while fewer and fewer network members were engaged in academic pursuits.
In my view the social impact and creativity of the current network have been reduced by NTL's growing emphasis on operating profitably as a 'business'.
There is currently an upsurge (how strong we don't know) of those wishing to advocate working on participative ways to democratize our institutions and our society.  Some of the network members are placing an increased emphasis on creating an international network and of promoting global community.
A major point in all of this history for me is that there is no 'ideal' and certainly no 'absolute' way of resolving questions having to do with competency, interest, and inclusion.  Based on the above history, my inclination is to favor the 'class' system; i.s., creating a group of qualified researchers, practitioners, and policy shapers to work together to shape, participate in, and contribute knowledge and skills to the work of HDHS network, including those activities that enable it to raise money by grants, contracts, income from training programs, and contributions.
These comments are lengthy. I hope they're helpful.
Love,
Don

Linda M. Hartling kindly wrote (27/04/2006):
In terms of Open Space...I think we should have some of the same groups we had in Berlin, with room for a couple of new groups. For example, we could have an education group, a research group, a business group, etc. It would be helpful to have these key groups continue their discussions, rather than creating all new groups. Didn't we talk about having 'buzz groups', meaning groups addressing topics that people want to continue to move forward? The education, research, and business groups could be buzz groups.

The following Dignilogue topics were proposed in different conferences, yet, the facilitators are unable to come. The topics are listed here, because they might inspire you.

•  Giving Voices to the Environmentally Humiliated and Misrecognized: Nature and Women by Keitaro Morita (adapted from a similar presentation at the 9th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies in Hangzhou, China, 13th-16th April 2007)

•  Peace: A World History, by Antony Adolf (2009)

•  Native Hawaiian and Polynesian Communities, by Dharm P. S. Bhawuk and Neil Ryan Walsh (Neil was unfortunately hindered to join us) (2009)

•  Familiarization and Its Ways: Is Ragging/Bullying an Archaic Method of Interaction, by Harsh Agarwal (2009)

•  Humiliation and Dreams, a talk/session by Dakshinamoorthi Raja Ganesan (2009)

•  Asian Religious Worldviews and Alienation, and/or Alienation and Dreams, a talk/session by Dakshinamoorthi Raja Ganesan (2009)

•  Video Series of the Causes and Patterns of Humiliating Experiences Through Role Play by Dakshinamoorthi Raja Ganesan (2009)
D. Raja Ganesan kindly wrote on January 15, 2009: 'I take this opportunity to suggest that a video series of the causes and patterns of humiliating experiences through role play of well established principles of social psychology--both culture free and culture fair--through role play and simulation be taken under the auspices of our group'.

•  Intercultural Research, faciliated by International Academy of Intercultural Research (IAIR) researchers (2009)

•  The Role of Dignity and Humiliation for How We Relate to Other Animals by Michael W. Fox (2010)

 The Role of Human Dignity in Nepal by Chandra Prasad Siwakoti (2012)
Synergy in understanding between the occurrence of violence in Norway and Nepal will be explored.

 Between Conspiracy Theories and Madness, by Katrine Fangen (2012)
Katrine Fangen, Ph.D., is a Professor in Sociology at the Department of Sociology of the University of Oslo. She has published several books and journal articles within the research-field of racism, national, political and ethnic identity, stigmatisation and youth subcultures. [read more]

The Hubris Syndrome and Arabic Spring, by Wael Mohamed (2012)

The Peacefulness of Chinese Teenagers, by Liu Bangchun (2012)

Humiliation, Stanislavsky and Consciousness, by John Aspill (2012)

 The Concept of Human Dignity in Indigenous Philosophies Project, by Lars Kirkhusmo Pharo and Tashi Nyima (2012)

Ubuntu & the Gift Paradigm in Africa, by Bernedette Muthien (2013)
See an interview with Bernedette Muthien, 'Gender Based Violence in South Africa', 27th September 2012, conducted by Annika Schall.

I Apologise for Apartheid, by Ronèe Robinson (2013)
Ronèe Robinson wrote on 14th April 2013:
'Dear Evelin... I had an awesome day today in Worcester, where I attended a church service where some of the participants in the peace train spoke about their experiences. Afterwards two of the ladies who went on the train and met with Stefaans Coetzee were kind enough to have lunch with me. One of them worked as an intensive care nurse and another worked right across the shopping centre where the bomb went off. I listened spell bound as the nurse described the disbelief as the children were brought in, one little girl with her heart outside her body, and how she had to comfort young Dr Coetzee who wept hysterically because he could not save her. The other lady described the effect of the bomb blast and how she missed being injured because she decided against crossing the street, for some reason. 16 Years later, and through the Peace and Reconciliation process started by Dr Deon Snyman in Worcester, survivors of the bombing were on a train, sponsored by government, to meet with one of the bombers, Stefaans Coetzee. Having come to repentance in the prison (through the intervention of Eugene de Kock of all people) he was entirely honest with the people from Worcester. His honesty and the fact that he sought to make no excuses for himself led the people to accept his bona fides and they came to great healing. One man, who went there with the hope of doing Coetzee harm, left saying that, as far as he was concerned, Coetzee could now be set free. Today was all about hearing about people who walked a very real path of forgiveness, which they recognise as having set them free of a terrible burden of pain.
Healing was brought about by a number of factors, including the fact that, at last, these people experienced the government caring about them - the prison service did much to assist the process, even going so far as to escort the bus back from Pretoria to Johannesburg. They felt that they mattered, that they were somebody. But most importantly, I think it was that they came face to face with their monster, and then found with shock that he was just a human being who had, at one stage, gone very wrong. One lady now said that it was now time for the community to look after Stefaans! What a rich country we live in and what special people we have'.
Ronèe Robinson also sent us a message on the Die VroueMonumen, where her alma mater is gathered. She wrote: It 'is the most moving monument in the world, as far as I am concerned, to the effect of women in war. It is also a warning of what happens when the feminine strength gets repressed and denied. We would gather there once a year to celebrate the birthday of the school, which was founded by President Steyn after the war to create a woman that would stand as strong as a rock. Koningin Wilhelmina van de Nederlande gave the funds for the school, hence its name. The school went on to produce, among others, the first female advocate and first female judge of appeal in this country'.

Merle Lefkoff and Joy Stocke (2013)

Gay Rosenblum-Kumar made us aware of a speech by Brendan McAllister on The Quality of Our Attention (2013)

Michael Britton's suggestion for our 2014 Chiang Mai conference: The Art of Not Being Governed in Upland Southeast Asia
Michael Britton wrote (25 feb 2014): Dearest Evelin, I wish to send to you and Kjell and everyone involved in making this conference my very best wishes, and my deepest desire to be there with you all on what will be such a deeply moving, life-informing experience.
If there are any parts of it that can be videotaped, I am starting a public-access video program here in my home town to share things from other parts of the world that explain the world with deeper understanding and respect, so it would be wonderful to share whatever might be appropriate.
This conference comes at a time when I am reading The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia by James C. Scott. In it he paints a picture of lowland civilizations/states developing in interaction with peoples living in the mountains and fleeing the states into the mountains, organizing their lives in such a way as to be beyond the power of the lowland states to incorporate them. He views this as a worldwide phenomenon, a dialectic of civilizations/states and places in which those who want no part of that enterprise preserve their own lives by living in the mountains, in the marshes, in a variety of 'difficult' geographies that in the past made them beyond the reach of the states. Yet now, today, the 'modern' states and corporations press everywhere to finish off the job of making everyone and every place part of their controlled domain.
I imagine that you are all right in the middle of just such a contesting of power and the right to live one's own ways unfettered by state or corporate power, though I do not know this for a fact. If so, this means you are all in the midst of a location of powerful spirituality. May this be a blessing to everyone in any way involved. I hear that you are guided by Kjell and that he is a man of great wisdom. Peace go with you all. May goodness flower all along your pathways! Michael

Kjell Skyllstad's suggestions for our 2014 Chiang Mai conference
• Women's Day: Gender equality - ending domestic violence
•  The ever growing problem of water and land grabbing disregarding traditional land and water rights, including the damming of rivers to the detriment of water flow and fisheries, driving people from their traditional settlements
•  The ever diminishing life space for minorities and refugees
•  The increasing threats to indigenous learning, traditions and culture
•  The gender inequality and ingrained traditions of family violence, male dominance, etc.
•  Our inability to effectively deal with humiliating living conditions in our growing urban sprawls
•  Social Photography for human dignity - Jeffrey Wilson
•  Promoting Land and Water Rights - Association for International Water Studies (FIVAS)
•  Artists Promoting Womens rights Deeyah - Filmshowing
•  Documentary Arts for Human Dignity - Deeyah
• Vanishing memories - Tribal Cultures in Danger - Exposition and talks with tribal elders - Victoria Vorreiter
Earthrights Foundation

 


 

Papers

All participants are warmly invited to send in papers.
Please notify us, if you wish to submit any of your papers also as a book chapter or as a journal article.

Please see earlier submitted papers here:
• List of All Publications

Avi Shahaf (2015)
Human Dignity Advancement in Schools: Concept and Implementation
Dignilogue at the 25th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies 'A Life of Dignity for All', in Kigali, Rwanda, 5th - 8th June 2015.

Anoop Swarup and Atul Mehrotra (2015)
Proposing a ‘3Cs’ Roadmap for a Humane Society

Abstract shared at the 25th Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies 'A Life of Dignity for All', in Kigali, Rwanda, 5th - 8th June 2015.

 


 

Material

• "How a Nation Reconciles After Genocide Killed Nearly a Million People," by Megan Specia, New York Times, 25th April 2017. We thank Linda Hartling for making us aware of this article!

The National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) Faces challenges in carrying its mission
Republic of Rwanda, Senate, 10th February 2015.

Kwibuka means ‘remember’ in Kinyarwanda, Rwanda’s language. It describes the annual commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. More than one million Rwandans died in the hundred days of the genocide. It was one of human history’s darkest times. Twenty years later we, Rwanda, ask the world to unite to remember the lives that were lost. We ask the world to come together to support the survivors of the genocide, and to ensure that such an atrocity can never happen again – in Rwanda or elsewhere. Kwibuka21 is a series of events taking place in Rwanda and around the world. These events lead up to the national commemoration of the genocide in Rwanda, which begins on 7 April 2015. The genocide began on 7 April 1994. Kwibuka21 is also a time to learn about Rwanda’s story of reconciliation and nation building.

Never Again Rwanda is a human rights and peacebuilding organization that was founded in response to the 1994 genocide perpetrated against Tutsi. Guided by a vision of a nation where citizens are agents of positive change and work together towards sustainable peace and development, we aim to empower Rwandans with opportunities to become active citizens through peacebuilding and development. Never Again Rwanda places a particular emphasis on the youth as the future of a peaceful society.

'Reflecting on Rwanda, Ban Urges Courage ‘to Counter the Cruelty Taking Place Before Our Eyes’', United Nations News Centre, April 7, 2015.
Our conference is, indeed, conducted in the spirit of exercising 'Umuganda' – coming together in common purpose – 'to avert what can be prevented and counter the cruelty taking place before our eyes' (Ban Ki Moon, 7th April 2015)

International Day of Happiness: Are You Enjoying Peace, Prosperity, and a Life of Dignity?
On International Day, UN chief calls for efforts to 'fill world with happiness'
20 March 2015 – Happiness for the entire human family is one of the main goals of the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared, as the Organization kicked-off its global celebrations marking the annual observance of the International Day of Happiness. “Peace, prosperity, lives of dignity for all – this is what we seek. We want all men, women and children to enjoy all their human rights. We want all countries to know the pleasure of peace,” the Secretary-General said in his message for the Day. [read more]

The Ubuntu Stratagem, by Sultan H. Somjee, in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Peace, edited by Nigel Young, 2010, reproduced by Desmond Tutu's Journal of African Peace in 2014. Sultan H. Somjee is an Ethnographer. His research interests include visual arts and oral cultures in expressions of social values, aesthetics, identities and spiritual beliefs. Sultan’s work profile includes community perspectives in contexts of conflicts, changing political circumstances and governmental policies. [...] Sultan was the Head of Ethnography at the National Museums of Kenya and is the founder of Community Peace Museums Programme and Foundation and the Asian African Heritage Trust in Kenya. [...] In 2001, the United Nations honoured Sultan with the recognition of the Unsung Hero of Dialogue among Civilizations. [read more]

Karen Stornelli, the National Director for Training and Development of ATD (All Together in Dignity) Fourth World, kindly informed us on 26th February 2015 of two groups of the Friends of ATD Fourth World in Rwanda, made up of very poor families, in the organisation APROJUMAP (Association pour la Promotion des Jumelages et de l’Amitié entre les Peuples, Association for the Promotion of Twinning and Friendship between Peoples) in the south of Rwanda.

ICYIZERERE: hope, by Patrick Mureithi
Lenke 1: http://www.svt.ntnu.no/psy/temp/icyizere_1.avi
Lenke 2: http://www.svt.ntnu.no/psy/temp/icyizere_2.avi
Lenke 3: http://www.svt.ntnu.no/psy/temp/icyizere_3.avi
Lenke 4: http://www.svt.ntnu.no/psy/temp/icyizere_4.avi

'South Africa's Shameful Past and Hopeful Future', by Sadie Dingfelder, Monitor on Psychology, April 2013, Vol 44, No. 4. Psychologist and anti-Apartheid activist Saths Cooper has dedicated his life to ensuring that psychology serves all of humanity, not just a powerful few.

Romain Murenzi (Rwanda) appointed to chair the United Nation's High-level Panel on Technology Bank for Least Developed Countries: 'Notes to correspondents Note to Correspondents on Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries', Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, United Nations, New York, 26th November 2014.

'Step One to Fighting Ebola? Start with Corruption', by Josh Ruxin, The New York Times, October 16, 2014. We thank Uli Spalthoff for making us aware of this article.

'Maternity Protection: Maternity Leave: Women's Survival vs. Family Responsibilities in Rwanda', ILO News, Feature, Kigali, 22nd October 2014. This article was awarded the 'Media for Labour Rights in Rwanda' Prize by the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC-ILO), which is co-funded by the European Union.

'I bought a mattress and health insurance' – Rural Rwandan Farmer, UN Women, Kigali, Rwanda, October 2014.

As part of ATOP Meaningfulworld Humanitarian Outreach Program, Dr. Ani Kalayjian and her colleagues have been working in Rwanda since 2010, addressing issues of healing, forgiveness, meaning-making, and being able to live side-by-side with the 'perpetrators'. They conducted many healing groups in and outside the various Genocide Museums, worked with many child survivors, and mentored many. Steven Shyaka is one of those they worked with during the last four years:
- Press Release: ATOP Meaningfulworld Humanitarian Healing, Peace-building, and Mind-Body-Eco-Spirit Mission to Africa: Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi Victoria Alexander, Leysa Cerswell, & Dr. Ani Kalayjian 27 June – 15 July.
- Seeds of Hope, by Steven Shyaka Nyamata, Rwanda October 28, 2010.

'Exhibiting Africans like animals in Norway's Human Zoo', by Bwesigye bwa Mwesigire, This is Africa, April 25, 2014. We thank Hélène Lewis for making us aware of this article.
Next month in Norway a 'human zoo' will open, a re-enactment of the voyeurist exhibitions of Africans that took place during the colonial era. The organizers aim to spark discussions on the legacy of racism and colonialism, but have they overlooked the pain and humiliation this may bring to Africans worldwide, and the danger of the resurgence of racial stereotyping?
Bwesigye bwa Mwesigire is a Ugandan writer, academic, and lawyer. Bwesigye is the author of Fables out of Nyanja and Finding Foot as an International Court; The Prospects and Challenges of the East African Court of Justice. His other work has been published by The Kalahari Review, Short Story Day Africa, Uganda Modern Literary Digest, The World To Come and African Roar among others. Bwesigye holds an LLM in Human Rights Law from Central European University and an LLB from Makerere University. He is an Assistant Lecturer of Human Rights at Makerere University, Research convener and moots coordinator at St. Augustine International University and a Co-founder of the Kampala-based Center for African Cultural Excellence.

A Good Man in Rwanda: Twenty years ago, Rwanda descended into the madness of genocide. UN peacekeepers were stretched to breaking point – but one stood out, taking huge risks to save hundreds of lives. By Mark Doyle, BBC, 3rd April 2014.

Portraits of Reconciliation: 20 Years After the Genocide in Rwanda, Reconciliation Still Happens One Encounter at a Time, Photographs By Pieter Hugo Text by Susan Dominus, New York Times, April 6, 2014.

Report of the UN Secretary-General: 'A life of dignity for all'
August 16, 2013
The Secretary-General's report on the MDGs and post-2015 goals - A life of dignity for all: accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and advancing the United Nations development agenda beyond 2015.

The Social Healing Project Report
Judith Thompson, James O'Dea
2011