How must the fact of diverse identities of city residents find expression in city policy?
What considerations must guide city planners in making decisions for such a diverse city?
How can education for a shared city be advanced within the city system?
What cultural activities - separate or joint - must be part of the city's "cultural basket", for whom and where are they to be presented?
What can be done to advance equality of employment in the city?
And how is it possible to deepen familiarity among the communities, or intervene in advance to prevent violent conflicts?
What happens in Haifa in these arenas, and how can its transformation into a shared city be advanced?
Haifa Shared City Conference
22-24 June 2010
Preliminary Outline
Shared societies do not happen by themselves; they must be built.
- Cassam Uteem, former President of Mauritus, Director of the Shared Societies project of Club de Madrid
With thanks to:
•A. Background
Haifa's population is diverse: about 10% of its residents are Arab, and about a quarter immigrated in the 1990s from the Former Soviet Union. Its residents maintain different national and religious identities, and the city lies in an environment saturated with conflicts, chiefly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict beyond the Green Line, and between Arab and Jewish citizens within Israel. Nonetheless, many of the city's residents strive to advance Haifa as a shared city: since January 2008, Shatil has sponsored the activities of a group of local residents - activists, academics, and representatives of different communities - who assess present conditions in areas such as employment, inter-community relations, urban planning, culture and more. The group aims to transform Haifa into:
- A city whose residents, both Arabs and Jews, with their different cultural, ethnic and religious identities, maintain relations based on genuine trust and dialogue.
- A city whose institutions are conscious of the importance of fair, equitable allocation of resources, and work to realize equal opportunities and to reduce exploitation and deprivation of disempowered groups.
- A city whose residents feel belonging, partnership and mental and physical ownership of the shared space.
To advance this vision, the group is holding a conference, Haifa Shared City, to explore ways to realize it. The conference goals are to:
- Promote discourse that examines Haifa as a city shared by different and varied populations.
- Advance the view of diversity as an asset rather than a threat.
The conference will advance these goals through:
- Involving residents in advancing the vision of a shared city.
- Studying models from other cities around the world working toward equality and partnership in the urban space.
- Examining the policies and conditions in Haifa in various fields (education, employment, welfare, partnership) and formulating guidelines to advance our vision.
- Examining potential avenues of future activity, with other organizations and the municipality.
The conference will take place from June 22-24, 2010, in cooperation with the Center for Urban and Regional Studies at the Technion and ALDA, the Association of Local Democracy Agencies. The conference will feature presentations of the group work products as well as discussions of questions relating to the advancement of Haifa as a shared city, both in terms of the local efforts and the rich international experience in this field.
The conference is intended for:
- Decision-makers on the municipal level: school principals, teachers and city workers.
- Representatives of local organizations and religious figures.
- Neighborhood activists, representatives of different populations.
- Academics
- The general public
The conference will have a number of focal points:
- Presentation of the project's results
- Lectures by academics
- City tours
The conference's work model involves round table discussions, enabling open discourse among the participants, rather than only listening to speakers from a podium.
•B. Proposed Timetable (not final)
Tuesday, June 22nd: Evening opening
Festive opening - light supper (buffet) t include guests from abroad and invitees from Haifa and other cities
•18.00-18.30 Greetings
Ms. Rachel Liel -Executive Director, The New Israel Fund
Haifa municipality representative
Mr. Per Vinter, President, ALDA (t.b.c.)
Dr. Rudolf Sussmann, Regional Director, The Hanns Seidel Foundation
18.30-19.30 The Vision of Haifa as a Shared City
Local speakers, t.b.a.
•19.30-20.30 Light Buffet + Concert by Jewish and Arab students at the Rubin Conservatory
20.30 Guided nighttime walking tour of the downtown area and the German Colony
Wednesday, June 23rd: Inter-City Dialogue
9:00-9:30 Registration and assembly
9:30-11:00 Opening
9:30-10:00 Rationale presentation - concepts and principles for advancing a shared city : Ms. Shahira Shalabi, Director, the Haifa Shared City Project
Conference program presentation
Introduction of participants
10:00-11.00 Introductory lecture on the vision of shared cities: an international perspective
* Prof. Franco La Cecla, Architect and anthropologist, Professor of Cultural Anthropology in the Universities of Venice, Verona, Milan (Italy), and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris and New York (t.b.c.)
* Prof. Raffaella Y. Nanetti, Professor of Urban Planning and Policy in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, University of Illinois, Chicago. (t.b.c.)
* Prof. Paula Rayman, University of Massachusset at Lowell.
11.00-11:30 Discussion - first at round tables, then in the assembly. Each table will have a facilitator and documenter from the steering committee or Shatil
11:30-11:45 Coffee break
11:45-12:30 Vision and reality in Haifa as a shared city - Prof. Arza Churchman of the Center for Urban and Regional Research, the Architecture Faculty in the Technion.
Introductory, lecture about the work of the "Haifa Shared City" group.
12:30-12:45 Break, Switch to rooms
12:45-14:00 Presentation of findings in groups - facilitation of steering committee members and researchers
- - Education: Dr. Aura Mor, the Haifa University
- - Arts and culture - t.b.a.
- - Urban planning and housing: Dr. Rachel Kalush
- - Inter-Community Relations: Dr. Ariella Vranesky, Ms. Rolly Rosen
Each group will be facilitated by a steering committee member and will include a short presentation of the project's findings related to the group's field; the goal is to stimulate discussion around proposals, recommendations and directions for activity in the field.
14:00-15:30 Lunch+ Musical event during the meal
15:30-17:00 Reports in assembly on the group discussions
Reponses of experts from abroad regarding the recommendations in various fields
17:00-17:30 Coffee break
!7.30-18.30 Between national and local identities. Ms. Rolly Rosen, Research
Coordinator, Haifa Shared City Program
20:00 Dinner with guests from abroad - encounters with steering committee members and figures from Haifa
Thursday, June 24th: Day-to-day partnership
9:00-9:30 Brief opening to welcome second day attendees, responses to questions
9:30-10:30 Learning from international experience: Mr. Ljuba Beclic, Mayor of Mostar (Bosnia) or other ALDA representatives
9:30-10:00 Lecture
10:00-10:30 Discussion
10:30-10:45 Coffee break
10:45-11:30 My Haifa: testimonials by representatives of the different communities (Russian, Ethiopian, Orthodox, labor migrants, Arabs, old-time Jewish residents)
Dramatic Monologue by Samer Murad
11:30-12:15 Discussions in small groups of "My Haifa" (international guests will speak of their cities)
12:15-13:15 Lunch break
13:15-15:00 Our Haifa: Creating a shared urban space
13:15-13:45 Dr. Amalia Sa'ar, the Department of Anthropology, the Haifa University
13:45-15:00 Local initiatives
* Haifa, make me a city
* Massada Street
* The Jewish-Arab joint school
Reaction from abroad - ALDA
15:00-15:15 Coffee break
15:15-16:30 Inter-Community Relations at the municipal level: examples from Haifa and other cities
* Mr. Nick Pelham, former representative of ICG (International Crisis Group): Haifa and other mixed cities in Israel
*Ms. Khairiya Allou, Head of Community Work Department, the Haifa Municipality: Inter-community relations in Haifa
* Mr. Ira Shefer, Editor, "The City Mouse": The role of the local media.
16:30-16:45 Coffee Break
16:45-18:00 Conclusion: Round table facilitation
19:30- Arts evening and street party in Massada Street.