Recent events in Israel and Gaza are having a huge impact on many. Also here at our university. It is extremely challenging to address this in a way that is acceptable, workable and appropriate for all. Yet we feel it is important to do so. After all, many of us are experiencing unprecedented grief, feel fear, powerlessness and anger. Two programs, organized by Studium Generale, ESA and TINT, offer an opportunity to express these feelings without condemnation, without a war of words.
The program will be in Dutch. A separate dialogue evening in English on the same topic will be held on November 30th. See below for more information.
A dialogue between opposites
On November 16th, Murat Karatas and Tjeerd Ritmeester will engage in a conversation. It's a dialogue between two council members of the municipality of Eindhoven who belong to the same political party, the PvdA, but whose feelings and ideas about the Israel-Gaza conflict are very far apart: a dialogue between opposites. Murat is Muslim, Tjeerd is of Jewish origin. Their statements and feelings touch each other in the depths of their hearts, and yet they continue to talk to each other. Students, staff, and people from Eindhoven are invited to come and listen to this dialogue and be inspired by it.
Conflict resolution often begins by giving each other the opportunity to tell stories and share feelings from one's own perspective, without discussion or determination of what is true and what is not.
The dialogue will last about 45 minutes and will be moderated by Lucas Asselbergs, Head of Studium Generale. After the dialogue, the audience will be able to ask questions and share their own experiences for about 20 minutes. Again, this part of the program will be about sharing, listening and not discussing. In this way, we hope to give everyone the space to speak their mind, without being judged or attacked.
This evening will be in Dutch. This is the language in which the guests of this evening, Murat and Tjeerd, both Dutch, can best approach each other and so the choice of words can be as pure as possible. A video recording of the conversation itself will be made that evening and posted on this website soon after. It will be subtitled in English so that non-Dutch speakers can take note of it. Responses from the audience will not be recorded.
Ticket reservation mandatory
Students, TU/e staff and anyone else interested are welcome to attend this evening. The language spoke is Dutch. Entrance is free and it is mandatory to reserving a ticket ( via the black "order" button).
SG & USE/ITEC registration
Bachelor students can register for SG & USE/ITEC by scanning their student ID at the venue prior to the start of the program.
More information about SG & USE/ITEC can be found here.
Dialogue session in English
On the 30th of November, ESA and TINT are organizing a dialogue evening on the same theme, with the same approach, but in English. During a dialogue evening, the same theme is discussed at several tables in groups of about five people. The dialogue evening follows a clear method, that ensures everyone's voice is heard, everyone's experience is respected, and there is room for different points of view. This evening is open to students and employees of the TU/e and Fontys. Each table will have an experienced facilitator who will guide the conversation in the right direction using the method of Eindhoven in Dialogue (meet, share, dream, do).
The evening lasts approximately 2.5 hours. You can register for this dialogue evening (in English) via this link.