| BREAKING NEWS: The Indonesian (Bahasi) edition of Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief is now published. For copies please contact the secretariat. |
Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief: a Deskbook
Project group: Tore Lindholm (chair) University of Oslo Centre for Human Rights, Cole Durham - Brigham University, Are Svendsen, Oslo Coalition.The activities carried out by this project group build on the store of academic knowledge collected in the book: Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief: A Deskbook (otherwise known as "The Oslo Coalition Deskbook"). The book provides historical and philosophical background on religious human rights, detailed analysis of applicable international norms and international procedural mechanisms for safeguarding these norms. It offers surveys of central areas of controversy, including analysis of areas such as registration of religious and belief organizations, emerging debates on religion and gender, parental and children's rights, new religious movements, proselytism, and conscientious objection. Other chapters describe practical approaches to promoting tolerance and understanding through education, inter-religious dialogue, joint religious efforts addressing shared social problems, and conflict resolution initiatives. The volume provides practical information regarding networking and other background issues that can help translate understanding of the applicable norms and procedures into action. Appendices provide texts of major international instruments on freedom of religion or belief. The book will be published in an adapted Indonesian edition in March 2009. It is also being translated into Russian,and Chinese.
You will find the list of contents of the book here.
Using the deskbook as a resource, the group for Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief (FFORB) organises, facilitates or supports courses, seminars and workshops on FORB for academic institutions and NGOs.
In 2010:
- The Oslo Coalition will sponsor and participate in further training of trainers for young lawyers attached to the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) through its 14 regional offices.
- the Russian edition of the Oslo Coalition's desk book will be launched at seminars in Kiev, Almaty, Jerevan and Moscow in 2010. In Almaty a seminar on the legal aspects of FORB will take place with participants from Kazkahstan and Kyrgyzstan
In 2009:
- In August the Oslo Coalition sponsored and participated in the training of trainers for young lawyers attached to the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) through its 14 regional offices. Cases related to abuses of freedom of religion are becoming more frequent in the courts, and the YLBHI have identified a need for further education and information on this topic.
- the Indonesian edition of the Oslo Coalition's desk book was published and launched at a seminar in Yogyakarta in December 2009.
- the Russian edition of the Oslo Coalition's desk book was completed.
In 2008:
- Yogyakarta, December: The workshop "Freedom of Religion or Belief as a Human Rights in Indonesia: Recognizing, Protecting and Promoting" was carried out at the Centre for Religious and Socio-Cultural Diversity at the Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga (UIN).
For some time the Oslo Coalition, with the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University as a co-sponsor,has cooperated fruitfully with UIN on a series of FORB workshops for teachers of religion and other interested persons. In this round the workshops were targeted at a wider constituency, focusing on younger leaders of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) leaders, human rights activists in NGOs, young religionists, and leaders of religion-based organisations or missionary organisations.
In 2007:
- Yogyakarta, December: Centre for Religious and Socio-Cultural Diversity (CRSD) UIN Sunan Kalijaga, supported by the Oslo Coalition, developed and tried out the course “Active-Tolerance-Based Education: an Up-Grading”. This course was intended to give an understanding of the significance of tolerance in educational institution, and an understanding of how to use and adapt the school curriculum to serve the needs of promoting tolerance. This was a pioneer workshop – a trial workshop in the total package of Education for Freedom of Religion and Belief under development. For report see here.
