Cultural Voice

Forgotten Diaries Blogger Arevik Hayrapetyan shares w/CV her experience at the International Youth Camp Dialogue 2012 From 11-July 15, “Forgotten Diaries” was represented in the International Youth Camp Dialogue 2012, organized by Youth Department of the Council of Europe. This event gathered at one place more than 100 volunteers, youth activists and youth leaders. They all came from different national, cultural, religious backgrounds; they represented different organizations and had different interests and walks of life. But what was really common for all the participants was that each of them, without any exception, does strongly believe in the importance of intercultural dialogue for the better world we want to create. From the very start of our Camp what the essence of  real Intercultural Dialogue was present. The presence of so many cultures and nationalities, people with different ways of thinking was not at all a reason for any kind of clashes or disputes. On the contra...

ÇATALHÖYÜK FEATURED ON UNESCO’S WORLD HERITAGE LIST As the World Heritage List celebrates its 40th birthday this year, Turkey joins the party adding its eleventh location to the list; Çatalhöyük. Çatalhöyük is a large Neolithic and Chalcolithic site in Konya, in Southern Turkey. Its history goes back to 7400 BC, and it is the largest and is said to be the best-preserved Neolithic site to be discovered hitherto. The site was first excavated in 1958. It is composed entirely of residential buildings and held an estimated population of 10.000. In the UNESCO Resolution, accepted by its 21 experts from various countries, it is expressed that Çatalhöyük fulfilled the basic requirements set by the Treaty of World Heritage, it preserved its authenticity and entirety and had a “global outstanding quality”. The site was nominated for the list by the Turkish Ministry of Culture, and the resolution won raves in Turkey from many parts of society. On the other hand, UNESCO experts...

Contributor: Akugizibwe Solomon Within the Koogere oral tradition there is a popular story describing successes of a reign of a great woman ruler and entrepreneur called Koogere who was a chief of Busongora chiefdom in the ancient Kitara Empire during the Batembuzi dynasty about 1500 years ago. The Batembuzi Dynasty Batembuzi means harbingers or pioneers. The Batembuzi and their reign are not well documented, and are surrounded by a lot of myth and oral legend.  It is believed that their reign dates back to the height of Africa’s bronze age. The number of individual Batembuzi reigns, as given by different scholars, ranges from nine to twenty one. Uganda, Source: C Education Kitara was the biggest African empire south of the Sahara, stretching from Madi and Bukidi present day Eastern Uganda to Karagwe in Northern Tanzania and Ituri and Bulenga both in the present day Eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo. The story is told among the co...

"War in the east, war in the west War up north, war down south War, war, rumours of war" It is a little known fact that dozens of wars are currently being waged around the world. Outside of the Middle East , most of these conflicts are shunned by, and receive almost no attention from the media. An even less known fact is that of the vastly untapped potential of young people in these zones and the significant role they can play in peace building. "That until there are no longer first class And second class citizens of any nation Until the colour of a man's skin Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes Me say war" These two little known facts form the heart of the motivation driving the team of seven hard working young people behind ‘Forgotten Diaries’. Forgotten Diaries (FD) is a project which aims to raise awareness of the dire situation facing over 100 million children and youth living in conflict ridden environments. Their ...