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What is European tolerance when it comes to marriage, family and partnership today? International conference at EESC on October 8th, 2009
What is European understanding and tolerance when it comes to marriage, family and partnership today? In recent history we have witnessed a range of different cultural patterns concerning family, marriage and partnerships; arranged marriages – to establish political connections between countries and kin; love marriages; nuclear families; divorce and second marriages; stepparents and stepchildren; and more recently, same sex marriages. These cultural patterns have been a product of changing ideological, cultural and religious beliefs that have established a somewhat diverse European way of living, which has not been supported by co-operative legislation. Facing new challenges such as polygamous marriages and cross-borders arranged marriages, legislation and culture do not seem to have crossed the “European borders” between continents, between states and between peoples. And as both mobility and migration have increased and new ways of living have entered the European household, we are yet again bound to redefine what the essence of family and partnership is. Main topics:
The Legislation in the EU countries:
National and European laws related to issues such as polygamy, same-sex marriage, arranged marriages, and inter-European law co-operation.
Cultural patterns in marriage and partnership:
How family, marriage and partnership have evolved through history up until the present day.
The gap between culture and legislation:
There is a gap between current practices and national laws in Europe today. What can we do to close it? PROGRAMME 8.30: Registration and Coffee 9.00: Welcome by EESC
Introduction
• Jöelle Milquet, Deputy Vice Minister, Minister of Employment and Equal Opportunities (Belgium)
Why this conference
• Andrei Tarnea, President of EUNIC Brussels 9.30: Legislation of Marriage & Partnerships in EU countries • Maria Szyszkowska, Philosopher and Professor in Law and Philosophy at the Warsaw University, Warsaw (Poland) 10.00: Cultural Patterns in Marriage and Partnership Part 1. Developments in different-sex marriage & partnership • Barbara Stiegler, Head of Department “Women and Gender Research”, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bonn (Germany)
• Tone Hellesund, Senior Researcher at Stein Rokkan Centre for Social Studies, Bergen (Norway) 10.45: Coffee break
11.15: Cultural Patterns in Marriage and Partnership Part 2. Developments in same-sex relations; from acceptance, to partnership, to marriage Europarltv: Spain new bastion of gay rights in Europe (2009) by Journalist Ángel Varela Pena • Koray Yilmaz-Günay, Specialist and Counsellor for queer immigrants to Germany, project coordinator at GLADT, Berlin (Germany) Part 3. Third country traditions in conflict with European traditions Documentary: “Ich gehe jetzt rein” (2008) by Aysun Bademsoy • Garbi Schmidt, Senior Researcher at the Danish National Institute for Social Research, Copenhagen (Denmark)
12.45: Lunch break 13.45: Debate: the Gap between Culture and Legislation • Christel Schaldemose, Member of European Parliament (Denmark)
• Michael Cashman, Member of European Parliament (United Kingdom) Moderator • Antonia Mochan, Head of Media, European Commission Representation in the United Kingdom, London (United Kingdom)
16.30: Conclusion • Jozef De Witte, Director of Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism, Brussels (Belgium) FOR REGISTRATION: please contact Chiara Carazza, EUNIC Brussels at co-ordinator@eunic-brussels.eu
before 1st October 2009
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