Events List

The 2011 Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace

Festival Introduction and Welcome

From Friday 4 March - Thursday 17 March 2011 the 8th Annual Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace, MESP 2011, will bring together people from a wide range of spiritual backgrounds, people working with peace, conflict, reconciliation and justice, educators, teachers, scholars and students, people from artistic and cultural backgrounds, people working with health, well-being and healing experiences and concerns, people from diverse cultures, traditions and communities, and people from across Scotland and internationally. More generally, everyone participates in an individual and non-representative capacity, to allow people to draw upon their own experiences and to share their unique visions and perspectives, and people of all backgrounds who respect the Festival ethos are warmly invited to participate in this spiritual, educational, artistic and cultural and international festival which celebrates peace and mutual understanding. There will also be pre events in the weeks before, including a Middle Eastern Film Festival, and exhibitions and displays, and some may want to participate in some events in a CPD capacity.


Festival Organisation


The Festival is jointly organised by the Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace, EICSP, Scottish Charity, SC038996, and the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning, EIAL, supported by their networking, planning, management and coordinating role. The Festival was co-founded by, and is co-directed by, Neill Walker and Dr Neil Douglas-Klotz.


Festival Planning Team Biographies


Neil Douglas-Klotz: “Having been involved with the peace and citizen diplomacy movements of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, I have long been interested in the psychological and spiritual dimensions of human behaviour. In addition, my longtime interest in Middle Eastern language and religion alerted me that there are many different ways people determine and act upon what they feel is “right” or “moral.” MESP began for me as an inquiry into the questions: “What does the “Middle East” have to teach us about our own inner “Middle East,” the voices of potential conflict and congruence in our individual and social life? And how can we help provide a meeting place for these voices, inner and outer, to progress towards a more sustainable world?”

Fateah Alice Saunders: My desire for peace had its roots in early childhood, when the environment surrounding me was rarely truly peaceful. The desire remained latent until I met the Dances of Universal Peace (DUP) in 1986 and I was immediately impressed by their effect on myself and other dancers, producing a degree of openness and acceptance new to me. From then on I became deeply connected with the UK and International DUP Networks. Ill-health curtailed my activities for some years, but a move to Edinburgh in 1999 brought immediate involvement in three things to do with peace: teaching DUP at various venues in Scotland; membership of the World Peace Prayer Society near Dumfries; Trustee membership of Edinburgh International Centre for World Spiritualities (EICWS) which later evolved into the EICSP, and hence commitment to planning and taking part in the MESP each year.

Neill Walker: The Principal Founder and Director of the Edinburgh International Centre for World Spiritualities, EICWS (http://www.eicws.org/), 1995-2008; the Co-Founder and the Co-Director of the annual, Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace, MESP (http://www.mesp.org.uk/), 2004-Present; the Co-Founder and the Co-Director and Executive Secretary of the Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace, EICSP, Scottish Charity, SC038996 (http://www.eicsp.org/), 2007-Present.


Festival Sponsorship and Support


The Festival organisers would like to acknowledge and thank those organisations and individuals who have offered financial and in-kind support to this Festival.

Financial and in-kind support towards the Festival in general has come from Creative Scotland, Goethe-Institut Glasgow, Italian Cultural Institute, Screen Academy Scotland, Kalliopeia Foundation, Pump House Trust, Shalem Institute, UK Network for the Dances of Universal Peace, Cairn Hotel, the Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace, EICSP, Scottish Charity, SC038996, and the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning, EIAL. Support for individual events is listed beside the event itself.

In-kind support has come from organizations who we have worked with to organize specific Festival events. These organizations are listed beside the specific events which they have been involved with. Further in-kind support has come from a range of hosting and supporting organizations and individuals.

Media Partners


We are grateful to have Coracle as Media Partner.


Thematic Strands

In MESP 2011 twelve thematic strands to the Festival will be explicit, to allow a range of entry routes into the Festival, and to allow a range of participation identities, namely:

1. Spirituality, Interspirituality and Intraspirituality;
2. Peace, Conflict, Reconciliation and Justice;
3. Education and Learning;
4. Arts and Culture;
5. Health, Well-being and Healing;
6. Equality, Diversity and Communities;
7. Environmental Responsibility and Climate Change;
8. Engagement with Science and Medicine;
9. Engagement with Communication Media;
10. Engagement with Business and Industry;
11. Engagement with Government, Parliament, NGOs, NPOs and Civic Society;
12. Celebrating Scotland, the UK and the Middle East.

Festival Ethos

The Festival positively affirms the diversity contained within the spiritual, educational, artistic and cultural, ethnic, national and international traditions of Scotland and the Middle East. The Festival avoids taking fixed positions on political, ethical or cultural questions, and allows for challenging and evaluative perspectives as well as affirmative and celebratory opportunities. We intend to create a forum in which we can listen to one another deeply and learn with an open mind and heart.

The Festival brings together at least three different kinds of presentations. First, we hope to learn from each other about our shared traditions, as well as those that form the unique voice of any one of us. Second, we will hear from those who have been active in peacemaking on a spiritual and secular basis on the ground in the Middle East. Third, we invite participants to share in the musical and spiritual practice presented, in order to gain an experiential view of the traditions that we discuss.

One of the Festival’s overriding aims is to contribute to peace and mutual understanding through dialogue, spiritual and artistic practice, and improved mutual understanding among the spiritual, secular and cultural traditions that have arisen in what is now known as the Middle East, and more generally among those who have found a home in Scotland and the UK. Accordingly, the Festival seeks to engage a progressively wider and more diverse range of participants who have been active in spiritual, secular and artistic and cultural approaches to non-violent conflict resolution and world peace. No speaker represents, or can represent, the totality of any tradition, and indeed, experiential, evaluative and visionary perspectives are particularly welcome.

Festival participants are invited to shape their own experience during the Festival, and to take personal responsibility for participating as peacemakers and community builders. In particular, participants are invited to take personal responsibility for processing any conflicts or obstacles to peace that they experience, and for self-evaluating their own participation as peacemakers and community builders for the benefit of their wider life experience.

Conflict and obstacles to peace are of central importance in the lives of peacemakers and community builders. They hold seeds for our spiritual, personal and creative development and can provide energy to sustain such development. The Festival provides many opportunities to engage spiritually, creatively and non-violently with conflict and obstacles to peace in supportive and non-judgmental environments, allowing participants the opportunity to transform conflicts and obstacles to peace into new perspectives, insights and actions.

The Festival is managed as a charitable event for wide public benefit, and all events in the Festival should reflect, and all participants in the Festival should respect, the Festival Equal Opportunities Policy.

Disclaimer

All events were as correct as could be ascertained at the time of going to press. The Festival organisers will not be held responsible for any errors in the listings in this guide or changes to any advertised programme. People attending Festival events are responsible for their own belongings. If you are travelling from any significant distance to a Festival event, then it is important to confirm the final arrangements close to the date of the event.

The opinions expressed by all speakers at the Festival are their own individual views and should not be identified with those of the Festival organizers or sponsors or with those of any particular spiritual organization, tradition or community. One of the primary principles of the Festival is that all mystical and prophetic voices for non-violence and peace should be allowed a hearing, without censorship or prior vetting.

Liability

Neither the EICSP nor the EIAL, or MESP presenters, volunteers, hosting venues or sponsors are liable for injury, damage or loss arising from your travel to and from an MESP event or during your participation in any MESP event. Travel and medical insurance are recommended for those visiting MESP from abroad, and is the sole responsibility of participants in MESP.

Festival Directors


Neill Walker and Dr Neil Douglas-Klotz.

Festival Contact Information

Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace,
EICSP, Scottish Charity, SC038996.
4 William Black Place, South Queensferry, Edinburgh, EH30 9PZ. Scotland.
T: +44 (0) 131 331 4469, E: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , W: www.eicsp.org

Festival Website

www.mesp.org.uk

Check the Festival website for any updates and changes to the advertised programme, for more detailed background information, for downloading workshop registration forms as well as the Festival Brochure and Poster, for online booking, and for the MESP email list sign up.

Festival Booking Offer and Passes

For events in Edinburgh in the Festival Brochure between Friday 4 March - Thursday 17 March 2011 inclusive: write a note of the Festival Booking Offer or Pass that you wish to purchase, with your name, address and email. Once we receive your cheque and note, then your Festival Booking Offer or Pass will be emailed to you.

The following Festival Booking Offer and Passes are available for MESP 2011, during the dates Friday 4 March - Thursday 17 March 2011 inclusive, for MESP events in Edinburgh included in the Festival Brochure:

NB: these offers do not include the 2-day retreat on 5-6/3/2011, or the day workshops on 15/3/2011 or on 17/3/2011.

One weekend pass, 12-13/3/2011: £40/£30 (Concessions).

Two week pass: £200/£150 (Concessions).

One week pass: £130/£100 (Concessions).

Attend 5 or more workshops, get one free.

Concessions:

Concessions are available to Senior Citizens, the Unwaged, Students and the Disabled. In the case of those who are visually impaired and those in wheelchairs, the concession is extended to one escort. Please inform us of any special needs well in advance.

Festival Event Booking and Booking Offers and Passes

Online: www.mesp.org.uk
Phone: +44 (0) 131 331 4469
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Events can be booked online, using Paypal, and workshop registration forms or a Festival Brochure or Poster can be downloaded through www.mesp.org.uk. You can also email or phone to receive event information, workshop registration forms or a Festival Brochure or Poster.

In Memory of Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari

A man of peace and a Sufi, whose family lived in the Old City of Jerusalem for 400 years.

Festival Bursaries

A limited number of bursaries are available for those on very low income to support their attendance at some Festival events. Please contact the Festival organisers to discuss whether you qualify: Neill Walker, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 0131 331 4469.

Festival Brochures and Posters

Festival Brochures and Posters are distributed widely across Edinburgh and wider Scotland. If you would like to receive further copies of the Festival Brochure or Poster for your venue, then please contact the Festival organisers.

Festival Volunteering

If you would like to volunteer at some Festival events, or to help putting out some Festival Brochures or Posters, then please contact the Festival organisers.

Festival Internships

Please get in contact if you would like to be an intern during the Festival.

Festival Sponsorship Opportunities

Please get in contact if you would like to discuss Festival sponsorship opportunities.

Festival Access

If you have specific access needs, then please contact the Festival organisers.

Festival Updates and Additions

Please consult the Festival website for any updates and additions to the Festival programme.

Festival School Events and Visits

If your school is interested to host an event to tie in with the Middle East Festival, then please contact the Festival organisers.

Festival Library Events, Displays and Visits

If your library is interested to host an event or display to tie in with the Middle East Festival, then please contact the Festival organisers.

Festival CPD Opportunities

If you would like your attendance at some Middle East Festival events to contribute to your Continuing Professional Development, CPD, then please contact the Festival organisers.

Festival Media Opportunities

For media opportunities, interviews, photo opportunities, articles, and press releases, then please contact the Festival organisers.

Festival on Facebook, Myspace and Twitter

The Middle East Festival is now on Facebook, Myspace and Twitter.

The 2012 Middle East Festival

The 2012 Middle East Festival will run from Thursday 1 March – Sunday 11 March 2012, with externally organised Pre Events from Tuesday 21 February – Wednesday 29 February 2012, with the Middle Eastern Film Festival in the weeks before, and with Exhibitions and Displays running over the entire date period. Those who would like to consider becoming involved can contact: Neill Walker, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 0131 331 4469.