SEMINAR AND BOOK LAUNCH: UNITY IN ADVERSITY Religion and Secularisation in Today’s Europe

Organized by Pro Patria Institute, Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies (WMCES), hosted by MEP Tunne Kelam

24 November 2017 in the house of Korp! Sakala, Roosikrantsi 3, II floor, Tallinn

Friday, November 24

13:30–13:40 Welcome and opening words

Chairman of the Pro Patria Institute and former Minister of Foreign Affairs TRIVIMI VELLISTE is a politician, diplomat and National Heritage character. He is one of the founders of the heritage protection movement and Estonian Citizens’ Committees Movement. He was the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Estonia for 1992–1994, the ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to the UN for 1994–1998. Velliste was a member of the defence commission in the Riigikogu and one of the leaders of the Baltic Assembly, and Chairman of the parliament’s National Heritage union for 1999–2011. Velliste is the chairman or honorary chairman of many associations. Ambassador Velliste is currently involved in the Estonian War Museum and is one of the leaders of the Patarei Sea Fortress development project.

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13:40–14:00 European values, religion and human rights

Member of the European Parliament TUNNE KELAM graduated from Tartu University as a historian (1959). By the end of the 1980s he had become one of the leading advocates for the restoration of independence in Estonian society. He was founder and member of the executive of the Estonian National Independence Party (1988–1995), the first registered non-communist political party in the USSR. In 1992, he was elected chairman of the Congress of Estonia, the alternative parliament that confronted the puppet Supreme Soviet. He has been a member of the Estonian Parliament (1992–2004), and since 2004 Tunne Kelam has been a member of the European Parliament (EPP) Group. He is a member of the Foreign Affairs committee, subcommittee of Security and Defence. Tunne Kelam is one of the initiators of the European Parliament’s resolution on European Conscience and Totalitarianism (2009) and the EU report on Cyber Security and Defence.

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14:00–14:20 Room for Religion:

Liberal versus Christian Democratic Arguments for the Presence of Religion in the Public Domain

RIEN FRAANJE is the director of the Dutch Council for Public Administration (Rob-Rfv). Previously, he was the director of the CDA Research Institute. He studied public administration at Leiden University and has worked as a journalist, a consultant and as a

staff member at a think tank. He has published books and many articles about Christian Democracy, the functioning of democracy and the Northern Irish conflict, among other topics.

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14:20–14:35 Public Expressions of Religious Faith

PEETER VÕSU is an Estonian politician and entrepreneur. He holds an MA in communication management from Tallinn University. He is a co-founder and chair of the board of Estonian Christian Television. Since 1993 he has produced several TV programmes and documentaries for Estonian Public Broadcasting.

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14:35–15:30 Panel discussion:

Religion and Secularisation in Europe,

Moderated by Triin RAIT - Coordinator of Estonian National Prayer Breakfast Committee

Members of the panel: VÍT NOVOTNÝ, Rien FRAANJE, Peeter VÕSU

TRIIN RAIT has graduated from Birmingham University’s Theology of Theology BA (Hons). After graduation in 2001, she started to work in Agape Estonia, a Christian NGO, and the Estonian Evangelical Alliance (EEA). Triin Rait is still involved in the EEA being in charge of the Estonian Prayer Breakfasts in cooperation with Estonian Council of Churches. At the moment she is working at the Tallinn City Council and in the autumn she started her MA Studies in state sciences at Tallinn University.

VÍT NOVOTNÝ is a Senior Research Officer at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies. He is in charge of research cooperation with the Centre’s member foundations. Vít Novotný is also responsible for research clusters on ethics, values and religion and new societal challenges. He has previous experience working in the education, private, public and non-profit sectors in the UK (2004–2010). In 1991–1993 and 2001–2003 he worked as a pharmacist and sales representative in the pharmaceutical industry in Czech Republic. His education includes undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in clinical pharmacy, European studies, public administration and politics from universities in Czech Republic, the US and the UK.

In 1992 he ran for the Czech Parliament as a member of the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA). In 1989 he was active, as a student, in the citizen movement that overthrew the Czechoslovak Communist regime. He has published widely on politics and current issues in Czech and English-language press.

15:30 Reception

The book “Unity in Adversity: Immigration, Minorities and Religion in Europe” provides background for the discussion. The editor, Vít Novotný, the author of the Estonian chapter Peeter Võsu, and the author of the Dutch chapter Rien Fraanje are on the panel.

Despite the EU’s official motto ‘United in Diversity’, the bloc is experiencing a profound crisis in which diversity is threatening to dispel unity. Instead of harmony, diversity increasingly means conflict. Behind this are a variety of factors such as terrorism, the uncertain position of religion in public life, the unclear situation of minority groups (including autochthonous minorities and the Roma), radical Islamism, insufficient integration of immigrants and a loss of personal status and identity due to globalisation.

The present volume is the third in a series of joint research projects that the Martens Centre has carried out with its member foundations. The chapters in this volume present a wide variety of conceptual, ideological and political perspectives. The theme of European identity and culture brings unity to the publication. Central and Eastern European authors dominate, reflecting the Martens Centre’s member foundations which volunteered to participate in this joint project. In total, 15 member foundations nominated 16 authors.

https://www.martenscentre.eu/publications/unity-adversity-immigration-minorities-and-religion-europe

Working languages: English and Estonian, simultaneous translation from Estonian to English

Registration: Kaja Villem, Pro Patria Institute, tel.: +372 5345 8901 and kaja.villem@irl.ee

This event receives financial support from the European Parliament.

Sole liability rests with the organisers, the European Parliament is not responsible for the activity.