Babelmed

Last updated

Babelmed is a non profit organisation established in Rome in April 2001. Its main objective is to promote cultural exchanges between the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea and to spread information and ideas around the area.

Rome Capital city and comune in Italy

Rome is the capital city and a special comune of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region. With 2,872,800 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi), it is also the country's most populated comune. It is the fourth most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4,355,725 residents, thus making it the most populous metropolitan city in Italy. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber. The Vatican City is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states.

Mediterranean Sea Sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean between Europe, Africa and Asia

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa and on the east by the Levant. Although the sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is usually identified as a separate body of water. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years, the Messinian salinity crisis, before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago.

Contents

In 2002, the association launched Babelmed.net, [1] which aims to be a link between people, events and cultural production in the Mediterranean and to provide independent information on a range of issues. It is run by a central editorial team in Rome and a network of 17 correspondents around the Mediterranean Basin.

Mediterranean Basin region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate

In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation.

Philosophy

The name "babelmed" refers to the Mediterranean "med" and its cultural diversity "babel". "Bab" is also the Arabic word for "door". Languages featured on the site are mainly French and English, and partly Arabic. Articles in the different country sections are presented in their original languages.

Cultural diversity Quality of diverse or different cultures

Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural decay. The phrase cultural diversity can also refer to having different cultures respect each other's differences. The phrase "cultural diversity" is also sometimes used to mean the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole. Globalization is often said to have a negative effect on the world's cultural diversity.

The organisation's output emphasises the close connections between Western European countries and Muslim Mediterranean countries through history, cultural roots, and mutual fertilisation of music, literature and films, on the basis that the cultural dimensions of these broad subjects plays a key role towards improving mutual understanding and reducing tensions.

Western Europe region comprising the westerly countries of Europe

Western Europe is the region comprising the western part of Europe. Though the term Western Europe is commonly used, there is no commonly agreed-upon definition of the countries that it encompasses.

Content

Babelmed focuses on culture, broadly defined. The content of the site is divided into several sections: cultural agenda, press review, features, creations and archives. Each section is then divided into sub-sections such as Visual Arts, Performing arts, Literature, and so on. The site also contains on-line and interactive exhibitions, such as "Syria, in the eyes of Europe, or "The sense of commerce". Social and political issues are covered from a cultural point of view, attempting to promote cross-cultural understanding of national or local phenomena.

Culture societys way of life within anthropology

Culture is the social behavior and norms found in human societies. Culture is considered a central concept in anthropology, encompassing the range of phenomena that are transmitted through social learning in human societies. Cultural universals are found in all human societies; these include expressive forms like art, music, dance, ritual, religion, and technologies like tool usage, cooking, shelter, and clothing. The concept of material culture covers the physical expressions of culture, such as technology, architecture and art, whereas the immaterial aspects of culture such as principles of social organization, mythology, philosophy, literature, and science comprise the intangible cultural heritage of a society.

Performing arts art forms in which artists use their body or voice to convey artistic expression

Performing arts are a form of art in which artists use their voices, bodies or inanimate objects to convey artistic expression. It is different from visual arts, which is when artists use paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Performing arts include a range of disciplines which are performed in front of a live audience.

Permanent sections deal with specific themes: Films, Books and CDs, Impressions, Travels, Cooking Chronicles, Poetry, Geoart. The content of the site is also available by country, with a research engine to help find specific articles on the site from their source. The site also carries features on the central issues of Mediterranean cultures, sorted by main themes (women, migration, war, cuisine, for example) or by geographical locations.

Editorial line

Babelmed's main goal is to provide politically-independent information on cultural issues in the Mediterranean region. It is an independent organisation that does not belong to any media group and has no link with any political, professional or religious body. It operates with subsidies from foundations promoting cultural dialogue and freedom of expression around the Mediterranean.

A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet. According to the magazine The Nation, "Media conglomerates strive for policies that facilitate their control of the markets around the world."

Freedom of speech Right to communicate ones opinions and ideas

Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The term "freedom of expression" is sometimes used synonymously but includes any act of seeking, receiving, and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.

The organisation has partnerships with more than 300 cultural institutions in the Mediterranean, such as Publishing houses, media, cultural institutions, museums, festivals, Independent places of creation and performance. Other links have been developed with sites such as Medi1, Confluences Méditerranée, Actes Sud, Radio Orient, and Qantara.de.

Related Research Articles

Algeria country in North Africa

Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. The capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the far north of the country on the Mediterranean coast. With an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, the world's largest Arab country, and the largest in Africa. Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia, to the east by Libya, to the west by Morocco, to the southwest by the Western Saharan territory, Mauritania, and Mali, to the southeast by Niger, and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The country is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes (counties). It has the highest human development index of all non-island African countries.

Levant Geographic and cultural region consisting of the eastern Mediterranean between Anatolia and Egypt

The Levant is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean, primarily in Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, it is equivalent to the historical region of Syria. In its widest historical sense, the Levant included all of the eastern Mediterranean with its islands; that is, it included all of the countries along the Eastern Mediterranean shores, extending from Greece to Cyrenaica.

Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Institute for War & Peace Reporting is an independent not-for profit organisation that works with media and civil society to promote positive change in conflict zones, closed societies and countries in transition around the world. It has coordinating offices in the United States and the Netherlands, and a global headquarters in London. IWPR supports local reporters, citizen journalists and civil society activists in countries in conflict, crisis and transition around the world. It trains, mentors and provides platforms for professional and citizen reporters; builds up the institutional capacity of media and civic groups; and works with partners to remove barriers to free expression, robust public debate and citizen engagement. IWPR works on the ground in more than 30 countries and runs programmes in, among other places, Afghanistan, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Iraq, the Balkans, Sudan, and Uganda.

Barcelona Centre for International Affairs organization

CIDOB, acronym of the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, is a Spanish think-tank based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, dedicated to research and divulge contents of the different areas of international relations and development studies. The centre defines itself as an organisation that is «an independent, non partisan centre that contributes to ongoing international debates from the perspective of a major Mediterranean metropolis». Legally speaking, CIDOB is a public foundation with a Board of Trustees that includes among its members the main political institutions and universities of Catalonia and Barcelona, in addition to a number of ministries of the Spanish Government. CIDOB is currently the oldest think-tank in Spain, and one of the most influential in its field, so they claim.

The European Union-Mediterranean Free Trade Area, also called the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area or Euromed FTA, is based on the Barcelona Process and European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The Barcelona Process, developed after the Barcelona Conference in successive annual meetings, is a set of goals designed to lead to a free trade area in the Mediterranean Region and the Middle East by 2010.

European Heritage Days holiday in various locations in Europe

European Heritage Days (EHD) is a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission involving all 50 signatory states of the European Cultural Convention under the motto, Europe: a common heritage. The annual programme offers opportunities to visit buildings, monuments and sites, many of which are not normally accessible to the public. It aims to widen access and foster care for architectural and environmental heritage. These events are also known as Doors Open Days and Open Doors Days in English-speaking countries.

Arab cinema

Arab cinema or Arabic cinema, refers to the cinema of the Arab world.

Cinema of Morocco

The cinema of Morocco dates back to "The Moroccan Goatherd" by Louis Lumière in 1897.

Outline of Syria Overview of and topical guide to Syria

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Syria:

The Euro Mediterranean Partnership of Local and Regional Authorities (COPPEM), was created in 2000 to promote dialogue and development between local and regional authorities in the Euro-Mediterranean area.

<i>European Science Editing</i>

The EASE journal European Science Editing (ESE) publishes articles covering all aspects of scientific editing and publishing. It includes research articles, meeting reports, essays and viewpoints, book and website reviews, as well as highlighting events, resources and publications of interest to members. An informative and entertaining read, it helps editors keep up to date with major issues that are relevant to them.

Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures

The Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures is a network of civil society organisations dedicated to promoting intercultural dialogue in the Mediterranean region.

Union for the Mediterranean organization

The Union for the Mediterranean is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: the 28 EU member states and 15 Mediterranean partner countries from North Africa, Western Asia and Southern Europe. It was founded on 13 July 2008 at the Paris Summit for the Mediterranean, with an aim of reinforcing the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (Euromed) that was set up in 1995 as the Barcelona Process. Its general secretariat is located in Barcelona, Spain.

Rachida Triki is a philosopher, art historian, and art curator, currently full Professor of Philosophy at Tunis University specialized in Aesthetics.

The Euromed Heritage programme was a programme (1998-2013) chartered by the Barcelona Declaration and funded through the resulting Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. Its purpose was to foster regional inter-cultural dialogue between the member states of the Mediterranean, through collaboration on the preservation of cultural heritages.

Cinema of Algeria refers to the film industry based in the north African country of Algeria.

The Coordinating Committee for the Refoundation of the Fourth International (CRFI) is a Trotskyist international organisation. Its name in Spanish is Coordinadora por la Refundación de la Cuarta Internacional. It was formed in 2004 at a conference in Buenos Aires called by the Movement for the Refoundation of the Fourth International. It has members in South America, Western Europe and the Middle East. The committee has nine members from Argentina, Chile, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Uruguay, Turkey, Finland and Venezuela. They include Jorge Altamira, Savas Mihail Matsas, Sungur Savran and Marco Ferrando.

Bahia Al Mardini is a Syrian Kurdish Researcher in International Law, MA degree Northampton University in England, writer and journalist.

Institut national du patrimoine french higher education institution

French national institute of cultural heritage, called Institut national du patrimoine (Inp), is the only academy in France in charge of the training of both curators and conservators. It belongs to French Ministry of Culture and is organized in 2 departments.

References

  1. ↑ "babelmed - le site des cultures méditerranéennes - Homepage".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.