Suchergebnisse

The article is devoted to the problem of dialogue between religions, which is associated with a wider range of issues as (cor)relations between religions, society and the state. The author concentrates on the case of the Russian Federation, while his paper deals with such issues as how to define subjects of interreligious dialogue, as well as which are its main traits and topics. As intermediate conclusions it could be marked that: (1) the discussion on theological issues and challenges should never be considered as a pretext for mutual rejection; (2) dialectics of tradition and renewal has to be a key topic of conversation; (3) each investigation of ethical issues must take in account the task of prevention of youth extremism, which can probably emerge in some contexts; (4) challenges of progress affect not only religious institutions but also societies as whole.

Abstract
"Intercultural dialogue," notably between China and the West, seems to have replaced the vogue of comparatism in academic guidelines, and warrants the best of intentions to leave Eurocentrism behind us. This paper, however, critically addresses a certain type of comparatism which still remains part of an Orientalist perspective, since it often continues to treat China as the radical "Other" with which to be compared, so as to make it respond to totally irrelevant questionings. This is a way of stubbornly maintaining the idea of otherness, which freezes oppositions outside of time and space and does not allow one to detect the plurality and diversity of real differences. An unfortunate consequence of this is the constant risk of falling into some type of essentialism, and to end up, albeit non-intentionally, reinforcing diehard preconceived ideas. It is therefore high time that we should try and reach beyond our deeply ingrained Orientalistic frame of mind.

The article considers the factors contributing to the emergence and escalation ofethno-political conflicts in multicultural societies. When attempting to resolvethese conflicts the task is to build mutual awareness through a more profoundcomprehension of the past and thus to overcome conflict. It is pointed out that theefficiency of the meetings, discussions, and projects jointly implemented by therepresentatives of various Caucasus NGOs for over a decade has been relativelylow. According to the author, this due to the lack of targeted thematic problemdefinition and systematic comprehensive government campaigning. As illustratedby the example of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, the article raises the importanceof historical and collective memory of the belligerent parties in the processof ethnic mobilization and the subsequent transformation of identity. Importantcomponents of this process are outlined and the basic manifestations of the postwarGerman experience in the normalization of the past are set out. It is suggestedthat inter-cultural dialogue aimed at the reconciliation of conflicting nations mustbe based on open, professional, consistent, and broad discussions, lasting perhapsfor decades, dwelling upon various problems of historical and collective memory;this process must be supported by the political elite of the parties. Only this approach,i.e. the creation of the philosphy of real recognition and mutual understandingbased on cultural dialog between peoples on major elements of identitywill lay the foundations for an in-depth solution to ethno-political conflicts.

The article addresses the CEFR extended set of language proficiency descriptors. The author points out that education, as well as the language, make an integral part of national culture and reflect the problems existing in society including the problems in communication and social interaction. In the early 21st century the process of communication became largely monolingual with English as the global lingua franca. The Bologna process contributed to building the European education environment based on the principle of multilinguism, which implies that representatives of different ethnic groups with different mother tongues communicate in the same language within a single social group. In 2001, in order to synchronize the national curricula, the Council of Europe adopted CEFR - Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment which presents descriptors of the six levels of language proficiency. Ten years later it became evident that the descriptors needed to be revised. While economies were converging, cultures began to diverge. Globalization made Europeans realize the value of every single ethnic culture. That led to the idea of plurolinguism which argues that an individual can communicate in a variety of languages using a variety of language forms known to them. The process of communication thus calls for mediation activities that facilitates communication if the interlocutors are unable to understand each other directly. That means that the aim of language learning changes from perfecting a certain foreign language to building plurilingual and pluricultural competences.