Context and Models: Abstracts

The International Academy for Diaconia and Social Action, Central and Eastern Europe, o.p.s (interdiac) is a new Academy, which is developing learning programmes, research & development and networking to meet the needs of diaconal and social action in the region. It has 12 members in 10 countries of the region.

The learning outcomes of the first innovative five month accredited international study programme, `Social Inclusion, Participation and Diaconia' will be presented. Further wew training initiatives such as the interdiac mobile workshops and the development of degree based studies will also be introduced. Secondly, the findings from a major interdiac consultation with 55 participants from 15 countries with a special focus on `Diaconia and Social Exclusion in the Central and Eastern European Region' will form a key element of the presentation. The resulting `Bratislava Declaration`was a approved by the consultation as a result of the work by interdiac and its partners in the region.The workshop will offer an invitation to join the process of developing responses to social exclusion in the region of Central and Eastern Europe and beyond and to work towards societies and economies where exclusion is no longer tolerated.

Agnieszka Jelinek, Warsaw

Janka Adameová, Cesky Tesin

2. The Church City Mission in Oslo

In this workshop we will reflect upon some key concepts in the diaconal work of the Church City Mission in Oslo - respect and recognition - and explore the meaning and possible practical impact of these concepts taking the recent establishment of a health care center for undocumented migrants in Oslo as a case. 

The main vision of the Church City Mission is that "people in the city experience respect, justice and care". Why and in what ways does 'respect' play an important role in diaconal praxis? In what ways can recent reflection on respect in the face of social and human inequality (i.a. Richard Sennet), and the various levels of and continuous struggle for 'recognition' (i.a. Axel Honneth) be made relevant to diaconal efforts addressing the needs of irregular migrants?  

The challenges facing European diaconal work are particularly acute in the field of migration, as xenophobia, 'anti-gypsism' and inter-religious tension seem to be on the rise. Recent examples from i.a. Sweden and France show this clearly. Speaking up for the basic rights of e.g. irregular migrants will place the churches and diaconal organisations in the midst of such heated political controversies, and can imply risks and costs for all parties involved. Hence the need for a solid basis  -- ethical, theological as well as legal and methodological -- for such praxis.

Dr. Sturla Stålsett, Oslo

 3. The Network of Diaconal Churches in Europe: Churches against poverty and exclusion - f.i. the Academy for the Poor in Heidelberg, Germany

Florian Barth, Heidelberg

4.Migration and Diaconia: A rising challenge

The workshop will consist of an introductory presentation followed by a discussion. The presentation deals with the beginning and the roots of diaconal engagement for migrants and refugees. Important stations and challenges in the political discussion as well as in the diaconal work are being presented: the immigration law in 2005, the controversy about the important perception of “integration”, the right of residence and the resettlement of refugees, the raised importance of the EU. The main part of the presentation picks up the topics of the conference and describes the link of migration and poverty as it is a current and future challenge: So it deals with discrimination in the educational system, disadvantages for foreigners in the system of social security, with the phenomenon of migration of impoverished citizens within the EU, with the topic migration and development. At the end, we will have a look at our own institution and highlight the main challenges of intercultural opening and of possible conflict between non-discrimination an Christian identity/profile. 

Katharina Wegner, Brussels

Julia Hettenhausen, Berlin

5. The Impact of Diaconia for Citizenship and the Recognition of the Marginalized: A Fieldwork Discussion from Norway.

The project has the goal of participating in a contemporary discussion of citizenship. The central question is how phenomenons are expressed bodily in the encounters between groups. My research aims to analyze and interpret (narratives of) bodies in specific spatial contexts. In this context the encounter between those understood as the majority of citizens living in society, and the marginalized, such as substance abusers and beggars, is the main focus. Parts of the project consist of fieldwork. I use video equipment in the capturing of these encounters. The aim of the project as a whole is to discuss how far analysis like mine might contribute to a renewal of the discussion of citizenship. In current discourses citizenship is linked to subjectivity, rights and solidarity. Instead of this approach, the idea is to bring citizenship into a discourse where it traditionally does not belong; the discourse of the body. The visual, oral and written narratives that describe bodies and responses to bodies will be of relevance for citizenship and the sense of belonging.

The objective is to localize and interpret phenomenons within the shared lifeworlds and spaces of the streets of Oslo. I want to look for something that may be defined, phenomenologically, as compassion (Barmhertzigkeit). Can citizenship as belonging be developed on the background of bodies in heterotopic spaces, not traditional rights? Can emphasizing on the body perspective contribute to the foundations of citizenship, and belonging?

6. A Female Face of the Church? Gender and Christian Social Practice in a European perspective with practice-related reflections from a German angle

Social care is a highly gendered field of work in churches and church related organisations - as in society in general. The work shop reflects on several European, interdisciplinary and empirical research projects, circling around gender, welfare, church and theology. Altogether these projects involved 12 European countries. The overarching questions are: What does the church look like from a social care and welfare perspective? Does the female face of the church become more visible? Is there also a male face of the church - and if yes, what are the differences? The first main part of the workshop (Ninna Edgardh) focuses on the European comparison. The starting point for the second part (Annette Leis-Peters) is the German case studies in the European research projects: What is special to the German situation compared to other countries? What are the possible learnings for the churches, church social work and research?

7. New Models of Diaconia in Local Communities: Insights form Germany and Finnland

In Germany the social commitment of parishes, diaconal services and institutions in and for the borough are recently referred to as „common weal diaconia“. The common acting of constituted church and organised diaconia takes the borough into view, is oriented towards the circumstances of ist occupants and is opening up towards the local community. At the same time common weal diaconial commitment requires strategic skilfulness, in order to combine the diverse acting logics of churches, diaconia and the borough. When this proves successful, there will be a true additional value for he borough, ist occupants  and the agents involved.

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Wegner and Martin Horstmann, Hanover