Cafes have
traditionally functioned as factories for ideas. It is likely that numerous
important decisions which have altered history were taken over a cup of tea or
coffee. Nowadays, the value of “being together” is rapidly changing as people
communicate more and more through new media. However, the practice of meeting
in a cafe has not died out; indeed, it has evolved with the appearance of
“topical” cafes.
To enhance
communication between people from different cultures and experiences in a
region in which information is often hindered, is one of the goals of the newly
established AICafè, a political café run by volunteers of the Alternative Information
Center.
The
AICafè is meant to foster political information, and to advance ideas, which
may start alternative ways of knowledge and communication in order to achieve
awareness in all spheres of daily life, such as politics, economics and
international issues.Without denying
the importance of the most important and significant cultural traditions, the
AICafè strives to promote change and to enhance new social and political
practices by creating a wide range of events and activities centred on dialogue
and mutual understanding.
In accordance
with the AIC though, which promotes responsible co-operation between
Palestinians and Israelis based on the values of social and political justice,
equality, solidarity and community involvement, the AICafè provides an open
space for local and international people to endorse a joint struggle for
Palestinian people rights, against Israeli policy of occupation.
The AICafè,
hosted in the AIC historic office building in the heart of Beit Sahour, holds
political material, guides, reports, the AIC’s numerous publications and a
library. The café serves primarily local and fairly traded products from the
area.
The AICafè is
starting a networking process with other political cafés around the world and
is currently linked with the Dutch political café Averechts in Utrecht (www.averechts.nl ).
Filmscreening: Jeremy Hardy vs The
Israeli Army, a film by Leila Sansour
Leila Sansour will be present
during the filmscreening. The film: In March 2002 Comedian Jeremy
Hardy is approached by a Palestinian director who urges him to join a group of
internationals, intent on doing their bit to solve the world’s longest-running
conflict. Jeremy has always felt sympathy for the Palestinians but traveling
thousands of miles to face the world's fourth biggest military power is not his
idea of a holiday. On the other hand, neither is traveling to Florida to spend
Easter with his in-laws so Palestine it is. What he doesn’t know, as he arrives
in Tel-Aviv only a week later, is that he will become one of the most unlikely
witnesses to a horrific yet seminal moment in the struggle of the Palestinian
people
Sam Bahour about the Right of
Entry/Re-Entry Campaign
Sam Bahour, one of the coordinators for the
Campaign for the Right of Entry/Re-Entry into the oPt, will update us on the
latest developments concerning the access of foreign nationals to the oPt, as
well as the ongoing saga of tens of thousands of Palestinian foreign nationals
who have requested family unification but are still being denied the basic right
of keeping their families together.
Sam Bahour is a Palestinian-American businessman and activist based in
Al-Bireh/Ramallah, Palestine. He is Managing Partner of Applied Information
Management (AIM), a management consulting firm specialising in business
development with a niche focus on the information technology sector and
start-ups. Sam was instrumental in the establishment of PALTEL and the PLAZA
Shopping Centre and currently serves as a Board of Trustees member at Birzeit
University and
Tuesday 29th April, 8pm
Lecture: Decolonizing architecture,
by Alessandro Petti
Reorienting Israel’s Architecture of
Occupation
Whatever trajectory the conflict over Palestine takes, the
possibility of further part- or
full- evacuation of Israeli colonies and
military bases must be considered. In this
process, the colonies, military
bases and their infrastructure, would be transferred to
Palestinian control,
their buildings destroyed or intact.
This project attempts to suggest
ways of dealing with the architecture of
Israel’s occupation at the moment
this architecture is unplugged from the
military/political power that charged
it.
Lecture: Obstacles to Peace, by
Juliette Bannoura from Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem
ARIJ
represents 17 years of combined organizational experience in the Palestinian
Territories in the fields of economic, social, management of natural resources,
water management, sustainable agriculture and political dynamics of development
in the area. ARIJ plays an active role in the local community as an advocate for
greater cooperation among local institutions as well as international and
non-governmental organizations.
AICafe 
