Community Dialogues
Egyptian
Recent tensions in Egypt have deeply affected the Coptic and Muslim Egyptian communities in Australia. As most retain strong emotional ties with their original homeland, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), in consultation with the Centre thought it critically important that these communities have an opportunity to reflect on the situation in Egypt and to foster the conditions for trust, mutual respect, dialogue and co-operation.
As part of its Capacity Building for Reconciling Divided Communities in Victoria project <hyperlink> and its Dialogue Diaspora program, the Centre mounted in October 2011 the ‘Egyptian Communities Dialogue’ which specifically seeks to bring together, in a series of consultations and dialogues, members of the Coptic and Muslim Egyptian communities resident in Victoria, with a view to involving them in constructive and respectful dialogue.
The project consists of three community consultations (two separate and one joint) to be followed by three inter-communal dialogues in Melbourne, scheduled for 2012.
The Egyptian Coptic Community Consultation, hosted by Bishop Anbal Suriel, was held on 10 December at the Coptic Orthodox Church Diocese of Melbourne in Donvale, having been preceded by a preliminary consultation with the Egyptian Elsedeaq Islamic Society on 21 October.
It is anticipated that two refereed journal articles, a detailed report to be used by the relevant stakeholders (communities, policy-makers, service providers, media and educators), and an extensive database to be utilised in various ways by other researchers, will be the main research outcomes.
The project is supported and co-funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
