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CONTENT LINKS Some links are made inactive from time to time because of editing that is in progress. Contents
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Coexist
International Magazine HELPING TO FIGHT RACISM AND INTERETHNIC VIOLENCE The reason In a world that nominally seemed headed for peace at the end of the Cold War, new violent conflicts keep exploding. Old conflicts remain bitter and unresolved. Political agreements already crafted remain fragile and always on the edge of collapsing - usually over issues that are more emotional and myth based than serious matters affecting the actual lives of the parties. “Global village” is the favorite phrase we have been using in recent years to describe how media and communications developments have transformed the way people see the world. But it remains a virtual description that does not reflect the dangerous realities of the antagonism that different nations - and different ethnic groups in the same nation - may have for one another. There are still too many victims, too many injustices, too many conflicts. Too many peace treaties are collapsing because the hostilities which gave birth to the conflicts are not being managed, or even being brought to public awareness. Promoting peace and coexistence needs many different tools, many organizations, many individuals. In Northern Ireland, in Israel-Palestine, in the Balkans, in Kashmir, Sri Lanka or Cyprus, interethnic and international disputes cannot be solved if the people do not take part in a coexistence process. The starting point of such a process is more shared information - knowledge brought to as many individuals and organizations as possible. We believe that most people, once shown the practical results of hatred, will think twice before making a racist decision again, and will be more willing to compromise, to negotiate - in other words, to coexist. The basics It must be made clear that coexistence is not an idealized “love thy neighbor” concept, desirable maybe, but impossible to achieve in most areas of conflict. Coexistence has a limited aim – at its most basic that aim would be just to stop people killing or injuring one another. Beyond that, it aims to persuade people to let “the others,” even the ones they don't like, just live and let live, without violence and without fear. It aims to persuade people that one needs to coexist, in order to exist. The concept Ideas must be brought to a modern target audience in an attractive way if people are to bother giving them any thought. These days, the most popular sources of printed information are the old fashioned magazine and the new Internet web site - neither has yet won a decisive victory in the battle for the reader's eye and attention - perhaps neither has to win a victory. The main objective of this information project is to bring to as many people as possible – and especially those working in the field or in related fields, information about coexistence. That includes its failures as well as successes, its problems and solutions and new concepts emerging from different parts of the world. We have concluded that a printed magazine remains the best format for reaching our target audience. It is the best format for making it possible to share the knowledge people have acquired over years of trial and error in different areas of world, or in academic study. Coexist magazine's goal will be to boost international coexistence work into a professional phase. The magazine Since it must reach as many readers as possible from different sectors of the population, the magazine aims to be interesting, attractive, and varied, appealing to a wide spectrum of readers. In character it aims to combine the prestige of foreign affairs journalism with the authority of semi academic articles. It has have the esthetic look of good colored photographs, and some lightness of “sexy” news columns about events and people who are meaningful in the issues of coexistence. The magazine is a quarterly, international, in English. It will be distributed in academic and professional circles as well as in areas where coexistence is an issue. These include the Balkans, Northern Ireland, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Middle Eastern countries, Cyprus, Turkey, Africa.
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