CEDAR | European Muslim Professionals Network

CEDAR hosted an Evening Reception on Saturday 12 November 2011, with a focus on celebrating Europe’s influential Muslim role models.  The event was held at the Mica Gallery, Europe’s first gallery specialising in Modern Islamic and Contemporary Art. Featuring brief comments by the US State Department's Special Representative to Muslim Communities, Farah Pandith, prominent French journalist Nabila Ramdani and CEDAR Chair Ahmed Larouz, the reception highlighted the vision and achievements of CEDAR and the role that this unique group of professionals plays in improving Europe’s capacity to engage globally. 

CEDAR partnered with Faiths Forum for London and the JDC International Centre for Community Development to present the Social Innovation and Social Action Conference, which was held at Lambeth Palace on 13-15 November 2011.

There is currently a powerful resurgence of social action in religious communities, and social innovation has grown exponentially within the faith sector as new models of delivery have been developed. This conference  offered an unparalleled opportunity to share best practices from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, exploring the ways that faith communities can learn from one another and work together. The conference hosted 80 leaders and professionals from faith, social action and social innovation sectors and from diverse cities including Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Casablanca, Sarajevo, Istanbul and Amman.

“This conference sets the example with a ground-breaking partnership between 2 large Muslim and Jewish organisations. For European Muslims the future of communities in Europe requires for engagement in social action and joint learning across communities and faith groups. We are here to learn from each other,” said Ahmed Larouz, Chair of CEDAR.

Ten CEDAR members from across Europe attended the conference, and Ahmed Larouz, CEDAR Chair, addressed the attendees and present CEDAR and its vision during the opening session. CEDAR Advisory Board member Farah Pandith delivered a keynote address during the session on cross-community Social Action.

The conference was generously supported by The Buncher Foundation.

On the 29^th March 2011, The CEDAR Network had the opportunity to work with the Professional Muslims Institute (PMI) in holding a Networking event. The event saw around 90 Muslim professionals from the Bradford area come together for an evening which included opening remarks by Jordana Friedman and Shazia Nazir from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and an inspirational talk from Kristiane Backer, former MTV presenter, author of ‘From MTV to Mecca’ and a CEDAR Network member.

Following on from the success of the European Muslim Women of Influence (EMWI) initiative, The CEDAR Network was pleased to collaborate with City Circle to present an inspiring discussion on European Muslim women as influencers. Held on February 25th 2011, the event celebrated the success of Muslim women in society and discussed the challenges that they face today.

Key speakers included EMWI Award winner and Director of Deaf Parenting UK - Sabina Iqbal; Rabia Malik, Chairwoman of the City Circle; Shazia Nazir from The CEDAR Network and Jordana Friedman, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.

On the 24-26th October, CEDAR Members were invited to speak at the Jewish Joint Distribution Centre (JDC) - International Centre for Community Development’s Interfaith Conference for Community Professionals in conjunction with the Buncher Foundation, held at Lambeth Palace, London.

Around 100 young Muslims between the age of 18 and 35 were selected to attend the first CEDAR supported Zahnräder conference on 24- 26 September in Wuppertal, Germany. Zahnräder (‘Cogwheels’), a new German network of leaders, connects Muslims who wish to actively shape and contribute to society. It plans to serve as an incubator, to initiate, scale and improve social initiatives across sectors including media, academia, policy and business.

The CEDAR Network Launch Event and EMWI Gala will take place in Madrid, Spain on 30^th October 2010 in celebration of the European Muslim Women of Influence finalists and The CEDAR Network’s first major event. The conference and gala event will bring together entrepreneurs, media representatives, thought leaders, senior policy officials and politicians for an evening of debate, engagement and celebration.

As part of a series of professional development 'fireside chats', CEDAR is providing its members with opportunities to meet senior figures from across Europe for dedicated evenings of exchange. The last CEDAR fireside chat took place with Cem Özdemir on the 7 June in Berlin. Cem Özdemir is the Co-Chairman of the German Green Party (Alliance '90/The Greens). As party leader, he focuses on ecological and economic issues, including the development of a "Green New Deal", as well as educational reforms and migration and integration issues.

Through a series of Fireside Chats, the wider CEDAR mentoring programme provides CEDAR members with opportunities to convene with more senior figures from across Europe to nurture strategic dialogue and enhance CEDAR members’  professional exchange. The first of CEDAR’s exclusive fireside chats was held with Louis Schweitzer, Chairman of Renault, on 6th November in Paris. The  impassioned talk covered topics from the inclusion of Muslims within public institution work-forces to the nature and existence of a French national identity.