So I arrive in Barcelona and the blogging goes quiet…. Whats the deal you ask?

Well Anna Lindh Foundation have set up a group blog where a bunch of us are blogging our experiences at the Forum. There are some cracking blog posts over there so do check it out.

Tonight I met with some of the members of the Irish Network of Anna Lindh and I hope to get to know them better back in Ireland and get working with them a bit as well as with the Foundation.

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• ALF Forum 2010 (stephenspillane.com)
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Transcript below

• 11:41 AM: Stephen Spillane good evening from the plenary hall in the CCIB in Barcelona at #forum2010
• 11:41 AM: alvaromillan Ya en el Forum, todo listo para empezar el #forum2010 de la Fundación Anna Lindh aquí en Barcelona http://twitpic.com/16kbrh
• 11:41 AM: adshill RT @annalindh: If you are at ALF Forum and you are interested in live bloging from here, please come at 19.00 to the press room (room 118) #forum2010
• 11:41 AM: alvaromillan
• 11:41 AM: AnnaLindh If you are at ALF Forum and you are interested in live bloging from here, please come at 19.00 to the press room (room 118) #forum2010
• 11:47 AM: etharkamal Almost time for the inauguration… Butterflies #forum2010
• 11:50 AM: Stephen Spillane live blog for #forum2010 availible here is.gd Its unofficial! taking in all the tweets! feel free to comment on it @AnnaLindh
• 11:53 AM: creainnova GBM prepara EXA Forum2010: url4.eu
• 11:58 AM: Stephen Spillane sitting waiting to hear from lots of important people like the EC Commissioner Fule #forum2010
• 12:00 PM: Stephen Spillane I dont think my battery will last the full ceremony. But I will leave it running, so do comment and tweet. I will try and set one up for each day!!
• 12:28 PM: midhal at #forum2010 waiting for the official start
• 12:28 PM: Stephen Spillane ok, the important people are here, still waiting for the start….
• 12:29 PM: Stephen Spillane Lots of photos of Stefan Fule, the European Commissioner responsible for enlargement
• 12:31 PM: Stephen Spillane wahey!! we are off!
• 12:31 PM: Stephen Spillane Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs starts us off
• 12:31 PM: Stephen Spillane lots of thanks
• 12:32 PM: midhal official opening of ALF #forum2010
• 12:39 PM: alvaromillan Habla Miguel Ángel Moratinos en la inauguración del Anna Lindh #forum2010 , cn Sampaio, Stefan Füle o Montilla twitpic.com
• 12:39 PM: alvaromillan
• 12:40 PM: midhal about 1000 participants at ALF forum. Working towards peace, cooperation – president of ALF #forum2010
• 12:43 PM: AnnaLindh Inauguration of ALF Forum: It is up to us to build a new future in the Mediterranen, Morantinos #forum2010
• 12:44 PM: AnnaLindh It needs to be a collective action, that’s why I’m so happy to see all this people in this room, Morantinos #forum2010
• 12:46 PM: AnnaLindh Azoulay: you got here something that didn’t happened before, the civil society of 43 countries all together #forum2010
• 12:46 PM: midhal about 1000 participants at ALF forum. Working towards peace, cooperation – Spanish foreign affairs minister #forum2010
• 12:46 PM: adshill #forum2010 has begun! Andre Azoulay has just begun opening the event. 900 representatives from 39 countries! twitpic.com
• 12:46 PM: adshill
• 12:46 PM: AnnaLindh Azoulay started his intervention #forum2010
• 12:47 PM: Stephen Spillane battery dying… soo long
• 12:48 PM: AnnaLindh So tomorrow, you will see from the two shore on the Mediterranean, something that was unbelivable before, Azoulay #forum2010
• 12:49 PM: AnnaLindh This evening, we tell you, the moment of the clash of civilization in over, Azoulay #forum2010
• 12:51 PM: AnnaLindh This evening, here in this room, we tell you: the moment of the theory of the clash of civilization is over, Azoulay #forum2010
• 12:51 PM: midhal human reality of the union tomorrow… President ALF #forum2010
• 12:52 PM: carmelva key speakers’ at #forum2010 msg: peace is not eutopia, it’s easy, it’s a decision away -political will & collective action.
• 12:53 PM: AnnaLindh Minister, President, please remember that this 1000 people are here to tell you that this dream is now possible, Azoulay #forum2010
• 12:55 PM: AnnaLindh It is a Forum of responible committment, Azoulay #forum2010
• 1:01 PM: AnnaLindh The civil society here, gives this big responsibility to you, President, the UfM is not a luxury, Azoulay #forum2010
• 1:02 PM: AnnaLindh Amb Florensa, General Director of IEMed, at #forum2010
• 1:05 PM: AnnaLindh Senen Florensa, General Director of IEMED, Head of the ALF Spanish Network now speaking at #forum201
• 1:08 PM: midhal EC commissioner Fule takes the floor #forum2010 — social cultural and human dimension of the euro med union
• 1:09 PM: AnnaLindh The Mediterranean is the space of cultures connected by a common destiny, Commissioner Füle at #forum2010
• 1:10 PM: midhal Inter Cultural dialogue must promote cultural diversity as an opportunity Fule #forum2010
• 1:13 PM: adshill Dialogue and political will is necessary for resolving conflict in the region #forum2010
• 1:13 PM: AnnaLindh The National Networks kept the ALF staedy where everybody was asking were EuroMed was going, Commisioner Füle at #forum2010
• 1:13 PM: carmelva the eu rep targets tension & ignorance between europe & muslim world. At least israel isn’t the only problem here #forum2010
• 1:14 PM: AnnaLindh Salwa Siniora, Head of the ALF Lebanese Network, now speaking at #forum2010
• 1:17 PM: AnnaLindh The objective is reshaping the present to a more embracing future, Siniora at #forum2010
• 1:19 PM: AnnaLindh We are here renewing our commitment to live together in diversity, both equal in dignity, Siniora at #forum2010
• 1:20 PM: AnnaLindh Ethar El Katatney, winner of the Journalist Award, now speaking at #forum2010
• 1:21 PM: AnnaLindh We are here renewing our commitment to live, together in diversity, and equal in dignity, Siniora at #forum2010
• 1:23 PM: midhal despite all our difference – we are so similar- questions the concept us and them – our humanity unites us #forum2010 Ethar
• 1:23 PM: AnnaLindh The incresed communication of the new media didn’t increase our tolerance to each other, Ethar at #forum2010
• 1:24 PM: AnnaLindh Together we are stronger that we could ever be apart, Ethar at #forum2010
• 1:24 PM: midhal we are so connected – but we still need dialogue and d to talk and listen to each other -Ether – #forum2010
• 1:25 PM: AnnaLindh Jorge Sampaio, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, now speaking at the opening of #forum2010
• 1:25 PM: carmelva ethar el katatney, saudi arabian winner of journalism award -impressing. Vailed ,speaks of common humanity & beuty of diverse #forum2010
• 1:26 PM: AnnaLindh RT @carmelva: ethar el katatney, saudi arabian winner of journalism award -impressing. Vailed ,speaks of common humanity & beuty of div …
• 1:29 PM: adshill “Our diversity gives birth to amazing things, we need to look listen and talk to eachother. Like this we can change the world” #forum2010
• 1:31 PM: carmelva rt @annalindh: the increased communition of the new media didn’t increase our tolerance towards each other -ethar el katatney #forum2010
• 1:33 PM: AnnaLindh We need your cooperation, we need your inputs, and we need your firendship, Sampaio at #forum2010
• 1:34 PM: AnnaLindh Jordi Hereu, Mayor of Barcelona, now speaking at #forum2010
• 1:36 PM: AnnaLindh This is wonderful afternoon for the city of Barcelona, you can count on the support of the cities of the Mediterranean, Hereu at #forum2010
• 1:37 PM: midhal Mayor of Barcelona – welcomes px’s to the city #forum2010
• 1:38 PM: AnnaLindh The world has come to build Barcelona, and it knows what dialogue is, and what it happens when there is no dialogue, Hereu at #forum2010
• 1:38 PM: midhal diversity is and excellent opportunity #forum2010
• 1:38 PM: carmelva barcelona’s mayor speaks in catalan. This is the first language i must use the simultanious translation . #forum2010
• 1:39 PM: AnnaLindh Jose Montilla, President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, now seaking at #forum2010
• 1:39 PM: AnnaLindh Jose Montilla, President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, now speaking at #forum2010
• 1:41 PM: AnnaLindh We catalan people are proud that Barcelona is the simbol of the values of the declaration in 1995, Montilla at #forum2010
• 1:43 PM: AnnaLindh The official inaguration ended, now opening of the intercultural fair in room 113-114 #forum2010
• 1:44 PM: carmelva the amazing woman i just twitted about is @etharkamal. Thanks @lisang #forum2010
• 2:26 PM: adshill @carmelva Hey!! Hopefully see you in person soon, but the hashtag is actually #forum2010 as its been promoted like this for a while!
• 2:28 PM: Stephen Spillane the tweeting seems to have come to a close, so I will close this for the night. I will start a new one in time for plenary one in the morning. In the mean time check out annalindh.wordpress.com for more details.

Good afternoon from a warm Barcelona. I have reached my destination (unlike my luggage) and I am ensconced in my hotel room waiting for things to start across the road at the CCIB.

I may have neglected to inform you why I’m actually here. Well apart from blogging over on Conference Blog (shhh its not live yet! ) I will be giving my thoughts on the blogger trainer i did last year.

From the Programme

Intercultural Dialogue 2.0.
Xavier Baro (ALF Bloggers Network)
Room (127) – 5 March at 18:00
The session will focus on the presentation of the new Intercultural Dialogue Tool Kit developed by the ALF for training bloggers. The main aim of the Tool Kit is to engage social media as innovative tool to promote Intercultural dialogue in the Euro-Mediterranean area. The workshop will
introduce the manual, have a short practical phase and
present some results of the first training course. Other four
bloggers who participated in the pilot training course will
attend the workshop and give a vision from their side:
Carmel Vaisman (Israel), Ahmed Youssry (Egypt), Stephen
Spillane (Ireland), Majd Beltaji (Palestine).

It should be fun.

Its now time to head for the Opening Ceremony which will be happening in half an hour!

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You too, though, will be able to see whats happening and pass on your comments as the plenary sessions will be webcast. I received an email about it today.

JOIN THE DEBATE

‘Bridging the Gap in Mutual Perceptions between people across the Mediterranean’
09.30 to 11.00 AM CET Friday 5th March 2010
�
Join the debate with live web-cast and blog at:
www.annalindhforum.org�
�
The debate will be broadcast live from the Anna Lindh Forum in Barcelona, involving an audience of over 900 civil society representatives from the 43 countries of the Union for the Mediterranean.
�
You can also follow us at www.twitter.com/AnnaLindh to get the latest quotes and updates, and join the online discussion using the hashtag #forum2010

Do join in! It will be interesting to hear what you think!

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A public meeting will be held on Monday 8th of March at 8:00pm in Silversprings Morans Hotel Cork on the the new Fine Gael Health Policy “FairCare”.

Speakers on the night will include Fine Gael Leader Enda Kenny TD, Fine Gael Health Spokesperson Dr. James O’Reilly TD and Fine Gael Seanad Health Spokesperson Senator Francis Fitzgerald.

Local elected representatives will also be in attendance. This is a good chance to find out more about the Fine Gael Health policy. I hope to be in attendance!

For more information on the policy see FairCare.ie

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This arrived in my inbox today. It may be of interest to some readers!

You may wish to be aware that Mr. Micheál Martin, T.D., Minister for Foreign Affairs, has announced details of the 2010 Communicating Europe Initiative. Applications for funding are invited from voluntary organisations and education bodies who are interested in raising awareness about how the European Union matters in their community.

Consideration will also be given to proposals for events, large or small, that are organised to celebrate Europe Day. Europe Day, which takes place on 9 May each year, is an opportunity for citizens throughout Europe to celebrate the EU’s achievements and to reflect upon the Union’s aim to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples.

Minister Martin said:

“Last October, the Irish people wholeheartedly reaffirmed their desire for Ireland to remain at the heart of Europe. Voluntary organisations and education bodies played a vital role in raising awareness of how the EU matters in their communities and supporting their efforts continues to be a key priority for me.

I look forward to receiving applications under this year’s Communicating Europe Initiative. Events commemorating Europe Day on 9 May are a great way for Irish citizens to join with their fellow Europeans in celebrating the achievements of the EU and I am delighted that such events are among those that can be supported under the Communicating Europe Initiative.”

Application forms and further details are available from our website: www.eumatters.ie or by contacting the undersigned.

The closing date for the receipt of applications for the current round of funding is 5 March 2010

Maura Duffy
EU Secretariat & Communicating Europe
EU Division
Department of Foreign Affairs
76-78 Harcourt Street
Dublin 2
Ph:  (+353 1) 408 2500
Fas: (+353 1) 475 2002
email: maura.duffy@dfa.ie

If you know of any events planned for Europe Day, let me know and I will advertise them free!

The Statement:

Statement by Trevor Sargent TD

A Ceann Chomhairle, I thank you for the opportunity to explain to the House the circumstances of the clinic enquiry I received in June 2008 relating to an assault in September 2007 which were partially reported in the media this afternoon.

A victim of an assault came to me to voice his frustration at the slow progress being made with a case where he alleged he had been head-butted when he told me he had reported vandalism to parents of a child he had seen trying to remove a road sign in their housing estate.

My intention was to ensure the Gardaí were aware I had received a representation from a victim in an alleged assault and that the full preparation of the case would benefit from witnesses not yet interviewed being interviewed before proceeding further. The victim was afraid for his safety, meanwhile.

I accept however that although my actions in contacting An Garda Siochána were not a criminal offence, under Section 6 of the Prosecutions of Offences Act 1974 such a communication could be deemed not lawful. In this regard, I accept I made an error of judgement. Accordingly I hereby tender my resignation forthwith as Minister of State for Food and Horticulture.

Green Party Leader, John Gormley also issued a statement:

“I am greatly saddened by Trevor Sargent’s decision to resign as Minister of State.

“There is nobody in Leinster House – or in Irish politics generally – whom I admire more than Trevor. He has brought a unique mix of ability and talent, decency and honesty to Irish public life.

“Trevor’s departure is all the more difficult because he is more than just a colleague, he is a trusted friend and confidant.

“I note that in tendering his resignation he has acted promptly and without any self interest. That is totally in keeping with his approach to politics and the contribution he has made across the past four decades.

“Trevor will continue to serve the people of Dublin North as their TD with the same total dedication he has shown since June 1992. He will be missed from the Green Party team in government but he will continue to work closely with his parliamentary party colleagues.”

I didn’t see that coming… I think he was set up. But it doesn’t reflect well on a government which is obviously at war with itself!

How long more will it last?

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So now Trevor Sargent is accused of acting improperly in a criminal case. The Minister of State is the latest in a long line of accusations to have hit the Government. The latest of course being the resignation of Willie O’Dea.

While many would have assumed the Green Party were above all this type of stuff but it turns out, being in Government with Fianna Fail may have taught them some bad habits.

If Sargent was still the Leader of the Green Party there would be calls for his resignation, but as he isn’t I don’t think there will be that much pressure. Of course FF may ask for his resignation to get back at the Greens for forcing O’Dea out, but then that would be hypocritical in the extreme!!

Fine Gael’s Charlie Flanagan has called for his resignation, and the Green Party Chairman, Dan Boyle,  is defending him saying

“I know he’s a decent and honourable man and he’ll act accordingly.”

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So what do three of the above have in common at the moment? To me they represent why Fianna Fail is no longer fit to govern.

• O’Dea lied under oath, and was forced to resign.
• Coughlan thinks young people emigrate for fun and theres the whole Hanger 6 debacle
• Ahern was cheerleader in chief for O’Dea and he is the Justice Minister!

This government is beyond itself. It is out of ideas. It has no idea what it should be doing. Of all the cabinet Ministers, the only one I think that is trying to do their job is Brian Lenihan. While I dislike the idea of NAMA, at least he is trying to do something to fix the country, none of the other ministers are!

We have a government where a minister can be brought down by a tweet. Two parties desperate to stay in power because one will be out of power and the other will possibly be wiped out at the polls.

The government has gone stale, Cowen has the opportunity now to embark a wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle with his only constraint being the Green Party. What they want, only they know, though the Evening Echo is suggesting that Dan ‘tweet’ Boyle could be elevated to Cabinet.

Where does that leave the rest of us. Well there is the possibility of the Dublin Mayoral Election this year, through which Dublin residents can tell FF and Green Party what they think of them. You will have the Dublin South By-Election (2 years in a row, is that a first?) and you also have the Donegal South-West Bye-Election. Of course there will also be the Childrens Rights Referendum, but the popularity of the Government won’t come into that, hopefully! Then next year you have the Presidential Election.

I dont think FF or the Greens are going to do well in any of the upcoming elections. Dublin South is more then likely going to go Labour, Donegal South-West is probably going to Sinn Fein (I’m sticking to my prediction!), and the Dublin Mayoral election will probably go to Labour on Fine Gael transfers (just like the 1990 Presidential Election!).

Unless the Government gets its act together it will go from crisis to crisis as it is now. It seems to just get over one thing when something else crops up. They need to think quick, the boom is long and Ireland needs solutions now.

Its that or be wiped out.

So we have a few more acts chosen for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo.

FYR Macedonia have chosen Gjoko Taneski ft Billy Zver & Pejcin with “Jas Ja Imam Silata”. I am not sure what to make of this song. It sounds like a bit of a rock ballad to me, until the rap bit. As I hate rap, this song doesn’t impress me

Malta have gone with Thea Garrett who will sing “My Dream” in Oslo. This is a ballad, it goes back to tradition of Maltese entries. Thea is a great singer and could do well if people swing back to ballads this year.

Slovenia have just chosen Ansambel Roka Žlindra & Kalamari with “Narodno zabavni rock”. This song tries to mix old and new. Brings back memories of Eurovisions of old at times. Its a bit of fun, but not a joke entry!

France has selected the singer it is sending to Oslo, and the lucky person is Jessy Matador. They will announce the song on the 5th of March.

This week will see Spain, Turkey, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Latvia select their entries.

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