Bahá’í World/Volume 27/Bahá’í Involvement in the Royaumont Process
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This article reports on the Bahá’í' contribution to a European UnionSponsored moral education initiative now underway in Southeastern Europe.
BAHA’I INVOLVEMENT IN THE ROYAUMON T PROCESS
fter the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords that ended the
1992—1995 war in the F ederal Republic of Yugoslavia, the European Union pledged to mobilize civil society in a “soft” diplomatic effort to relieve the ethnic tensions that had roiled the religious, cultural, and economic landscape of the continent, and in particular, Southeastern Europe. Beyond the military and economic initiatives that successfully ended the fighting, other measures are necessary to end the war against intolerance; one can bring pressure to bear on a militia leader to lay down his weapons, but one cannot force him to stop hating his neighbor. The Dayton Agreements thus raised an age-old dilemma: in the quest to create a culture conducive to democracy and ethnic harmony, how can governments eradicate divisive attitudes and prejudice? Out of the crucible of this question was born the Royaumont Process.
Named after the French town in which the Process was created, the Royaumont initiative was established on 12 December 1995 by the European Union with the goal of creating a “framework of dialogue and cooperation” in order to “promote stability and good
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neighborliness” among the nations of Southeastern Europe. Since much of the past and present conflict in the area is based on ethnic tension, Royaumont has focused on using non-governmental organizations to relieve ethnic strife through the promotion of interethnic dialogue and cross-border cooperation and promotes initiatives in such fields as education, art and culture, religion, science, technology, and recreation. The Royaumont administration is responsible for establishing projects in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, the F onner Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Russia, Turkey, the United States, and all fifteen European Union member states are also active members of the initiative. The Process is coordinated by Panagiotis Roumeliotis, a Greek diplomat.1
After the creation of the Royaumont Process, a two-year search ensued to find suitable projects to fulfill its goals. In 1997, the Bahá’í International Community—an accredited NGO With the United Nations—offered its expertise to the organizers of the Royaumont Process, proposing that a moral education initiative created by a Bahá’í in Russia might be adapted to fit the Process’s goals. For several years the “ZIPOPO”2 program—in English, “The Happy Hippo ShOW”——had been successfully motivating Russian audiences to consider the application of moral principles to their day-today problems. “The Happy Hippo Show” is a unique drama—based interactive tele-Vision/radio program that has been developed and implemented by Shamil Fattakhov, a television journalist from Kazan, Russia. With “The Happy Hippo Show,” Mr. Fattakhov has been using broadcast media to explore points of ethnic and cultural unity and to stimulate public dialogue on the unifying power of morality. The English name of the program alludes to a
1. Dr. Roumeliotis was appointed to coordinate the Royaumont Process by the Council of the European Union. Other organizations involved in the planning and implementation of the Royaumont agreement include the European Commission, the European Parliament, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Eastern Europe, the Central European Initiative, and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation collective.
2. “ZIPOPO” is an acronym of the Russian words “Zaochniy institut pozitivnovo povedeniya,” or “The Academy of Positive Behavior.”
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Bahá’í INVOLVEMENT 91 THE ROYAUMONT PROCESS
remark attributed to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who is reported to have said to a crying Child, “Don’t be sad, be a happy hippopotamus!”3
On 1 April 1998, representatives of all countries involved in the Royaumont Process gathered at a summit in Athens, Greece, to discuss potential Royaumont projects. There, the details of the Bahá’í initiative—“Prornoting Positive Messages through the Media: ‘The Happy Hippo Show’”—were first presented and approved for financing. In the words of Dr. Roumeliotis, “‘The Happy Hippo Show” was one of the first proj ects to be submitted for evaluation to the Member Summit since it was the first to be so well prepared and comprehensive.”4
Bahá’í involvement with the Royaumont Process is coordinated through the Paris Branch of the Bahá’í International Community’s Office of Public Information and is funded by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Ambassador Ronald Mayer of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, who has been involved with the Bahá’í project, has said that it “fits perfectly with the objectives of Royaumont, as its aim is precisely to promote values, messages, and ideas encouraging reciprocal understanding and comprehension.” “The Happy Hippo Show” has also received high praise and enthusiastic pledges of support from Balkan host governments.
“The Happy Hippo Show” draws upon the power of drama and consultation, presenting brief, evocative sketches that spark discussion between the host and audience. One play performed last year in Zagreb, Croatia, was called simply “Cold Coffee.” Set in a local coffeehouse, the piece featured three Croatians—two men and a woman. During their meal, they speak several times in derogatory terms about their Serb waiter. At the drama’s Climax, the waiter accidentally spills coffee on one of the Croatians, and the
3. See pp. 229—33 of The Bahá’í World 1996—97 for further information on the ZIPOPO proj ect.
4. More than twelve other projects under the Royaumont Process have since been established, including a program to strengthen ties between Southeastern European human rights NGOs (sponsored by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights), an educational initiative to train culturally sensitive leaders (sponsored by the Hellenic Foundation for European Foreign Policy), and a plan to encourage cooperation among Southeastern European universities.
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Tofulfill the Royaumont Process Is goals Ofstimulating public dialogue and consultation on ethnic issues, graduates of the November 1998 Happy Hippo training seminar in Zagreb, Croatia, performed the Short play “Cold Coffee ”for the public and media.
two men rise to attack him. At that point in the performance, the host shouted “FreezeI”; the drama stopped and the host and the audience took over. The following segment of the show was devoted to discussion among audience members, with the host asking questions and occasionally interjecting ideas or quotations to spur discussion. The exchange that followed the performance centered around ethnic relations between Serbs and Croats, with audience members offering everything from simple pleas for tolerance to the observation that ethnic differences are an undeniable reality with ramifications that demand careful attention. The program ends with the actors presenting one or two possible positive solutions. One audience member, a university student from Zagreb, said of the show, “I thought it was excellent in that it was actually trying to solve the issue, and people were speaking openly. Sometimes in your family, you are not allowed to speak, but if you can come here, to events like this, you can be heard.”
The basic format of “The Happy Hippo Show,” with its live drama, audience response, and spontaneous discussion between the host and audience is remarkably adaptable. Virtually any subj ect,
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Bahá’í INVOLVEMENT LN THE ROYAUMONT PROCESS
from the causes of local ethnic conflicts t0 premarital sex, can be explored in depth, and more than two hundred scripts for the show have already been written. The format welcomes grassroots participation and is designed to be particularly accessible to youth. The goal of Bahá’í involvement in the Royaumont Process is to train journalists, education professionals, members of non-governmental organizations, those who work with youth, and other interested people to work towards the fulfillment of the Royaumont objectives. One of the ways of doing that is by establishing “Happy Hippo” programs throughout Europe.
In the initial phases of the project, Mr. Fattakhov conducts local training workshops for prospective hosts. In a few days of intense instruction, participants are taught the basics of organizing and managing a television or radio show, how to write and solicit scripts, direct actors, and serve as their show’s host. As facilitators of the discussion segment of the show, hosts are trained in the art of successful consultation and are encouraged to adapt the “Happy Hippo” format to the needs and capacities of their own communities.
After “C 01d C offee” was halted, audience members discussed issues related to inter-ethnic tolerance. Seen in the center of the photo, to the right of the white signboard, a host wearing the Happy Hippo costume rewarded audience members who made positive statements.
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Training seminars have been conducted in six countries thus far: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, and Slovenia, with more planned for the Fonner Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In addition to airing on television, the show has been produced in the business community, in kindergartens, youth camps, schools, hospitals, and universities. In Croatia, the weekly “Happy Hippo” radio program, which addresses such issues as multiculturalism and women’s rights, was nominated best radio talk show of the year in the spring of 1999.
Of the seminars, Dr. Roumeliotis writes, “The implementation of this project was a success and the reports we have been receiving demonstrate a profound interest by the target countries in the work proposed by the Bahá’í International Community.” In countries where seminars have taken place, plans are in process to identify and support promising follow—up projects, to produce “The Happy Hippo Show” on television, to implement “Happy Hippo”-inspired moral education curricula in the school system, and to hold additional, more comprehensive training seminars.
The “Happy Hippo” format has also been adapted for use in moral education programs in countries as diverse as China, F inland, India, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, the Malay states of Sabah and Sarawak, Sweden, the Ukraine, and the United States.
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