Berne: Yearly conference of Political Division IV of the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On October 14, 2010 the Political Affairs Division IV of the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized its annual conference in Bern on the issue of “When Religions and Worldview Meet”. Various figures from Switzerland and abroad participated in the conference. Nagwan el Ashwal, Media & Religion project manager in Egypt, was invited to participate in one of the conference workshops as a researcher on Image Studies. The workshop focused on the power of the media and was attended by researchers and actors with specialized knowledge of the topic. The aim of the workshop was to discuss the contribution of the media to peaceful coexistence at a time when societies are increasingly confronted with religious and cultural pluralism.

In her presentation, Nagwan el Ashwal discussed the image of Europe in Egypt through her paper on the topic. She also discussed the media’s coverage of Islam in Switzerland.