Backlash, backlash
Henk Baars, head of delegation European Network Church on the Move
Just about every social, democratic and human rights area in Europe is experiencing a backlash in effort and social security. It could be heard in all the lectures and strategy papers on the many topics that were reviewed at the semi-annual meeting (14-17 October 2024) of NGOs with participation status with the Council of Europe. We too have these through our membership of the Network Church on the Move.
Yours truly was there and was by no means inspired by everything, but two things stood out for me.
The committee dealing with gender had a striking speaker on the impact of AI. Accustomed as we are to traditional programming languages, machine learning is now being added and lastly, without realising it the method using Artificial Neural Networking. Much more mathematics and much more interrelational linking. Of course, that process is far from over. Research shows that all that AI violence makes strange distinctions between men and women. Most of the time, the emphasis is on capabilities and traits of men. Amazon, for example, does not appear to be friendly to women; in job selection processes, men are often preferred, let alone people of colour.
Medicine advertising is very often aimed at men, with most research into its effects, but Chatgpt also often gives male accents. When asked further on a phrase like ‘She loves her bike’, after a question and answer session it still comes out that it must be a man. How to avoid it. Many more women to design AI, write critically about it, involve many more stakeholders at design phases and dive deep into data collection procedures. Until recently, our network was involved in the gender working group that brought this issue.
We are also involved in the somewhat closer-to-home topic of Interfaith and Interconvictional Dialogue. At the European level, there is hardly a well-functioning commission that can vouch for this, even though everyone talks about the so-called bad influence of religions in conflicts. The current commission consists , except for one woman, of men in long robes in blue or black.Talking about gender. Of course, that doesn't get us anywhere. The working group will make a diplomatic attempt to get parliamentarians to change this.
We are also fully involved in the Migration Working Group. That is actually where most of the energy goes. An excellently organised working group, of which our member is supported by a group of well-informed people who meet online. Does all this help at that so complicated European level? CINGO, for that is how the meeting is called, obviously has a much less important position than the meeting of parliamentarians and the council of ministers, and there is a fight to get the opinions through. But we are not to be ignored.
The Dutch delegation was therefore the guest of Ned.ambassador to the Council Tanja Gongrijp. Particularly the problem, how do our advices get through, was the topic. CINGO has no power and cannot wave sanctions, but has to rely on persuasion. In April, we will take the initiative to also involve the Belgian and Luxembourg ambassadors. The Ned. Delegation is unique in their functioning in that area. Just arisen spontaneously. This is how we get closer to the fire.
The Catholic NGOs(40 out of 330)) also sought each other out on Sunday with a study on ‘dignity’.Dignity. All sensitivities came along. So Catholic thinking can really be exciting after all. And all that concluded with a Eucharist led by the nuncio to the Council of Europe. So I could still keep to my Sunday duty with even a mass with three gentlemen. Where else do you experience that?