'' The Bridge''  magazine
 Issue 8, 1o τρίμηνο 2008

The European Union today is a community of values, cultures and people living together in harmony as was never possible before. The founding father of the European project, Jean Monnet placed people and cultures in the core of his thinking. He has been quoted with the statement “Nous ne coalisons pas des Etats, nous unissons des homes” (We do not unite states, but people). European integration indeed, is based on an open dialogue between people and cultures, and goes far beyond than being simply an alliance of states.

Nowadays Europe unites twenty seven Member States with different cultural and religious traditions. Diversity is part of Europe’s genetic code, since the continent was never a uniform entity. For the last fifty years Europeans have been writing a new chapter in their history. Diversity serves as a basis for cooperation, development and prosperity, while the notion of mutual respect has become one of the guiding principles of Europe. A true sense of belonging to a common space can only be acquired by embracing differences and shaping the various aspects of belonging to a community. This is where intercultural dialogue can play a crucial role.

The Treaty establishing the European Community gives it the task of contributing to the flowering of the cultures of member states, highlighting their common cultural heritage. The combined effect of the successive enlargements of the EU, the increased mobility resulting from the single market, old and new migratory flows, more significant exchanges with the rest of the world through trade, education, leisure and globalisation constitute the main factors leading to increasing interactions between the various cultures, languages, ethnic groups and religions in Europe and beyond. In this framework, the development of intercultural attitudes by the citizens and the promotion of intercultural dialogue are fundamental. Intercultural dialogue promotes cultural diversity in Europe, improves coexistence and encourages an active European citizenship, which is open to the world. At the same time EU’s commitment to solidarity, social justice, the development of a social market economy, cooperation and greater cohesion are also promoted, as key European values in a globalised world.

As to the international level, intercultural dialogue enables the EU to forge close partnerships with countries in its neighbourhood, extending a zone of stability, democracy and prosperity beyond the EU. Culture can play a key role in the EU’s external relations as a means of enhancing international cooperation and developing closer ties with countries of the wider region, such as the Balkan states, the Middle East and Northern Africa. Such a cultural rapprochement between the EU and its neighbours leads definitely to a win-win situation with clear benefits to all. We have to use all tools at our disposal to create a peaceful, multicultural Europe. This is a unique opportunity not to be missed.

Intercultural dialogue has always been an important dimension in many Community policies and instruments such as in the fields of the structural funds, education, youth, research, culture, employment and social affairs. However it appears necessary to respond to the need for a deeper and more structured dialogue between cultures, if it is for the awareness of the public authorities and the civil society to be risen, inside and outside the EU. The year of 2008 has been declared the year of Intercultural Dialogue (EYID) by the European Parliament and the Council, containing a key message: Europe’s great cultural diversity represents a unique advantage.

The overall objectives of the Intercultural Dialogue Year are firstly, to promote intercultural dialogue as a process in which all those living in the EU can improve their ability to deal with a more open, complex, cultural environment secondly, to highlight intercultural dialogue as an opportunity to contribute to and benefit from a diverse and dynamic society thirdly, to contribute to the development of an active European citizenship which respects diversity whilst reflecting core European values and fourthly, to stress the contribution of different cultures to the heritage and ways of life of the Member States. During the EYID numerous initiatives will be organised on a European scale, as well as at national, regional and local level. The role of the civil society in this context will be of utmost importance and its active participation is necessary for the success of the initiative. Paulo Coelho, Charles Aznavour and Marija Šerifović were appointed among others, as the EU ambassadors of the EYID, in order to lend their support and make the EYID a success.

Citizens across the EU fully back this initiative, according to a recent Flash Eurobarometer survey on Intercultural Dialogue in Europe. They were asked to report their patterns of interaction with people of different cultural backgrounds and to inquire about their general attitude towards cultural diversity. The results of the survey are of a special interest as almost three-quarters of EU citizens believe that people with a different background enrich the cultural life of their country and do bring benefits to everyday life. Furthermore, a remarkably high number (83%) of the citizens agreed on the benefits of intercultural contacts. Unquestionably, the dominant sentiment in the EU is that intercultural dialogue is indeed beneficial. We all have to unite our forces, whether we are part of the government, Parliament, public administration or civil society, to make the EYID a success.

Europe is changing and is changing fast. Its 490 million citizens now represent a dynamic multicultural society capable of projecting core values whilst respecting diversity. This is an asset to use for projecting Europe in the globalised world, not a liability to conceal. We are many, different but bond by the hope for a common future. All different, all equal.