Launch of European Year of Intercultural Dialogue

The European Commission today launched the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008, which seeks to foster a sense of European belonging by creating closer links between Europeans and by exploring the benefits of cultural diversity.

"The European Year 2008 gives us a valuable opportunity to explore ways to improve our intercultural dialogue, and our intercultural relations," said Ján Figel', European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Training and Youth. "This may seem to be an extremely difficult task. But 50 years ago the idea of bringing our continent's diverse populations together under one umbrella, the European Union, also seemed to be beyond reach. Now we can see the achievement of the European Union, and its remarkable success in uniting Europe's countries. Therefore, we can and should face up to the challenges of our continent's cultural and religious mix. That is why we have chosen the slogan 'Together in diversity' for the Year.”

The European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008 is a joint initiative between the European Union, the EU Member States and European civil society. In addition to providing support for information campaigns and studies on intercultural dialogue, the initiative will fund specific programs in areas such as culture and education.

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