1. 2008: European Year of Intercultural Dialogue „Together in diversity“ Monica Urian de Sousa DG EAC, European Commission Budapest, 23 April 2008

2. CONTEXT Cultural diversity is at the heart of the EU project  Successive enlargements have increased diversity within the EU  The free movement of people in the Single Market increases diversity within EU Member States  The EU is faced with old and new migratory flows  Globalisation facilitates increased interaction between cultures, languages, religions, ethnicities EU faces new challenges

3. CHALLENGES We want to go beyound multicultural societies, where cultures and cultural groups simply coexist Tolerance is not enough anymore In an intercultural EU, cultural diversity is a source of creativity, innovation, and prosperity

4. CHALLENGES Respectful exchange between different worldviews, mutual understanding, intercultural competence are paramount in an intercultural society European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008

5. GENERAL EYID OBJECTIVES Promote intercultural dialogue as a process of integration in a more open and more complex world Encourage cultural diversity Develop a European citizenship open to the world

6. EYID KEY MESSAGES Intercultural dialogue contributes to: mutual understanding and a better living together exploring the benefits of cultural diversity fostering an active European citizenship and a sense of European belonging

7. THE YEAR IN A NUTSHELL 10 M€ for European and national projects, communication, studies and evaluation  7 European flagship projects, launch and closing events: 3 M€  1 project per Member State: 3 M€  Information and communication campaign: 3,3 M€  Studies and evaluation: 0,7 M€ Moreover, mainstreaming of intercultural dialogue in other EU programmes: “Youth in Action”, “Lifelong Learning”, “Europe for Citizens”, “Culture”

8. THEMES OF THE YEAR Topics selected for a special focus during 2008: Culture and the arts Education Migration and integration Multilingualism Inter-faith dialogue The workplace Media Sustainable strategy for intercultural dialogue in Europe beyond 2008, part of the European Agenda for Culture

9. PARTNERSHIP APPROACH EYID 2008 Youth features Civil Society Media Partnership CAMPAIGN DRIVE FOR EYID EUROPEAN STRATEGY

10. AN EMERGING EUROPEAN STRATEGY FOR INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE DRIVEN BY: Continuous input from civil society @European and national levels (Rainbow paper of Civil Society Platform for intercultural dialogue, input from EYID partners during 2008) Mobilisation of Member States (network of National Coordination Bodies) Mobilisation of the European Parliament

11. OBJECTIVES OF THE CAMPAIGN Raise awareness of the Year among the broad public, especially young people Increase visibility of the Year‘s activities Communicate the results of Community and Member States actions Foster networking between stakeholders across Europe

12. EUROPEAN YEAR ONLINE Official website launched in 23 languages on 07 January 2008

13. GET INVOLVED IN ICD: www.dialogue2008.eu Partners’ section = network of civil society actors involved in intercultural dialogue where you can: - present your profile and work - network with more than 1.000 colleagues involved in ICD - share your best practices & learn with others - get Europe-wide visibility for your events, projects and contents - brand your activities with the official image of the Year (Toolbox) - get information about policy debates and initiatives

14. “Cultures on my street”- PHOTO INITIATIVE Pan-European photo competition for all European residents, regardless of age or origins: www.street-cultures.eu www.street-cultures.eu Task: “Capture your vision of intercultural dialogue” Objective: Generate high-quality photo material to be used to promote the Year Selecting the winners: -Public‘s favourite award through online voting -Three winners selected by professional jury Prizes worth 15,000 Euro: professional cameras and study trips

15. BRUSSELS DEBATES Seven debates, held on every first Wednesday of the month (March – November) Objectives: - To provide a platform for reflection and exchange of ideas on intercultural dialogue - To generate media interest Upcoming topics: interreligious dialogue Workplace multilingualism education role of the media Online forum

16. TO CONCLUDE The success of the Year depends on you! Thank you for your attention! Monica.Urian-de-Sousa@ec.europa.eu