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EU launches intercultural dialogue year
10.01.2008, 10:31
Slovenia,
as current holder of the EU presidency, hosted the official inauguration of the
European Year of Intercultural Dialogue with a grand ceremony in capital
Ljubljana on Tuesday (8 January). A two-day international conference on the
issue was held prior to the launch in Ljubljana, discussing the role of the
media, education and the economy in relations between different EU cultures. The
project, with a budget of €10 million, plus monies from EU capitals, includes
seven flagship trans-European projects and 27 national projects involving
culture, education, youth, sport and citizenship. It aims to encourage
understanding, tolerance, solidarity and a sense of common destiny among people
in Europe.
But Brussels' push on intercultural issues has met with some criticism. German
Conservative MEP and member of the European Parliament's culture committee Ruth
Hieronymi pointed to discrepancies between the promotion of intercultural dialogue
and competition laws proposed by the same institution.
"To practice intercultural dialogue, it is necessary to perceive, preserve
and protect cultural diversity," the MEP said.
She warned that smaller countries' media and creative sectors risk being eaten
up by "big business", if submitted to ordinary competition rules.
EU law says that the union should preserve and promote cultural diversity in
all its legislation, but according to the MEP, this is not taken into account
in legislative work.
Intercultural
dialogue is a beautiful expression," said Odile Chenal, deputy director of
the European Cultural Foundation, which supports cultural cooperation
activities across Europe.
"But I have some hesitation in using this expression, because it is often
used in a celebratory way, out of any context, as a magic against all kinds of
problems, conflicts, tensions our contemporary societies are facing," the
director continued.
We run the risk of misusing culture and intercultural dialogue as a way of hiding social and economic differences, and of stigmatising these differences as "cultural", Ms Chenal stated.
Source: EUobserver.com