Brussels, 18/01/2010 (Agence Europe) - The Governing Board of the Anna Lindh Foundation, the Alexandria-based Euro-Mediterranean organisation for the promotion of intercultural dialogue, met in Brussels on Wednesday 13 January to discuss priorities for 2010, highlighting more specifically “the necessity to reinforce the role of civil societies in deepening and extending the Euro-Mediterranean partnership”, an official press release says. A major multi-cultural forum is planned for March 2010 in association with the Spanish Presidency of the EU.
The Foundation underlines the “importance and the exceptional format” of the forum, to be held in Barcelona on 4-7 March, which has “contributions from hundreds of representatives of the Euro-Mediterranean civil society coming to debate and exchange on the human and socio-cultural bases of the Union for the Mediterranean”, which is, however, seen by those who conceived it only as a “Union of projects”, both economic and infrastructure. One of the complaints made to the Foundation leadership is that it has gone beyond its mandate. High-ranking officials from the member countries within the Board have called on the Foundation to revise its programme for 2010 so as not to exceed the extent of its areas of responsibility, particularly when its proposes becoming involved in initiatives which fail to take account of the political climate in the region (referring to the currently deadlocked Israeli-Palestinian negotiations). Syria, in particular, demanded that any action which does not fit the Foundation mandate be removed from the programme.
According to Arab diplomatic sources, the countries of the southern rim, including Union for the Mediterranean Joint President Egypt, also opposed publication of a survey of 13,000 people conducted in 13 countries (10 of which on the southern rim) on cultural values and intercultural perceptions, use of which could lead to “misuse” of the information contained. These reservations, already expressed at the previous meeting of the Governing Board in November, led to a number of changes in the way the information was presented. Nevertheless, several member countries maintained their opposition despite the stated belief of the Foundation Board that the survey's approach had been scientific and that it “represents a unique opportunity” for “the creation of a human shared space of co-existence” among the people of the Euro-Mediterranean region. The report, the Foundation says, reveals “positive trends” while providing information on the “main challenges and priorities” faced by the member countries. The most obvious of the obstacles is a strong mutual mistrust, with the “other” being viewed as a latent form of threat and cause of conflict. These findings provide no encouragement to transparency, with the Foundation recommending that they remain, in the main, confidential and be used only internally. The survey, according to a diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, reveals that differences in perception remain wide and confirm that prejudice, particularly religious, still exists, and that action undertaken since the start of the Barcelona Process, with its healthy information budgets, as part of dialogue between civilisations, has not been able to eradicate. “Most of the interviewees did not have the impression that the media had improved the image of the other group of countries. This critical assessment was particularly widespread among respondents from the European countries.” No doubt this finding may be explained by the fact that action has focused on institutional communication, often separate from the reality of the discussions, and on theoretical conceptualisation, rather than on media on the ground - as may be shown by there being no local journalist on the panel dealing with this issue, only academics and communication experts. The Foundation expresses its wariness towards the media the role of which, it says, is contradictory. On the one hand, the media provide opportunities for each getting to know the other and for interaction, especially through the internet. On the other hand, some, both from the North and the South of the Mediterranean, very influential in the region, have a logic and language tending towards radicalisation, condemnation and a desire to work against dialogue, the Foundation says.
The press release published by the Foundation does not, however, refer to the general reservations expressed by member countries which have been spoken of by a number of sources. The text says that the joint Union for the Mediterranean Presidents, France and Egypt, underlined “the uniqueness of the Anna Lindh Foundation”, which “can now be considered as one the most innovative instruments of the Process the Union re-launched in July 2008 in Paris”. (F.B./transl.rt)