Brussels, 04/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008 will be launched in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 8 January by the Commission president, José Manuel Barroso, the European Parliament president, Hans-Gert Pottering, and the Slovenian prime minister, Janez Janša. This will be preceded on 7 January by a conference in Ljubljana entitled "Intercultural Dialogue as the Fundamental Value of the EU" in the presence of EU Culture Commissioner Ján Figel and EU Science and Research Commissioner Jánez Potoènik. Academics, thinkers, writers, artists and journalists from many European countries will discuss the challenges of multicultural Europe and set the stage for the official launch of the European Year the next day in Ljubljana Castle. The two events in Ljubljana kick off a multitude of activities across Europe throughout the year, which will emphasise interaction of cultures, deepening of relations between nationalities and religions, and promoting through dialogue a strengthening of understanding, tolerance, solidarity and a sense of common destiny among EU citizens from all walks of life.
According to a recent Eurobarometer public opinion survey, two thirds of Europeans interact with at least one person of a different religious, ethnic or national background every day, 'which shows that intercultural interaction is a common daily feature in the EU,' explains the Commission. Over 70 percent of respondents considered these relations positive and enriching. The European Year of Intercultural Dialogue will be a way of celebrating and extending the connections that unite people across the whole of Europe. (I.L.)