The Culture and Education Commission of the Congress discussed the draft white paper of the Council of Europe on inter-cultural dialogue on 29 March and adopted twelve principles of inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue for local authorities. The Commission also examined reports on integration through sport, on the role of the regions in the teaching of regional and minority languages, and on the contribution of the universities to regional cultural development. During the meeting there was also a presentation on the political campaign of the Council of Europe “All different, all equal”, launched in June 2006, and conducted by youth of the 49 member countries of the Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe (the 46 member countries, plus Belarus, the Vatican and Montenegro). The aim of the campaign, whose fundamental watchwords are diversity, participation and human rights, is to mobilise youth round a message of primary importance: all people, wherever they be, have a right to be themselves and to be treated in an equal and just way. The campaign also emphasises the values that have inspired the Council of Europe for over 55 years and that ensure that each European can enjoy the right to democratic choice, that human rights are a living principle and that social justice be at the heart of modern society. The campaign is also aimed at promoting education in human rights and reducing discrimination against youth of minority groups, helping them to understand that their voice is heard and that their views count. It is just in response to a growth in incidents with a racist background that the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe published in recent days a Recommendation containing a list of specific but simple measures that need to be taken. In this regard, Terry Davis, general secretary of the Council of Europe, had urged governments to take immediate action to curb such incidents. The Recommendation asks governments to conduct studies on the situation of children from minority groups in the school system and implement political measures to solve the problems that these children have to cope with. It also proposes the creation of a system that would permit incidents with a racist motivation to be monitored and prosecuted and to raise the awareness of society on this matter. Teachers should be trained to work in a multicultural environment and to respond to the needs of pupils who come from different backgrounds.
