FRONT PAGE
The European Union intends to declare 2008 “Year of Intercultural Dialogue”. The institutions of the Eu are laying the foundations for the initiative: the proposal of the European Commission has been debated and voted by the European Parliament. The final decision on the launch of the project and the allocation of funds to it will be taken jointly by the European Parliament and Council.The Commission and Parliament hope for a “Year of Intercultural Dialogue” based on four types of action: European events, national and regional events, information campaigns, and consultations with civil society. Contrary to previous initiatives of this kind, the number of actions planned at the Eu level will be limited. All efforts will in fact be concentrated on the creativity of local communities: citizens will be encouraged to take actions on their own initiative and at the local level. The original proposal of the Commission made no mention of the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue. It was said that the term “intercultural” was sufficiently wide to cover all aspects of life. However, the amendments proposed by the Culture and Education Committee have now taken on board the religious aspect. So, in the draft proposal, it is specified that the aim of the “Year of Intercultural Dialogue” is to help draw the attention of Eu citizens to the importance of intercultural and interfaith dialogue in everyday life and promote intercultural dialogue between the various religious and cultural groups of member states. To this end, the members of the Committee have underlined the need for a structured collaboration with the institutions of civil society and especially with the organizations dedicated to the promotion of interfaith dialogue. They have also insisted on the need to include representatives of civil society, political leaders and exponents of the various religions in the Intercultural Forum that will close the Year. They also propose an interfaith meeting between representatives of the Churches and religious communities. This progress is exciting. Local initiatives can contribute in a significant way to the process of European integration and the promotion of active European citizenship. Moreover, the creative efforts aimed at consolidating intercultural and interfaith understanding and respect are essential in the context of growing immigration and the urgent need to reinforce integration within our societies. If the public authorities must begin to reduce the difficulties linked to integration or to the excessive simplification of religious and cultural differences, the Churches and religious communities must, for their part, equally promote in an active way mutual understanding and dialogue between the religions. In our multicultural and multireligious Europe, a thorough religious education is an essential prerequisite for peaceful, respectful and dynamic co-existence and for a proper appreciation of diversity.
