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The next chapter of the

Anna Lindh Foundation

Ambassador Hatem Atallah, Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation

he Anna Lindh Foundation is ushering in a second

phase of action, ten years on from its creation

as the first common institution of the Barcelona

Process: Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). Building on

its established programmes and networks across 42 UfM

countries, this next chapter aims to invest in communi-

cating dialogue as an alternative path in the face of rising

radicalization and violence, and to confirm the foun-

dation’s position as the leading regional institution for

intercultural dialogue in the Mediterranean.

The Mediterranean region, once again at the centre of the

global agenda, is experiencing the most challenging and

hazardous situation of the last two decades. To the north

as to the south, societies are facing deep crises and cultural

regression. In the Middle East, some countries are experi-

encing an unprecedented level of violence. Yet there have

been positive developments, the most significant among

them being the awakening of civil society and its renewed

capacity to become a player for social change in the region.

The founders of the Anna Lindh Foundation anticipated

the centrality of civil society in working for a common

Mediterranean future.

Twenty years ago, in the aftermath of the Oslo Peace Accords,

the Barcelona Process established a Euro-Mediterranean

Partnership, bringing together 42 countries. In 2004, the High-

Level Group on Intercultural Dialogue proposed the creation of

a Euro-Mediterranean Foundation with a mandate to promote

intercultural dialogue in the region. As a result, the Anna Lindh

Foundation was established in Alexandria, Egypt.

The foundation’s mandate for intercultural dialogue was not

defined as a simple meeting between cultures, but as a long-

term process leading to a social transformation of individuals

with different identities and expectations.

The Young Arab Voices debate programme has enabled the cultural exchange of ideas, diversity and dialogue and stimulated youth development

Image: Anna Lindh Foundation

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