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The foundation – having the objective of bringing people

together as a way to promote dialogue between cultures

and respect for diversity – adopted an approach based on

shared values and aspirations to address the true causes

that have deepened the gap between the two shores of the

Mediterranean. In this context, the work of the Anna Lindh

Foundation today, a decade on from its creation, is more chal-

lenging and more essential than ever.

In making intercultural dialogue happen, the Anna Lindh

Foundation works in diverse fields – including education,

arts and media – to establish tools enabling and encouraging

dialogue between cultures. The foundation has been working,

through its national networks, with civil societies and youth

across the region, establishing and building multiple initia-

tives to bring people from across the Mediterranean together.

Education for intercultural citizenship

The Anna Lindh Foundation develops programmes and

resources for educators and youth leaders, with a focus on

promoting dialogue skills and intercultural citizenship learn-

ing. Its flagship publication, ‘The Anna Lindh Handbook on

Intercultural Citizenship’, resulted from a two-year work

process, involving 90 educators and experts from the south

and north Mediterranean. The Euro-Med Handbook, which

has also led to a complementary resource for Arab countries,

is the basis for a regional training programme for educators

on intercultural citizenship learning.

The foundation has also launched, in collaboration with the

Council of Europe, the manual ‘How to Cope with Diversity

at Schools’. In collaboration with the League of Arab States,

the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization and the Swedish Institute, it has launched the

‘Guidebook for History Textbooks Authors’.

Media across cultures

Engaging journalists from the Mediterranean in a perma-

nent dialogue on issues of cross-cultural reporting is at

the heart of the Anna Lindh Foundation’s approach to the

media field.

This approach has been carried out through a programme

of co-organized national debates involving media, academic

experts and civil society representatives from 42 countries on

diverse fields, such as rapid response to intercultural crises

(Athens, 2008); conflict reporting (London, 2009); peace-

building (Stockholm, 2009); press freedom (Marrakech,

2010); the role of media in democratic transition (Tunis,

2011); the Arab Spring and Europe’s perception of Islam

(Palermo, 2012); and reporting on extremism with Thompson

Reuters Foundation (London, 2014).

Providing international platforms for advocacy on media

matters has been another pillar of work. In this effort,

the Anna Lindh Foundation co-organized, following the

historic events of the Arab social uprisings, a global media

forum at the headquarters of the League of Arab States

(LAS), with the presence of the LAS Secretary-General and

leading international journalists.

In line with these objectives, in 2006 the Anna Lindh

Foundation initiated a leading journalistic prize, the

Mediterranean Journalist Award, for reporting on issues

of cultural diversity. In total 52 ‘Media Reporters Across

Cultures’, including winners and special recognitions, have

The Anna Lindh Forum in 2013 underlined the role of Mediterranean cooperation in supporting civil society’s work for open and pluralistic societies

Images: Anna Lindh Foundation

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