By Paloma Haschke
10.00am – 1pm
Ana Lindh Foundation, Alexandria
Created in 2005, the Ana Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for Dialogue Between Cultures is a bilateral initiative launched by Sweden and Egypt. It works on a basis of three-year-plans and is financed by the EU and the governments. The next one is supposed to start in 2012
The foundation focuses on developing activities with intercultural approach between civil societies of different countries. It recently has tried to develop contacts with Libya, with the ambition to make the country its 44th member. Each one of them has a focal point that centralizes national organization and to encourage them to participate to different initiatives; the foundation believes that dialogue between cultures is in fact dialogue between people.
The foundation also focuses on restoring the dialogue once it has been interrupted between parties. After the Arab spring for example, it has been concentrating its efforts on finding a new role for civil society and bringing people together around common aspirations and demands.
The foundation Ana Lindh regroups 4.000 organizations andhus supports national networks but also cooperation between those networks. It is a unique model as it is the largest civil society network of the Mediterranean Sea. The EU wants to export this model to Latin America.
The foundation’s ambition is to develop an independent civil society to realize the dream of people who wants to be part of change and of their country’s future.
3 – 4.30pm
Sightseeing – Citadel of Qaitbay
