Heads of Committees Hold Meeting on Intercultural Dialogue

Ljubljana, 14 April

The heads of parliamentary culture committees from EU member states and accession candidates are holding a one-day meeting in Ljubljana on Monday, dedicated to intercultural dialogue. The aim of the meeting is to raise the awareness of culture and intercultural dialogue, said Slovenia's Branko Grims.

Grims, the head of the Slovenian parliament's Culture Committee, added that a meticulous respect for the wealth provided by different cultures and the principle of equality of languages could greatly boost the awareness on the common values as the underlying foundation of the EU.
According to Grims, intercultural dialogue means an open and respectful exchange of opinions among individuals and groups of various cultural, religious and language backgrounds. Europe must do what it can to contribute towards understanding and mutual acceptance of cultures and civilisations.
Slovenian Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti pointed to the Slovenian contribution in the European year of intercultural dialogue. According to him, the year in Slovenia is seen as an opportunity for developing an open environment where people of various cultural backgrounds can take part in dialogue.
"The issue of intercultural dialogue...is extremely complex and we therefore cannot delude ourselves that it will be possible to adequately define it and present good solutions in a single year," Simoniti said. However, he added that this did not absolve anyone from the responsibility to try.
MEP Ljubmila Novak (EPP/NSi), a member of the European Parliament Culture and Education Committee, meanwhile touched on minorities, pointing to good practices in the protection of the Swedish minority in Finland, territorial independence of Southern Tirol in Italy and the Catalan minority in Spain.
However, several European countries failed to upgrade their approach to minorities, she said and pointed to Spain's attitude towards the Basques and France's towards Corsicans. Novak believes that the European Union should make the issue of minorities one of its priority tasks as soon as possible.
Odile Quintin, director general of the Education and Culture Directorate, said that the European project was always a cultural project in the widest sense of the word. Links between people who have different ways of life, hold different values and speak different languages mean more than links between markets, she added.

Heads of Committees Hold Meeting on Intercultural Dialogue

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