Intercultural Dialogue

Intercultural Dialogue is increasingly seen as one of the ways to promote mutual understanding, better living together and an active sense of European citizenship and belonging.

There is no accepted definition for Intercultural Dialogue. The term is an adaptation from other terms, all of which remain current, such as multiculturalism, social cohesion and assimilation. The best formulation at the moment is perhaps the terminology used by the Council of Europe in its White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue, which states: ‘Intercultural Dialogue is understood as an open and respectful exchange of views between individuals and groups with different ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic backgrounds and heritage’.

Note that this definition is wide enough to encompass almost all kinds of exchange between culturally distinct groups and individuals while setting down no priorities with regard to any of them. Why is the issue of intercultural dialogue high on the European political agenda today? Mainly because of the increasingly pressing question of the ‘meeting of cultures’; provoked both by the movement of people and by the increasingly porous nature of our national identities. We are living through an osmosis of cultures facilitated by travel, technology and the interconnectedness of our contemporary economies and cultures.

CAE 2013 Briefing on Intercultural Dialogue

The European Parliament’s and Council’s decision 2008, Year of Intercultural Cultural Dialogue

EFAH (now Culture Action Europe) Diversity Mapping (2006)

Council of Europe’s White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue (2008)

Platform for Intercultural Europe’s Rainbow Paper on a Learning Framework for Intercultural Dialogue (2008)