Alliantie van beschavingen: Jorge Sampaio richt zich tot europarlementariërs (en)

Building bridges and altering misguided perceptions of other cultures are crucial in a globalised world, according Jorge Sampaio, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations and a former President of Portugal, who addressed a formal sitting of the EP on Wednesday on the subject of cultural diversity, in a speech given as part of the EP's series of guest speeches for Year of Intercultural Dialogue.

In his introduction, the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, stressed the shared outlook between the UN Alliance of Civilisations and the EP, with their emphasis on the importance of cultural interaction, and argued that there was a need in the modern world for practical not just symbolic steps on this front, such as the many projects the EP had supported in the context of Year of Intercultural Dialogue.

Message from UN Secretary General

At the start of his address, Mr Sampaio read out a short statement on behalf of the UN Secretary General, which said that "Like many other regions of the world, Europe faces multiple challenges in promoting intercultural dialogue.  Migration, economic uncertainty and political tensions are putting strains on relations between different cultural, ethnic and religious groups.  But it is precisely in your region, where constructive contacts over the centuries have allowed humanity to take major leaps forward, that opportunities for reconciliation and cooperation exist."  Ultimately, "Cross-cultural tolerance, dialogue, respect and understanding must be pillars of the better world we are trying to build."

Alliance of Civilisations a response to global challenge of cultural diversity

In his own speech, Mr Sampaio described the Alliance of Civilisations as a response to a modern global challenge - linked to globalisation, increased migration and 9/11 - namely "the huge - ethnic, cultural and religious - diversity of our societies and of the increasing difficulties we experience in living together". 

He spoke of "the worsening divides of all types, the erosion of social cohesion and the widening rifts between societies" and of "a widespread malaise that has been expressed in increased tensions" among communities, in "mutual distrust, in polarized perceptions and world views, in intractable identity-based conflicts, and in the rise of extremism".

In his view, even serious crises such as the current financial and economic turmoil must not deflect us from handling these "in-depth problems".

Against this background, the AoC's main task had been defined as the promotion of "glocal deliverables", i.e. projects underpinned by a global approach but implemented at local level.   An example was the already agreed "Action Plan on cooperation between the European Union and the Alliance of Civilizations".  He also backed President Pöttering's call for the work of Year of Intercultural Dialogue to continue beyond the end of 2008, and described the Union for the Mediterranean as another area where the Alliance is keen to collaborate.

Integration of minorities, notably Muslims, and the question of Europe's identity

Turning to the big issues, he said these were "how to integrate minorities, all minorities, but the Muslims of Europe in particular? How to develop our relationship with the Mediterranean? Where to draw the lines of the European project? How to enhance European foreign policy to project what we consider universal values to the world?"

However, he chose to focus on the most pressing intercultural question of the day, "the issue of Muslim minorities in Europe".

He asked "Why there is growing anxiety about the integration of Muslims in Europe? Because it is a demographic issue? Yes, of course! Because of the integration issue? No doubt about that! In my view, the presence of Muslims in Europe is not a question of Islam and the West, but an acute problem of integration." The question was one of Europe's identity. 

Mr Sampaio argued that to cope with the integration of Muslims in our European societies we need new policies at all levels, from "democratic governance of cultural diversity" to education on human rights, citizenship and religions and beliefs.

'No' to the 'clash of civilisations': vast majority everywhere rejects extremism

He went on: "the current international difficulties and the increasing anxiety we all feel in living together in mutual respect have encouraged the misguided view that cultures are set on an unavoidable collision course leading to a clash of civilizations".  However, he stressed that "the vast majority of peoples reject extremism in any society and support respect for religious and cultural diversity".

Remedies: 'mind shift among divided communities' and protection of basic rights

In conclusion, Mr Sampaio described two developments required to tackle the problems he had set out.  First, there was a need to generate "a mind shift among divided communities".  Secondly, to develop "democratic governance of cultural diversity".  In the European Union this implies creating a collective identity among its citizens, he believed.  And this is why "cultural diversity should go hand in hand with protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, equal opportunities for all, economic solidarity and social cohesion".