Any strategy of intercultural dialogue in the Euro-Mediterranean region must tackle the issue of how institutions and civil society deal with the diversity in their own country.

There is no real dialogue among cultures without recognition and respect for cultural minorities at home. With globalisation and the increase of human movements, there are no more homogeneous countries, and the migrants add new sources of diversity to those which are part of the history of each country.

Around the Mediterranean, cities have always been laboratories of diversity, and this phenomenon has recently even increased, creating important social and cultural challenges and opportunities. Urban environment is the location where the most important ideas and trends emerge, and social innovation takes place. They are also the places where the global issues such as social cohesion, multi-cultural coexistence, environmental sustainability or poverty eradication materialize, and where institutions are closer to citizens and civil society.

Urban diversity is a valuable good which can help identifying global solutions to inter-cultural conflicts. The proximity with their citizens makes cities an important ally for the development of the Foundation goals.