More than fifty civil society activists from nine Arab countries which are members of the Anna Lindh Foundation gather this week in Cairo to share ideas and practices on intercultural dialogue, participation and democracy.

The seminar, which will address the new challenges of dialogue in the context of the social transformations of the Mediterranean countries, will focus on the role of civil society in promoting citizenship and democracy through intercultural dialogue; enhancing youth leadership and their role in generating social changes; and reinforcing the use of the social media and new technologies in information and communication.

Following  the initiative of the Anna Lindh Foundation, over 50 civil society representatives from the Arab countries (including Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia, Mauritania, Morocco, Syria, and Egypt), will come together during a four days capacity building training seminar to take place in Cairo from the 1st till the 5th of June.

Speaking ahead of the event in Cairo, Andreu Claret, Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation said: “It’s important to have a strong civil society to build democracy, and our role as a Foundation is to create the right conditions to help them being responsible and contribute actively to this transitional and historical period.”

The Cairo event is part of the Anna Lindh Foundation’s region wide initiative, ‘Believe in Dialogue, Act for Citizenship’ which was launched in the aftermath of the historic waves of change and social mobilization that have shaken a number of countries on the Southern shore of the Mediterranean.

Starting with the Alexandria Encounters organized last week and presenting different democratic  experiences from Europe and the Middle East, initiative will culminate with the organization of the Anna Lindh Exchange in Tunisia , from 23rd to 26th June, which will gather between 170 and 200 participants from the Euro-Mediterranean countries working to exchange experiences, best practices and project ideas and address the relation between citizenship, democracy and participation in the context of the process of democratic transition affecting countries in the region.

For more information on “Believe in Dialogue, Act for Citizenship” : www.believeindialogue.org

To download the Program of the Cairo Training Seminar click here