Concluding day of the United Nations Forum in Brazil stresses on the `Mediterranean´ approach as a real answer to combating extremism, while it is announced that the Euro-Mediterranean Foundation Anna Lindh is to become a model of regional cooperation for the international community.

The third global forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations concluded in Rio de Janeiro with a series of announcements by international leaders and institutions for new action in favour of fighting xenophobia and countering forces of extremism.

Speaking on the closing day of the Forum, André Azoulay, President of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures and member of the High-Level Advisory Group which created the Alliance of Civilizations said: “Today we enter a new phase in our fight to put an end to the clash of civilizations theory. For the very first time in history, we have in place institutions like the Anna Lindh Foundation and UN Alliance, as well as a unique Union around the Mediterranean which brings together people from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East in a common unity, and offers the international community the best hope for peace”.

The Anna Lindh Foundation, responsible for the social and human relations dimension of the 43 country ‘Union for the Mediterranean’ which is co-chaired by Egypt and France, has received further recognition over the last days for its unique approach to inter-regional relations, with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner proposing the establishment of a European Union/Latin American Foundation ‘based on the model of the Anna Lindh Foundation’.

In the same spirit, the United Nations Forum in Brazil concluded with the international announcement adopted by the 120 Ministers of Foreign Ministers of the Alliance of Civilizations that the forthcoming Anna Lindh Report on Euro-Med Intercultural Trends will be “an essential tool for prioritizing the action of civil society in favour of mutual understanding and for the development of regional policies”.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, speaking at the Forum in Rio, said: “Intercultural dialogue is one of the most important missions of the 21st century with three quarters of the conflicts today having a cultural dimension. We can therefore limit conflicts by improving human and cultural relations, and through investing in the new tools for tolerance, trust and change.”

Within the official conclusions, the Anna Lindh Foundation was also praised for its “central contribution to the global forum”, having been invited to speak at the key international debates on ‘The Dialogue of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order’; ‘Shaping Public Perceptions: The Role of the Media Today’; ‘Investing in Cultural Diversity’ and ‘Addressing Islamophobia’, as well as co-organizing a special session on the forthcoming Anna Lindh Report.

Speaking at the close of the Forum, Salwa Baassiri, Coordinator of the Anna Lindh Foundation’s Civil Society Network in Lebanon and Head of the Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO, said: “While we must remain conscious of the seriousness of the challenge we face and continue to work with a long-term perspective, the level of mobilization of the Anna Lindh Foundation and the willingness of its Civil Society Networks for regional cooperation is creating a new momentum for dialogue in our Region”.