Among its major findings, Report reveals a ‘clash of ignorance’ across the two shores of the Mediterranean

On Thursday 25^thNovember 2010, leading politicians, intellectuals and media experts from across Italy are gathering in the capital Rome to debate the main conclusions of the Anna Lindh Foundation’s Report on Intercultural Trends.

The Report, which has involved experts on cross-cultural affairs from Italy and over twenty other Euro-Mediterranean countries, is based on the very First Gallup Opinion Poll carried out with 13,000 people from 13 countries in Europe and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region.

Taking place  at 4pm  at ‘Mappamondo’ Hall Palazzo Montecitorio in Rome, the national debate will involve Gianfranco Fini (President of the Chamber of Deputiesof the Italian Parliament) and Franco Frattini (Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs), as well as Piero Fassino (Italian politician in the Democratic Party), Giuseppe Pisanu (Italian politician and longtime member of the Chamber of Deputies) and Andreu Claret (Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation).  The debate will focus on a reassessement of approaches to building intercultural relations at the national level as well as across the two shores of the Mediterranean, given in particular the important role Italy has played historically in trans-Mediterranean cooperation.

One of the major findings of the Report is that despite increased interaction societies across the two shores of the Mediterranean are facing a ‘clash of ignorance’ in terms of how they perceive each other’s values.  According to the Survey, nearly six in ten respondents from the southern and eastern Mediterranean thought that it was most important to European parents that their children learnt how to be independent (57%), and 44% thought their kids to be curious. Only one in five Europeans, however, had mentioned independence in first or second place (19%) as a key value of their education, and only 13% had done so for curiosity. On the other hand, only a quarter of respondents(25%) from the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries thought that Europeans wanted their kids to be respectful for other cultures, 17% thought that family solidarity was important to Europeans, and 14% thought that they wanted their kids to be obedient. 58%, 56% and 24% if European respondents, however, had mentioned those values as being the most of second most important value that they taught their kids.

Europeans misjudged the values of parents in the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries, in particular underestimating the importance of religious belief for people of the southern and eastern shore of the Mediterranean; respondents from southern and eastern Mediterranean countries had rather put religious beliefs as a top priority (62%). Europeans also underrated the importance of curiosity (7% versus 19%), of independence (14% versus 20%), and of obedience (28% versus 35%) in the upbringing of children in the southern and eastern Mediterranean.

The main identified bridging value was family solidarity that was at the top of European priorities and received a significant percentage from south and eastern Mediterranean respondents.

For more information on the Anna Lindh Report, log on to www.annalindhreport.org