From 6 and 7 May 2010, in the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, the Anna Lindh Foundation is involved in the organisation an international seminar on “Europe and the Arab Countries: Views, Opinions and Perspectives”.

The seminar, which is organized in collaboration with Casa Arabe and the Barcelona Center for International Affairs (CIDOB), will constitute a platform for encouraging discussion and knowledge about relations between Europe and the Arab world, as well as aiming to stimulate debate and raise awareness about the initiatives carried on mutual perceptions between Arabs and Europeans.

Gathering experts and academics of diverse origins, leading figures and institutions working in this field, the intention is also to review the main existing trends and dynamics in the Euro-Mediterranean region as well as evaluating the state of the complex and often asymmetric relations in different fields (economic, political, cultural and social) and to reflect on the future of ties between these two geographic blocs, interwoven by multiple historic and demographic factors.

Furthermore, the Anna Lindh Foundation’s “Report on Euromed Intercultural Trends 2010” will be referenced during the seminar together with the study “The European Union and the Arab World: What do Arabs think of and expect from Europe” conducted by Casa Arabe and the CIDOB, with both studies serving as a tool to strengthen and consolidate mutual knowledge and provide instruments that can be used to set out future prospects for relations between Europe and the Arab world.

The conclusions of the Madrid Seminar will be disseminated by the Anna Lindh Foundation among its 43 National Civil Society Networks in the Union for the Mediterranean, which includes over three thousand member organizations, and will be also published on the online portal of the three partner institutions.

To download the program of the seminar click here