Youth leaders from fourteen Union for the Mediterranean countries gather at the Bibliotheca Alexandria to present the very first ‘Peace Bag for Euro-Med Youth’

Alexandria, 15^th July 2010: A five-day working seminar of Euro-Mediterranean youth leaders concluded today with representatives from Algeria, Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Netherlands Palestine, Poland, Romania, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey.

The seminar is part of a long-term project supported by the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation, and leaded by Fundació Catalunya Voluntària, which aims to promote a culture of peace at the local and regional level across the Mediterranean.  

Giving a welcome to the representatives of the 14 countries involved, Andreu Claret, the Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation said: “the project is very important for the Anna Lindh Foundation because its goal is promoting a real culture of peace, because the initiative is aimed to Youth, which are the real actors of dialogue and peace in the region, and because the project will culminate in a tool-kit for peace which will be available for all those who work for peace and coexistence in the Euromed Region ”

Ambassador Aly Maher, Special Advisor of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and Head of the Egyptian National Network of the Anna Lindh Foundation, speaking at the launch of the tool-kit, said: “The work and commitment of the many civil society organizations involved in this project  shows that peace is not just an abstract concept to talk about, but that it is something concrete that needs an active involvement”.

The new tool-kit aims to offer practical tools to raise awareness on the culture of peace, with an emphasis on the importance of mobility and participation of youth in developing initiatives through long-term partnership as a basis for a commitment to peace, both locally and at the international level.

The next phase of the project will include testing the manual in the local contexts of the partner countries and monitoring the initial results, with the idea of exporting the same model in other regions such as Easter Europe and Asia. The final manual will be published in late 2010 and will be distributed among organization as well as public and private institutions from all the participating countries.

The Anna Lindh Foundation is preparing to launch in August a specific call for proposals on the theme of “cities, migration and coexistence” with the overarching aim of facilitating the action of civil society focused on addressing issues at the local and regional level which have been effected by the global economic crisis.