European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008

“The European cultural sphere is a magic box full of treasures we haven’t even dreamt about. Inspiration, the process of collective creation is the most beautiful part of this diverse sphere. The most exciting components of this new cultural repository of Europe are the diversity of unity and the unity of diversity. I imagine the European cultural sphere to be something not burdened but inspired by diversity. An open culture has to believe in its own strength, it has to know that it is rich enough to feed other cultures but it still has to be sensitive enough to let itself be enriched by those other cultures.”
Katalin Bogyay, international state secretary, Ministry of Education and Culture

Information about the European Year
In 2004 Ján Fiel, Commissioner for Education and Culture suggested that 2008 should be the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. Two years later the decision 1983/2006/EC of the European Parliament and Commission was born about the organisation of the Year (18 December 2006).

Europe’s culture is becoming more and more diverse. The enlargement of the EU, the changes in labour legislation and globalisation have led to the growth of multiculturalism in many countries, which broadened the continent’s linguistic, religious, ethnic and cultural background. Consequently, intercultural dialogue has an important role in establishing European identity and citizenship.

The European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008 proves that Europe’s cultural diversity is a special advantage. The Year calls on the people of the continent to live with the advantages coming from European cultural heritage, and learn from the traditions of the different cultures.

Due to intercultural dialogue:

we understand each other better and it will be easier to live together
we can profit from the advantages of cultural diversity
we can foster European citizenship and solidarity

The ambassadors of the Year

The European Year of Intercultural Dialogue has ambassadors at the European as well as at the national levels. The ambassadors are well-known figures who are devoted to the ideas and goals of the Year and help promote these in society.

The Hungarian ambassadors of the Year:

Barnabás Kelemen and Katalin Kokas, violinists
Barnabás Kelemen: “We, musicians, have always been working for intercultural dialogue. As music has a universal language, our common aim is to foster this kind of dialogue.”
Katalin Kokas: “For me, intercultural dialogue is like air. Even if I don’t know someone’s language, the moment we start playing music together, we completely understand each other. It is like water and air.”

Kerekes Band
Zsombor Fehér: “In the band we have found the common ground with young people through the elderly. We mix Hungarian folk music that we have learnt from the older generation with music that young people understand. This is how we transfer an older culture to a younger generation.”
Viktor Fehér: “The encounter between cultures happens every day, but most of the times the dialogue fails. We are working to change this, and during the material collection we, city-dwellers, together with the elderly from rural areas, create a common language that provides the basis of our musical thinking.”

Judit Polgár, international chess master
“For me, intercultural dialogue is part of everyday life, as I spend most of the year abroad. It is one of the most natural things for me to meet people from different cultures, which I think makes me richer.”

Dániel Varga, water polo player
“By experiencing other cultures, we become richer. In this way, we can not only learn from other cultures, but be able to appreciate our own as well.”

The European Year helps us discover how different cultures affect our lives. We can also participate in the Year’s projects and events, meet our fellow human beings and become part of each other’s culture.

Further information about the programs of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008
can be found on the following website:
www.parbeszed2008.eu