The Task Force of National Commissions calls for joint action to promote the Euro-Arab Dialogue

The Task Force of National Commissions for the Euro-Arab Dialogue met in Paris on 27-28 January 2010. The meeting was inaugurated by Mrs Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, who said that new ways to promote mutual understanding, respect and tolerance between peoples and cultures must be envisaged.
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The Director-General assured the Organization’s full support to the Euro-Arab Dialogue initiative, affirming that National Commissions are in a privileged position to relay UNESCO’s ideals and messages, to launch initiatives that bring cultures and people closer together. DG Speech

The Task Force, made of 18 National Commissions equally representing both regions, deliberated over two days to assess the progress achieved since the launch of the Euro-Arab Dialogue project a decade ago and to define its plan of action for the years to come.

The Task Force meeting, under the chairpersonship of Ms Salwa Saniora Baasiri (Lebanon), adopted four concrete projects for joint action and called all parties concerned to participate in their implementation.


The projects concern the comparative study of history textbooks, the production of the educational toolkit on Identity, the encouragement of twining among ASP Schools, UNESCO Clubs and Chairs, and the engagement of university students and teachers in the Euro-Arab Dialogue project.

It was agreed that the activities within the Euro-Arab Dialogue project should also contribute to the celebration of the International Year of the Rapprochement of Cultures in 2010.

Several Permanent Delegations to UNESCO and the representatives of the partner organizations, such as ALECSO, ISESCO, the Council of Europe, MBI Al Jaber Fondation and the UNESCO Catalonia Centre, contributed to the discussions and pledged their support.

The Euro-Arab Dialogue project was launched in 2001 in Geneva as a framework for interregional cooperation among National Commissions to promote the values of “learning to live together”.

Report of the meeting

• Source:UNESCO/hq
• 09-02-2010