National intercultural dialogue is more or less present depending on the centralizing or decentralizing orientation of the national administration in office. Most of it is done, at the national level, by the coordination of the ministry with the autonomous communities.
During the last decades there has been a shift in the orientation of international intercultural dialogue from the concept of Alliance of Civilisations proposed in 2008 to the concept of cultural diplomacy.
At present, and especially at the local level, the third sector and the public sector (through cultural houses and civic centres) run numerous activities and projects designed to promote cultural dialogue and understanding, especially in those territories with many immigrants.
The programme Museos más sociales [More Social Museums] of the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport aims to improve the social accessibility. It also defines the concept of “intercultural museum” as the one that promotes the relations between cultures and between social groups, enhancing the intercultural dimension of cultural heritage.
One of the most important actors in the dialogue between the European Union and the other Mediterranean countries is the European Institute of the Mediterranean. This institute, based in Barcelona (Catalonia), is a centre for reflection and debate on Mediterranean societies, a think-tank specialising in Euro-Mediterranean relations and a promoter of cooperation. The Institute promotes knowledge through research and study; carries out training and promotion activities; encourages the participation of civil society in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (also called the Barcelona Process, the main framework for political, economic, and social relations, as well as dialogue and regional co-operation in the Mediterranean).
The Institute was set up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation as the Coordinator of the Spanish Network of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation. This Foundation is the first institution created by the 35 countries of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, with the objective of improving reciprocal understanding and the quality of cultural dialogue between the two sides of the Mediterranean. The Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation encourages cultural dialogue, supports exchanges, cooperation and mobility, particularly among the young, and organises activities within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The Spanish network is formed by 82 members, representing organisations from civil society.
The Three Cultures Foundation is a non-profit foundation which, in recent years, has become the international benchmark for dialogue and respect for achieving peace and understanding amongst the people of the world, thanks to the exceptional nature of the patronage and its cultural activities. The Foundation was established under the aegis of the Andalusian Regional Government and the Kingdom of Morocco, who in 1998 broached the need to create a forum to bring together the people of the Mediterranean. This proposal was favourably received by the international community, with the support of the Peres Centre for Peace, the Palestinian National Authority, and multiple Israeli and Euro-Mediterranean individuals and institutions committed to dialogue and peace. Since March 1999, when the Three Cultures Foundation was established, the three main priorities in its day-to-day activity and cultural schedule have been: co-operation within the Mediterranean region, between Andalusia, Morocco and the Middle East, and between the European Union and the Mediterranean countries.
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