Empowering Civil Society on Intercultural Dialogue

09 October 2013, Egypt

 The Anna Lindh Foundation is presenting its programme in Egypt for 2013-2014 on the 9th of October in Cairo, in the framework of the Dawrak-Citizens for Dialogue meeting “Empowering Civil Society on Intercultural Dialogue” which will be held at the Conrad Hotel on the 9th and 10th of October 2013.

The Presentation, which will be organised in close collaboration of the Head of the Egyptain Network of the Anna Lindh Foundation, Maat for Peace Development and Human Rights, the European Union’s Delegation in Cairo, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Egypt, will be a unique opportunity to share with representatives of civil society, institutional partners as well as the media the Foundation’s calendar of the activities taking place in Egypt until the end of 2014.

The empowerment meeting “Empowering Civil Society on Intercultural Dialogue” will constitute a unique gathering of key Egyptian civil society actors after the recent events witnessed by the country, confirming the central role of the Foundation as a shared Euro-Arab institution which offers spaces of dialogue and debate between diverse participants.

In addition to about 70 Egyptian organisations coming from 21 Egyptian governorates, the meeting will allow participation from several Euromed countries including Palestine, Denmark, UK and Bosnia Herzegovina, Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland to share experiences from their civil societies and to develop activities with Egyptian civil society organisations. Representatives from the key donors and partner international organisations will also be presenting their programmes dedicated to the country.

The Anna Lindh Foundation has been operating in the Euromed region from Alexandria Egypt since its creation in 2005 and has been developing hundreds of initiatives and projects targeting Egyptian relevant individuals and civil society organisations working in the fields of dialogue and participation. The Foundation’s National Network in Egypt is one of the most dynamic and the region with more than 100 active organisations from most Egyptian  governorates. Maat for Peace Development and Human Rights has been elected by fellow members to coordinate the Network since last June.

"DAWRAK-Citizens for Dialogue” is a timely and pioneering programme working  on developing intercultural dialogue skills for civil society, launched as a response to the historic Arab awakening. It aims to develop the capacities of the most dynamic civil society actors, providing them with tools and skills for dialogue, advocacy, networking and participation. Egypt is one of the target countries of the programme among 8 other Arab Mediterranea countries .

Journalists are invited to the presentation which will take place at the Conrad Hotel at 11:00am on the 9th of October with the participation of Mr Ayman Okeil, Head of the Egyptian ALF Network; Amb James Moran, Head of Delegation of the EU to Egypt; Amb Abou Bakr Hefny Mahmoud, Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for European Union and EuroMed Partnership; and Mr Andreu Claret, Executive Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation.