Anna Lindh Foundation

Cross-Network initiative at ALForum 2025: culture at the heart of intercultural cooperation

On days 18 and 19 June 2025, six national networks of the Anna Lindh Foundation: Belgium, France, Ireland, Morocco, Tunisia, and Spain, joined forces to deliver a Cross-Network initiative within the framework of the ALForum. The programme aimed to strengthen intercultural cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean region by placing culture at the core of inclusive, democratic, and creative societies.

Over two days, participants engaged in a series of thematic sessions that explored the role of culture in addressing key regional challenges such as polarisation, exclusion, and youth disenfranchisement. Topics included community-based artistic practices, the impact of storytelling and memory, the role of museums and libraries in cultural diplomacy, and innovative approaches to managing diversity at the local level.

The initiative highlighted the value of participatory and context-based methodologies, which allow communities to share knowledge, promote mutual understanding, and co-create solutions. Youth involvement, intercultural dialogue, and transnational collaboration were central elements throughout the programme.

Feedback collected from participants emphasised the importance of dynamic, engaging, and skills-based formats. Sessions were described as inspiring and relevant, offering practical tools that can be adapted across different national and local contexts. The programme also reinforced the need to encourage peer exchanges between the Euro-Mediterranean region’s cultural actors and to promote inclusive narratives through heritage, education, and creativity.

This initiative contributed to the ALF’s broader effort to develop sustainable and shared strategies for cultural cooperation in the Mediterranean. The outcomes and recommendations from the Cross-Network sessions will feed into the Foundation’s action plan and policy dialogue processes, supporting its mission to foster inclusive and resilient societies through culture.