Roadmap for a new era of Arab-West relations presented at international forum in Cairo

Following historic social changes in the region, the League of Arab States, the Anna Lindh Foundation and the UN Alliance of Civilizations join forces to put an end to the so-called ‘clash of civilizations’and rebuild Arab-West dialogue on shared values

6^th April, Cairo, Egypt: An international media forum focused on the implications of the recent social changes in the region for dialogue between Arabs and Europeans was launched today next to Cairo’s Tahrir Square at the headquarters of the League of Arab States, organized by the League in partnership with the Anna Lindh Foundation, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, Media Tenor International and the Swedish Institute of Alexandria.

The main plenary debate of the Forum, which brought together around 150 media leaders, opinion-makers and academic experts, from across the Arab region, Europe and North America, commenced with the Arabic launch of the Anna Lindh Report on Euro-Mediterranean Intercultural Trends, a pioneering investigation into value trends and social transformations in thirteen Euro-Med countries, including Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon and Syria. Among the findings, the Report denies the notion of a ‘clash of civilizations’, reveals the existence of bridging values between Arab and European societies and anticipates a central role for the Media in ‘challenging the Western stereotype of the Arab Street in favour of the plural reality of Tahrir Square’.

Speaking at the opening of the Forum, Amre Moussa, Secretary General of the Arab League said: "If we want the current social change taking place across our region to end this archaic theory of a ‘clash of civilizations’then we have an opportunity today more than ever while everyone is speaking about democracy and freedom and calling for respect for the other. In this regard, the media have a central role to play.”

André Azoulay, President of the Anna Lindh Foundation, speaking alongside the Secretary General, said: “We are witnessing an Arab renaissance in relation to the call for universal values, with people today across the world are seeing that ‘democracy’and ‘freedom’are written in Arabic. History is knocking on the doors of Arabs and Europeans to not miss the opportunity to build a common future together finally, forged by shared values of modernity, diversity and justice.” 

Jorge Sampaio, UN High Level Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, said: “Over the last few months we have witnessed social change in many areas of the world but nowhere has it had such an impact on our perceptions of the world and the ‘other’as in the case of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’. In this regard, there is the need to have more different views of the world available to us, to build a better understanding”

Speakers and delegates at the opening of the Forum underlined how a new roadmap for Arabs and Europeans could be built on the back of the social changes in the region, through the work of civil society and the media community in maximising the shifting vision towards the Arab world, underlining the common and universal values of people across the two shores of the Mediterranean, and supporting an active exchange in terms of managing cultural diversity.

The debates and results of the International Forum are being published on www.arabwestforum.org

To see live updates from the event on twitter use the hashtag #arabwest