With this in mind, the Cultural Council of the UfM was officially created in December 2008, with Renaud Muselier, a former minister and deputy for the south-eastern French region of Bouches-du-Rhône, installed as chairman.
By bringing together important people on both banks of the Mediterranean, the Cultural Council of the UfM aims to play its own part in the Union’s attempts to bring unity and peace to the region.
It promotes and supports public and private initiatives with a view to enhancing the cultural aspects of the UfM and forging a better understanding of the region’s cultural diversity.
By respecting, understanding and sharing the cultural identities that shape the Mediterranean region, the Cultural Council of the UfM hopes to contribute to the implementation of a new dynamic based on tolerance and open-mindedness.
« Concrete steps towards real dialogue across the Mediterranean region »
- the incredibly generous donation of 500,000 books to theBibliotheca Alexandrina was achieved thanks to financing arranged by the Cultural Council. The works sent from Marseilles in December 2009 are now part of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, making it the leading francophone library in the Middle East.
- an Edgar Morin-themed conference on the need for a new planetary humanism.
- the Cairo Forum of June 2010, which brought together politicians, economists and institutions with a view to preserving and developing traditional Mediterranean crafts and skills.
- the MAARIFA project with France Télévisions, which lends its expertise to three Arab television channels with a view to creating quality educational programming and better responding to the aspirations of young people in the Mediterranean region.