EUROPEAN COUNCIL ON TOLERANCE AND RECONCILIATION Chosen 2010 Activities Plans for 2011
The European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation together with German Foundations the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the Robert Bosch Stiftung organized the conference
“Towards
Reconciliation
–
Experiences,
Techniques and Opportunities for Europe” in Dubrovnik, Croatia, from October 24-25, 2010.
The Initiative was dedicated to further foster the
development of tolerance in Southeast Europe, also on the basis of European and international experiences
(Poland, Germany, Israel, Ukraine, Russia, Nigeria, Republic of South Africa) thus confronting racism, intolerance and anti-Semitism on different fronts and levels.
The main goal of the conference was to debate on the role of politics, culture, media, religion and civic society in the process of promoting tolerance and dealing with conflicts from the past.
The 180
participation
of
representatives
from
over societies,
which share a (post)-conflict experience, inspired
a
comparative
mutually
debate
advantageous
across
disciplines and generations
regions,
Participants and speakers of the conference included:
President of Croatia Ivo Josipović
Participants and speakers of the conference included:
President of Montenegro Filip Vujanović
Participants and speakers of the conference included:
President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bakir Izetbegović
Participants and speakers of the conference included:
Fmr President of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski
Participants and speakers of the conference included:
President of the European Jewish Congress V. Moshe Kantor
Participants and speakers of the conference included:
Fmr President of Cyprus George Vassiliou
Participants and speakers of the conference included:
Fmr President of Albania Alfred Moisiu
Participants and speakers of the conference included:
Vice Prime Minister of Croatia Slobodan Uzelac
Participants and speakers of the conference included:
Fmr Prime Minister of Norway Kjell Magne Bondevik
Participants and speakers of the conference included:
Fmr Prime Minister of Poland WĹ‚odzimierz Cimoszewicz
Participants and speakers of the conference included:
Fmr Prime Minister of Italy Giuliano Amato
The discussants of the ECTR conference in Dubrovnik came to the following conclusions: • Tolerance is the key feature for social stability and peaceful coexistence of various nations and religions • Role of political leadership and education exceptionally important for strengthening tolerance and advancing reconciliation
• Imperative of legal solutions
Concrete proposals adopted at the Dubrovnik conference (plans for 2011):
To continue the effort to promote Tolerance in the Balkans through additional seminars and initiatives, the next one in 2011 in Sarajevo in Bosnia
Concrete proposals adopted at the Dubrovnik conference (plans for 2011):
To undertake a Reconciliation initiative in Cyprus to foster dialogue and understanding between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots, basing on the European experiences
Concrete proposals adopted at the Dubrovnik conference (plans for 2011): To propose to the European Commission the establishment of a “University of Tolerance and European Security� in Europe, which would enable future European leaders and administrators to research the threat to security posed by a rising wave on intolerance in Europe
Concrete proposals adopted at the Dubrovnik conference (plans for 2011):
To propose to the Russian Government the organization of a European Day of Tolerance in Moscow, which would be a venue to promote and strengthen tolerance in the Russian Federation
ONE WEEK AFTER THE ECTR CONFERENCE, SERB PRESIDENT BORIS TADIC APOLOGIZED IN CROATIA FOR THE1991 VUKOVAR MASSACRE
The European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation presented His Majesty
King Juan Carlos I on the 11th Of October
2010
with
the
first
ever
„European Medal of Toleranceâ€&#x; at the Palacio de la Zarzuela
The medal was conferred on the King by co- chairs of the ECTR, former President
of Poland, Aleksander Kwaśniewski and
the
Moshe
Kantor,
European
President
Jewish
of
Congress
“Moral leadership symbolized by the recipient of our European Medal of Tolerance is especially significant at a time when tolerance appears to be waning in Europe in favor of racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.� President Kwasniewski said about the award.
The ECTR has a vision whereby the average citizen of Europe would not
be a bystander to intolerance, but rather work against acts of racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism