From 18 to 21 November, the annual meeting of the Heads of Network of the Anna Lindh Foundation took place in Brussels, Belgium. A representative from EuroClio also attended the meeting since EuroClio is the Head of Network of the Anna Lindh Foundation in the Netherlands. During the productive meeting all representatives of the 43 networks of European, North African and Middle Eastern countries had the opportunity to discuss ongoing issues, as well as the future of the Foundation. Considering the future, several interesting programmes will take place in 2016. The first of the three most important of these are ‘’The Young Arab Voices’’, which aims to increase young people’s skills for public debate, and to provide platforms for youth from diverse backgrounds to meet and exchange views to provide targeted support for young bloggers in terms of outreach work at the grass-root level, enabling them to bridge the gap between virtual and public space.
Secondly, the ‘’Anna Lindh Foundation Forum’’, where not only the Heads of Network, but also many other organizations from civil society, (inter-)governmental agencies and other parties with an interest in the Mediterranean area will participate. Finally. the Euromed Conference on Women, to be held in Tunis in November 2016 (exact date to be announced) is also an important event.
The Anna Lindh Foundation faces multiple challenges, but under the leadership of a new management, and with the constructive ideas of the Heads of Network, there is good hope that the Foundation will continue to play a vital part in the Mediterranean area within the field of intercultural dialogue.
